Want the greatest Android games on your phone? This is the go-to list you'll need.
It's always been assumed that Android isn't a great place for mobile gaming. While that used to be the case in the early days of Android development, Google's mobile OS certainly gives Apple's iOS game catalogue a run for its money.
Usually offered at a cheaper price, or with an alternative "freemium" model based on in-app purchases (denoted as IAP in our list), Android is a hotbed of gaming fun. However, it's a minefield out there, and there are clones aplenty, so to help you work out which ones are worth downloading
, we've rounded up 15 of the best Android games available to download in 2015.
The Witcher Battle Arena (Free with IAP)
The MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) genre is exploding on PC, and CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher Battle Arena brings that competitive scene to Android.
It’s fun, fast, and you could easily sink hours upon hours of play into it without even trying.
If you’re itching for League of Legends or DotA 2 on mobile, this is the solution.
Clash of Clans (free with IAP)
Clash of Clans has taken the world by storm, so much so Supercell can afford to have Liam Neeson advertise it during the Superbowl. And there's a reason for why everyone the world over has become hooked on its brand of resource management and social gaming - it's so perfectly formed for dip-in play.
You know when a clash is going to go down against a rival clan, so you and your buddies can form up and build a solid defence whilst also forming a powerful offence. It's tactics, management, and a way to keep in touch with friends or make new ones in stranger-filled clans.
Supercell is certainly doing something right - it's probably why one member of the PCPro team is addicted to it.
Monument Valley (£2.49 - Forgotten Shores expansion £1.49)
Created by UsTwo Games, Monument Valley is like playing through M. C. Escher artwork. It's truly a beauty to behold, and the mind-bending platforming puzzles are just fantastic fun as you scratch your head wondering what to do until a eureka moment occurs and everything falls into place.
It may not be the longest game around, and you may find little reason to revisit once completed, but you won't ever come across a game as beautiful and pleasing as this again.
Dudeski (Free)
Ever play SkiFree on MS Dos or Windows 3.1? Well Dudeski will bring back haunting memories of that angry robot chasing you down.
Built like an endless runner, Dudeski sees you careening down the slopes while a violent avalanche is hot on your tail. It's tense stuff, but you can overcome it by weaving around coloured slalom posts, making use of jumps, and gaining speed on icy pools.
Collecting pine cones on your way allows you to unlock shortcuts or pay for bonuses to increase your high score, and if you grab onto a low-flying helicopter you'll be whisked away to a bonus level.
Spread across four regions of the mountain, Dudeski comes with an awful lot despite its free price.
Sudoku (Free)
No fuss, no nonsense, Jamie McDonald's Sodoku does exactly what it says on the tin.
Split across Easy, Normal, Hard and - for the brave - Extreme, puzzles, there's plenty to keep you going if you don't fancy paying. For those who do want to extend the challenge, McDonald has been incredibly favourable, offering up an extra 400 puzzles on a tier of your choice for just 59p.
Thanks to integration with Google Play Games, you can compare your scores and averages against friends, and even track your own number-crunching progress. And, because it's designed in accordance with Google's Material Design ethos, Sudoku is slick to use.
Definitely the clearest way to flex your brain during your morning commute.
Weak Warriror (Free)
Playing more akin to a rhythm-action game than and all-out RPG, Weak Warrior has you bashing ghosts and goblins until you die.
Fixed to a spot, tapping the left or right and side of the screen swings your warrior's sword left or right respectively. Enemies rush you, and you need to dispatch them swiftly, as you can only take a couple of hits before you die. As you progress, new enemies approach, each with their own attack and run patterns, meaning that timing is key. Make a wrong swing and you could see yourself defenceless for precious seconds!
Incredibly replayable, wonderfully addictive, Weak Warrior is just a fantastic game for killing a minute or two on the bus or at the stop.
Ridiculous Fishing (£1.99)
Created by the folks at Vlambeer, Ridicuous Fishing is, as its name alludes, completely absurd.
Your task is to help Billy fish the depths of lakes and seas around the world. Dropping your lure, you have to weave around all manner of exotic fish until you reach the full length of your reel. Then, on the way up, you have to catch as many fish as you possibly can.
Once done, Billy flings up his catch into the air whereby you need to shoot down every single one to cash in on your latest fishing escapade. With this newfound cash you can buy new weapons, perks, longer reels, and really anything you want.
It's silly stuff, but that's what makes it just so fantastically fun.
Threes (£1.31)
Created by Asher Voller, Threes is a simple puzzle game that challenges you to match up number tiles in pursuit of a high score.
The game end when you fill up the 4 x 4 grid - but the catch is, you can shift only an entire row or column of tiles at a time, so you can't simply move individual pieces to where you want them.
You can also only match together two identical numbers, or the blue "1" and red "2" tiles to create white "3" tiles. And, with every movement, a new piece joins the board, so you need to keep matching and removing the tiles as quickly as possible.
It sounds confusing, but it's one of those games where, once you start playing, you'll grasp it in moments. After which, thanks to the game's charm and character, you'll quickly be sucked in and won't be able to put your phone down.
Free clones may exist, but they all lack the polish, charm, and character that Threes has in spades.
Desert Golfing (£1.19)
A calmer take on the "endless runner", Desert Golfing sees you flicking a golf ball into a never-ending series of procedurally-generated, single-screen holes.
The graphics aren't much to look at, but the simplicity of Desert Golfing's environment offers a zen-like experience that's relaxing as well as enjoyable.
99 Bricks: Wizard Academy (Free)
Imagine if Tetris involved physics. In Weird Beard’s 99 Bricks Wizard Academy that’s exactly what you have to deal with.
While there’s some vague story thrown in around having to go to a wizard school to learn spells and best foes, the real joy of 99 Bricks is in the building.
Using Tetrinomes that fall from the sky, you need to create a stable base and build yourself a tower reaching up to the heavens. You’ll have to be careful where you place bricks as every brick has weight and momentum to account for.
Some bricks are made of ice, others of wood and stone. Icy bricks are slide around and are a serious hazard to stable structures, whereas stone pieces lock everything around them in place.
If that wasn’t enough of a worry, the higher you build your tower, the stronger winds become, meaning a stable footing is essential if you want to build your own Tower of Babel.
Super Hexagon (£1.99)
The simplest games are often the most addictive, and that’s the case with this high-octane action title. You control an arrow that moves around a hexagon in the middle of the screen, and it needs to be navigated safely through twisting, approaching walls.
You’re tasked with lasting 60 seconds against the encroaching barriers and, if you do, they change shape and speed up – which ramps up the pressure. The techno soundtrack matches its rhythm with the game’s pulsating walls. Few games are infuriating and addictive in equal measure, but Super Hexagon nails it – and that keeps us coming back for more.
Crossy Road (Free with IAP)
We live in a world where there are few truly original ideas come along, but even if Crossy Road is just a combination of Frogger and any number of endless runners, it's so much fun we honestly couldn't care.
With pleasingly colourful and chunky voxel visuals, Crossy Road just requires you to tap the screen to jump forward, swipe left to jump left, and swipe right to jump right. Your only goal is to progress your way through an innumerable amount of hazards. It's just so simple.
In app purchases exist to allow you to buy alternate characters from a huge roster, but if you don't fancy owning any extra characters you don't have to buy them - who knows, you may even win them through in-game rewards.
Rymdkapsel - (£2.49)
Aside from its confusing name, Grapefrukt Games' minimalist strategy game positions itself as "meditative" space station building game. Instead of focusing on selecting units and mounting attacks on enemies, Rymdkapsel is all about building the best base possible.
Things start off slowly, but as you increase the size of your base and begin to fend off incoming attackers, Rymdkapsel becomes a game of resource management and exploration.
Thanks to a tetrinome building method, where the next shape you can use is dictated to you in the upper corner, you'll easily piece together a tight knit base. You want to grow your base as large as possible, but in doing so you need to ensure it's properly defended.
Games can go on for hours if you plan well, but with a quick save function you won't lose any progress if you decide you've had enough for one day.
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft - (Free, with IAP)
Hearthstone is Blizzard's take on the trading card battling game and, much to the annoyance of your timetable and wallet, it's managed to produce something rather spectacular.
Taking on the role of Warcraft heroes and villains, you'll enter into epic duels, summoning allies and beasts to help defeat your opponent. It's incredibly simple to pick up and Blizzard regularly rolls out new expansions, packs and challenges to keep things fresh. You can also play against PC and iOS opponents so you can challenge all of your friends wherever they are.
unlike many other card battlers out there, Hearthstone doesn't aim for your wallet, allowing you to play without paying a dime if you so please. Trouble is, you'll become so sucked in you'll fork over some money eventually.
Two Dots - (Free)
A quirky take on an incredibly simple match-two premise, Two Dots is unbelievably cute and incredibly addictive.
Set as a tale of assisting two adventurers explore the world, Playdots Inc. has created 285 levels of pure simplicity. Each level requires you to remove a set amount of dots from a screen, or meet a certain criteria in each level. To do so, you need to start matching dots!
Dot matching is very straightforward, done through simply drawing a vertical or horizontal line through a set of the same colour dots to link them and remove them from play. More dots fall from the top of the screen, and this match-two puzzler begins to feel very similar to the likes of Bejeweled as more dots tumble from above
Usually offered at a cheaper price, or with an alternative "freemium" model based on in-app purchases (denoted as IAP in our list), Android is a hotbed of gaming fun. However, it's a minefield out there, and there are clones aplenty, so to help you work out which ones are worth downloading
, we've rounded up 15 of the best Android games available to download in 2015.The Witcher Battle Arena (Free with IAP)
The MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) genre is exploding on PC
, and CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher Battle Arena brings that competitive scene to Android.It’s fun, fast, and you could easily sink hours upon hours of play into it without even trying.
If you’re itching for League of Legends or DotA 2 on mobile, this is the solution.
Clash of Clans (free with IAP)
Clash of Clans has taken the world by storm, so much so Supercell can afford to have Liam Neeson advertise it during the Superbowl. And there's a reason for why everyone the world over has become hooked on its brand of resource management and social gaming - it's so perfectly formed for dip-in play.
You know when a clash is going to go down against a rival clan, so you and your buddies can form up and build a solid defence whilst also forming a powerful offence. It's tactics, management, and a way to keep in touch with friends or make new ones in stranger-filled clans.
Supercell is certainly doing something right - it's probably why one member of the PCPro team is addicted to it.
Monument Valley (£2.49 - Forgotten Shores expansion £1.49)
Created by UsTwo Games, Monument Valley is like playing through M. C. Escher artwork. It's truly a beauty to behold, and the mind-bending platforming puzzles are just fantastic fun as you scratch your head wondering what to do until a eureka moment occurs and everything falls into place.
It may not be the longest game around, and you may find little reason to revisit once completed, but you won't ever come across a game as beautiful and pleasing as this again.
Dudeski (Free)
Ever play SkiFree on MS Dos or Windows 3.1? Well Dudeski will bring back haunting memories of that angry robot chasing you down.
Built like an endless runner, Dudeski sees you careening down the slopes while a violent avalanche is hot on your tail. It's tense stuff, but you can overcome it by weaving around coloured slalom posts, making use of jumps, and gaining speed on icy pools.
Collecting pine cones on your way allows you to unlock shortcuts or pay for bonuses to increase your high score, and if you grab onto a low-flying helicopter you'll be whisked away to a bonus level.
Spread across four regions of the mountain, Dudeski comes with an awful lot despite its free price.
Sudoku (Free)
No fuss, no nonsense, Jamie McDonald's Sodoku does exactly what it says on the tin.
Split across Easy, Normal, Hard and - for the brave - Extreme, puzzles, there's plenty to keep you going if you don't fancy paying. For those who do want to extend the challenge, McDonald has been incredibly favourable, offering up an extra 400 puzzles on a tier of your choice for just 59p.
Thanks to integration with Google Play Games, you can compare your scores and averages against friends, and even track your own number-crunching progress. And, because it's designed in accordance with Google's Material Design ethos, Sudoku is slick to use.
Definitely the clearest way to flex your brain during your morning commute.
Weak Warriror (Free)
Playing more akin to a rhythm-action game than and all-out RPG, Weak Warrior has you bashing ghosts and goblins until you die.
Fixed to a spot, tapping the left or right and side of the screen swings your warrior's sword left or right respectively. Enemies rush you, and you need to dispatch them swiftly, as you can only take a couple of hits before you die. As you progress, new enemies approach, each with their own attack and run patterns, meaning that timing is key. Make a wrong swing and you could see yourself defenceless for precious seconds!
Incredibly replayable, wonderfully addictive, Weak Warrior is just a fantastic game for killing a minute or two on the bus or at the stop.
Ridiculous Fishing (£1.99)
Created by the folks at Vlambeer, Ridicuous Fishing is, as its name alludes, completely absurd.
Your task is to help Billy fish the depths of lakes and seas around the world. Dropping your lure, you have to weave around all manner of exotic fish until you reach the full length of your reel. Then, on the way up, you have to catch as many fish as you possibly can.
Once done, Billy flings up his catch into the air whereby you need to shoot down every single one to cash in on your latest fishing escapade. With this newfound cash you can buy new weapons, perks, longer reels, and really anything you want.
It's silly stuff, but that's what makes it just so fantastically fun.
Threes (£1.31)
Created by Asher Voller, Threes is a simple puzzle game that challenges you to match up number tiles in pursuit of a high score.
The game end when you fill up the 4 x 4 grid - but the catch is, you can shift only an entire row or column of tiles at a time, so you can't simply move individual pieces to where you want them.
You can also only match together two identical numbers, or the blue "1" and red "2" tiles to create white "3" tiles. And, with every movement, a new piece joins the board, so you need to keep matching and removing the tiles as quickly as possible.
It sounds confusing, but it's one of those games where, once you start playing, you'll grasp it in moments. After which, thanks to the game's charm and character, you'll quickly be sucked in and won't be able to put your phone
down.Free clones may exist, but they all lack the polish, charm, and character that Threes has in spades.
Desert Golfing (£1.19)
A calmer take on the "endless runner", Desert Golfing sees you flicking a golf ball into a never-ending series of procedurally-generated, single-screen holes.
The graphics aren't much to look at, but the simplicity of Desert Golfing's environment offers a zen-like experience that's relaxing as well as enjoyable.
99 Bricks: Wizard Academy (Free)
Imagine if Tetris involved physics. In Weird Beard’s 99 Bricks Wizard Academy that’s exactly what you have to deal with.
While there’s some vague story thrown in around having to go to a wizard school to learn spells and best foes, the real joy of 99 Bricks is in the building.
Using Tetrinomes that fall from the sky, you need to create a stable base and build yourself a tower reaching up to the heavens. You’ll have to be careful where you place bricks as every brick has weight and momentum to account for.
Some bricks are made of ice, others of wood and stone. Icy bricks are slide
around and are a serious hazard to stable structures, whereas stone pieces lock everything around them in place.If that wasn’t enough of a worry, the higher you build your tower, the stronger winds become, meaning a stable footing is essential if you want to build your own Tower of Babel.
Super Hexagon (£1.99)
The simplest games are often the most addictive, and that’s the case with this high-octane action title. You control an arrow that moves around a hexagon in the middle of the screen, and it needs to be navigated safely through twisting, approaching walls.
You’re tasked with lasting 60 seconds against the encroaching barriers and, if you do, they change shape and speed up – which ramps up the pressure. The techno soundtrack matches its rhythm with the game’s pulsating walls. Few games are infuriating and addictive in equal measure, but Super Hexagon nails it – and that keeps us coming back for more.
Crossy Road (Free with IAP)
We live in a world where there are few truly original ideas come along, but even if Crossy Road is just a combination of Frogger and any number of endless runners, it's so much fun we honestly couldn't care.
With pleasingly colourful and chunky voxel visuals, Crossy Road just requires you to tap the screen to jump forward, swipe left to jump left, and swipe right to jump right. Your only goal is to progress your way through an innumerable amount of hazards. It's just so simple.
In app purchases exist to allow you to buy alternate characters from a huge roster, but if you don't fancy owning any extra characters you don't have to buy them - who knows, you may even win them through in-game rewards.
Rymdkapsel - (£2.49)
Aside from its confusing name, Grapefrukt Games' minimalist strategy game positions itself as "meditative" space station building game. Instead of focusing on selecting units and mounting attacks on enemies, Rymdkapsel is all about building the best base possible.
Things start off slowly, but as you increase the size of your base and begin to fend off incoming attackers, Rymdkapsel becomes a game of resource management and exploration.
Thanks to a tetrinome building method, where the next shape you can use is dictated to you in the upper corner, you'll easily piece together a tight knit base. You want to grow your base as large as possible, but in doing so you need to ensure it's properly defended.
Games can go on for hours if you plan well, but with a quick save function you won't lose any progress if you decide you've had enough for one day.
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft - (Free, with IAP)
Hearthstone is Blizzard's take on the trading card battling game and, much to the annoyance of your timetable and wallet, it's managed to produce something rather spectacular.
Taking on the role of Warcraft heroes and villains, you'll enter into epic duels, summoning allies and beasts to help defeat your opponent. It's incredibly simple to pick up and Blizzard regularly rolls out new expansions, packs and challenges to keep things fresh. You can also play against PC and iOS opponents so you can challenge all of your friends wherever they are.
unlike many other card battlers out there, Hearthstone doesn't aim for your wallet, allowing you to play without paying a dime if you so please. Trouble is, you'll become so sucked in you'll fork over some money eventually.
Two Dots - (Free)
A quirky take on an incredibly simple match-two premise, Two Dots is unbelievably cute and incredibly addictive.
Set as a tale of assisting two adventurers explore the world, Playdots Inc. has created 285 levels of pure simplicity. Each level requires you to remove a set amount of dots from a screen, or meet a certain criteria in each level. To do so, you need to start matching dots!
Dot matching is very straightforward, done through simply drawing a vertical or horizontal line through a set of the same colour dots to link them and remove them from play. More dots fall from the top of the screen, and this match-two puzzler begins to feel very similar to the likes of Bejeweled as more dots tumble from above
