Since its 2006 debut on the PlayStation 2, God of War has been exceedingly influential in a great many genres. The Play Store has its fair share of apps that recapture God of War's fluid combat and awe-inspiring spectacle on the latest Android phones; some exceedingly popular games on the Play Store implement principles established in this seasoned franchise. From thrilling action games to exciting Metroidvania titles, God of War's hand can be felt in one form or another. We'd like to share our favorite games that play and look similar to God of War in today's roundup, where many are available for your favorite Android tablet.

1 Shadowblood

Shadowblood is a top-down hack-and-slash RPG that pits your character against waves of monsters. You select your character class, each of which offers its own abilities and equipment, and head straight into the fray; there's even an avatar that fights with two blades if you want an experience that feels a bit more Kratos-y. In terms of gameplay, the primary loop is classic hack-and-slash combat with multiple attacks and combos at your disposal. Ultimately, the combat is satisfying and visually impressive, the controls are perfect for the mobile platform, and the various classes provide a great deal of replayability.

2 Mortal Kombat: A Fighting Game

The progenitor of video game violence, the Mortal Kombat series now has a modern iteration available on the best Android phones. The combat requires users to launch attacks by quickly tapping their opponent, with occasional quick-time events to swipe in certain directions to perform special attacks. The iconic fatalities return, and in defiance of tradition, they also take the form of quick-time events deployed during the actual animation. It's cool to see these iconic characters on the Android platform, and the gameplay is solid enough to make for a decent time waster. Best of all, you can play as Kratos, which is specifically why Mortal Kombat: A Fighting Game is on the list.

3 Evil Lands: Online Action RPG

World of Warcraft fans will feel well served here; Evil Lands: Online Action RPG places you into a third-person western fantasy sandbox full of quests, enemies, and things to explore. Before commencing the adventure, users select their starting class, equipment, and abilities. Progression revolves around questing, leveling up, and managing equipment and abilities, the usual MMORPG tune. The combat deserves special props for its fluidity and accessibility, starting with only a single attack button that branches out and an auto lock-on that switches between enemies almost instantaneously. The gameplay is solid, and the character progression is satisfying in that intangible RPG hard-to-put-down way. Worth a look if you’re in the market for a new RPG that offers plenty of GoW themes.

4 BladeBound: RPG Adventure Game

While offering similar primary and tertiary gameplay loops as the previous entry, BladeBound: RPG Adventure game presents a more traditional RPG experience, definitely be a plus for some players. You begin by selecting one of two genders, although you surprisingly have no starting classes to choose from. After this, you are treated to a series of tutorial missions that run you through the combat and looting systems. The all-important action combat looks great and feels satisfying to play, with your character's multiple abilities making up for the lack of weapon variety. BladeBound is a bit of a hefty download, but it's easily worth the time invested.

5 Immortal Awakening

Immortal Awakening provides a stellar online RPG experience in the same mold as World of Warcraft and Neverwinter. After selecting your character class, the game releases you into an open world full of enemies, quests, and other players. Combat takes the form of top-down hack-and-slash that starts simple but gains in complexity as you level up. Acquiring new abilities increases your battle prowess alongside your base stats, as do items acquired from completing quests and defeating enemies. One standout feature is the ability to auto-run towards quest objectives by pressing on your quest journal, a feature that proves very useful in densely populated areas and makes it impossible to get lost or wander into a high-level area by accident. While it's initially a little slow to get started, Immortal Awakening is a neat little RPG to keep you occupied.

6 ScourgeBringer

A well-known and outstanding little genre fusion, ScourgeBringer is a 2D Metroidvania that attempts to marry that traditional explorative gameplay philosophy with the rogue-lite genre. You are the titular ScourgeBringer, a warrior investigating a varied and diverse series of dungeons full of danger and treasure. Combat provides that classic Devil May Cry setup of employing gunplay into your stylish swordsmanship combos. Enemies keep you on your toes with those bullet hell-inspired attacks that are pretty synonymous with both Metroidvania and rogue-lite games at this point, making great use of the 2D space. Style-wise, the game looks amazing; with so many things happening on screen at once, it can make your head spin. The game does discourage exploration through its difficulty, as health is easily lost and hard to recover, incentivizing you to just run through the levels. If you played and liked Dead Cells, ScourgeBringer will grab your attention and keep it.

7 Titan Quest: Legendary Edition

Titan Quest: Legendary Edition brings the classic fantasy RPG to the Android platform. Player avatars spawn into the overworld and are free to run around, talk to NPCs, and engage enemies in top-down hack-and-slash combat. Items can be found scattered inside environments, treasure chests, and the bodies of defeated enemies, including usable weapons and armor. The app has a number of class specializations to pool XP into, granting different buffs and abilities to use in combat. With its engaging and complex skill trees, intuitive touch interface, and interesting mythology themes, Titan Quest: Legendary Edition feels great to play on Android.

8 Grim Soul: Monster Hunter RPG

Grim Soul: Monster Hunter RPG is a dark Western fantasy MMORPG that focuses on exploration and creativity. You start off with nothing and must work your way up the tech tree in an exceedingly bleak landscape. Looting downed enemies, mine resources, and upgrade your gear until you can afford to build your own stronghold. Choose from multiple ranged and melee weapons to defend yourself from enemies, and adapt to different combat styles to stay versatile in fights; always use the best tool for the job. Descend into randomly generated dungeons and battle tougher enemies for sweeter rewards. Atmospheric and content-rich, Grim Soul: Monster Hunter RPG has been well-maintained since 2018.

9 Grimvalor

Grimvalor is a 2D hack-and-slash action-adventure game centered around stylish combat and fast-paced platforming. As per usual, you spawn into the world with the simple goal of moving to the right and killing whatever gets in your way. Grimvalor's platforming-centric control style makes aerial combat preferable to the boots-on-the-ground approach. Right from the start, you get a double jump, dash, and wall running ability, all for scaling the terrain and getting the drop on enemies. Said adversaries can feel insultingly easy at the beginning but ramp up in difficulty as the game goes on. The combat is captivating in that stylish Devil May Cry kind of way, in that, you feel skilled and competent without being overpowered. A treat for the God of War fans, to be sure.

Show no mercy with the best Android games similar to God of War

Alongside Devil May Cry, God of War helped pioneer the hack-and-slash genre, and these great games show off how influential these classics truly were, all with the superior technology of your favorite Android tablet. You can also thank these games for the consequence-free violence and focus on responsive controls in the best action games on the PlayStore. Whether you like old-school hack-and-slash titles like Scourgebringer or pulse-pounding fighting games like Mortal Kombat, there's always something new to play in this tried and true corner of game design. Want the authentic button-mashing experience? Take one of these responsive Android controllers for a spin and never miss an opening.