The New Year is a time for fresh beginnings, and for frequent mobile phone users, that can mean revamping an app collection. It doesn’t mean you have to wipe your phone clean and download all new apps, but it does mean it’s a nice time to delete what you don’t use and look for things you might have missed or things that seem particularly relevant heading into the year ahead. It can be particularly easy and fun to make this kind of adjustment regarding any mobile games you may have, because often the ones you’ve had for a while grow stale, and sometimes even the best new releases go largely unnoticed.
In keeping with this point, here are some Android games you might want to go ahead and download to play now and as we move into the New Year.
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Old School RuneScape
This has become one of the most popular games of late 2018, and yet in all the commotion over listing the best apps of the year and all of that, it still feels like it’s one that may slip by a lot of people who would enjoy it. If you’re wondering if it’s connected to the RuneScape – the groundbreaking MMORPG that many credit with starting it all – it is, largely, the same game. It’s made the leap from computers to mobile for the first time, and the results are just about perfect. The graphics are updated, though not to the point of ruining the game’s vintage flavor, and the world is more expansive. But for the most part, it’s just a more accessible, modern version of a true classic.
Stranger Things: The Game
Designed by Netflix and BonusXP, this game has been out for a while now as the definitive mobile representation of the hit television series Stranger Things. It’s a beautifully presented adventure game, designed to resemble some ‘80s arcade or computer games with a few modern updates, such that it suits the setting of the show itself but also appeals to today’s gamers. It’s a great game to play in general, but it’s also a smart one to get used to heading into 2019 because a new version (or possibly just a major update) is expected to coincide with the show’s forthcoming third season.
Gonzo’s Quest
There are almost so many different tricks and perks meant to attract players in the casino business online that the actual good games go unnoticed. Basically, most casino platforms these days offer free bonuses, meaning players don’t have to part with any cash to play, and it’s features like this that take center stage. The best games aren’t necessarily used to advertise the casinos, but in the case of Gonzo’s Quest, they probably should be. This is far and away the most beautiful, engaging digital slot game we’ve ever seen, and while it’s not brand new, it feels relevant heading into 2019 because it’s set to lead the charge not just for more sophisticated mobile slots, but for the genre’s push into virtual reality as well.
Cube Escape: Paradox
Rusty Lake is a game designer that’s become known for the fascinating, artistically unique, and thematically odd series of “Cube Escape” games. Cube Escape: Paradox is the latest in the series, and it’s been called the weirdest and most ambitious. It’s actually difficult to explain the game in words, but basically it’s an escape-the-room game in which you play from a first person perspective. However, at certain points you can see the “real” you in a mirror, and you can also transition out of the game to a short film starring said “real” you, peeking in on the action. It’s all sort of like a weird, eccentric, yet intricately plotted dream, and it’s proven to be the best late surprise in the mobile gaming industry in 2018.
Air Combat Pilot
There are a ton of air combat simulators out there for mobile devices, and frankly most of them are awful. They have clunky controls, confusing action, and often a bit too much going on. Air Combat Pilot is a fairly late 2018 release that didn’t get too much attention, and suffice it to say it’s better than the rest. Fundamentally it’s fairly basic, as you control a fighter jet from a tight third-person perspective, flying about an engaging in dog fights. But for whatever reason, it just feels cleaner and more controllable than most or all of its counterparts, without giving much up in the difficulty department.
