Saw a game on Google Play that had great reviews (4.6k AVG with 77k reviews) so downloaded it thinking I finally might have found a good mobile game only to find it was trash like almost every mobile game I’ve ever tried.
Is it me, am I the problem, or are virtually all mobile games terrible?
Edit
Thanks for everyone’s feedback and suggestions, I’ve been trying out some of your recommendations as well as trying out Steam Link to play my steam PC games
There are a few hidden gems (I enjoy Plague inc. and Rebel inc. on occasion, for example), but for the most part, the majority of mobile games are mtx-laden cash grabs. So the actual quality is commensurately low because the devs figured out they don’t have to put in real effort to implement gambling and hook addicts.
Lots of great games, but as already mentioned the FTP are a mess. I subscribe to the Google Play Pass, which give me a pretty good selection of games with no ads or in-app purchases. Helps protect me from the crap out there so its worth it IMO.
I would guess that almost all games ever created, in all platforms can be considered bad games. Mobile gaming could be the worst offender because the barrier to publish are low and they are easy to monetize via ads, or just by selling your data. Taking this in account, try to look at paid games and you are going to find good quality games like Dicey Dungeons or Slice & Dice.
there are good games. but they most of the time do not get promoted. you need other websites or like reddit or lemmy with lists from actual players to find them. in store only the moneygrabs get promoted.
Yeah the hardest thing is finding them! You open the store and it gives you almost no information as to whether the games decent or a cash in. The review system seems rigged.
The standards for mobile game quality are through the floor, but there some decent ones out there. At least the platform has some higher effort games now, like CoD Mobile and Fortnite, instead of just being infinite runners and coin dropper simulators.
After trying bunch of Android games I found Nintendo DS games that can be entirely played with a stylus have been the best games to emulate and play on mobile.
Edit: Kirby Mass Attack is great and felt like a native experience.
Kirby Mass Attack is one I enjoyed and played all the way through. You flick around bunch of kirbies so it feels like a very polished mobile game with it being entirely touched based and no reliance on trying to emulate tactile buttons on a flat screen.
Warioware touched is fun for a quick session. I haven’t tried tried Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass yet, but it looks promising. It’s also entirely touch based.
It could just be you are not the target market for these games and you see through the bullshit. A lot of them are designed with shitty dark patterns to keep you coming back for more. Also, a lot of those reviews are probably fake to draw in the curious.
I’ve not found that to be necessarily true, since some games just don’t feel that great translating over to a touchscreen coming from its basis being gamepad. I’ve bought lot of games from spare Google rewards points like Dead Cells which is a good game and playable but not really comfortable enough for me to play it on mobile, and getting controller out feels like I’m defeating the point of mobile game since usually it’s something I’ll play when all I have is my phone. Not going to stuff a gamepad in my pocket.
Games that really do try to make use of the touchscreen in a great way I’ve found to actually be Nintendo DS games that were specifically designed to be played entirely with stylus. Other actual mobile games have felt more like gamepad games trying to translate over stuff to the touchscreen with non tactile elements. Kind of works, but feels off. Unless its like an RPG or a game like The World Ends with You which was made to be touchscreen from the start. That seems like a good port.
Me too. If I’m at a place where I can grab a controller then usually it means I’ve got my switch or deck with me so would just opt for that if I’m in the mood for handheld. DS emulation on phone is the only one where I found the experience the best there over the alternatives I have available. Aside from an actual DS.
Most games are just blatant pay to win fronts. I especially despise those “idle whatever” style games where you wait for your ‘money’ to rake up. Boring stuff.
With smartphones getting more and more powerful, I miss sophisticated games on it. And I am not talking Skyrim here.
Even most stuff we could play on Newgrounds 15 years ago blows most of the shit in the store out of the water.
There is just not a big enough market for it, it seems.
Yes, there are some good ones (mostly indie games like stardew valley, poly bridge etc) also some like minecraft, the basic problem with mobile games is, that you would never payn60$ for a mobile game but for console games its normal
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I have exactly one game on my phone. Bloons Tower Defense 6. Without a doubt a great game!
A huge amount of them are.
That said there are a number of games from the flash era that are still great.
There’s a lot of good tower defense games. Bloons and kingdom rush I like personally.
Then there’s ports like Minecraft, Stardew valley, Terraria
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There are a few hidden gems (I enjoy Plague inc. and Rebel inc. on occasion, for example), but for the most part, the majority of mobile games are mtx-laden cash grabs. So the actual quality is commensurately low because the devs figured out they don’t have to put in real effort to implement gambling and hook addicts.
The answer to everyone looking for a new game is Super Snail, I believe full release is Aug 4th? Enjoy!
Lots of great games, but as already mentioned the FTP are a mess. I subscribe to the Google Play Pass, which give me a pretty good selection of games with no ads or in-app purchases. Helps protect me from the crap out there so its worth it IMO.
I would guess that almost all games ever created, in all platforms can be considered bad games. Mobile gaming could be the worst offender because the barrier to publish are low and they are easy to monetize via ads, or just by selling your data. Taking this in account, try to look at paid games and you are going to find good quality games like Dicey Dungeons or Slice & Dice.
there are good games. but they most of the time do not get promoted. you need other websites or like reddit or lemmy with lists from actual players to find them. in store only the moneygrabs get promoted.
Yeah the hardest thing is finding them! You open the store and it gives you almost no information as to whether the games decent or a cash in. The review system seems rigged.
The standards for mobile game quality are through the floor, but there some decent ones out there. At least the platform has some higher effort games now, like CoD Mobile and Fortnite, instead of just being infinite runners and coin dropper simulators.
After trying bunch of Android games I found Nintendo DS games that can be entirely played with a stylus have been the best games to emulate and play on mobile.
Edit: Kirby Mass Attack is great and felt like a native experience.
Some others that might be worth trying.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/925329-nintendo-ds/65539209
Any particular suggestions that you’ve enjoyed playing? I’ve mostly been playing GBA pokemon romhacks (Radical Red mainly) and Fire Emblem Romhacks.
Kirby Mass Attack is one I enjoyed and played all the way through. You flick around bunch of kirbies so it feels like a very polished mobile game with it being entirely touched based and no reliance on trying to emulate tactile buttons on a flat screen.
Warioware touched is fun for a quick session. I haven’t tried tried Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass yet, but it looks promising. It’s also entirely touch based.
Great suggestions, thanks!
Another good Kirby one is Canvas Curse, entirely touch based. Any of the many puzzle vns on DS should be good too, like hotel dusk or 999
It could just be you are not the target market for these games and you see through the bullshit. A lot of them are designed with shitty dark patterns to keep you coming back for more. Also, a lot of those reviews are probably fake to draw in the curious.
There’s an Android app called “minireview” which has tons of reviews of games on Google Play and helps filter out the garbage.
Generally, the games that have a larger up-front price are good. Bonus points, if they were ported from PC or consoles and don’t track you.
Exactly this. Every non-shit mobile game I ever found turned out to be a port from either PC or console.
I’ve not found that to be necessarily true, since some games just don’t feel that great translating over to a touchscreen coming from its basis being gamepad. I’ve bought lot of games from spare Google rewards points like Dead Cells which is a good game and playable but not really comfortable enough for me to play it on mobile, and getting controller out feels like I’m defeating the point of mobile game since usually it’s something I’ll play when all I have is my phone. Not going to stuff a gamepad in my pocket.
Games that really do try to make use of the touchscreen in a great way I’ve found to actually be Nintendo DS games that were specifically designed to be played entirely with stylus. Other actual mobile games have felt more like gamepad games trying to translate over stuff to the touchscreen with non tactile elements. Kind of works, but feels off. Unless its like an RPG or a game like The World Ends with You which was made to be touchscreen from the start. That seems like a good port.
That’s why I prefer a Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch over phones for gaming 😄
Me too. If I’m at a place where I can grab a controller then usually it means I’ve got my switch or deck with me so would just opt for that if I’m in the mood for handheld. DS emulation on phone is the only one where I found the experience the best there over the alternatives I have available. Aside from an actual DS.
It is really hard to find good mobile games.
Most games are just blatant pay to win fronts. I especially despise those “idle whatever” style games where you wait for your ‘money’ to rake up. Boring stuff.
With smartphones getting more and more powerful, I miss sophisticated games on it. And I am not talking Skyrim here. Even most stuff we could play on Newgrounds 15 years ago blows most of the shit in the store out of the water.
There is just not a big enough market for it, it seems.
May I interest you in The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind ?
https://openmw.org/2021/openmw-0-47-0-released/
I call those idle games battery killer sims. You do nothing on the game, it has no merit whatsoever.
Leaving those games open, especially during the summer, degrades your battery so much.
Yes, there are some good ones (mostly indie games like stardew valley, poly bridge etc) also some like minecraft, the basic problem with mobile games is, that you would never payn60$ for a mobile game but for console games its normal