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Welcome to the roundup of the best Android games that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous week or so. Today's list is broken up into several segments, ranging from best, average, to mediocre. So whether you're looking for the best games of quality or are simply looking for the latest free-to-play gacha titles, you're covered. This week I have a fantastic perspective puzzle game, a Final-Fantasy-theme PUBG clone, and a delightful endless runner. So without further ado, here are the new and notable Android games released during the last week.

If you're looking for older posts, here's where you can find our previous game roundups.

Best Games

Titles that offer fair pricing, enjoyable gameplay, polished interfaces, or are intriguing

Moncage

Android Police coverage: Clever perspective puzzler Moncage is now available on Android

Moncage is a unique puzzle game where you'll align images to solve puzzles. Each side of a cube offers different imagery, and it is through perspective changes while rotating this cube where you can line up some of this imagery to solve the game's puzzles, which is how you advance. The goal is to collect pictures from your solved puzzles, revealing the game's story. The touch controls work well, and while there is no controller support, it's unneeded since this is a game designed around rotating a cube in the middle of your screen, which works best with touch. Best of all, the gameplay is challenging, so you won't beat this in a single sitting. Some thought will be required. All around, Moncage is an excellent premium puzzler for mobile, so don't miss out.

Monetization: $4.99 / no ads / no IAPs

Moncage Developer: X.D. Network
Price: 4.99
4
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Crazy Warriors

Crazy Warriors is a fun little endless runner where scenes change as you advance. So you may start as a superhero shooting baddies, but then you'll transition to a surfer shooting mermaids. These transitions continually happen, and since platforming is involved, you'll have to time your transitions, which can get challenging fast. This is a free release that contains advertisements and in-app purchases, but the only IAP can be used to remove the game's ads ($1.99), which is always appreciated.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs $1.99 apiece

Gaia Project

Gaia Project is a digital adaptation of a physical board game that goes by the same name. This is a game about terraforming, and like most tabletop games, it's complicated. Those experienced in playing the physical game are clearly the target audience, though the game does an okay job teaching the basics. As expected, touch controls are in the mix, and they work well enough, though the UI can feel clunky at times. But like I said, this is a complicated game, so a clunky UI is more than likely unavoidable. Still, if you enjoy the physical version, then you'll get a kick out of this release.

Monetization: $9.99 / no ads / no IAPs

Gaia Project Developer: DIGIDICED
Price: 9.99
4.6
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Average Games

Titles that may not be the best-of-the-best, but still offer fun and interesting mechanics

FFVII The First Soldier

Android Police coverage: That Final Fantasy battle royale shooter you never asked for is out now

Square Enix had the bright idea to create a PUBG clone with a Final Fantasy skin, and the result is Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier. The game itself is fine. It plays like most other battle royales, though Square has added a few tweaks to the typical setup, and so you drop with a melee weapon, and you can battle NPC enemies to earn some extra Gil so that you can upgrade your gear MOBA-style as you play. Performance is fine, though the framerate is capped at 30FPS, and the touch controls work well enough to get some kills while out and about. The monetization is up there, but the store is mainly filled with cosmetics since this is a battle royale. So yeah, if you're looking for a new battle royale to play, Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier offers a brief reprieve from the more popular games, though I doubt it will last long enough to usurp the likes of PUBG or Fortnite.

Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $1.99 - $79.99

Ghostbusters Afterlife: scARe

There's a new Ghostbusters movie, and so this is the tie-in game that serves double duty. One, it's basically an ad for the movie. Two, It's monetized despite the casual gameplay and graphics. This is an augmented reality game, so you'll need good lighting to play (which makes this infuriating to play indoors since it's impossible to scan your surroundings in low lighting), and since there are only two free episodes, you'll have to pay to unlock the rest of the game's content. Five dollars will net you the first season, though that's a big ask for an interactive AR game that doesn't work that great indoors, especially for a game themed around ghosts, who tend to hang out in spooky environments that are rarely lit well. The entire design of this AR game (the fact it needs lots of lighting) is counterintuitive to the spooky theme of Ghostbusters. Luckily playing outdoors is much more manageable.

Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs $0.99 - $4.99

JUMANJI: The Curse Returns

Now that we've taken a look at a low-effort Ghostbuster tie-in, it's time to check out another branded release. As you can guess, this game is themed around the movie Jumanji, but not the new ones. Oh no, this is a game themed around the 1995 movie, like it's actually based on that 26-year old film, which sure is odd. At its core, this is a multiplayer board game for up to four players, available for $3. Sadly you only get a taste of content for that $3, as the goal of this release is to sell the expansion pass, which is $27.99 (yes, you read that right). Well, they are selling the promise of expanded content; it doesn't yet exist. And that's exactly why this game is in the average section, the monetization feels scummy, and the provided content is paper-thin. The mixed reviews on Steam aren't wrong. The game is boring.

Monetization: $2.99 / no ads / IAPs $27.99 apiece

HeroQuest - Companion App

This is a companion app for HeroQuest, a physical board game from Hasbro. So even though this app isn't a game, it is used to play one. Essentially this app functions as the dungeon master, which means you can expect narrated quest instructions, sound effects, and a general dungeon atmosphere piped through you're phone's/tablet's speakers. There's even a tutorial for new players, which I could have used when I was a kid when I originally tried playing back in the 1990s. So if you're looking to get into the new physical version of HeroQuest, then you should definitely consider installing this companion app.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

HeroQuest - Companion App Developer: Hasbro Inc.
Price: Free
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Mediocre Games

Titles that are buggy, unpolished, or offer aggressive monetization

Kumu's Adventure

Newland Canada has two very similar games this week, and both are in early access. The first is called Kumu's Adventure, and it's a roguelite RPG that offers turn-based tactical combat. Sadly the game follows the mechanics of every other free-to-play RPG, which is why there's a focus on base building, though this works through idle gameplay. The game is currently in beta testing, and feedback has been requested, though the current prices on the in-app purchases sure put a damper on this title since money is clearly already a primary goal before the game is even finished. It's also worrying to see the dev working on a different title that looks very similar.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $99.99

Kumu's Arena

Newland Canada's second title in beta this week is Kumu's Arena, and it conspicuously offers similar gameplay to Kumu's Adventure. Instead of the idle base-building gameplay found in Kumu's Adventure, this title focuses more on turn-based tactical combat. Of course, there needs to be a hook to keep people playing and spending money, and so you'll collect heroes in this release. Sadly the game is monetized just as poorly as the last, showing yet again where the developer's priorities lay.

Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $99.99

Pure Sniper: City Gun Shooting

Pure Sniper: City Gun Shooting is the latest release from Miniclip, and just like the rest of its catalog, this is a cash grab. That's why such a generic sniper game is filled with a bunch of in-app purchases and advertisements. Advancement is slow, but of course, you can pay endless sums to acquire the equipment you need, which is the entire point of this release, to suck up your time or money. After all, PvP was included for a reason: to pit free players against paying players so that both will spend more money.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $99.99

Slash & Roll: Live Guild Raids

This is a dice game with a PvP focus, but since it's new and few are playing, you'll mostly play against bots. Add on top that the game controls the dice rolls, and the balancing feels way off. So as a guild-based PvP game, it fails, and then once you take a look at the monetization, it's easy to see why. Gameplay was never the focus; it was always money, and guess what, you have to offer a slice of fun if you expect people to waste money on your skinner box.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from$1.49 - $119.99

WTF Game Of The Week

Titles that make you say "WTF"

Burn'Em'All

You ever have one of those days you feel like burning the world down? No, me either, but I bet there are a few of you sickos out there, and this WTF game is for you. The goal of Burn'Em'All is to, of course, burn everyone in the game, which you'll do by encircling your prey with the fire trail you leave in your wake. It's a simple setup for what is clearly a casual game, but it's the theme here that makes this a perfect WTF release. I mean, really, there's something a little strange about theming a game around burning groups of people alive. Enjoy!

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

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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