Time is a fleeting thing, and the selection of mobile games available for Android and iOS is seemingly endless. Fortunately for you, I’m willing to play through the crap, so you don’t have to. After hours of matching, running, swiping, tapping, and crying, I’m pleased to present my 5 must-play mobile games of October.
Bounty Stars
Bounty Stars, from DeNA Corp., takes classic turn-based RPG gameplay and thrusts it into space. The graphics have a unique hand-drawn look to them, and the writing is absolutely hilarious. The game features a boatload of characters and a gacha system, for better or worse. The characters each have their own stats that can impact how they handle certain situations when out on a mission. Failing certain skill checks often makes for humorous outcomes, which showcases the great writing. The game is free with in-app purchases, and is easily worth the download if you’re a fan of RPGs, comedy, or have that Star Wars itch.
Available on Android and iOS.
Animation Throwdown: TQFC
Animation Throwdown, from Kongregate, combines five hit Fox cartoons into one chaotic battle royale. Pitting Family Guy, American Dad, King of the Hill, Futurama, and Bob’s Burgers against one another, Animation Throwdown might seem like Fox’s attempt at cashing in on the card-collecting game craze. However, Animation Throwdown quickly sets itself apart from other card-collection games by featuring a fun combo-based fighting system. This system ties in with each show, letting you combine characters like Hank Hill with a bottle of beer to get a Drunken Hank card that features an image taken directly from King of the Hill. Little touches like this make the game a blast for fans of these TV shows. There’s also a straightforward arena system that lets you test your deck against other players. Fans of these shows, card games, or people looking for something you can play on the fly should definitely check this one out. Animation Throwdown is free with optional in-app purchases.
Available on Android and iOS.
Flip Diving
Flip Diving, from Miniclip.com, is an absolutely mindless, borderline idiotic good time. In Flip Diving, you take control of various divers and hop off a cliff. Don’t worry, you’re diving into water. The game features a simple one-touch control scheme in which you touch once to initiate your jump, touch and hold to spin as you approach the water, and release to go into your dive. If you manage to time it just right you will land headfirst or feet-first into the water and score points. With each dive you climb further up the level, giving you more time to get in flips, and more time to fail in hilarious ways. Being F2P, there are inevitable in-app purchases, ads, and an extreme hike in the cost of additional divers and upgrades. While these things are obnoxious, they don’t prevent the game from being great for those short breaks during the work day.
Available on Android and iOS.
Don't Starve: Pocket Edition
Don’t Starve, from Klei Entertainment Inc., has been gracing PC players with its presence since 2013. The survival rogue-like is now (finally) available on Android in BETA for $4.99. Don’t Starve takes numerous survival game elements like hunger, thirst, and crafting, and puts them underneath a unique and twisted hood that would look at home in a Tim Burton film. The world of Don’t Starve is brimming with odd and terrifying creatures, many of which will try to kill you. Others, however, can be coaxed into friendship through in-game gestures and peace offerings. While avoiding these many hostile creatures, you must forage for food, survive the elements, and keep your character from going insane. For those of you familiar with the title who are worried about it not working on smaller devices, fear not. The game has been faithfully ported to touchscreens, with added tweaks like menus that zoom in when touched, context-sensitive actions, and so on. Fans of survival games, adventure, or those of you like me who simply can’t stop buying this game on every platform, owe it to yourself to pick up this whimsical journey to starvation. Again, this game is currently $4.99 for the BETA, but the price will increase when it goes gold.
Available on Android and iOS.
Primal Legends
Primal Legends, from Kobojo, is a match 3 strategy game featuring card-collection elements, PVP, and a sprawling single-player campaign. This game caught me by surprise, as I was at first off-put by the animal cast and goofy vocals. Luckily, the mechanics very quickly prove the game is anything but childish. On the surface, Primal Legends plays like many other match 3 games. You slide around color-coded characters to match them with two or more similar characters. Upon completing a match you launch an attack against the enemy team, destroying or damaging units you hit. Things quickly complicate from here, with unit deaths eating away at your overall health, heroes entering the battlefield after a certain number of matches, and countless other mechanics being thrown into the mix. A short review can’t really do this one justice, as the depth of the gameplay is too great for this list. Just take my word for it and give this one a whirl (and keep your eyes peeled for a longer, more in-depth review). Primal Legends is free with optional in-app purchases. It’s worth noting that there are no pop-up ads and no energy or stamina system. If that isn’t worth giving this one a shot, then I don’t know what is.
Available on Android and iOS.
There you have it. These past few weeks have been nothing short of chaotic, with countless cliff divers surely breaking their necks, animals being slaughtered on the battlefield, and poor Wilson starving to death I don’t know how many times. October is sure to be a fun month filled with matching, surviving, and card battling. Here’s hoping November’s list can even come close to topping this one!
Bounty Stars
Bounty Stars, from DeNA Corp., takes classic turn-based RPG gameplay and thrusts it into space. The graphics have a unique hand-drawn look to them, and the writing is absolutely hilarious. The game features a boatload of characters and a gacha system, for better or worse. The characters each have their own stats that can impact how they handle certain situations when out on a mission. Failing certain skill checks often makes for humorous outcomes, which showcases the great writing. The game is free with in-app purchases, and is easily worth the download if you’re a fan of RPGs, comedy, or have that Star Wars itch.
Available on Android and iOS.
Animation Throwdown: TQFC
Animation Throwdown, from Kongregate, combines five hit Fox cartoons into one chaotic battle royale. Pitting Family Guy, American Dad, King of the Hill, Futurama, and Bob’s Burgers against one another, Animation Throwdown might seem like Fox’s attempt at cashing in on the card-collecting game craze. However, Animation Throwdown quickly sets itself apart from other card-collection games by featuring a fun combo-based fighting system. This system ties in with each show, letting you combine characters like Hank Hill with a bottle of beer to get a Drunken Hank card that features an image taken directly from King of the Hill. Little touches like this make the game a blast for fans of these TV shows. There’s also a straightforward arena system that lets you test your deck against other players. Fans of these shows, card games, or people looking for something you can play on the fly should definitely check this one out. Animation Throwdown is free with optional in-app purchases.
Available on Android and iOS.
Flip Diving
Flip Diving, from Miniclip.com, is an absolutely mindless, borderline idiotic good time. In Flip Diving, you take control of various divers and hop off a cliff. Don’t worry, you’re diving into water. The game features a simple one-touch control scheme in which you touch once to initiate your jump, touch and hold to spin as you approach the water, and release to go into your dive. If you manage to time it just right you will land headfirst or feet-first into the water and score points. With each dive you climb further up the level, giving you more time to get in flips, and more time to fail in hilarious ways. Being F2P, there are inevitable in-app purchases, ads, and an extreme hike in the cost of additional divers and upgrades. While these things are obnoxious, they don’t prevent the game from being great for those short breaks during the work day.
Available on Android and iOS.
Don't Starve: Pocket Edition
Don’t Starve, from Klei Entertainment Inc., has been gracing PC players with its presence since 2013. The survival rogue-like is now (finally) available on Android in BETA for $4.99. Don’t Starve takes numerous survival game elements like hunger, thirst, and crafting, and puts them underneath a unique and twisted hood that would look at home in a Tim Burton film. The world of Don’t Starve is brimming with odd and terrifying creatures, many of which will try to kill you. Others, however, can be coaxed into friendship through in-game gestures and peace offerings. While avoiding these many hostile creatures, you must forage for food, survive the elements, and keep your character from going insane. For those of you familiar with the title who are worried about it not working on smaller devices, fear not. The game has been faithfully ported to touchscreens, with added tweaks like menus that zoom in when touched, context-sensitive actions, and so on. Fans of survival games, adventure, or those of you like me who simply can’t stop buying this game on every platform, owe it to yourself to pick up this whimsical journey to starvation. Again, this game is currently $4.99 for the BETA, but the price will increase when it goes gold.
Available on Android and iOS.
Primal Legends
Primal Legends, from Kobojo, is a match 3 strategy game featuring card-collection elements, PVP, and a sprawling single-player campaign. This game caught me by surprise, as I was at first off-put by the animal cast and goofy vocals. Luckily, the mechanics very quickly prove the game is anything but childish. On the surface, Primal Legends plays like many other match 3 games. You slide around color-coded characters to match them with two or more similar characters. Upon completing a match you launch an attack against the enemy team, destroying or damaging units you hit. Things quickly complicate from here, with unit deaths eating away at your overall health, heroes entering the battlefield after a certain number of matches, and countless other mechanics being thrown into the mix. A short review can’t really do this one justice, as the depth of the gameplay is too great for this list. Just take my word for it and give this one a whirl (and keep your eyes peeled for a longer, more in-depth review). Primal Legends is free with optional in-app purchases. It’s worth noting that there are no pop-up ads and no energy or stamina system. If that isn’t worth giving this one a shot, then I don’t know what is.
Available on Android and iOS.
There you have it. These past few weeks have been nothing short of chaotic, with countless cliff divers surely breaking their necks, animals being slaughtered on the battlefield, and poor Wilson starving to death I don’t know how many times. October is sure to be a fun month filled with matching, surviving, and card battling. Here’s hoping November’s list can even come close to topping this one!