Every Monday Android Police publishes a list of new and notable apps or games to the site. It works out to around a hundred new apps a month, and over a thousand by this time in the year. If you wanted to, you could go back and look through all of them on the roundup page... but you probably don't. And why would you, when we've already done the legwork for you?

Following in no particular order are the Android Police team's picks for our favorite new Android games of 2015. A lot of these didn't debut on Android, but they came to the platform this year, and they're all currently available on the Play Store. If you need something to while away the long winter evenings or make those car or plane miles disappear, look no further.

Card Crawl

Android Police coverage: Card Crawl Mixes Solitaire And Monster Fighting For A Charming And Strategic Indie Experience

Card Crawl is the best indie card game I've seen in a while, combining elements of roguelikes and card-battling games such as Magic: The Gathering with, well, Solitaire. The gist is that you need to use weapons, shields, and special attack cards to clear out monster cards in your opponent's deck while keeping enough hit points to stay alive. Collect some coins while you're at it to unlock new cards. It's an amazingly unique game, I only wish it ran better - the Unity engine makes my phone like an oven.

Clear the Dungeon of 54 cards by using item-cards, slaying monsters and managing your limited inventory. Each run you can use 5 ability-cards (mini deck building) which will give you unique skills. By collecting gold you can unlock the first 10 ability-cards which enable new tactics and even better highscores. By buying the full game you can unlock 20 additional cards with even better abilities.

Card Crawl Developer: Arnold Rauers
Price: Free
4.3
Download

FRAMED

Android Police coverage: Framed From Noodlecake Studios Is A Gritty Comic-Style Puzzler Where You Control The Story

In Framed, you play a silhouetted detective in the vein of Sam Spade, tasked with solving some rudimentary puzzles. Oh, and also a murder. It's presented as a motion comic, but the player has the ability to re-arrange the tiles, which in turn directly affects the order of events and their outcome. It's a startlingly original concept, and one that should especially please adventure game fans weary of endless item-hunting. One dollar (with no IAP) gets you in.

FRAMED is a multi-award winning noir-puzzle game where you re-arrange panels of animated comic book to change the outcome of the story. Featuring a fusion of all-new game mechanics & fiendish puzzles, FRAMED has received many design awards as well as being an 'Excellence in Design' finalist in the IGF 2015. Simply grab comic panels and swap them with a touch of your finger. Hand-crafted, award-winning art and animation brings the noir world of FRAMED to life.

FRAMED Developer: Noodlecake
Price: 2.99
4.2
Download

Horizon Chase - World Tour

Android Police coverage: Horizon Chase: World Tour Is A Retro Racing Game That Will Revive Your Nostalgia For Outrun And RoadBlasters (Without Eating All Your Quarters)

Horizon Chase is a retro racer in the purest sense of the term. The visual design and come-from-behind structure lean heavily on the standards of arcade racers from the 80s and 90s, but the graphics have been updated into quite fetching low-poly designs for the tracks and cars. You'll start out in last place in each race, and getting to first requires excellent reflexes and passing skills. The one thing this game doesn't have in common with the old racers is that you pay just $3 to unlock the entire thing.

Horizon Chase brings back the graphic context of the 16-bit generation and creates a style that is inspired in the past without letting go of its contemporaneity. The apparent polygon and secondary color aesthetic accentuate the visual beauty of the game, resulting in a unique and harmonic atmosphere. You'll feel the retro soul of the game on a completely modern body. Horizon Chase is a race around the world. With each new cup you'll pilot your car through extraordinary places, watching the sun setting, facing rain, snow, volcanic ashes and even severe sandstorms.

Dead Effect 2

Android Police coverage: Dead Effect 2 Lets You Chop Up Space Zombies With A Space Katana (In Space)

There's a surprisingly wide selection of high-end shooters available for Android, so long as you're willing to overlook the free-to-play model. Dead Effect 2 treads a bit of beaten ground with the zombie enemies, but the story sets everything on a huge spaceship, a la Dead Space, which is a bit more novel. There's also an impressive selection of weapons and enemies, and the story is split among three main characters. It's compatible with Android TV and external controllers as well.

Looking to push the boundaries of mobile gaming to another level, Dead Effect 2 is a console-quality action sci-fi shooter with RPG elements. Follow the enticing storyline, train and develop your character, collect and upgrade weapons, gear and high-tech body implants. Dead Effect 2 placed 2nd at the Very Big Indie Pitch contest at PG Connects Helsinki 2015.

• breathtaking graphics using the latest Android & NVIDIA technology

• realistic ragdoll effects and stunning environments

• narrated by professional voice actors

• atmospheric soundtrack and movie-quality sound effects

Dead Effect 2 Developer: App Holdings
Price: Free
4.2
Download

LIMBO

Android Police coverage: Creepy Platformer And Steam Favorite LIMBO Crawls Into The Play Store For $5

LIMBO is a platformer and puzzler favorite among the Steam and console download crowd. And it's creepy. Super creepy. So creepy that it will give you recurring nightmares about a tiny big-headed boy and the various awful ways that he gets monochromatically disemboweled. But the atmosphere and puzzles are great, and at $5 for what has quickly become a minor classic, it's also a pretty good deal.

Uncertain of his sister's fate, a boy enters LIMBO.

LIMBO Developer: Playdead
Price: 4.99
4.5
Download

Earn to Die 2

Android Police coverage: Earn To Die 2 Speeds Through Several Dozen Zombies And Crashes Into The Play Store

Mix the accelerate-and-orientate gameplay of Trials with a 2D zombie apocalypse setting and you'll get Earn To Die. The sequel to the original mobile game offers quite a few more features than the simple gameplay might suggest, including an impressive amount of vehicle and weapon customization, plus a full story mode. The game is free with in-app purchases, but what few it has are unusually reasonable.

Drive your car through a zombie apocalypse in this massive follow-up to the chart-topping hit Earn to Die. An evacuation ship is waiting on the other side of the country. The only thing that stands in your way: city after city overrun by zombies . With only a run-down car and a small amount of cash you face a familiar situation... to drive through hordes of zombies in order to survive. Earn to Die 2 introduces a massive new Story Mode, five times longer than its predecessor.

Earn to Die 2 Developer: Not Doppler
Price: Free
4.4
Download

Lost Echo

Android Police coverage: Adventure Game 'Lost Echo' Gives You A Girlfriend To Find And A Gorgeous Sci-Fi World To Explore For $2.99 With No In-App Purchases

This iOS pilgrim and former Kickstarter project is a futuristic point-and-click adventure that looks absolutely stunning. The story follows a simple missing person case through an array of interesting environments and puzzles. The graphics alone probably don't justify a purchase if you're not a fan of the point-and-click style, but those who like the genre will be enthralled... and won't be hit up for extra purchases.

In the near future Greg's girlfriend Chloe mysteriously disappears in front of him. He starts a desperate search for her. What happened? Why does no-one else remember her? In this indie, story driven adventure game you explore fully 3d environments using an intuitive point and click interface. Solve puzzles, explore, play minigames, interact with numerous characters and find out what really happened.

Lost Echo Developer: KickBack
Price: 3.99
4.2
Download

Lara Croft GO

Android Police coverage: Lara Croft GO Infiltrates The Play Store, Makes Off With Your Loot

Remember Hitman Go? The combination of a well-known franchise and turn-based, board game-style progression was so successful that Square-Enix decided to try it again with Tomb Raider. In this somewhat more colorful version, you control Lara Croft as she explores hidden temples, fights supernatural enemies, and oh yeah, raids tombs one turn at a time. The game is $5 plus in-app purchases, but thankfully they're not as expensive as they could have been.

Lara Croft GO is a turn based puzzle-adventure set in a long-forgotten world. Explore the ruins of an ancient civilization, discover well-kept secrets and face deadly challenges as you uncover the myth of the Queen of Venom.

• Experience lush visuals and a captivating soundtrack

• Navigate using simple swipe-to-move controls

• Fight menacing enemies, overcome dangerous obstacles and escape deadly traps

• Solve more than 75 puzzles split into 5 chapters

• Collect ancient relics and unlock new outfits for Lara

Lara Croft GO Developer: SQUARE ENIX LTD
Price: 5.99
4.7
Download

PAC-MAN 256 - Endless Maze

Android Police coverage: Pac-Man 256 Is Live In The Play Store With Tons Of Power Ups, Controller Support, And A Not-Terrible IAP Scheme

You'd think that by now, every single possible iteration of Pac-Man had been explored. That's probably why the company handed the property over to the developer of Crossy Road, who created this brand new isometric, endless scrolling version of the game. It has some nice voxel graphics in the vein of the original, and the freemium scheme is more than reasonable, with no lives or power system. Check it out for some casual fun. Oh, and it has controller and Android TV support!

Cherries are red, Ghosts are blue, Munch a power pellet, Get Lasers too. PAC-MAN 256 is the maze that never ends. But the Glitch is coming for you…

• PAC-MAN perfectly reinvented for your mobile phone or tablet

• Outsmart ghosts with over 15 ridiculous power ups: Laser, Tornado, Giant and much more

• Stay ahead of the super-villain lurking in PAC-MAN since the beginning: The Glitch

• Take on a new gang of revived retro-ghosts including Sue, Funky, and Spunky

• Waka waka on PAC-DOTS and string a 256 combo for a super special surprise

• Controller support

• Play it on NVIDIA SHIELD

This War of Mine

Android Police review: This War Of Mine Game Preview: A Dreadful, Soul-Crushing Experience... In A Good Way

This War of Mine is a PC pilgrim, and it's one of the most unique games on the market at the moment. You play as a group of survivors in a war zone, desperately trying to scrape enough supplies together to keep everyone safe and (if possible) sane. It isn't "fun" in the conventional sense, because This War of Mine is trying to illustrate the bleakness and hopelessness of war from the point of view of civilians. If you're interested in how gaming can be used to reflect real-world events, check it out.

In This War Of Mine you do not play as an elite soldier, rather a group of civilians trying to survive in a besieged city; struggling with lack of food, medicine and constant danger from snipers and hostile scavengers. The game provides an experience of war seen from an entirely new angle. The pace of This War of Mine is imposed by the day and night cycle. During the day snipers outside stop you from leaving your refuge, so you need to focus on maintaining your hideout.

This War of Mine Developer: 11 bit studios
Price: 13.99
3.5
Download

Minecraft: Story Mode

Android Police coverage: Minecraft: Story Mode From TellTale Games Launches On Google Play And The Amazon Appstore

Minecraft doesn't lend itself towards storytelling. That's kind of the point - it's basically a digital sandbox. But if anyone can tell a good story with Minecraft's building blocks, it's TellTale. The first episode of the developer's highly-anticipated Story Mode adventure series is now on the Play Store, complete with a themed game world and some top-notch voice acting. Each episode costs $5, or you can unlock the entire season for an additional $15 and get one free.

In this five part episodic series, play as either a male or female hero named 'Jesse,' and embark on a perilous adventure across the Overworld, through the Nether, to the End, and beyond. You and your friends revere the legendary Order of the Stone: Warrior, Redstone Engineer, Griefer, and Architect; slayers of the Ender Dragon. While at EnderCon in hopes of meeting Gabriel the Warrior, you and your friends discover that something is wrong… something dreadful.

Grim Fandango Remastered

Android Police coverage: Double Fine Productions Brings Grim Fandango Remastered To Android, On Sale For Launch At $9.99

Broken Age isn't the only Tim Schaefer opus to grace the roundup this week. Grim Fandango is widely considered one of the best point-and-click adventure games ever made, and now it can be had on Android for the hefty sum of ten bucks. You play a cheeky and sarcastic skeleton who works as an afterlife travel agent, or at least that's how he starts out. The 3D graphics in Grim Fandango are a bit dated, but the Dia de los Muertos style still holds some charm.

One of the most acclaimed adventure games of all time is now back, better than ever. Grim Fandango's epic story of four years in the life (or death) of Manny Calavera, travel agent to the dead, has been remastered to look, sound, and control even better than when it won GameSpot's Game of the Year award upon its original launch. Grim Fandango still stands as a classic of the genre, with unforgettable characters and unique combination of film noir and Mexican folklore.

Boss Monster

Android Police coverage: Boss Monster Is A Fantasy Card Game Where You Bring Heroes To Their Doom, Now Available For Android Tablets With Online Multiplayer

It's always much more fun to play the villain, especially when you have a dungeon of your very own. Boss Monster is a digital version of a turn-based card game which lets you build and equip a gauntlet of booby traps, smaller monsters, and confusing passageways to send hapless heroes to their doom. It's free to try, but to access online multiplayer or the expansion packs you'll need to buy the base game for $6.99.

Become a boss, build a dungeon, and destroy puny heroes. The best-selling indie card game has arrived to Android. Boss Monster is a dungeon-building card game that challenges players to become the ultimate villains: video game bosses. Thousands of players around the world have enjoyed the paper version of the game, but now Brotherwise Games has partnered with video game developer Plain Concepts, creators of Wave Engine, to bring Boss Monster from the tabletop to the digital world.

Evoland

Android Police coverage: Evoland Lets You Play Through The History Of RPGs In A Single Game

Evoland is part video game, part history lesson (about video games). While it's ostensibly a traditional Japanese-style RPG, the graphics and game mechanics shift as the story progresses, going from an ancient black-and-white portable game to a modern 3D action-adventure. It's an interesting and decidedly meta take on the genre. Eventually the game just devolves into over-the-top battles that can only be won by buying in-game items with real money.* Like an increasing number of high-profile Android games, Evoland got its start on Steam and console download services.

*That isn't true at all. There are no in-app purchases in Evoland. But it would be an accurate representation of current games, now wouldn't it?

Evoland is an action adventure game which takes you on a journey through the history of classic adventure and RPG gaming. As you progress through the game, you unlock new technologies, gameplay systems and ever-improving graphics. From monochrome to full 3D graphics and from turn-based battles to real-time boss fights, Evoland makes you live the evolution of adventure gaming – all with plenty of humor and nods to moments from classic games.

Evoland Developer: Playdigious
Price: 2.99
3.9
Download

Ambition of the Slimes

If you've played a Dragon Quest game sometime in the last 20 years, you've probably slaughtered hundreds of tiny, weak slimes - they're the Goombas of the RPG world. But what happens when the slimes rise up and bring the fight to their fleshy oppressors? Half Final Fantasy Tactics and half Invasion of the Body Snatchers, this game has you taking over fantasy heroes with your party of slimes and conquering the world. It's the best game in the world for members of the Brain Slug Party. This one is free with a few in-app purchases for extra characters. Note: You'll need to set the language to English manually.

The world was on the brink of destruction. An evil race known as humans had appeared from out of nowhere, and had the world in the palm of their hand. Forests were burned, the skies and seas were polluted, and tyranny reigned supreme. At this rate, the end of days is not far off. And then, despite us having done nothing to earn their malice, they came to make war upon us. As we did not possess any significant fighting force, it was just a matter of time before we were annihilated.

Crossy Road

Android Police coverage: Popular Frogger Clone 'Crossy Road' Hops From iOS And The Amazon Appstore Onto Google Play

Crossy Road is Frogger. Sure, it's got charming "voxel" graphics and a bunch of different (and soon to be endangered) player-characters, but it's Frogger. Only and ever Frogger. The sole point of the game is to gain coins, which you can use to randomly earn more characters, some of which will change the environment to a local theme. If the slow coin collection gets you down you can watch ads to earn more, or just buy those characters for a buck each. (For your skinned game of Frogger.)

Why did the Chicken cross the road? Why did the Pigeon leave THAT there? Why did Specimen 115 abduct that cow? Why did Unihorse eat all that candy?

  • Collect over 50 retro-styled, pop art inspired characters
  • Cross roads, train tracks, and rivers – endlessly hop forever
  • Dodge traffic in a candy wonderland with the Android Robot
  • Simple, pure, innovative gameplay
  • Free to play
Crossy Road Developer: HIPSTER WHALE
Price: Free
4.6
Download

Goat Simulator MMO Simulator

Android Police coverage: [Yo Dawg] Coffee Stain Studios Heard You Like Simulators, So They Made 'Goat Simulator MMO Simulator'

Have you ever wanted to play an MMO game without having to deal with other humans? Have you also wished for that experience to feature goats heavily? Then the latest version of Goat Simulator is for you. It's a Goat MMO Simulator, not a Goat Simulator MMO, so all the "players" you encounter in the World of Warcraft knockoff environment are computer-controlled. It's just as wacky and aimless as the previous games, so check it out if you enjoy hunting for hilarious Easter eggs and watching goats glitch out on physics objects.

  • Coffee Stain Studios brings next-gen Goat MMO simulation to mobile devices. You no longer have to fantasize about being a simulated goat in a simulated MMO, your dreams have finally come true.
  • Five different classes: Warrior, Rouge, Magician, Hunter and Microwave
  • Complete dozens of quests, level up a hundred times and play five different classes that’s a ton of content you do the math
  • Level cap is 101, 1 level higher than you-know-what
  • There are even elves and dwarves like in that movie
  • Stay a while and listen to Dumblebore the Grey in Twistram

The Deer God

Android Police coverage: Crescent Moon Games Finally Launches 'The Deer God' On Android With A 30% Off Sale

The Deer God, despite being a somewhat crude pun, is an atmospheric platformer where you play... a deer. If the premise seems odd, it certainly is, but the rock-solid controls and the stunning voxel graphics make it well worth checking out for just about any platforming fan. The reincarnation mechanic lets you play as other animals with different abilities, keeping the movement and combat fresh, and a series of puzzles help flesh out the already-vibrant world.

The Deer God is a breathtaking 3D pixel art adventure that will challenge your religion and your platforming skills. It's a game about survival, reincarnation, and karma; all set in a breathtaking and unique 3D pixelized world. Feast your eyes on the beautiful lighting, day and night system, and vast landscapes. Become one of the most beautiful animals on planet earth. LIVE AS A DEER. SURVIVE AS A DEER.

The Deer God Developer: Crescent Moon Games
Price: 4.99
3.7
Download

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Android Police coverage: The New 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' Game Stays True To The Comic Book Universe

First of all, this licensed Marvel game is based on the comic book storyline, not the movie with the similar title. And that's probably a blessing: a side-scrolling beat-em-up based on Fox's version of X-Men would probably have in-app purchases. Instead, this $4 premium game lets you play as seven different team members to go through the time-hopping story. Fans of the old X-Men arcade game will be pleased.

Play as Wolverine, Storm, Kitty Pryde, Colossus, Cyclops, Polaris or Scarlet Witch as Marvel’s finest X-Men fight for the future of mutant and human kind in the two separate timelines of Days of Future Past. The world around you is in ruins. Sentinel robots have enslaved most of the United States and are set to stage a global war. The X-Men have failed; the few who survived this nightmarish future are imprisoned in Mutant Internment camps. But all is not lost, the battle for the future can be fought in the past.

Corridor Z

Android Police coverage: Corridor Z Brings A Somewhat Fresh Look To The Endless Runner Genre...Also There Are Zombies

Corridor Z is attempting to turn the endless runner genre around. I mean that literally: the protagonists run towards the camera instead of away from it. Aside from an interesting perspective and some impressive 3D graphics, Corridor Z doesn't offer many new ideas.. and thanks to the zombies, it has plenty of old ones. Even the three character choices are rote zombie fodder - why couldn't they be running from ghosts or something?

An ordinary high school in an ordinary small town faces a zombie outbreak. Authorities have failed. Three people, who survived the carnage, remain locked in. You are the only one who can help them.

  • Get thrilled with the unique and intense gameplay
  • Help the pom-pom girl, the jock and the jarhead to survive
  • Enjoy the cutting-edge detailed graphics
  • Discover the infection's mystery with the voice-overed story
  • Stock the awesome upgradeable arsenal: pistols, SMGs, shotguns and more
  • Immerse yourself in multiple objectives designed for each of the characters
  • ...and shoot down tons of running horror.