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
After its original release on iOS and (a geo restricted release in Canada) on Android I had all but forgotten about Amazing Katamari Damacy. For one, it was yet another endless runner, which is nothing new no matter how cool and respected the Katamari theme is. And second, it released as a free-to-play title, and I am sure all of you are quite familiar with how that tends to impede on the enjoyment of just about any game. So I didn't quite feel like I was missing out on much. With it officially launched on Android I can't say that my opinion of it has changed.
Monster Hunter Stories initially launched in the US for the Nintendo 3DS only a few months ago. It exists as a spin-off of the popular mainline action-based series Monster Hunter. The gameplay is entirely different than what you would expect of a conventional Monster Hunter title, as you will be fighting monsters through turn-based combat instead of in real time. For the most part, Monster Hunter Stories was well received when it launched on the 3DS, and I see no reason why the title wouldn't play just as well on Android. Sadly Monster Hunter Stories is only available in Japan as of today. Hopefully, Capcom will eventually release it in the West.
Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous week or so.
I have been biding my time with the recent rumors of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds coming to Android to ensure that it will indeed exist as an official release. After spending some time digging through a few Chinese sites, it does look as though the rumors are legit. As of yesterday Tencent and TIMI Studio Group released an official webpage complete with a trailer for their upcoming game. If that wasn't enough good news, there is a second web page from Tencent that popped up for a different PUBG mobile game developed by Lightspeed & Quantum Studio. While it is still unknown if these games will ever come to the West, it is pretty interesting to see that there will be two official PUBG adaptations coming to Android in the near future.
Crescent Moon Games' exploration-based sci-fi first-person shooter Morphite is finally available on the Play Store. And sure it may not have officially released yet, but a final beta is plenty good enough for me to give this a quick test run to let everyone know how it is shaping up.
Headup Games had quite a bit of success with the release of their first The Inner World point and click adventure game. So much so that they decided to bring the sequel to consoles before it was released for any mobile platform. But as of last week The Inner World - The Last Wind Monk has finally made its way to Android, and that is a very good thing indeed.
At the beginning of this month I wrote up an article about the pre-registration availability for Bandai Namco's action RPG brawler Naruto x Boruto: Ninja Voltage. Despite the tardiness of this post (thanks to a recent holiday), I figured it would still be worth it to follow up on the pre-registration announcement to let everyone know Naruto x Boruto: Ninja Voltage has indeed been officially released.
Lo and behold Asmodee Digital has stayed true to their word and have released Carcassonne – Tiles & Tactics before the end of the year. Not only does this new version of Carcassonne deliver a worthwhile online multiplayer experience, but it's also cross-compatible with the Steam version that just so happens to have launched today as well. And if that wasn't enough to garner your interest you can also expect two unlockable expansions, all-new 3D graphics, and a solo mode for all of you Meeple lovers out there who want to brush up on your skills before diving into an online or local multiplayer match.
Neverending Nightmares offers an adult-oriented psychological horror game that contains themes not often seen on our platform. In fact this isn't even an original Android game, as it was actually ported from the PC title that released back in 2014. It did, however, make an appearance on Android in 2015 thanks to the release of the 13th Humble PC & Android Bundle. Ever since then it has only been purchasable for Android on the Humble store for $14.99, although its debut on the Play Store makes it all that much easier to grab thanks to its lower $3.99 price point.
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.
Capcom has seen fit to bring a new Puzzle Fighter game to Android, with all the good and bad that entails. You see, unlike the previous games in the series, this release is free-to-play, which means there are plenty of in-app purchases and gacha mechanics thrown into the mix that can greatly alter the core competitive gameplay. So sure, we now have a legit Puzzle Fighter game to play through on Android, but it doesn't quite offer the same experience we all once enjoyed, which is a shame.
Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications and live wallpapers that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous week or so.
Rez Infinite is a fantastic on-rails shooter that has recently released on Android for Daydream compatible devices. While it would have been great to see a regular release that could be played without the need for a Daydream VR headset, it's still nice to see this game is getting some attention by releasing on our platform.
Hey look at this, Sega has replaced the paid version of Sonic The Hedgehog 2 with a free-to-play version called Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Classic that falls in line with their SEGA Forever game release program. That means anyone who has supported Sega in the past by purchasing the original game on Android gets to buy it all over again if they would like to retain an ad-free experience and proper support. Thanks Sega!
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.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD is without a doubt my favorite Metal Gear title, so you can imagine how elated I was to see that Konami has finally released it for the Nvidia Shield TV. Currently, it's on sale for $9.99 (regular $14.99) on the Google Play Store, but that's only for a limited time.
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Nintendo of America has announced in a tweet that Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp will be officially available this Wednesday November 22nd. While we already knew it was slated for a November release, having a hard date is most definitely reassuring since we are getting pretty close to the end of the month.
Catan Universe is United Soft Media's newest version of Catan and not only is it finally a multiplayer focused release on Android, but it can also be played against your friends and family no matter the platform they want to play on. That's right, whether you have purchased the game on PC, macOS, iOS, or Android you can enjoy an online multiplayer round of Catan.
NEKKI's Shadow Fight 3 is the third release in their Shadow Fight series of fighting games. For what started out as a Facebook flash-based game has now moved on to mobile since the release of Shadow Fight 2. For the most part, you can expect Shadow Fight 3 to have some great graphics and smooth gameplay, but it is entirely ruined by an incredibly greedy upgrade path.
Snapbreak has been putting out some quality puzzle-filled escape games in the last year, with Faraway: Puzzle Escape clearly being their most notable and successful release. Well, it would appear that we now have a sequel available on the Play Store titled Faraway 2: Jungle Escape, and it takes everything from the original and improves it. This means you can expect a more interesting story, better puzzle mechanics, and of course some wonderfully understated yet breathtaking graphics.