Five games to install on your new Android phone today
Here are the gifts finally opened, and you had a chance for Christmas to steal a new Android phone ? It’s cold! Once you’ve got it and installed all the essential apps (ie social media…!), you’ll probably want to see what’s inside and start playing with it. And that’s where we come in, by offering you this list of mobile games to start playing with your new smartphone!
It’s hard to miss the mobile phenomenon of recent years! Mocked before its release for its graphics that were too reminiscent of Breath of the Wild, the game was an instant success that still attracts players more than two years after its release.
However, even though many players have lived in adventure since ancient times, Genshin Impact remains fully accessible to those who wish to join the adventure today : it actually offers a great single-player campaign that will keep you in suspense for a long time, and allow you to level up a bit in terms of experience before entering the coop mode (the game is does not offer a PVP mode).
A classic mobile game model, Genshin Impact is a gacha-RPG, accessible and playable for free (even for a long time), but it will try to push you into microtransactions to progress less slowly or get some wanted characters…
Another hit gacha-RPG, Disney Mirrorverse is also a current big hit that you might want to try on your new Android phone. Its main argument is clearly to allow you to play with your favorite Disney characters, in addition to offering these same characters in evil versions, which you have to fight on the other side of the glass.
We noticed in our review how rich the game is, despite the real accessibility. Disney Mirrorverse Has Many Features Of A “Real Game”and not just from a hypercasual pastime like mobile games sometimes (often).
It’s also a gacha, which means you have to checkout through microtransactions to progress and finally get your hands on THE Disney character that makes you dream or remind you of the first movie your parents watched you watch. ! But it’s also free-to-play, which means you can download the game and try it out for a few days before deciding if it’s worth spending a few bucks.
The good news is that the game is a success, and the content – and therefore new universes and characters – should keep coming for some time!
We’re stepping out of the mobile frame a bit to try our hand at a big hit on PC. Vampire Survivor is actually a “tiny” game that was originally released on itch.io, and is now available on Android phones.
Not surprising, considering how its mechanics seem to be inherited from the culture of mobile games. Simple, addictive, and neo-retro, the game puts us in control of a monster hunter who has to survive enemy attacks. Finally, we write “waves”, but tsunami would be the word that best describes what is happening on the screen, which is literally covered with creatures!
Fortunately, the attacks are automatic, and the game almost looks like a rhythm game at times. Its core mechanic is figuring out which gear (which we loot as waves of monsters) best combines to make us an unbeatable hunter.
As graphically refined as it is in terms of gameplay, Vampire Survivor is one of the big surprises of 2022. Its arrival on Android phones will allow you to understand why! And the game is free!
Amongst gacha, match-3 and other indie game ports, mobile games can also sometimes offer truly original titles designed for mobile with the ambition of being “real” videos game. This is the case of Afterplace.
Afterplace is a 2D, all-pixel RPG in the vein of 8- and 16-bit period adventure games. The hero wakes up without really knowing why or how on The Island – so designated by its inhabitants -, a place at the crossroads of different parallel worlds, sheltering mysterious phenomena and creatures.
Obviously, you have to try to unlock the secret of the island to get out of it… A relatively light scenario that allows you to focus on exploring its open world and the excellent DA, which handles the pixel with talent.
Afterplace has just been released on Android phones, and costs €6.49.
Another mobile game with “just a game” ambitions, Lucky Luna is a platform game that attempts to redefine the genre on the phone. And spoiler: it was a success.
We go from platform to platform, we avoid cliffs or peaks, we avoid monsters and collect diamonds… All this with only two minimalist controls designed for mobile: swipe left , and swipe right!
And it works incredibly well! Let’s add to this the search for neo-retro DA all in pixels, also designed for phones (we play in portrait mode), and here is a very, very good game for your android phone !
Lucky Luna is exclusive to the Netflix catalog: it is therefore accessible free of charge for subscribers to the streaming service, but not accessible to others… This is also an opportunity to mention the platform’s catalog of games, which has expanded and now includes a host of “console quality” titles: Kentucky Route Zero, Immortal, Reigns, Oxenfree, Into the Breach…
As the years go by, the line between mobile games and traditional games is getting thinner and thinner. With your new Android phone in hand, consider checking out Google’s Play Pass offer, which, for a €5 per month subscription, offers hundreds of games and applications for free access. And don’t forget that thanks to the magic of cloud gaming, Microsoft’s Game Pass catalog is playable on your Android phone, including AAA titles (Forza Horizon 5, High on Life, Halo Infinite, etc.)
