I remember playing Snake back on my old Nokia and being pretty convinced that cellphones would one day replace GameBoys. But like everything China touches, the mobile market has become a mountain of trash. The only game I keep on my phone anymore is Sudoku.
Well I got a fancy new phone and I'd actually like to toss some games on it. Anyone actually playing anything worth a damn these days?
I don't think it has much to do with Chinese influence and more with the nature of the hardware. Touch screen controls suck. The best mobile games are puzzle games, card and board games, and maybe strategy games.
Get some emulators and buy one of those controllers you can attach your phone to.
Raid: Shadow Legends
/JK
Fire Emblem Heroes WAS good at one point, I haven't followed it for a while though and the power creep/pay2win elements were starting to get bad so I don't know what state it's in now.
Plague Inc. is pretty good, especially if you like the dark humor of creating a virus to kill the planet in the middle of a (questionable) pandemic. They do update the in-game parody news ticker every so often, though, and couldn't help but put in some "Orange Man Bad, brexit bad" stuff... But it's a minor part of the game that can be ignored.
Oh yeah. Plague Inc and Rebel Inc are pretty dang good, even though they lack any clear instructions on what upgrades actually do.
Also, you don't need to pay for the unlockable special viruses if you can beat all the normal ones on Brutal
Night of the Full Moon has been stupid fun. Great recommendation, thank you. I love deckbuilders.
If you like match 3 mindlessness Gems of War is pretty good. No time gates, no limited inventory.
I'm sure there are lots of card games but IMO Hearthstone has the best mobile UI I've ever seen to the point where I prefer to play it on mobile over desktop. Runeterra is also decent on mobile.
Pathfinder adventures is a fun card+dice rpg experience, the UI might be small on phones, but its great on tablets.
Fallout Shelter is a fun "sims" game in the fallout universe. Has time gates and blind bags but generally playable without paying for a pretty long time.
XCOM
Let us know what genre you like!
I recommend Hoplite and Occidental Heroes for good tactical combat games.
You're right, most of it is garbage but you can't ever go wrong with emulators, and most new console controllers can connect to your phone!
I like strategy, dungeon crawlers, tower defense. Generally if a game tries to squeeze money out of me every ten seconds I'm out. Even in the damn Dr. Mario game you spend more time in the menus telling it to shut up and stop offering you microtransactions than you do in the actual game.
There have been a lot of ports that work great if you have a controller. Castlevania Symphony of the Night is $3.
Oh. Actually I've never tried this. Any old bluetooth controller will do? XBox?
Yeah, blue tooth works great. You can use older versions like a PS3 controller, but you need to jailbreak your phone and open it up to be hacked.
Here, this should help with the overarching idea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuYJzM1F268
There was this cool one I used to play it was HP Lovecraft stuff and it took place during WW1, can’t remember the name though.
If you're a fan of Final Fantasy, Record keeper is my game of choice on my phone. Build a team of 5 from well known characters all throughout the series and fight bosses also through the game. End game splits between building teams focused on specific elements to take bosses weak to that element, and teams from one game fighting a boss from the same game. It's a blast
Yes offline : SNES emulators work for any game that dosen't need the fine control lost with the virtual/touchscreen controls.
Yes offline : Nimble Quest is a very nice free snake/rogue mix with good music, no ads. Fun quick games.
Yes offline unless you want the bonus ads : Currently playing a silly Hero Park game. Restore a town center and invite heroes to fight in your dungeons and buy in your shops. Has optional ads, not intrusive. Fun quick games.
Forced online : Shop Titian, operate a shop and develop/level/equip heroes to loot dungeons. Fun but huge time sink to clear the weekly events. No intrusive ads.
Forced online for no good reason : Another Eden, free RPG with an okay story. Zero adds. But the level up and character class system is a total let down.
Forced online for no good reason : Legend of Solgard. RPG/puzzle-ish building and directing monsters to block, attack, target objectives, etc.
The early game is basically crack, then they hit you with a progression wall so you don't burn the content and have to grind. Still absolutely worth playing the early game. The story is based on Norse mythology. It's good enough to be worth resetting to play again from time to time.
The iPega PG-9083S, it fits most android phones (in a case) and extends far enough to fit some tablets in landscape. it does come with an overlay app to bind on screen buttons to the physical buttons. There's also the Razer Kishi which does the same but doesnt fit tablets.
I just play GBA or N64 emulators, rather than run the endless risk of "is this game designed to paypig me" from actual mobile games.
Currently playing the Legacy of Goku trilogy again, because as the only person in the world who liked it it is my burden.
Xbox game pass ultimate, buy a controller.
Best mobile experience you'll get.