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 fantastic Norse-themed strategy game, a new free-to-play Marvel brawler, and a fresh robot battler that isn't stuffed with in-app purchases. So without further ado, here are the new and notable Android games released during the last week.

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Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.

Best Games

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

Northgard

Android Police coverage: One of the best indie real-time strategy games released in the last few years lands on Android today

Northgard is a relatively popular indie real-time strategy game, and it just made its way to Android this week. So you may be wondering if the port is any good, and I can confirm the game performs well, and while it is demanding, you can cap the framerate to 30FPS for mid-range devices. The new touch UI might take some getting used to. You can scale the UI to a preferred size, but this can interfere with other touch controls when paying on a small screen like a phone. This means Northgard is better suited to tablets and Chromebooks, though Chromebooks, for some reason, don't support a mouse in-game. The good thing is Northgard is cheap, and it's even on sale, so now is the best time to pick this up if you're a fan of premium games or simply enjoy solid RTS titles.

Monetization: $8.99 / no ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $6.99

Northgard Developer: Playdigious
Price: 8.99
4.1
Download

Titan Glory

Titan Glory is the latest mech shooter to land on Android, and it looks similar to the rest, except for one very important thing, this is a premium release. Titan Glory comes from Atypical Games, a quality dev that more than likely won't stuff this title with ludicrous monetization. This means if you've been on the hunt for an enjoyable mech shooter that won't break the bank, Titan Glory is that game. There are 12 mechs to unlock, 6 arenas to play in, 9 different game modes, as well as 12-player online matches. While it's still unknown how balancing will play out late-game, so far, there's a lot to like about this release.

Monetization: $4.99 / no ads / no IAPs

Titan Glory Developer: Atypical Games
Price: 4.99
3.9
Download

Squarefall

Squarefall is a slick falling block brick-breaker where you'll use slingshot mechanics to sling your orb at the game's many blocks. This is an endless game, so a high score is the goal, and much like classic arcade games, this title is a hoot in short bursts, great for portable play during your downtime. Squarefall is free with ads, and if you like what you see, you can pay to remove those ads. All in all, this is a solid arcade game that's easily worth the asking price.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs $0.99 apiece

Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery

Behind the Frame offers some fantastic anime-like animation, where many have compared the game's look to a Ghibli film. This is more or less a point-and-click adventure where you'll complete or retouch paintings in order to uncover hidden memories, which is how the heartfelt story evolves. This is a game for relaxing, a chill experience that's easily worth $5. Just keep in mind this is a short game that contains easy puzzles, so if you're looking for a challenge, you'll want to play something else.

Monetization: $4.99 / no ads / IAPs $0.99 apiece

Timberman: The Big Adventure

You might not know it, but Timberman is a series of games, and Timberman: The Big Adventure is the latest entry. This time around, you can expect an enjoyable 2D platformer where you'll jump from platform to platform in your quest to reunite a bear with his family. This is a lighthearted game with levels scattered across three different worlds, broken up by boss bottles, your typical platformer setup. The game is fun, especially if you enjoy platformers, but it would be nice to see an option to remove ads once the title is out of beta.

Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs

Average Games

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

Timberman Kingdom

Clearly, one Timberman release wasn't enough this week, and so we have two. Timberman Kingdom offers a bunch of mini-games, and they all revolve around building a lumberjack village. While I can't say this casual title is as exciting as the platformer above, there's some fun to be had as you make your way through the game's physics-based gameplay. Ads are present, and there is currently no way to remove them.

Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs

Minicar io : Messy Racing

If you couldn't tell, Minicar io : Messy Racing is an io game, but it's also a racer, and so this title combines two genres into one where finishing first is still the primary goal. There are 18 courses to race on and 19 different cars to race in. Both the game's tacks and vehicles offer unique features, making for a game that at least provides a good bit of content. While the controls are serviceable, the monetization isn't great, and the gameplay grows stale when grinding. This is a middle-of-the-road racer, and it shows.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $26.99

Kumo Sushi Bar

Kumo Sushi Bar is the latest release from HyperBeard, and much like the developer's other titles, this is a game sporting a kawaii theme. Much like all the other sushi serving games out there, you'll get to run and decorate a restaurant that serves sushi. Sure, this is a played-out genre we've seen a thousand times, but there's no denying the adorable theme will ensure Kumo Sushi Bar makes money.

Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs (yet)

Kuma Sushi Bar Developer: HyperBeard
Price: Free
4.6
Download

Mediocre Games

Titles that are buggy, unpolished, or offer aggressive monetization

MARVEL Future Revolution

Android Police coverage: Marvel Future Revolution looks so premium that you can almost excuse the F2P nonsense

It's interesting to see that Netmarble has sunk a bunch of money into Future Revolution, as the production quality is well above most mobile games. There's an actual story here, along with backstories for multiple characters, and the graphics are indeed superb if you have a high-end phone to max them out. The problem is, the game is absolutely stuffed with greedy monetization. Too much, in my opinion, way too much. Just about everything is monetized. You can't avoid it. Then there is the UI, which is just as bad as any no-name mobile MMO. Buttons and alerts are everywhere, and this mess is exceptionally annoying. Ultimately this is what the game boils down to, constant annoyances vying for the cash in your wallet. This is why it's tough to recommend Marvel Future Revolution. Sure, it's super polished, but it's also monetized horribly.

Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $89.99

Zombie Neighbor

One look at this game's promotional art, and it's clear this developer is trying to capitalize on the Plants vs Zombies series, especially with a name like Zombie Neighbor, which is conspicuously similar to Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville. Unlike the original title from EA, this release is a lazy defense game filled with ads. Honestly, it's amazing how many devs out there are willing to create content that borders on copyright infringement. Worse yet, Google allows this behavior, which is why smarmy copycat publishers like X-Land will continue to take advantage.

Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs

Purrfect Tale

Purrfect Tale is a cutesy point-and-click adventure that's mixed with a classic claw game where you'll unlock new outfits and furniture. The story itself is fine, if a little contrived, and the claw gameplay can be fun, though the grind is annoying, which means progress is slow unless you pay for your cosmetics outright. This means the balancing is off, at least as far as free players are concerned, which is why this game contains so many in-app purchases.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $49.99

Purrfect Tale Developer: BadMouse
Price: Free
4.5
Download

Merge Home

If you've seen one merge game, you've seen them all. Much like 2048 or Threes, Merge Home is a simple game where you'll merge objects while retaining room on the board to merge more in the future. This takes balance from the player, a bit of foresight, so there is some fun to be had even when the gameplay is highly familiar. Why etermax is entertaining such a low-effort game, I don't know, but I bet the game's $50 in-app purchases have something to do with it, which is precisely why this release should be avoided since there are better options out there that actually respect the user.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $49.99

Legendino: Dinosaur Battle

Legendino: Dinosaur Battle is atypical generic Pokemon-like. You'll collect dinos in order to battle them. This way, you can collect even stronger dinos to then repeat this process endlessly. This means PvP is included, but be careful as the game is stuffed with in-app purchases, which means this release is indeed pay-to-win. After all, those $80 IAPs aren't there for skins. No, they are there to speed up the process of building a powerful team, which is the entire point of playing. So yeah, if you've ever wanted to play a pay-to-win Pokemon clone, here you go.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $79.99

Legendino: Dinosaur Battle Developer: Super Planet
Price: Free
4.6
Download

Metal Slug : Commander

Just what everyone wanted, yet another Metal Slug game that isn't a run-and0gun platformer. This release is a card game, and it's also a gacha game, which is why this cash grab is stuffed with in-app purchases that range up to $99.99 per item. Worse yet, the game is buggy, it's a grind, and it isn't any fun, all of the hallmarks of a lazy branded cash grab. Maybe one day we'll actually get a quality new release in the Metal Slug series, but clearly, that day is not today.

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

Sliding Seas

I don't know why so many developers are cloning 2048 games again, but at least Sliding Seas offers a touch more polish than most. Sadly the game is monetized horribly, which puts a damper on the cute graphics and polished design. Sure, it can be fun to slide a few tiles around, but eventually, the gameplay grows stale, and since it's stuffed with a pointless grind to get people to spend money, there are easily better 2048 clones to play that aren't vying to empty your wallet.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $1.99 - $99.99

Sliding Seas Developer: Mugshot Games Pty Ltd
Price: Free
4.7
Download

Drones 4: Zombie Strike

Well, what do you know? We have another zombie game this week. Hardly surprising, but it sure would be nice if developers could come up with original themes. As you can imagine, this apparent laziness extends to the gameplay, where you'll shoot zombies from the sky in what is clearly a combination of the developer's other casual titles. Unsurprisingly Drones 4 is filled with questionable monetization. After all, nobody is making drone attack zombie games for mobile because it's such an interesting theme. It's simply junk food for people that don't know better. A cash grab, if you will, hence the pointlessly grindy gameplay and horrible monetization.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $4.99 - $99.99

MIR4

Not that the Play Store description mentions it, but MIR4 is an MMORPG, and it's just like all of the other generic mobile MMORPGs on the Play Store, so it essentially plays like an idle game where you're constantly tapping buttons instead of directly controlling a character. It's boring, and the "gameplay" has been done to death, and yet this title is stuffed with in-app purchases. Surprise, this generic MMO is a cash grab. Who would have thought?

Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $2.99 - $99.99

MIR4 Developer: Wemade Co., Ltd
Price: Free
3.3
Download

Town Takeover

Town Takeover is one of the latest releases from VOODOO, and amazingly there are no stickmen to be found in this title. This is a strategy game where you'll build a town by connecting towers. The setup is simple, send your troops to take over towers, and combine your troops to trounce your enemies as they try to take over the same towers as you. Basically, it's a numbers game, where your numbers must be used to capture more towers before the competition. Sadly the game is stuffed with in-app purchases despite the low-quality graphics and familiar gameplay.

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

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