Mobile Games That Don't Suck!

[kurohaato]

In This Thread:
Mobile Games That are Good at Actually Being Games!

Modern mobile games (and most mobile apps at this point, let's be honest with ourselves) are often filled with insane amounts of ads and in app purchases, to the point that you can feel like you're spending more time watching ads than playing the game! I feel like we need a thread to celebrate the mobile games that are actually good games and not just billboards stapled onto some shovelware.

Games in this thread should include minimal ads, minimal in-app purchases (or none at all), and also be enjoyable games to play. Both free and paid games are allowed. Sideloaded Android games from itch.io and the like are allowed.

My Mobile Game Recs:

• Neko Atsume: A little game where you set out food for local cats and watch them play in your yard. Price: Free! Ads & Purchases: There's one banner ad hidden in the menus and you can pay for more in-game currency if you don't feel like waiting for cats to show up. Available on iOS and Android.
• Neko Atsume 2: Neko Atsume but with more stuff. Price: Free! Ads & Purchases: Same as the last game, plus an optional monthly subscription that will automatically refill cat bowls and lets you customize your own cats to add to the game. Available on iOS and Android.
• My Child: New Beginnings: A tamagotchi where you raise a child in '90s Norway. Price: Free! Ads & Purchases: Players can watch ads for in game rewards and purchase optional bonus content such as a furniture pack. The developers have also talked about releasing paid DLC sometime in the future. Available on iOS and Android. (Please note that this game has a content warning at the beginning and deals with topics such as PTSD.)
• An Elmwood Trail: A mystery game where you play as a detective trying to find a missing girl using clues found on her cellphone. Very similar to the Simulacra games. Price: Free! Ads & Purchases: Players can watch ads for hints and purchase both an ad-free upgrade and additional side stories. Available on iOS and Android.
• Stardew Valley: The mobile version of the popular farming sim. Updates about a couple months after the PC version. Price: US$4.99. Ads & Purchases: None. Available on iOS and Android.

[fairyrune]

pocket frogs! it is, in essence, a collection game, but you do so by finding and breeding frogs in various colours and patterns. there's a thriving community; if i remember right, it has been 10 years since it first released, so there's a lot of people who have been fans for a while!

you breed these frogs to collect themed achievements and weekly challenges. there's no fear of missing out here though, because you can go back to any weekly challenge and fill out the requirements - they're "weekly" because they add one every week, not because it's on a weekly rotation! there are in-app purchases and ads, but they're not required to play nor are they locking you out of anything that i am aware of, they're only "boosts". you can also turn off ad prompts in the settings! (i wish you could turn off the store this way, though...)

it's a very simple game but i played it a bit a few years ago, and i've been enjoying having it on my new phone to play every now and then. it doesn't demand my attention, it's just there when i want it, like any good game. 

[navi]

You should give a try to, That Level Again - Game consist of same level doing again and again but it get really trickier as it progress. It just gives you an advert when you like to have hints at solving the level. 

[ThunderPerfectWitchcraft]

I didn't played it on Mobile (as I don't use a Smartphone), but BosonX was a real banger on the computer back then :).