Included within are our picks for the 15 most essential, can’t-miss Android games you ought to play right now. It’s a diverse mix of options: memorable adventures, addictive quick-hit affairs, everything in between, spanning a wide array of genres price points. Ready to find your next on-the-go gaming obsession? You’ll merge platforms that aren’t actually near each other, but appear to combine from your current vantage point. kewise, you’ll flip walkways, rotate sections of stages, contort the ground you st on. It’s not a terribly difficult affair, but it is totally stunning quite memorable. Monument Valley is very well worth the few bucks. Monument Valley ($4) Kingdom Rush feels more focused than some contemporaries, offering limited plots for just four types of base towers. But it’s how you choose to upgrade align them on the map that adds a lot of strategy, makes each victory hugely satisfying— each loss a lesson you’ll quickly learn from. If you love the original, follow-ups Frontiers Origins are just as excellent. Kingdom Rush ($1) In other words, it becomes a precise timing challenge—so while the characters may move autonomously, it still feels like a classic platformer. Fiesta Run is gorgeously animated, the game is expansive, with dozens of levels available to conquer. You don’t need an Xbox or ayStation to enjoy an excellent Rayman adventure. Rayman: Fiesta Run ($2) You can mine into the earth craft tools to stay alive in survival mode, or freely build block structures in creative mode— online servers even let you scope out some collaboration or competition with other players. It might seem like a whole lot of nothing on the surface, but the freeform nature proves surprisingly appealing, there’s always something worth exploring experiencing. Minecraft: cket ition ($7) Each directional swipe moves every tile on the board (if there’s space to move) while also adding a new tile. Your goal? Continue adding shifting tiles until you run out of space—which can happen very quickly if you don’t consider each move. Threes! requires serious precision to have significant success, yet the satisfaction of unlocking a new high scoring tile crushing your friends’ top scores is well worth the many tough loses that come before. Threes! ($3) It has a vivid, retro-meets-Minecraft aesthetic a charming array of playable characters, but the real joy comes from the close calls—sprinting across 10 lanes of traffic while narrowl dodging car bumpers— stomping on friends’ names along the way. And although it’s free-to-play, you’ll never be restricted or feel pressured to spend a penny on anything. y Road (Free) Each leg of the trip offers new potential routes means of transportation, not to mention branching story conversational choices that can unearth fresh paths ahead—or unexpected roadblocks. Finishing the trip within the stated span is tough, but 80 Days is extremely replayable, as a single decision can change the entire course of each well-written, enrapturing adventure. 80 Days ($5) You can play it solo try to beat par on the 20+ distinctive courses, using an array of special balls powered-up hats to give you an advantage. Or you can challenge an online foe to a turn-based battle, try to one-up your pals during the down moments in your day. However you play, it’s a blast. Super Stickman Golf 2 (Free) The grey-centric aesthetic is still much prettier than expected, thanks to great animations throughout, the pulsing soundtrack amps up the tension. Not that the game needs the latter assist: Canabalt HD remains one of the purist expressions of the genre, tossing you into the mayhem, testing your reactions, then tempting you to do it all over again. Canabalt HD ($3) Airborne started as a paid game transitioned to free-to-play without losing much in the process. You’ll get bugged about optional boosts see the occasional ad, but it’s tolerable— no other Android game offers quite the same combination of raucous racing stellar production values like this. Asphalt 8: Airborne (Free) It’s an episodic series—currently two seasons of five episodes each, with a one-off entry in between—in which every dialogue selection life-or-death choice you make can influence the path of the story the ultimate conclusions that follow. And if you’re not into zombies, the company’s grim comic book fantasy The lf Among Us is similarly great. The lking Dead (Free; $15 for full season) Ridiculous, right? The game truly lives up to its billing, it’s a load of fun as well, finding the sweet spot between skill-based gameplay exuberant silliness. Amusing useful upgrades provide incentive to continue on, as does an unexpected narrative element—but it’s the cycle of fishing blasting that ultimately proves strong enough to sustained extended play. Ridiculous Fishing ($3) Grid-based combat is the primary component here, as you strategically move your warriors around the board to team up on decimate foes, but there’s more to the experience than that. Between battles, you’ll manage your resources frequently converse with others in the caravan, making decisions that can determine the fate of certain allies—or the course of your journey ahead. It’s engrossing fare, The Banner Saga is a great game to get lost in for some time. The Banner Saga ($10) mbo serves up a series of environmental puzzles to solve, whether it’s overcoming a gargantuan spider or manipulating the world to overcome a roadblock. It’s alternately charming terrifying, the shadowy aesthetic minimal audio create a real sense of dread as you tiptoe ever ahead. It’s a powerful experience, even on a small phone screen, well worth seeing through to the end. mbo ($5) Keep at it. Impossible Road becomes a deeply addictive game the longer you play it, as you learn to hle the turns try to recover when you go flying off the track—by quickly ling further down the path (a strategic practice for advanced players). The learning curve isn’t quite as steep as its contemporary Super Hexagon, but the rewards feel just as sweet. Impossible Road ($2)
