Welcome to the roundup of the newest Android games that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous week or so. Today I have a solid F2P platformer, the latest Auto Chess clone, and a fantastic puzzler all about plugging in chips, pushing blocks, stepping on switches, and rotating walls. So without further ado, here are the more notable Android games released during the week of February 3rd, 2020.
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Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.
Games
Cookies Must Die
Android Police coverage: Cookies Must Die is a free-to-play platformer that's actually worth playing
Cookies Must Die is a quality platformer that contains superb controls, beautiful art, and an amusing story. You'll fill the role a government agent tasked with taking down evil anthropomorphic cookies. Movement is entirely slingshot-based, and when choosing your direction, the game's time slows down, allowing for quick and responsive action. The idea is that you will have to slingshot through your enemies in search of each level's key. After five levels, you'll have to contend with a boss fight, and should you win, you'll move on to the next chapter.
Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $1.49 - $64.99
Might & Magic: Chess Royale
Android Police coverage: Ubisoft jumps into the auto battle genre with Might & Magic: Chess Royale (Update: Out now)
Might & Magic: Chess Royale is the latest auto chess clone to arrive on the Play Store, and this one comes from Ubisoft, because why let mobile devs rake in cash with their low-effort clones when you can push one out yourself. As expected, the game is in a rough spot despite its official release, thanks to unbalanced units, a horrible UI, and a brief tutorial that does little to explain the game's complicated mechanics. You'd think with Ubisoft's money, the company could produce something a little more polished. But then again, this is a Ubisoft release we are talking about, so it's not really a surprise to see that the company has no qualms pushing out unfinished software.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs (yet)
Circuit Dude
Circuit Dude is an enjoyable puzzle game that recently made its way from PC to Android. As it stands, the title has many positive reviews on Steam, and I can confirm the game is just as enjoyable on Android as it is on PC. Circuit Dude's touch controls work well, and since 4-way inputs are all that's necessary to move around, the default swipe controls are fairly intuitive, but if you prefer a static d-pad on the screen, the dev just added this feature in an update. The game itself plays like a Sokoban title on steroids, so expect to spend your time flipping floor switches and stomping on buttons in order to unlock the path to complete each level. Really, my only gripe is that the game does not fill the entire screen on my OP 7 Pro and is instead pillarboxed, but this is a small issue that hardly ruins what is otherwise an excellent puzzler.
Monetization: $2.99 / no ads / no IAPs
SEN: Seven Eight Nine
SEN: Seven Eight Nine is a minimal and relaxing puzzle game that's built around the mechanics of recognizing patterns of numbers, colors, and shapes. What's interesting about this release is that the rules of the game are never explained, and so each player will have to figure things out as they play, and this is by design. So not only will this design choice allow for a thrill as you figure out the rules for yourself, it makes for a unique experience, which is a rare occurrence in the mobile gaming world. So make sure you don't miss out.
Monetization: $3.99 / no ads / no IAPs
Star Pirates Mobile
Ever since EVE: Echoes was announced for mobile, there's been a clear uptick in space-themed MMOs arriving on the Play Store. Star Pirates Mobile is one such release, but it also appears to be an existing web-based game, not that its website actually explains anything about it. But I suppose that's my job, and so players will get to enter into a universe where they'll raid, bomb, and trade with other Star Pirates as they customize their ship to ensure their survival.
Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs
Idle Port
Idle Port is just that, and idle game themed around a shipping port. It would seem devs are running out of fresh ideas to skin their idle games with, and so we've turned a new corner where a shipping port is about as exciting as it gets. Much like every other idle game out there, you'll grow your numbers by incrementally improving your stats by purchasing new equipment, and the higher your numbers grow, the more upgrades you'll be able to purchase.
Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs
Physics Puzzle Idle
Physics Puzzle Idle is yet another idle game in our roundup this week, and just like Idle Port above, this is a game where you'll grow your numbers by purchasing upgrades for your equipment, but this time the theme is centered around building a Rube Goldberg machine. The better your equipment, the more money you will earn, which means you'll be able to improve your equipment further to earn even more money.
Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs
Bottle Smash!
Bottle Smash may not offer impressive graphics, but what it does offer is a ton of fun by allowing players to break an endless amount of bottles in a puzzle-like experience. The gameplay is entirely physics-based, and in order to get three stars in each of the game's levels, you'll have to put your aim to the test as you try to break every bottle in as few moves as possible.
Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs
Uncake
Uncake is a casual game all about timing. Things start off fairly easy. In the middle of your screen, you'll find a cake that's missing a few pieces. It's up to you to fling pieces back into these empty slots, and timing is key. There are 20 types of cake to discover, though I'm not too sure why that's a big draw. I mean, I never once said to myself "gee, I hope I get to see a new type of cake soon" as I was playing, but maybe I'm not enough of a fan of cake to care. I guess this one is for all you foodies out there.
Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs
Roll a Ball - Fun game
Roll a Ball is a simple game. Rolling a ball from one platform to the next is all that you are tasked to do, to see just how many platforms you can move to before you accidentally fall to your death. Thanks to the game's one-thumb controls, you'll move your thumb on the screen to alter the position of each platform, all to get the ball to fall from one platform to the next. So yes, this is an extremely simple release, but it's actually pretty fun if you're looking for something that's casual.
Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs
Veritas Demo
Veritas Demo comes from Glitch Games, the creators of the Forever Lost trilogy, and as you would expect, this adventure game is indeed a demo. Ideally, the full version for Veritas should be coming soon, but until then, this demo will serve as a quick look at what to expect from the full title once the narrative-based puzzle is released in full. Best of all, since this release serves as a demo, it's free to play. So if you're eager to check out what Glitch Games has been working on, then you're going to want to check out Veritas Demo.
Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs
RogueJack--a Roguelike Blackjack Adventure
RogueJack is a unique roguelike that mixes together the fun of blackjack with the gameplay of an RPG. Essentially this is a dungeon exploration game, and when you happen across an enemy, instead of smashing them over the head, you'll play a quick round of blackjack. There's a total of 52 floors to explore, and as you beat your enemies, you'll unlock new weapons and defenses. Oh, and each floor of the dungeon offers different blackjack mechanics, which keeps the game's battles fresh throughout the experience.
Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs $1.99 a piece
Eureka – Are you up to the challenge?
Eureka offers a mini-game collection with over 50 games available. These games require logic, memory, creativity, speed, reflex, and focus, so are mainly puzzles that will have to be tackled one after the one. Essentially Eureka is a game filled with brainteasers, and since each game plays different from the last, there's no need to worry about things growing stale as you work your way through the title.
Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs $1.99 a piece
Rogue Grinders: Roguelike Dungeon RPG
Rogue Grinders is a dungeon-crawling roguelike with an emphasis on hero collection. In the in-game world, dungeons cover the land, so that means it's your job to explore them while also making an effort to unlock new heroes. Each pixel dungeon is packed with challenging monsters, and you can also engage in loads of boss battles to ensure that you won't get too tired of any one type of gameplay element. So while this is a title we covered two years ago when it first arrived as a beta release, it would appear that Rogue Grinders is now officially available for all to enjoy.
Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $6.99
The Elder's Quest: Melee & Text RPG (Offline)
The Elder's Quest: Melee & Text RPG is an offline RPG that just entered into early access this week. As you would expect, this is a text-based affair, and it's built around a solid story. Mainly the game plays like a tabletop experience, though there are some slick animations that liven things up. More or less, you'll have to move your character as though they are figurine in a board game, and this setup works well for such an ambitious RPG.
Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $2.99 - $8.49
City Tour 2048 : New Age
City Tour 2048 : New Age is a 2048 clone that offers environmentally-based graphics that range from small towns to cities. Just like every other 2048 clone, you'll get to merge items on a grid until you run out of moves, with the purpose of seeing how long you can keep a game going. As you would expect, you'll start off merging small houses, but will eventually work your way up to large buildings like schools and hospitals. So while the gameplay should be familiar, at the very least, the graphical design offers something fresh.
Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $8.49
King Shakir: Istanbul
Apparently, King Shakir is some sort of animated Cartoon Network show, and so King Shakir: Istanbul is the latest branded endless runner to arrive on the Play Store. I mean, at this point, it's clear that most devs have completely run out of ideas when every branded title is either an endless runner, an idle game, or an auto-strategy game. Devs need to come up with new genres to slap their brands on in the mobile gaming world. Honestly, the absence of original ideas on the Play Store is getting pretty ridiculous, and stale games like King Shakir aren't helping.
Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $8.49
Chester's Adventure
Chester's Adventure is a casual puzzle game that offers impressive art as well as a unique gameplay experience. You see, this is a jigsaw puzzler, but it's also a narrative-based experience that tells a story in between the game's many puzzles. Just keep in mind that this is indeed a casual title, so there isn't much of a challenge to be found as you solve the game's puzzles. Still, this is a beautiful release, and it's a great title to play when winding down after a long day of work.
Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $11.99
Bridge Strike™ - childhood shooter
Bridge Strike - childhood shooter pays homage to the classic Atari 2600 game River Raid, but of course, offers modern pixel-based graphics along with a modernized gameplay loop. There's actually two different modes to play through, such as the campaign mode where you'll build up your pilot's rank, and a raid mode where you're tasked with destroying bridges. As you would expect, in-game currency plays a role in unlocking new ships, so expect a grind if you want to see everything this top-down shooter has to offer.
Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $17.99
Mine! Mine! Mine!
Mine! Mine! Mine! offers a unique mixture of Space Invaders and Plants vs. Zombies. When starting a level, you'll get to place a variety of traps on the floor, and once the match begins, enemies will work their way to the top of the screen. These traps will slow down your enemy's efforts as you shoot them to pieces, much like you would when facing off against the aliens in Space Invaders.
Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $1.49 - $41.99
Idle Agents: Evolved
Idle Agents: Evolved is yet another bland idle game that's monetized to the max, so of course, collection mechanics and an assortment of game modes are on offer in this release. Essentially it's packed with stuff to keep players busy as they endless grind in a game they don't even have to actually play to advance. Think of this release as a lesson in menu management, as that's where you'll spend the majority of your time. I mean seriously, this is what passes as a mobile game in 2020 folks. In reality, it's just an endless money pit that never changes.
Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $99.99
Megabot Battle Arena: Build Fighter Robot
Megabot Battle Arena: Build Fighter Robot is a competitive fighting game that's all about building robots. Much like CATS: Crash Arena Turbo Stars, it will be your job to assemble the ultimate robot to take down your enemies. As you play, you'll earn new parts to upgrade your bots, which will, in turn, help to strengthen your team so that you can win more fights. Of course, much like this title's inspiration, this game is filled with in-app purchases, which makes it hard to believe that any of the competition in this title is actually fair for free players, an issue more than a few Play Store reviews have already pointed out.
Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $99.99
Mini Warriors: Three Kingdoms
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Large-group battle games are on the rise, and Mini Warriors: Three Kingdoms is the latest to land on the Play Store. Battles in this game support 25v25 matches, which is pretty big for a mobile game, and each fight takes place in real-time, and there are no auto-mechanics in this release, which means you'll actually have to develop a proper strategy if you'd like to advance. Sadly, the game is monetized poorly, which leaves the gates open for pay-to-win mechanics.
Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $99.99
Stellaris: Galaxy Command, Sci-Fi, space strategy
Stellaris: Galaxy Command comes from Paradox Interactive, but this strategy title doesn't play anything like Paradox's PC games, so don't get your hopes up. This past October, the title entered a limited beta, but fans quickly noticed that the game contained stolen artwork from the Halo series, so it was removed from the Play Store. This week Stellaris: Galaxy Command has returned to Android as an early access release, minus the offending Halo images. Of course, my chief complaint is that the title plays like a reskin of Nova Empire, instead of like a true Paradox release. I also think it's pretty funny that whoever Paradox hired to create Stellaris: Galaxy Command couldn't even clone a successful mobile game like Nova Empire without using stolen images.
Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $99.99
STRIKERS 1945 classic
It would appear that mobirix is taking classic arcade games and adding numerous in-app purchases to the title while calling them "classic." Last week we saw the release of SNOW BROS. classic, and it was clear nothing about the game was improved for mobile play despite the addition of a greedy monetization system. This week's listing for STRIKERS 1945 classic is the same. Nothing about the game has been improved, and yet it's monetized to the hilt. Now maybe it's just me, but I've yet to meet a single SHMUP that's worth a $99.99 in-app purchase.
Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $2.99 - $99.99
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