Every time you boot up your Android handheld, you’re usually either getting yourself right into a front end so you can boot up Mojo! for PS2 or you’re launching Moonlight, Geforce Now, or something else to stream your games. But what about playing your “new” games natively? If you want to check out a bunch of Android games you should give a shot, I recommend Retro Tech Dad’s series on the topic. Today though, I want to talk about the games I regularly play when I pick up an Android device. And who knows, maybe you’ll want to try them out too.
Google Play Sucks
Before we get into it though, I just want to say one thing about the Google Play Store. It is one of the worst places to go to find games. Opening it up, you’re always greeted by the apps tab, going into games usually leads you to a sponsored or free-to-play monotony of games that you see every time you open the tab to search. The algorithm for showing new games is terrible, and if you want to search for a game you swore you had, you better hope it didn’t get delisted for being one version out of date from your device.
Regardless there’s a bunch of gems if you can find them, but I’m not usually playing those hidden gems. So let’s get into what I like to use my devices for.
Luck be a Landlord
Right out the gate, I’m going to cheat and put something that you can’t really use with a handheld. But damnit if I can play it on my Loki Max as well I should be allowed to include it here. LbaL is a gambling deck-builder where your goal is to make enough money to pay your rent and scare your landlord off to the next floor.
It’s such a simple premise, but just like for some people in real life, the gambling mechanics are enough to suck me in for quite a few rounds, even if I lose on month 9. Do you want to go the paths of Miners and Dwarfs to break ores and drink mead? Or do you want to hope you get the sand dollars, divers, and crabs to make your money that way? There are a number of ways to do it, you just have to hope you get lucky.
$4.99 may be a pricy ask, but for me, its addictiveness and simplicity for pay on a smartphone was enough for me, and it’s one of the few games on my phones alongside Sonic Forces, and Pocket Planes.
Luck be a Landlord on Google Play Store
Stumble Guys
Next up is a free-to-play battle royale-style game akin to Fall Guys. Originally I wasn’t too hooked on this way, but after playing with friends, and competing to try and win an Odin 2 I found myself hooked on this one.
It’s a simple game where all you’re doing is trying to get to the end of the map first or survive longer than your opponents, but damn if it isn’t an addicting little game. It has its free-to-play aspects, all the cosmetics and things you can buy. But if your handheld has a screen to control mapper, this is a game worth giving a shot yourself especially since it doesn’t cost you anything.
Stumble Guys on Google Play Store
Grid Autosport
Going in the complete opposite from the last two games we have something that falls into my personal favorite genre of games. Grid Autosport. Released onto the Play Store by Feral Interactive, this Xbox 360/PS3 game has been remade for some of the more powerful Android devices in its full form. This isn’t an arcade racer like Horizon Chase, but rather a fully-fledged campaign-style racer that gives me a challenge from time to time.
While I enjoy racing in the cheap cars in games like Forza Horizon, being put into proper race cars just feels more enjoyable in something like Grid Autosport. If you don’t have the $9.99 to spend on this one, Real Racing 3 is another racing game I’d recommend if you can deal with ads, microtransactions, and the general waiting around. But when it comes to racing games on Android, this is the one I’ll default to now.
GRID Autosport on Google Play Store
Dicey Dungeons
Let’s say racing is too fast for you, and Slot machines are too simple for you. Why not land yourself somewhere in the middle? Gambling, but with a twist. Luck Be a Landlord is an RPG deckbuilding (again), Roguelike, where your heroes are turned into Dice and must fight to survive in a luck-based, dice-throwing competition.
It’s definitely more akin to your standard deckbuilders, but it is simple enough that it’s super easy to pick up and play. I’ve had to come back to this one after weeks, and it feels like I still know exactly what I’m doing. Just like Luck Be a Landlord, this one lands itself right at $4.99. If that’s still a bit too much, Terry Cavanagh has made a couple of other wonderful games including Super Hexagon, and the superb platformer VVVVVV.
Dicey Dungeons on Google Play Store
Honorable Mention: Stardew Valley
Before finishing up my personal list of games to play on Android, I think it’s important for me to mention one of the biggest timesink games I’ve ever played between Android, Nintendo Switch, and PC. That’s right, it’s Stardew Valley.
The Farming/Dating RPG really brings a lot of variety and constant playtime into a game that’s aesthetically pleasing and fun to play. I may suck at the fishing minigames, but I love running my 3 dozen mayonnaise machines on the daily. For $4.99 I think this might be the most playtime you can get from a single game. It’s not one I play the most on Android (I have a couple hundred hours in on Switch), but it is the one I recommend to a lot of people. Hopefully, ConcernedApe’s Haunted Chocolatier can follow in the massive footsteps Stardew Valley is leaving.
Stardew Valley on Google Play Store
The Dadish Series
And we’re going to end it off with another cheat. But that’s because it’s an entire series worth playing! Dadish is a 3-part 2D Platformer and a 1-part 3D Platformer where your goal is to go out and rescue your radish children from the clutches of some questionable foes. It’s a pretty simple game, but one that controls incredibly well and makes me want to go back and ensure I can get every star under the sun.
If you want to support the creator Thomas K Young and condense 3 apps into one, you can grab the Dadish Collection for $8.99 and have Dadish 1, 2, and 3 all in one bundle. Or you can keep them all separate for free (but with ads). As for Dadish 3D that one stands on its own as a free app. And for more challenges alongside that, you can grab Daily Dadish. 365 different levels that are only playable for one day out of the year. If that doesn’t tell me to keep coming back to play, I don’t know what is.
Dadish Collection on Google Play Store
Final words
The Google Play Store has a ton of great games worth playing. Whether that’s platformers, deckbuilders, or slot machine games your dad seems to play on his phone. The challenge becomes finding them. As mentioned before you can find a load more recommendations from Retro Tech Dad, and his Android (and Amazon Fire app store) videos. But hopefully, this article and those video recommendations can get you started. And if not? I don’t know. Vampire Survivors? Battle for Bikini Bottom? What is the absolute number of games that are free if you have a Netflix subscription? I don’t, but those games are still fun.
And if not the Google Play Store, maybe we can look into something different… like Apple Arcade?
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