About Matthew Sholtz
Matthew is the Games and Apps Editor at Android Police. He's been gaming since his first taste of a TI-99 at four years old. Matthew has been an Android user since the HTC Hero and has covered roundups, reviews, and daily mobile game news for over a decade. He's a person who holds a peculiar yet deep interest in all things to do with handheld gaming and constantly pushes to advance the state of the mobile industry beyond the bounds of its predatory monetization obsession.
Matthew is a furious nitpicker and something of an (albeit amusing) curmudgeon, a writer who can instantly find fault in just about anything, yet he chooses to wield this power for good from the comfort of his armchair to ensure the best Android games and apps aren't lost to obscurity.
Latest Articles
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is the latest entry in the murder-mystery franchise on Android
Bringing a new cast, new motivations, and new murders to solve
Back in 2020, we saw two Danganronpamurder-mystery games released on Android as part of a tenth-anniversary celebration for the quirky visual novels. Of course, the third game was also part of this plan but had been missing in action for the last two years. Well, as of this morning, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is now available on Android, completing the trilogy on the platform.
The RedMagic 7 Pro is going global with its bezel-less edge-to-edge screen
Thanks to an under-display front camera
Each year Nubia launches at least two lines of gaming smartphones within its RedMagic brand, a regular model towards the beginning of the year and a Pro model that follows sometime later. Seeing that the RedMagic 7 Pro was already announced for China back in February, the phone's going global now that the standard RedMagic 7 has been available across the globe since March. Early birds can snag the RedMagic 7 Pro starting today, though the gaming phone will be officially available in the West on April 27th.
New Kingdom Hearts mobile game on the way celebrates 20 years of the series
Closed beta planned for 2022
Square Enix held a 20th-anniversary event for Kingdom Hearts over the weekend and subsequently released a trailer for three games. The first trailer is for Kingdom Hearts Uχ Dark Road, which will be concluding its story this year, and the third trailer reveals Kingdom Hearts 4 is in the works, a mainline entry. These are fine announcements on their own, but the second trailer is why we're here, teasing an all-new mobile game in the franchise, known as Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link. Details are incredibly light, though it looks like an action RPG, and should be entering into closed beta testing in select regions this year.
Atari's latest puzzler is a return to form, now available on Android
It's about damn time
Read update
Atari was once a well-known name in gaming, but at this point, the company is coasting on name recognition alone, floating ideas like hotels and cryptocurrency as new money-making schemes for the brand. Still, games are what people expect from Atari, and it would appear a new title is in the works, co-developer by Atari, and it actually looks pretty good. The game is called Kombinera, and it's a puzzle platformer with simple graphics that indeed looks like a proper Atari game.
Total War: Medieval II is here to deliver massive battles on small screens
It's time to get stabby in the Middle Ages
Last month Total War: Medieval II entered into pre-registration on the Play Store in preparation for its release on April 7th. Seeing that today is April 7th, as promised, Feral Interactive has indeed launched Total War: Medieval II on Android and iOS, bringing its highly-rated strategy gameplay to mobile. Since this is the latest port from Feral, much like previous releases, Total War: Medieval II is a premium port, and starting today, you can snag a copy for $15.
Dead Cells brings The Queen and the Sea DLC to Android for $4
With new biomes, bosses, and weapons
At the tail end of March, we learned that Dead Cells' latest DLC, The Queen and the Sea, would launch on Android on April 7th. Well, that day is today, and so this DLC is now available, just as promised. Much like the previous DLCs for the game,today's release is priced at $3.99 and can be acquired through an in-app purchase. Of course, the content within today's DLC is the star of the show, so fans can expect a bunch of new sea-themed content to explore, including a dilapidated shipwreck and a fiery lighthouse.
Rocket League Sideswipe appropriately enters its third season with a new 3v3 mode
Plus, Rocket Pass rewards for season 2
Back in February, Rocket League Sideswipe's second season landed on Android, bringing causal playlists to the game. Well, it would appear that Psyonix is currently on a bi-monthly cadence, releasing a new season every couple of months, and so season 3 is officially here. Up to this point, 2v2 matches were the primary focus, but today you can finally jump into 3v3 matches with five other players. Along with the addition of a new 3v3 mode, a new arena is in the mix as well as a fresh spectator mode, plus there's a new Rocket Pass for those looking to earn some extra rewards.
Rainbow Six Mobile is a bite-sized version of Siege, coming this year
Why let Call of Duty have all of the fun?
Plenty of shooters have come and gone on mobile over the years, though there's definitely a resurgence thanks to the success of battle royales like PUBG and Fortnite, ushering in a new era of mobile shooting games like Call of Duty Mobile. Seeing that even Electronic Arts is looking to join in on the fun with the eventual arrival of Battlefield on mobile (let's not forget EA is also bringing Apex Legends to mobile this year), it makes sense Ubisoft would also be eager to jump on the money train before it grows stale, and so the studio has just announced that it will bring an exclusive version of Rainbow Six to both Android and iOS in 2022.
The original Angry Birds is back, and it's as great as ever
Yes, it's a premium release
The original Angry Birds dates back to 2009 as an iOS release, and the game was a huge hit thanks to cute graphics and accessible slingshot-based controls. After this breakout success, the game was ported to a multitude of platforms, including Android, and it ran for years receiving new content. Well, thanks to the #BringBack2012 Twitter hashtag campaign, Rovio took note that the preferred rendition of the classic game was the 2012 version, which offered eight Angry Birds episodes (over 390 levels), and so the company has recreated this version for modern devices, known as Rovio Classics: Angry Birds, which is officially available on the Play Store starting today.
PlayStation’s new Xbox Game Pass competitor is missing one of our favorite features
Where's the incentive for non-PlayStation owners?
Game streaming is seemingly here to stay, with just about everyone tossing their hat in the ring to gain early footing. While Stadia and GeForce Now may be the first streaming services that come to mind, Microsoft has diligently built out its own streaming service through its Xbox Cloud Gaming (still in beta) service paired with Xbox Game Pass. So, of course, Sony had to get in on the fun, and even though the company has been trailing behind the competition with PlayStation Now, rumors have been flying about new streaming setup from Sony. Well, today, we finally learned how Sony plans to implement its latest game streaming tech. It will do so by combining its PlayStation Now and Plus services into three tiers of PlayStation Plus, with the last tier offering game streaming across PS4, PS5, and PC, though mobile support is noticeably absent.
Samurai Shodown slices its way onto Android to put your fighting skills to the test
Plus a summary of the week's gaming news, and a few honorable mentions to round things out
We here at AP round up the best Android games each and every week so that everyone can dig into the best releases of the week, and this always includes a standout title, along with a handful of honorable mentions and a summary of the week's mobile gaming news. Our standout this week is Samurai Shodown, a classic Neo Geo fighting game that's still great today. Below the best game of the week, you can find a summary of the week's gaming news, and it was a busy week with tons of interesting happenings. Of course, at the bottom of today's roundup, you'll find a healthy list of honorable mentions that should suit a range of gamers. So if you're on the hunt for the best games released this week, you've come to the right place.
Go adventuring in Titan Quest and Balders Gate 2 with this weekend's sales
46 of the week's best Android app and game sales
It's Friday, everyone, which means it's almost the weekend, so it's time to check out the best Android app sales and the best Android game sales from the past week to get everyone prepped for the weekend. Of course, I have a few standouts to share with everyone. First up is Botanicula, an excellent adventure game from Amanita Design. Next, I have Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition, which is one of the best CRPGs ever made. Last but not least, Titan Quest: Legendary Edition is a fantastic ARPG that's complete with all DLC. As always, I've highlighted all of the interesting titles in bold in order to make discovery easier. So dig in, and enjoy!
The new Stratus+ controller from SteelSeries gets the GeForce Now thumbs up
That's right, it's GFN Thursday
One of the best controllers on Android has just gotten a little better. The SteelSeries Stratus Duo is our Editor's Choice here at AP, and SteelSeries has just updated the Stratus Duo, now called the Stratus+, and just like its predecessor, the Stratus+ is part of the GeForce Now Recommended program, so says Nvidia in its weekly GFN Thursday announcement. While much hasn't changed between the Stratus Duo and the Stratus+, gamers can expect the phone clip to now ship in the box (it used to be a separate purchase), with a fresh redesign to the clip that makes it easier to attach to the controller and smartphone.
There's a new The Bard's Tale game on Android, and you play it with your voice
But something's not working right
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The Bard's Tale is a classic RPG from 2004 that made its way to Android as a port in 2012, published by its creators, inXile entertainment. Sadly the game hasn't been updated since 2015, but there's a brand new The Bard's Tale that just popped up on the Play Store, published by Wanderword, and it's called The Bard's Tale – Warlocks of Largefearn. You may have heard of this game as it was initially released on smart speakers as a voice-controlled game. Well, graphics have been added to the title, and so it's now available on the Google Play Store as a legit mobile game.
RedMagic 7 review: It won't get heated, but you might
Crushes games and your spirits
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Nubia isn’t well-known in the US, but it’s been pushing out new gaming phones each year under its RedMagic brand, and the RedMagic 7 is the newest offering from the company. It packs the latest Snapdragon along with tons of RAM and the phone’s signature internal cooling fan, going toe-to-toe against giants at a fraction of the price.
Disney Mirrorverse is a visually impressive RPG now available for pre-registration
In case Kingdom Hearts isn't emo enough for you
Kabam, the developer behind Marvel Contest of Champions and Transformers: Forged to Fight has a fresh game available for pre-registration on the Play Store, and it's a Disney game themed around the Mirrorverse. As you would imagine, this divergent Disney universe allows Disney and Pixar characters to deviate from their traditional lore, which is precisely how you create a collectible gacha game where every character is empowered to fight against the evil force known as the Fractured. This game is known as Disney Mirrorverse, and it's coming to mobile in June, with pre-registration starting today.
Dead Cells newest DLC The Queen and the Sea is coming to mobile soon
A new training mode and collectible outfits are also incoming
Late last year the Android version of Dead Cells saw the release of Fatal Falls DLC, bringing new biomes, monsters, and weapons to the game. This was the second DLC to launch for the roguelike platformer in the same year, so it's no surprise to learn more DLC is incoming, known as The Queen and the Sea. Well, as of today it's official, this upcoming DLC will launch on April 7th for $3.99, and this time around you'll slice and dice your way through a dilapidated shipwreck and a fiery lighthouse.
Dragalia Lost's last update is this month — servers closing at a later date
The final campaign ends in July
The impermanence of mobile games is frightfully apparent whenever titles less than five years old are shut down at random. The latest title gearing up to join the mobile gaming graveyard is Nintendo's gacha game Dragalia Lost. The RPG initially landed on mobile back in 2018, offering bite-sized action-RPG combat. Well, seeing that the game is now four years old, the player base has dwindled to the point it's no longer profitable for Nintendo to keep the game running. Cue today's announcement that Dragalia Lost's last campaign begins on March 31st, concluding this July, with the game's end date still up in the air but coming all the same.
When the Past was Around brings its whimsical adventure gameplay to Android
Plus a summary of the week's gaming news, and a few honorable mentions to round things out
Each week we here at AP round up the best Android games to report our findings so that everyone can enjoy the week's best releases. This week our standout title is When the Past was Around, an enjoyable point-and-click adventure game that offers a sincere story of youth. Beyond the best game, you can dig through the week's gaming news in the Happenings section, plus there's a handful of new releases below that fill out our Honorable Mentions section to round out today's listicle. So if you're constantly on the hunt for the best new games that are landing on mobile each and every week, you've come to the right place.
Baba Is You, The House of Da Vinci 2, and Siege of Dragonspear are discounted for the weekend
63 of the week's best Android app and game sales
Every Friday, we here at AP dig into the best Android app sales and the best Android game sales from the past week, all to get everyone prepped for the weekend. Our first standout sale is for the game Baba is You, a mind-bending puzzler that shouldn't be missed. Next is a discount on The House of Da Vinci 2, an excellent escape room game. Last but not least is a sale for Siege of Dragonspear, a superb stand-alone expansion pack for the Baldur's Gate series. As always, I've highlighted all of the interesting titles in bold in order to make discovery easier. So without further ado, here are the best temporarily free and on-sale apps and games for the weekend.