latest
Aether Gazer guide: Tips and tricks to re-roll like a pro
Is Aether Gazer a Honkai Impact 3rd and Punishing: Gray Raven knockoff?
Aether Gazer is an action RPG published by Yostar, the same publisher responsible for other well-renowned gacha titles: Azur Lane and Arknights. Most compare Aether Gazer's action RPG gameplay to Honkai Impact 3rd and Punishing: Gray Raven (PGR), which are also considered some of the best gacha games on Android.
How to unlock more characters in Genshin Impact and expand your team
Genshin Impact shines when there's a colorful cast of characters to join you on your adventures
HoYoverse's Genshin Impact, one of Android's best games and highly engrossing Android gacha, provides a polished open-world experience on multiple platforms. And with the game's exceptionally high budget for its gameplay and graphics, Genshin Impact is also the go-to performance test for most top-of-the-line Android gaming phones.
Undecember beginner's guide: Get started unlocking your Rune Hunter's full potential
Can Undecember surpass Diablo Immortal? Let's dig into the mechanics and see
Time to take your favorite Android controller for a spin; an action RPG similar to Blizzard's Diablo Immortal makes a welcomed entry on Android. Undecember is Line Games' answer to creating the best alternative to Diablo Immortal. But, as expected, developing your playstyle, farming essential gear, and deciphering optimization practices is only par for the course, so we've compiled a handy beginner's guide to help new players get up to speed.
Tower of Fantasy guide: Getting started on the planet of Aida
A beginner's guide covering Tower of Fantasy's gameplay: Acquiring Simulacrums, exploration, story progression, and character creation
Tower of Fantasy is an open-world MMO gacha game that aesthetically resembles Genshin Impact, considered one of Android's best games to date. But after taking a closer look, the ToF is fundamentally different. The game highlights an ever-evolving combat system while drawing players into its science fiction fantasy world, where you'll meet a unique cast of characters within an emotionally turbulent storyline. Tower of Fantasy hits a bit of everything. More importantly, the game's multiplayer focus allows you to play with your friends without requiring a high-end Android phone. But still, it's easy to get lost on where to start with the limited in-game resources, so we've created a detailed beginner's guide to help you manage resources optimally while still breaking down the basic gameplay in Tower of Fantasy.
Echoes of Mana beginner's guide: Starting your journey and building the best team
Learn the ropes of the latest action RPG from Square Enix
It's time to save the Mana Tree again; Square Enix's latest Mana series crossover, Echoes of Mana, will have you depart on an epic quest while meeting familiar faces across the beautiful lands played straight on your favorite Android phone. You'll revisit memories, paying homage to classic tales across every game in the series. However, Echoes of Mana has a fair share of grindy systems that adds a few bumps on the road, which is why we've produced a guide to teach you how to easily traverse these systems; covering all the basics, from battling to upgrading systems and how to go about forming your dream team.
Torchlight: Infinite is in open testing on the Play Store for the next two weeks
Diablo Immortal better watch out; there's a new ARPG vying for top-spot
We've known for some time that Torchlight: Infinite would make its way from TapTap to the Play Store for pre-registration in the buildup to the game's global launch. Lo and behold, there's a fresh Play Store listing for Torchlight: Infinite, complete with pre-registration so you can receive a release announcement the day it launches, but there's also a second Play Store listing that offers access to an open beta that's rolling out right now. The beta is expected to last for two weeks ahead of the game's October launch, so if you've been curious to see how Torchlight: Infinite is shaping up and whether it will be a worthy competitor to Diablo Immortal, today's the day, you can install the beta directly from the Play Store right now.
Diablo Immortal is out on Android, just ahead of PC beta release
The game is incredibly polished, but it's also pay-to-win
It's no secret that Blizzard has taken its time developing Diablo Immortal over the last four years. The 2018 announcement didn't go over very well, leaving a dark shadow over the game for some time. Still, in recent years Blizzard has been very upfront about the game's development, almost to a fault, as it was apparent the ARPG would be pay-to-win since the alpha, and the recent news the game is blocked in a few countries over its excessive monetization isn't a good sign either. Still, there's an entirely new world of PvE to explore that isn't held back by the game's many ways to pay, which means the story content is viable for all free players.
Echoes of Mana is now available on Android as a free-to-play release
The game brings a fresh story to the classic action RPG series
We first learned about Echoes of Mana back in June 2021, and the game finally entered into pre-registration this past March, signaling Square Enix was ramping up to the global release. While the initial Apple App Store listing touted an April 30th release date, Square confirmed at the end of last week the game would launch on the 27th. Coincidentally, that's today, and as of early this morning the servers for Echoes of Mana are live.
Torchlight: Infinite's second closed beta begins soon, here's how to sign up
You have four days to register until beta two rolls out
This past January, we learned that the latest iteration in the popular Torchlight action RPG series would be coming to mobile, with the first closed beta kicking off that month. I went hands-on with the initial beta and came away rather impressed. The game is still in active development, and a second closed beta will kick off on April 25, which means you have four days to toss your hat in the ring if you'd like to participate in the upcoming closed beta.
Torchlight Infinite hands-on: Beating Diablo Immortal to the punch
There's another popular ARPG coming to mobile, and it ain't from Blizzard
Last week XD Inc. announced that its upcoming action RPG Torchlight: Infinite would be entering closed beta on January 18th (hey, that's today). Of course, this is an ARPG similar to the Diablo series, and since Diablo Immortal still isn't officially out despite being announced four years ago, the developer behind Torchlight: Infinite has a chance to beat Blizzard at its own game, but that all comes down to how well this action RPG plays. Will Torchlight: Infinite be one of Android's best games, or is this yet another cynically-lazy ARPG designed to make some quick cash on mobile?
The Torchlight: Infinite closed beta starts soon, here's how to register
Unlike the failed Torchlight Mobile, Torchlight: Infinite may actually make it beyond soft-launch
The Torchlight ARPG series has had a varied history. The original game was developed by ex-Blizzard employees who worked on the Diablo series, and it was well-received. Then the sequel propelled the series into popularity and is still a fan-favorite to this day, with an excellent port on the Nintendo Switch. This is where things went wrong. Torchlight 3 had a lengthy and troubled development cycle, eventually entering maintenance mode after the dev gave up. And this doesn't even cover the failed Torchlight Mobile game initially announced in 2015 that made it to soft-launch before being canceled. But it would seem the series isn't dead yet, as XD Inc. has announced a closed beta scheduled for Torchlight: Infinite next week, a brand-new Torchlight game for mobile that's currently available for pre-registration on the TapTap.io store.
Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai: A Hero's Bonds launches on Android today
Servers set to go live later today
Read update
Square Enix revealed Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai: A Hero's Bonds last year, but at the time, the game was only slated for a Japanese release. As of this morning, we now know the game is coming to the West with an English translation in tow. It's already listed on the Play Store for pre-registration, and a closed beta will kick off on April 7th, which you can sign up for on the official website.
Tom Clancy's Elite Squad isn't even a year old and Ubisoft is already shutting it down
Turns out some semblance of fun is required
Well, this hardly comes as a surprise, but Ubisoft has announced that its free-to-play action RPG Tom Clancy's Elite Squad is shutting down. Today marks the last update for the title, and its servers will be shuttered on October 4th. Ubisoft says the game is no longer sustainable, which basically means it wasn't making any money. Perhaps this has to do with the heavy pay-to-win mechanics shoved into the title, or maybe it's because of the gacha that didn't offer any waifus? Either way, the game is dead less than a year from its release, which is why it's never a good idea to invest in free-to-play cash-grabs from Ubisoft.
Punishing: Gray Raven is a gacha action RPG with graphics that actually impressed me
Sure it looks fancy, but is it any good?
We learned last week that the latest high-profile gacha game Punishing: Gray Raven would be coming to Android in North America, Europe, South-East Asia, and Australia on July 16th. Well, after a brief pre-load period over the last 24-hours, the game's servers are now live, which means the game is officially available. This is an action RPG, somewhat similar to miHoYo Limited's titles. Essentially the game offers Genshin Impact's graphical polish paired with Honkai Impact's gameplay. It's a sight to behold, though this is still a gacha game, so all of the downsides expected of the genre are here too.
Trials of Mana lands on Android a day early, but something's missing
Where's the controller support?
It would seem Square Enix still insists on making release announcements in the West using Japanese dates, which is a day ahead of the US. This is how previously announced dates, such as the July 15th date for the mobile version of Trials of Mana, end up getting released a day ahead of the actual announced time. And so, Trials of Mana is now available on the Play Store, and since this is a premium release, you can pick it up for $23.99.
It's no secret that Diablo Immortal wasn't well-received when Blizzard announced the game in 2018. While we got a wonderful meme out of the fiasco, I'm sure this wasn't Blizzard's intention. And so years passed until we heard about the game again, and it honestly didn't look all that bad, plus Blizzard was incredibly upfront about the plans for the game's systems, including its monetization, a surprising move. This is how we know Blizzard is flirting with a P2W system where you can pay money for a chance at better rewards, though this is mostly shoved off to the late game, resulting in an early gameplay experience that feels similar to the core series. So from what we know on the possible cusp of the game's release, I'm wondering how our readers feel about the impending launch, whether or not they will play the game once it's out, which is precisely what this article is all about.
I got into the Diablo Immortal closed alpha — here's an hour of gameplay
So far the game is pretty good
Earlier this week Diablo Immortal entered into a closed alpha test in Australia, and I've managed to gain access to this alpha and so I've recorded an hour-long gameplay video at 1080p/60FPS so everyone can see how it currently plays. This video shows off all of the selectable characters, the game's settings, and offers plenty of gameplay as the Crusader. While Blizzard is adamant that Diablo Immortal is still a work in progress, since the current alpha is limited to Australia I figured those around the rest of the world might want to see how development is moving forward.
Diablo Immortal's closed alpha is getting a big update, but you probably still can't join the fun
Don't you have Australian phones?
Blizzard has announced that the latest alpha test for Diablo Immortal is underway. Much like the technical alpha that launched back in December, this new closed alpha is available primarily to those that live in Australia. Keep in mind this is a limited alpha, so only a select number of people will be able to get in. As expected, this limited alpha signals that development is continuing forward, especially now that there is some end-game content available along with new zones, dungeons, and a raised level cap.
DotEmu initially brought a mobile port of Titan Quest to Android back in 2016, though it would appear HandyGames took over the reins at some point. Oddly enough, the iOS version of this action RPG has seen a few different releases come and go, and so it looks to now be Android's turn. That's right, there's a Legendary Edition of Titan Quest coming to Android sometime soon, and it's already available for pre-registration.
Hands on with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, a worthy mobile port of a classic RPG
For once there's an RPG on mobile worth playing
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II was recently released on Android after a six-year wait. Since this mobile port was many years in the making, I figured a hands-on would be in order. This was a AAA game back in the old days, so how good can it be on Android? How does it perform, what options does it provide, and how does it translate to a touchscreen? We're going to answer all that, so strap in and get ready to hit lightspeed. There's a new RPG on the Play Store that's actually worth playing.