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 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 director's cut of a fantastic point and click adventure, a new release from Niantic that offers a Pikmin theme, and a storybook adventure that offers several different endings. So without further ado, here are the new and notable Android games released during the last week.
Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.
Best Games
Titles that offer fair pricing, enjoyable gameplay, polished interfaces, or are intriguing
Kathy Rain: Director's Cut
Android Police coverage: The best Android adventure game you never heard of receives a director's cut
Kathy Rain: Director's Cut is a remaster of the 2016 point-and-click adventure game. The original offers 4:3 backgrounds, so it looked pretty dated. Thanks to this new version, backgrounds are now 16:9, plus there's new content, new dialog, and a new ending. This way, those that beat the game in the past have something new to look forward to. Controller support is in the mix, and this is a premium release, which means once you pay, you are free to enjoy the game in its entirety. All around, this is an excellent release that offers all of the features gamers expect while polishing the original title so that it looks great on modern devices.
Monetization: $4.99 / no ads / no IAPs
Plan B from Outer Space
Adventure games sure are popular on mobile, probably because the gameplay lends itself well to touchscreens. Plan B from Outer Space is a fresh adventure game that plays out like a choose-your-own-adventure book, with graphics that offer a design themed around an interactive book. The story will see you exploring Earth as an alien as you attempt to escape the planet. Your choices are yours to make, and they will affect gameplay, with multiple endings available for those who want to explore every possible decision available. So if you're big into storybook adventure games with a heavy lean on choosing the path of your adventure, then Plan B from Outer Space is a solid option this week.
Monetization: $5.99 / no ads / no IAPs
Jessika
Somehow full-motion video games have had a bit of a resurgence on mobile. Back in the day, FMV was used because graphics simply weren't up to snuff, but those days are long gone. So it's surprising to see new FMV games on the Play Store, although they do suit the hardware well. This particular release functions a lot like a lost phone game, but instead of investigating someone through their phone, you'll connect to their home database to explore their content in the search for clues, so think of the game as a choose your own adventure that offers a bunch of FMVs. This is a premium release that should last players a little over 2-hours for their first playthrough.
Monetization: $5.99 / no ads / no IAPs
Click Your Poison: INFECTED
Click Your Poison: INFECTED is a narrative adventure, an interactive audiobook if you will. As you can imagine, this is a game filled with frights, offering over 13 hours of voiced gameplay. There's an incredible 50+ possible endings, which means multiple playthroughs are totally on the table. More or less, this is a voiced choose your own adventure that offers tons of different endings, plus the horror theme makes this a fitting release to play on Halloween day.
Monetization: $5.49 / no ads / no IAPs
Amnesic spirits
Amnesic spirits is described as a Souls-like, a tough-as-nails 2D platformer that offers a few RPG mechanics. The graphics are pretty simple and stiff, taking advantage of a popular design language where a black color is used instead of textures. Luckily the game is plenty fun despite these iffy graphics, so if you're looking for something that's super challenging this week, Amnesic spirits is a fine choice if graphics aren't your primary concern.
Monetization: $3.99 / no ads / no IAPs
Average Games
Titles that may not be the best-of-the-best, but still offer fun and interesting mechanics
Pikmin Bloom
Android Police coverage: Pikmin Bloom’s global rollout has reached the US and Canada
Niantic is best known for Pokémon GO, a popular free-to-play augmented reality collection game. Seeing that Niantic has built a platform around AR tech, it's no surprise to see a new release from the company that also takes advantage of this platform. This game is called Pikmin Bloom, and it's basically a pedometer game, where you'll walk around a real-world map in an effort to grow Pikimin by making flowers bloom. It's a simple game lacking content, and the monetization isn't great, but you can still walk and play for free, and since there isn't much content, it isn't like you'll get left behind, at least not yet.
Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $99.99
Takeaway Coming
Takeaway Coming is a simple casual game where you'll plan the routes of a delivery boy in order to deliver food as quickly and efficiently as possible. You'll plan these routes on a Google Maps-like map to then watch as they play out, and the weather has an effect, just like in real life. For a free ad-based game, there is some fun to be had. Just keep in mind this is a causal release donning simple graphics, best played in short bursts in your downtime.
Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs
Magic Battle: Merge Random Cards
This is not the first merge-based roguelike I've seen, and I doubt it will be my last. Magic Battle: Merge Random Cards is precisely that, a game where you'll merge cards to build powerful moves that will defeat your ever-increasing enemies. So, of course, there is a PvP mode to push players towards the game's in-app purchases, and there's even a VIP system. Luckily the game's IAPs aren't that expensive, though it can be difficult to ignore the blatant balancing against the player. If you can easily ignore IAPs, there is some fun to be had combining cards, but even this will grow stale with time.
Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $11.99
Combat Master Online FPS
Combat Master is a first-person shooter, in the same vein as Call of Duty, but unlike Activision's game, this title isn't monetized to the hilt. Sure, in-app purchases still exist in this release, but they are easier to ignore, and since the gameplay is solid, there is some fun to be had here. The game is fast-paced, and there aren't any bots. You actually play against real people. So while this is a blatant clone, it actually has a few redeeming features. So if you're into shooters, you may want to check out Combat Master.
Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $19.99 - $39.99
Mediocre Games
Titles that are buggy, unpolished, or offer aggressive monetization
SLIME - ISEKAI Memories
Slime - Isekai Memories is RPG-themed around the anime/manga That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. Seeing the Bandai Namco offers a boatload of branded anime-themed games, it's no surprise to see a new release that fits the studio's typical mold. As an RPG, the gameplay feels flat, uninspired. Then again, if you're looking for That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime content, then you may want to play, but the game still boils down to a boring highly-monetized team-based RPG that plays like all of the other free-to-play team-based RPGs. If you're not here for the story that follows along with the show's first season, you'll probably be disappointed with the stale gameplay.
Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $79.99
Avabel Classic
We've apparently reached a point that older mobile MMORPGs are receiving remasters, and Avabel Classic is one of those games. Sadly things aren't quite what they used to be, as there is a much heavier emphasis on monetization this time around, and it's much more challenging to level up. So it would seem things have been rebalanced so the developer earns more money while annoying players, which means this is an awful remaster since it eschews the very things that made the first beloved. You can't turn a classic into a cash grab without the hardcore players noticing.
Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $89.99
Frenzy Production Manager
There are many management games available on Android, probably because this genre works well with touchscreens. Frenzy Production Manager is the latest management sim to land on the Play Store. You'll lead an assembly business from the ground up, as this is a typical tycoon game, and since it's free-to-play, the game isn't balanced very well. Coin packs cost too much, even removing the game's ads costs too much, and since you gain money slowly, it's easy to see this release is balanced towards pushing people into spending money. So seeing that this is a genre with some stiff competition out there, there are much better games available that aren't tuned so greedily.
Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $99.99
Royal Knight Tales
What would the Play Store be without a boatload of low-quality anime MMOs? Honestly, I can't even imagine as the store has been so bad for so long. It's all but useless outside of pushing the worst games so Google can make some easy money. As you can guess, this rant is building up to reveal Royal Knight Tales, yet another bland anime MMO that plays itself. It's no better than an idle game, and of course, it's monetized to the hilt. Balancing is also horrible, so a fat wallet is a prerequisite if you want to advance, which is precisely why this game is in the mediocre section.
Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $99.99
War Alliance - PvP Royale
War Alliance - Realtime Multiplayer War is the latest generic Clash Royale clone to pop up on the Play Store. As expected from a game of this caliber, it's filled with in-app purchases, and it's also highly buggy. Yep, the devs monetized this title before ensuring it even works correctly, which shows their intentions clear as day. This is a cash grab that brings nothing new to the table, so it is best skipped unless you're a die-hard mobile strategy fanatic.
Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $99.99
Skip-Bo
Mattel must have run out of properties to translate into mobile games, as there are hundreds of versions of Skip-Bo already available on the Play Store. Still, I suppose a release from the owner of the actual game is warranted, though Skip-Bo contains $100 in-app purchases, and last I looked, the physical card game never required such idiocy. Seeing that this is a competitive online game, it's not hard to guess why those IAPs exist. You'll also have to pony up some cash when you want to play after you've run out of coins, which happens frequently. Much like an illicit drug dealer, a taste is free, but you better open your wallet if you wish to continue. Thanks, Mattel.
Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $1.99 - $99.99
Heroes of the Dark
Gameloft is a studio that used to make its money by copying popular console games for mobile and then selling them as premium mobile releases at a single price point. Those days are long gone, and now the studio spends its time ripping off popular mobile games, and so Heroes of the Dark is the latest effort from the studio, a bland team-based RPG that also offers base-building mechanics and PvP Clash-of-Clans-style map conquering. It's a bunch of popular mobile mechanics stuffed into one game, and it stinks. This is also a gacha game filled with timers and multiple currencies. It's everything that's wrong with mobile gaming, which is fitting for a modern Gameloft release.
Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $99.99
Vainglory All Stars
You'd think with the Vainglory name behind this title the developers would have tried harder, but so far, the game is being ripped apart in reviews, and for a good reason. This is a blatant Clash Royale clone, and the controls stink. Overall, the gameplay feels bland, no matter the mode of play. Combine this with the inadequate controls and moves that don't feel responsive, and everyone is having a horrible time with this release, hence the extremely low 1.9-star rating.
Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $1.99 - $99.99
WTF Game Of The Week
Makeover Race
Thanks to how lazy many game devs are, there's a plethora of low-quality titles that tend to offer odd themes. Makeover Race is one of those games. This is a title where you'll slap your face on a moving counter in order to paint it with makeup, all while avoiding things like mud and roaches. It's a simple tapping game, but the animations (or the lack thereof) are absolutely bonkers in that you literally slap your face on a counter repeatedly. Sure, the game stinks, and the gameplay is awful, yet the animations and theme have WTF written all over this title. Enjoy!
Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs
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