Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android games that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous 2 weeks or so.

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Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.

Games

Fire Emblem Heroes

Android Police coverage: Nintendo's first full Android game, Fire Emblem Heroes, is now rolling out to some countries in the Play Store

Here we are: Nintendo's very first full game released on Android. I doubt many people were expecting the somewhat niche Fire Emblem series to get the first nod, but fans of the fantasy tactics game couldn't be happier. In Fire Emblem Heroes, players summon characters from the various console and handheld games to their army for turn-based grid combat. The story is a little weak - as with all of these "character collection" games - and the free-to-play mechanic with $75 in-app purchases can get old fast.

Open the gateways between worlds, Heroes at your side. Nintendo's hit strategy-RPG Fire Emblem series is now reimagined for smart devices. Fight battles customized for touch screens and on-the-go gameplay. Summon characters from across the Fire Emblem universe. Develop your Heroes' skills, and take them to new heights. This is your adventure—a Fire Emblem that's like nothing you've seen before. This application is free to download and offers some optional in-app purchases.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnrLUnLLZzg[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nintendo.zaba[/EMBED_APP]

Xenoraid

Android Police coverage: Xenoraid blasts and shoots its way onto Google Play

Xenoraid is a top-down shoot-em-up at its core, but a few of the myriad elements in the game put some new spins on this decades-old genre. The landscape is one, which focuses on a holistic look at the battlefield instead of a narrow passageway to blast through. There's also a unique method for switching ships mid-battle. Graphics are simple but effective, and things get enjoyably hectic as fleets of enemy ships fill the screen. Xenoraid is free with a one-time $10 IAP (half off at $5 right now!) to unlock the full game and get rid of ads.

Xenoraid features classic shooter gameplay with a wealth of brand new mechanics. Missions play out differently each time. Real time fighter switching between four fighters. Advanced shooting mechanics such as diagonal shooting and weapon heat. The metagame features upgrading fighters, weapons and strategic technologies. The campaign consists of more than 40 missions with four bossfights, and a Hard Mode for the most skilled players. There's even three unique Survival levels with online leaderboards for endless replayability.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJTLtpYIvk8[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.the10tons.xenoraid[/EMBED_APP]

A Normal Lost Phone

Android Police coverage: Find the owner of a lost cell phone in A Normal Lost Phone

A Normal Lost Phone is the latest in a growing genre of heuristic story-games. You've found a phone (the interface for which is replicated in the game's visuals) and you're trying to return it to its owner. At least that's how it starts... eventually you're basically spying on a stranger's life, ostensibly to understand the subtleties of a misunderstood teenager. The premise is a little creepy, actually, but it's certainly unique. The game is $3 with no in-app purchases.

A Normal Lost Phone is a game about exploring the intimacy of an unknown person whose phone was found by the player. The game takes the shape of a narrative investigation: you have to search the phone’s text messages, pictures and applications, in order to learn about its former owner. Through this phone, you uncover Sam’s life, friends, family and relationships, until the evening when they turn 18 and mysteriously disappear.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.accidentalqueens.anormallostphone[/EMBED_APP]

TANKOUT

Android Police coverage: TANKOUT is a retro multiplayer shooter from the maker of Galcon

Tankout is an interesting arena combat game that mixes Pac-Man with a top-down shooter. Players can control their tanks in massive 2D online battles, building up barriers to make tiny fortresses for strategic advantages. The super-simple graphics might not be to everyone's liking, but the setup enables lightning-fast multiplayer battles with up to ten combatants. It's free with IAP that goes up to just $5.

TANKOUT your friends and enemies in this crazy online creative tank battle game. Collect coins to buy blocks to build your own battle arenas. This game is INSANE. Try building a map while dozens of other tanks are shooting at you. Welcome to CHALLENGEVILLE population: YOU. Build. Battle. BERSERK.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0beYEtlaAqg[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.galcon.tanks[/EMBED_APP]

Glitchskier

Android Police coverage: Glitchskier is the perfect game for the hacking, developer culture

The stylish thing for all the indie devs to try last year was a meta-narrative, breaking down the presumptions between game and player. Glitchskier presents itself as a 1980s-style computer, one that just happens to include a top-down shoot-em-up in the style of Galaxian. But the further you play, the more the "computer" glitches, making each level not just harder in terms of difficulty but in terms of controls and visibility, too. It's certainly an original take.

Glitchskier is the new action game by Shelly Alon, the developer who brought you Partyrs and Sputnik Eyes. Bullet hell at its finest: nervewired action, boss fights, rethought game systems and much more... With unique looks, handcrafted effects, and extraordinary music by Tom Schley, Glitc³ki.|r i5 fa ERROR 0x00004f5 :::

  • 4 bosses
  • ∞-mode
  • >>>ERROR 0x00000100 ::: cts
  • 12 color pallettes
  • music by tom schley
[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iLW0X69mfo[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ShellyAlon.Glitchskier[/EMBED_APP]

imprint-X

Android Police coverage: Imprint-X brings a captivating and relaxing puzzle-solving experience with a focus on memory and pattern recognition

The odd little mechanisms in Imprint-X make it more than just the usual puzzle game: to master each stage you'll need a strong background in logic and problem-solving. (Or you can just press a bunch of buttons and hope for the best.) There's a sci-fi story behind all of it, but the real draw is the unique visual design of the contraptions and the progressively trickier ways you can solve them. $3 unlocks 100 levels.

A captivating and relaxed puzzle game containing 700 buttons to press and 100 levels to unlock. A robotic virus is raging. Nano Bots called Wardens are enslaving people. You are one of the hacker clones, saving intellects by hacking into infected brains and defeating the mysterious Wardens; figuring out their correct button sequences. There are 100 Wardens for you to defeat, containing a mixture of timing, memory and pattern recognition button-based puzzles.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nu.morgondag.imprintx[/EMBED_APP]

8-Bit Farm

Android Police coverage: Kairosoft's newest game is 8-Bit Farm, with delightful pixel art and cheery music

Considering how many permutations of Kairosoft's management sim there have been so far, it's kind of amazing that there hasn't been a farming version. If you've been on the edge of your seat for a pixelated farming simulator using the developer's tried-and-true game mechanics, here it is. It would be lazy to say that 8-Bit Farm is like a pixel art Farmville: the mobile game has a lot more variety in minigames, plus staff management and business elements.

This humble little farm desperately needs a new manager, such as you. Start out by getting some livestock, grow flowers, fruit and vegetables, gradually expanding your fields and increasing the number of staff until you're ready to open for agritourism. As your farm's Appeal grows, you will be able to enter a variety of contests. The key to winning is raising the levels of your produce and skillful placement of farm facilities so that they work together as combos.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.kairosoft.android.bokujou_en[/EMBED_APP]

Book of Unwritten Tales 2

Android Police coverage: Save the world and write your own destiny in Book of Unwritten Tales 2

Book of Unwritten Tales started off as a modern recreation of classic point-and-click adventure games, but with new graphics and full voice-over to bring it in line with more recent releases. The original whimsical fantasy game was released in 2012, but strangely, Deep Silver has only brought the sequel (now two years old) to the Play Store. Maybe if they get enough buyers, at the reasonable $5 price tag with no in-app purchases, they'll bring the original and the prequel over too.

Every world needs its heroes. However unlikely they may seem. Join Wilbur, Ivo, Nate and Critter in another adventure full of quirky characters and pop-culture references in the wicked world of Aventásia. Help them fulfill their destiny. A destiny as yet unwritten. From KING Art, the creators of The Book of Unwritten Tales, The Critter Chronicles and The Raven - Legacy of a Master Thief. Enjoy over 20 hours of funny dialogues, top-notch voice acting and weird puzzles.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dsfishlabs.bout2en[/EMBED_APP]

realMyst

Android Police coverage: Noodlecake brings the classic 3D adventure game Myst to the Play Store in remastered form

Myst is a classic point-and-click adventure series that turned the genre on its head in the 90s with breathtaking prerendered 3D environments. Noodlecake has worked with the original developers to bring a full 3D version of the first Myst game to Android. The basics have remained the same: explore the mystical island, solve the puzzles, reveal the backstory. This one has new features like a bookmark system and a hint guide to make things a little easier.

realMyst is all-things Myst, but amazingly more real. You can explore anywhere, unfettered, and in realtime. Pick your own path through the forest on Myst Island. Look lazily upward into the Channelwood Age trees. Relax next to the rippling fountain as the sun sets in the Selenitic Age. Spin around for a full panoramic tour of Sirrus’ throne room. Seek shelter from the thunderstorm in Stoneship Age.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-USPRb98QE[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.noodlecake.realmyst[/EMBED_APP]

Strange Telephone

Android Police coverage: Strange Telephone is a delightful pixel art game with multiple endings

Strange Telephone is, broadly, a point-and-click adventure game. The pixel art progression is driven by some decidedly spooky themes and a mystical cell phone that can control parts of the environment. Though the visuals are somewhat played out, the game features a lot of exploration and multiple endings, plus the typical inventory puzzles that genre fans crave. It's $4 with no in-app purchases.

Strange Telephone (Strange Telephone) is a multi-ending 2D adventure game using pixel art. The main character 'Jill' got trapped in a strangely dark world with a big door floating in front of me. Basically I can not move from that place. It is "Graham" which gave her the power to call such a figure.
By calling through Graham you can create various worlds and explore the world. It is a game aimed at getting out of this world where you get keys using various eye items scattered around each place.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8Wo00xgwNU[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.magniflop.st[/EMBED_APP]

Evil Factory

Android Police coverage: Nexon's Evil Factory looks like the best kind of retro arcade game, minus the in-app purchases

Evil Factory is a top-down shooter that absolutely basks in its retro aesthetic. And to be fair, it does have some downright gorgeous pixel art - much more artistic than the usual "retro" graphics we seem to get on mobile. Players are tasked with saving the world from standard supervillains in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek take on action games from the 80s and 90s, complete with a variety of weapons and upgrades. Unfortunately it's a free-to-play game, complete with requisite $100 in-app purchases.

Get ready for action-packed, retro fun in this top-down arcade game. Eight years ago, the super powers of the world created the International Alliance to stop the evil Kraken group from taking over the world. Fearing the possible return, the Alliance recruits our little pixelated hero, Leo, to investigate. Battle your way down into the Kraken's Antarctic laboratory to uncover their evil plan and stop their twisted creations.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny2N2DVuUvE[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nexonm.evilfactory[/EMBED_APP]

ONE PIECE THOUSAND STORM

Android Police coverage: One Piece: Thousand Storm offers online co-op with the anime's most popular characters

One Piece is a massively popular manga and anime that I know nothing about, aside from the fact that the main dude is stretchy. Luckily, Thousand Storm is another one of those character collection games, so it's not as if you need to have seen 700 episodes to get the gist. This one has basic combat tuned for one-handed gameplay, as characters automatically attack and players only activate special attacks. As usual with these anime games, it's free with in-app purchases going up to $45.

Characters from "2 Years Ago" to "New World", One Piece characters will now move in 3D. Enjoy the Multi-Player battle with up to 3 Players. Gather your friends. With up to 3 Players in "ONE PIECE Thousand Storm", enjoy the Multi-player pirate RPG. With easy controls, blast your skills and defeat your opponents. Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp… Starting with characters of the Straw Hat Pirates, Trafalgar Law, Doflamingo and many other characters from the anime will be in action.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bandainamcoent.optsE[/EMBED_APP]

Gunman Taco Truck

Gunman Taco Truck is a fairly standard side-scrolling shooter. Oh, except that it's about a taco truck. Once you've braved the hoards of shambling undead, you'll serve tacos to hungry survivors, earning money for gas and upgrades to go out and kill more zombies. It's an interesting mix of business management and arcade shooter, and it's free with only $3 in IAP.

Gunman Taco Truck is an action-packed drive across the post-apocalypse United States to reach the save haven of Winnipeg, Canada, where there are no taco trucks and your family’s taco business can thrive. Getting to the safe towns is hectic but your truck is armed with weapons that blast mutants into taco fillings. In the towns you serve up the mutant scraps to struggling survivors who are more picky than they should be.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q3f1E00M-s[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.romerogames.gmtt[/EMBED_APP]

Potion Explosion

This Tetris-style falling block game might seem familiar, but it's actually based on a niche board game. The point is to combine the ingredients in very specific ways to make power-up potions, allowing for even more clearing action. The digital version of the game includes standard single-player and online multiplayer via leaderboards. The game is $5 with no IAP, which is par for the course for adapted board games.

The official adaptation of Potion Explosion, the award-winning puzzle board game. Play this game solo or against players from all over the world with Solo, Online and Local Pass & Play modes. In Potion Explosion, you will explode ingredients, trigger chain reactions and gather it all in your caldron. You will then use your hard-earned unicorn tears, fairy dandruff and whatnot to craft powerful mixtures with wacky effects. May the best wizard win.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmn2y7nKHH4[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.asmodeedigital.potionexplosion[/EMBED_APP]

Gravity Duck Islands

We've seen Gravity Duck before, and now he's back with another series of direction-switching platformer stages. The setup is pure NES-style platforming with a few new tricks. Noodlecake's typical rock-solid implementation is on display across 80 levels, and all of them can be had for just three bucks with no in-app purchases. The graphics are basically the same as the previous game, but there are plenty of new powers and obstacles to check out.

Get ready for a fun puzzle platformer created by the award-winning studio Ravenous Games. As the Gravity Duck you will travel across 4 islands with unique mechanics while flipping gravity to help you reach the end of the level. Do this while avoiding obstacles in this silly puzzle platforming game.

  • Flip gravity and walk on walls / ceilings
  • Unique abilities for each island - Jump, Float, Teleport and Phasing
  • Collect rubber ducks to buy hats
  • 80 Levels in 4 environments
  • Tricky puzzles
  • Google Play Games Achievements
  • Cloud Saves
[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-idC0DDr2Y[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.noodlecake.gravityduckislands[/EMBED_APP]

Super Gridland

Here's another swapping match-three game, but this time with a unique hook: resource gathering. Match up the various frontier-themed elements in the grid, like earth, stone, crops, and timber, to get enough offense or defense to survive the night as wild animals attack. It's an interesting twist on the tired formula, and it's only a buck fifty with no ads or in-app purchases.

No in-app purches, and no ads. The unique and challenging match-3 survival RPG comes to Android. Match tiles to collect resources while the daylight lasts. When night falls, the same tiles call bloodthirsty monsters to your meagre village. What else might be found in these lands?

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.doublespeakgames.gridland[/EMBED_APP]

Brave Train

Who would have thought that decades after Nokia put it on the mobile map, people would still be iterating on good old Snake? Brave Train does so, giving the basic setup a locomotive makeover and an isometric perspective. Grabbing different "dots" adds new cars to your train, and in a unique addition to the idea, players have the option to remove them and make better combos. IAP goes up to five bucks.

Help the brave train to collect the scattered multi-colored wagons. Three in a row of the same colors of the wagons will remove from the train all wagons of that color. Dropping out bonuses make the gameplay more fun. Get the coins collected for wagons, perform a variety of quests, buy new locomotives. In addition to wagons and bonuses on the field are also drop puzzle pieces. Collect them with train and compose images. For the collected puzzles get unique locomotives.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.artworkgames.BraveTrain[/EMBED_APP]

Indefinite 2: Love

Indefinite 2 is... well, it's kind of unlike anything else. It's essentially a dating sim, but with no visuals to speak of - you can only get a feel for your potential suitors through basic conversations, and there's an element of Memory in there at the same time. Try it if you'd like a text-focused experience with some surprising depth. It's free with $2 in-app purchases.

What is Indefinite? Ultra realistic dating sim? Intense memory game? Post-apocalyptic interactive fiction? Or poignant and heart-wrenching drama? Indefinite is Indefinite. It doesn't fit into any genre. What in love's name do I do? Search for love by having surreal conversations with dates, business prospects, family, friends, and more. To impress them, you'll have to answer their questions before the time runs out. Don't get caught lying or you'll be met with rejection...or worse.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.me.brandlibel.indefinite2[/EMBED_APP]

Save Dash

Despite the isometric perspective and appealing graphics, Save Dash is in fact a one-lane runner. It also takes a perverse delight in dismembering the cutesy player character in gruesome Tarantino fashion, so consider yourself warned. The visuals and one-button gameplay should be enough to tide most players over, but there's nothing here we haven't seen before. The game is free with IAP that tops out at $2.50.

Save Dash is a simple one touch running arcade game. Challenge yourself in one of the most addictive and challenging arcade games on Google Play. All you need to do is jump through 12 different sectors and save a small creature called Dash.

  • 10 unique sectors
  • 2 bonus sectors
  • 3 difficulty levels: Normal, Hard and Insane
  • 11 different ways how Dash can die
[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6c8wEA9FpM[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.www10ravens.dash[/EMBED_APP]

Tentis Puzzle

Tentis Puzzle shares a lot of elements with games like Threes. But in contrast to the endlessly-iterated sliding number puzzle, this one is a little less random and a little more directional, as players can combine multiple tiles at once that needn't be adjacent to one another. It's sort of like a long chain jump in Checkers, only with extra math. It's free, with ads and in-app purchases that don't exceed $9.

A completely different addition to the collection of match 3 games: a brain training number matching puzzle game. Tentis is not a traditional match 3 game. Tentis challenges you to ☆THINK☆. Nothing is better than a good puzzle solved with the force of your BRAIN. Do you have what it takes? Add the Numbers and Match away. Tentis takes the classic match 3 formula and transforms it completely with a new very simple mechanic: math. No more candy or jewel swapping, add Happy Numbers instead.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS1NkO69EAo[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ohbeautifulbrains.tentis[/EMBED_APP]

BREAKFINITY

Breakfinity takes the basic concept of Breakout and adds a tiny bit of scrolling, making the brick-breaking stages infinite. The premise is simple, but fans of the original game should be thrilled with the never-ending setup broken up with periodic boss battles. The game is free with IAP that goes up to $10.

An all new brick smashing game with some crazy twists. Break your way through to escape to the next level before the wall crushes you. Insane bosses every 5th level. It's an infinite challenge.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHeD9Yoy6lE[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.galcon.breakfinity[/EMBED_APP]

Collect or Die

Collect Or Die is a platforming game which, let's face it, takes place entirely within those warning posters from Portal. The setting's inspiration is clear, but the gameplay is less about puzzles and more about perfectly-timed plaforming a la Super Meat Boy. It's $2 with no in-app purchases, which is not bad at all for 40 levels and some stylish presentation.

Welcome test subject and thank you for volunteering to the 'Collect or Die' science program. As a volunteer we would like to invite you to our technology & learning centre where you can enjoy tea and cake before taking on some light physical and mental testing. Please note that although fun and learning are the primary goals of the test program, serious injury may occur. To ensure the safety of test subjects all progress will be monitored via our state of the art CCTV and VHS recording equipment.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFEE0iVG9yc[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.supersmithbros.collectordie[/EMBED_APP]

games-02

randomhack

Randomhack is a minimalist roguelike, in more ways than one. The top-down interface and Atari-grade graphics make for a game that can be played with one hand and without twitchy skills. The 50-level tower has only a handful of weapons and enemy types and just one boss across its randomized levels. It's a decent way to dive into the genre without too much difficulty, and it's just a buck with no IAP.

Do you love roguelikes but think they're just too hard? This one is for you. With a streamlined interface made for touchscreens, randomhack is a great experience you can pull out any time for a quick game. Uncover the mysteries of the world from scrolls you'll find - The wisdom contained in the scrolls you uncover will be permanently unlocked even if you die. Quit at any time and continue where you left off. You will only need to start over if you die.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=se.remar.rhack.android[/EMBED_APP]

Owen's Odyssey : Dark Castle

Owen's Odyssey is a fairly standard minimalist auto-runner platformer. The slow pace and simple graphics recall some of the pre-NES days of the genre, but there's plenty of challenge to be found in the 40 stages. The player character jumps and falls slowly thanks to a Calvin & Hobbes-style propeller beanie. It's free with no in-app purchases.

Owen’s Odyssey is the story of a boy, while on a journey, taking refuge from a storm in a dangerous place – Castle Pookapick. A castle where spikes, saws, fire, falling rocks, lava and creatures try and end him. It’s a bad place to take refuge. It’s okay though. He can float past dangers using his trusty propeller hat.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Smp49cnCHLg[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stencyl.owenfree[/EMBED_APP]

Hyperlight EX

Hyperlight EX is a top-down shooter, without the shooting. The game field looks a lot like Geometry Wars, but with no guns you'll have to physically move over enemies to clear them or activate environmental features. The game's perspective shifts as the ship goes around the stage, as if the player is looking at a huge arcade cabinet screen. It's $3 with no in-app purchases, which unlocks several different game modes and 50 stages.

Hyperlight is an high intensity arcade action game in which you control a spaceship that fights against hordes of evil alien monsters in a virtual cosmic environment. Your spaceship has a special capability: it can travel at a Faster Than Light speed (F.T.L.) becoming itself the final weapon. By colliding with enemies in this state the ship can instantly destroy everything it touches.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.CatfishBlues.HyperlightEX[/EMBED_APP]

Dead And Again

Dead And Again is a twitchy little combat game that's all about perfect timing. Zombies come from both directions in constant waves, and players must perfectly time strikes to either the left or the right to avoid damage. Different types of weapons and a variety of background stages can be unlocked. The game is in "unreleased" beta at the moment, but it's free with no IAP.

Will you dare to take on the challenge of Dead and Again ? Test your dexterity, fight zombies as quickly as possible and explode all records. But, be careful, only one mistake, and that's the end.

  • Optimized with no downtime ;
  • An ultra addictive arcade game ;
  • A lot of of scenery, characters and weapons to unlock ;
  • Playable on all devices.
[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=laubak.game.dead.and.again[/EMBED_APP]

Drifting School Bus

This endless runner (driver, whatever) shows a shocking disregard for the safety of both auto riders and pedestrians. But who cares, it shows a big school bus drifting down the street like some exotic import car. The one-side-or-the-other gameplay is pretty standard, but the simple 3D graphics are hilarious, especially as the driver does donuts to drop kids off. The game is free with ads and in-app purchases up to $3.

Hey, have you had enough of boring days? Drift with the school bus, pick up the kids on your way to the school, drop them off, and cause chaos in between. The kids will love it too, they laugh and scream while you drift across streets from left to right. Who cares about the ordinary yellow school bus, anyway? Collect all the funny buses you've never seen before - drive with the rock ’n’ roll bus, get a redneck tractor bus, a double-decker from the streets of London.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.invictus.driftingschoolbus[/EMBED_APP]

Diagonal Hell

This kind of tap-and-release twitch game isn't exactly unprecedented, and neither are the silhouette visuals. That said, the breakneck pace and quick reset in Diagonal Hell do appeal to fans of this very specific style: tap to go one way, release to go the other, try not to die. It's also free with no in-app purchases, which is always a plus.

Rush. Crash. Repeat. Run fast across twisted paths and survive as long as you can. You’ll have to avoid triangular obstacles while flying at full speed in order to stay alive. So be ready, because everything could fall down in a fraction of a second. Rush. And check your reflexes through six difficulty levels, each faster than the previous one. Compete to get to the top of the leaderboard as you gain impressive achievements and run across colorful, electronic levels.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzXCdD132mQ[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.DearViking.DiagonalHell[/EMBED_APP]

Malevolent Machines

Malevolent Machines is a basic runner game: you play a mad scientist whose creations have run amok, and pretty much all you have to do is swipe in time as they appear in front of you. The odd jumping or sliding to avoid obstacles breaks things up, and a special meter can unlock a huge attack from your robot buddy. Some of the pixel art is impressive, but the animation leaves a lot to be desired (unless you really love blocky boob physics). It's $2 with no IAP.

Dr Leyla Green's laboratory has been compromised. Hordes of her malformed creations have been unleashed onto the streets by a mystery menace. Worried that her funding will be cut off if the world is destroyed, Dr. Green sets out to stop them. She'll bring her only remaining creation, the Juggerbot, a giant robotic war machine, on this epic journey. Can she take back the city? Armed with her mystical metacarpal claw and the Juggerbot's nuclear lasers, typhoon missiles and blaster cannon, they will give it their best try.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goodnightgames.malevolentmachines[/EMBED_APP]

I Love Hue

Graphic designers will love this gradient puzzle game. The point is to rearrange the tiles into a perfect gradient map. It's sort of a switching puzzle (no sliding) built just for those with perfect color/spatial awareness. Other modes are unlocked as players progress. (Side note: sorry, this one's going to be more or less impossible for those with colorblindness and similar problems.) I Love Hue is free with $15 in-app purchases.

I Love Hue is a gentle journey into colour and perception. Reorder mosaics of coloured tiles into perfectly ordered spectrums. Lovingly made for players who enjoy beautifully crafted puzzle games - or anyone who needs a few moments of visual tranquility.

  • COLOUR - move each tile to its perfect place within the spectrum
  • HARMONY - create order out of chromatic chaos
  • PERCEPTION - learn to see the smallest difference between similar colours
  • SERENITY - lose yourself in a tranquil world of colour and light
[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNcLCeLsiT0[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zutgames.ilovehue[/EMBED_APP]

Ninja Spinki Challenges!!

This cute collection of minigames pits a "ninja" against various opponents. Different games have different mechanics, though they're all simple taps or swipes, in the vein of collections like Wario Ware. There's nothing particularly vexing about any of it, just a bunch of cute designs and twitchy reactions. The game is free, with advertising but no in-app purchases at the moment.

Ninja is not an easy business. Ninja training is just super hard. 6 different games with lots of challenges. .GEARS and OBOKAIDEM are filing down the most difficult Ninja challenges to you.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dotgears.ninjabounce[/EMBED_APP]

Fill Grid

This simple puzzle game tasks players with filling ever-growing grids with lines. Each dot and its corresponding number indicates how far its line can go up, down, left, or right, and using a combination of all of them and the correct directions is crucial. Right now it's free with in-app purchases.

Fill Grid is original, unique relaxing puzzle game. Your goal is to fill whole grid with lines. Game starts with numbered dots, you have to draw lines using your finger. Every line must start on dot. Number on dot shows how many fields are covered by lines.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nebulabytes.fillgrid[/EMBED_APP]

Skyknights

Skyknights is basically a tower defense game, minus the towers. You control a series of knights that progress across the low-poly stages to fight other knights and golems, guiding their paths and periodically unleashing power-ups. It's a cute little take on the isometric combat idea, with a hands-off approach that should work well on mobile. The game is free with no IAP, but right now it's in unreleased beta.

In the mobile Realtime Strategy Puzzler "Skyknights" you as a player slip in the role of the commander of the Skyknights, a unit of veteran knights. Your duty is to protect the Skykingdom against the terrifying golems and defeat their evil leader, the mysterious alchemist. Fight his minions on different island and travel through several regions of the Skykingdom: from the friendly woods and meadows over dry deserts to icy wastelands.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-vx_e7syaE[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.manatea.skyknights[/EMBED_APP]

Ketchapp Winter Sports

Ketchapp's latest branded sports game has the same basic NES-style mechanics as the last one, but with mostly winterized versions of auto-running. There are only four of them - snowboarding, a ski jump, ice skating, and also some more snowboarding - but the game is free with IAP, including an ad-removal option and currency for upgrades. So. There it is.

Three, two, one… Go. Slide, grind, jump and fly in exciting winter challenges. Ketchapp Winter Sports is a fast-paced arcade game to compete with your friends and worldwide. Collect gems, unlock new gear and get tons of upgrades.

  • Snowboard Flip: Fly high and perform outstanding air-tricks to score additional points.
  • Ski Jump: Accelerate as much as you can and perform the longest ski jump the world has ever seen
  • Ice Skating: Set the new speed records on the ice.
  • Snowboard Slide: Grab your snowboard and beat the rail challenge.
[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ketchapp.wintersports[/EMBED_APP]

Tomb of the Mask

Tomb of the Mask is sort of like Pac-Man 256 on crack. Your super-fast player character can move almost instantly in cardinal directions, grabbing dots along limited paths and avoiding baddies and obstacles as the stage is continuously gobbled up by an encroaching void. It's fast-paced but simple, and the minimal graphics actually help focus on the action at hand rather than simply playing to nostalgia. Very cool, and much cooler than the $50 in-app purchases that mar an otherwise decent experience.

The original mobile hit with over 2,000,000 downloads has finally arrived. Tomb of the Mask is an arcade game, which takes place in an infinite procedurally generated vertical labyrinth. Seeking for adventure you get into a tomb, where you find a strange mask. You wear it and suddenly realize that you can now climb walls - easily and promptly. And that's when all the fun begins.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sK0ujiu2ec[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.happymagenta.fromcore[/EMBED_APP]

RPG Chronus Arc

Kemco, you're kind of exhausting me. Every week you've got another one of these retro-inspired RPGs, and every week it's another familiar-looking anime story with a ton of in-app purchases. Try polygons every once on a while, come ON. I'm running out of ways to say, "here's another Kemco RPG."

The Chronus Fragments are needed to prepare for the Time Rewinding, which only takes place once every 10 years. On their way to the Chronus Shrine to get the Fragments, Loka and his teacher Teth are surrounded by a mysterious man named Geppel and his gang. They demand the Fragments. While Teth plays for time, Loka, the main character, rushes out of the cave on his own to fetch reinforcements. He is successful, but Teth and Geppel are nowhere to be found.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb_5oPiWaWs[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kemco.hitpoint.chronusfree[/EMBED_APP]

Bladebound: hack and slash RPG

The latest hack-and-slash, Diablo-style dungeon crawler to hit Android doesn't seem to have a lot in the way of new ideas, but it does look really good. Players can indulge in some grindy combat to get a ton of loot, upgrading their characters before taking them into the arena for online player-versus-player. Unfortunately, and very much like most Diablo-style games on Android, in-app purchases for currency go up to $46.

Gash your way to glory in an oldschool hack'n'slash RPG. Swipe on the screen to cast powerful spells and defeat your opponents. Destroy the Betrayer's servants in a spectacular style. The first mobile action game in a console quality. Bladebound is a dynamic hack and slash which draws from the best representatives of the genre. Take on the role of the last guardian of the Bladebound Order, who returns after 1.000 years to rout the Betrayer's army and save the Shaterred Lands.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.artifexmundi.balefire[/EMBED_APP]

City of Love: Paris

Here's an odd mixture between a point-and-click adventure and an anime-style dating simulator. The art style (and Parisian setting) are decidedly Western, as is the mystery subplot, but the real point of the game is to get close to a bunch of hunky dudes. As with most similar games, the main storyline branches into multiple paths to encourage replays and unlock all the endings. Strangely the IAP goes up to $45... oh, wait, Ubisoft is the publisher. Now it makes sense.

Dive into an interactive drama where romance, mystery and the Parisian lifestyle combine. Meet colorful characters, build relationships and unravel a mystery shrouding a dangerous secret… YOU are the heroine of your own story and YOU choose how you want to explore the iconic City of Love: discover exquisitely beautiful Parisian locations, make new friends and get to know them better through a wide range of fun activities. Meet, date and flirt with different love interests. And who knows? You might just find true love.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ubisoft.colparis[/EMBED_APP]

Top Gear: Rocket Robin

Wow, so the BBC is getting kinda desperate to keep Top Gear relevant now that Clarkson and company have left for greener pastures, eh?

An Official Top Gear game. Have you got what it takes to launch Rocket Robin and The Stig into space? Adding a whole new meaning to space junk, the Top Gear International Space Producers have hastily prepared launchpads around the world especially for you to pilot iconic Top Gear vehicles as you aim for the stars, or at least try and get off the launch pad.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bbc.rocketrobin&hl=en[/EMBED_APP]

Star Conflict Heroes

Mobile-only RPGs tend to focus on party composition and upgrades over pure tactics. This one is no different, but with its scifi setting your battle characters are ships instead of individual warriors. There's plenty of variety in Star Conflict Heroes' single-player campaign, but the multiplayer aspect will probably be less than balanced for anyone who won't indulge in its $100 in-app purchases.

Command and expand a fleet of spacecraft in Star Conflict Heroes, the sci-fi action RPG. Explore a vast, story-rich universe, acquire new starships and upgrade their unique abilities. Battle pirates, aliens and players in thrilling real-time tactical combat. Assemble a fleet of 32 distinct starships and upgrade them using blueprints, adding rare modules and loot seized in battle.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2zQHYcXXSo[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gaijin.scm[/EMBED_APP]

Moana Island Life

It's odd to see this licensed village builder come out months after the premiere of Moana in the United States. Perhaps Disney more or less gutting their digital game teams has had a detrimental effect on their timekeeping. In any case, here's a harmless little Farmville clone with some Polynesian style from the movie. The only real difference is the themed locations and pets. It has $100 in-app purchases.... which kinda sucks, since the game is aimed at kids by default.

The ocean called you. Create your own magical paradise inspired by Disney’s newest animated film Moana. Join Moana, Maui, and more to create and customize your island, complete quests to earn rewards, and discover the islands of Oceania. Your island adventure awaits.

• Build your village with the help of Moana, Maui, Pua, Heihei, and more.
• Set sail and journey throughout Oceania to discover new islands and people
• Grow and harvest crops, craft tools and objects, and trade with islanders and friends
• Muscle up and take on Maui’s Challenges. Complete special timed quests to win rare rewards
• Collect pets and fill your wildlife sanctuary with baby turtles, dolphins, and more

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.disney.moanaislandlife_goo[/EMBED_APP]

Alien Path

This one's a combination of monster collecting and sliding ice puzzles - think old Zelda and Pokémon dungeons. Different collectible aliens have different sliding mechanics, and powering them up quickly becomes the core mechanic. Well, that and the multiple currencies AND stamina, driving players towards in-app purchases that go up to a frankly offensive $200. Really? REALLY?

Alien Path combines RPG, Puzzle, Path-Planning and Strategy for an out-of-this-world gaming experience. Players must eliminate enemies by cleverly navigating the aliens on a path to destroy the invading robots. Every move counts, so set a path and pave your way to rescuing your planet and eventually the galaxy. Travel from planet to planet as you face of the invading Robots who are hell-bent on destroying all living civilization.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDoIM3QIz00[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appxplore.alienpath[/EMBED_APP]

The Times Table Adventure

Here's a kids game that mixes some basic math instruction with the base builder genre. Players need to answer math problems or play math-themed minigames to unlock new structures and defend against assaulting monsters. It has apparently garnered some praise from the education types, and though it has in-app purchases, they cut off at under $7.

Awarded ‘Best Education Game of 2016’ by The Independent Game Developers Association. Set the stage for math learning success with this delightfully interactive educational app. Kids will have fun learning their maths through a series of interactive times tables mini games. The Times Table Adventure is an immersive and characterful game experience which will engage even the most difficult to reach children, and make learning maths fun.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.strawdogstudios.ttasds[/EMBED_APP]

Ghost Recon® Wildlands HQ

Android Police coverage: Ghost Recon Wildlands HQ, companion app for new Tom Clancy game, arrives on Google Play

Ghost Recon Wildlands is Ubisoft's latest attempt to take its gung-ho military shooter franchise open world. This companion app acts like your digital assistant in the world of the game, enabling communication and inventory management across online parties. There's even a built-in chat application for the game's network. Players can also manage their own digital squadrons from the game, or dive into some of the guerilla war backstory.

Make the difference behind enemy lines with Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon® Wildlands HQ. Be connected to the Wildlands anywhere anytime with the Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon® Wildlands HQ app for Android phones and tablets. All the tools you need to manage your military operations in Bolivian territories are available for you in this personal headquarter.Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon® Wildlands HQ can connect to Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon® Wildlands while you are playing the game.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ubisoft.grwhq[/EMBED_APP]

Know A Worthy New App? Let Us Know!

If you have an application in mind for the next issue of the roundup, feel free to send us an email and let us know.

Important: there are 2 requirements in order for the app to be considered, listed below.

  • the app's launch date has to be no longer than 2 weeks ago
  • it has to be original, ground-breaking, well-reviewed, interesting, fun, etc - the cream of the crop

Now, if and only if the above requirements have been satisfied, fire up an email to this address: oh.no.its.the@androidpolice.com.

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