Looking for the best Android games? The mobile gaming world has evolved so much that the games we play on our phones can now rival those played on a PC. In some cases, they’re exactly the same game. If you want some exciting new experiences for your Android device, we’ve picked out a selection of the best choices.
Following the footsteps of our best free PC games list, we’ve kept it to the freebies. A price tag is no longer a prerequisite for a quality game, which is fantastic news for anyone who loves to experiment and broaden their horizons. We’ve gone for a range of RPG games, farming games, and lots of other genres so that there’s something for ever type of player.
Raid: Shadow Legends
Our first recommendation is one you’ve probably heard of many times before. Raid: Shadow Legends is a game all about bulking out a team of champions and then using them to get through turn-based and head-to-head battles with other players. It’s a fun cycle of grinding, unlocking new characters, expanding your team, and then grinding some more through tougher challenges.
There’s a lot of strategy involved too. Every champion has their own unique set of strengths and weaknesses which means that you’re going to need to tailor your team so they’re well-suited to face each challenge. Finally getting the right match-up to tear through a bunch of enemies you’ve been stuck on for ages is satisfying – and with a huge selection of quirky and endearing characters, you’ll come back again and again. It’s easily one of the best gacha games we’ve ever played.
Play Raid: Shadow Legends for free.
Legend of Mushroom
This quirky mobile game has become popular lately, and it’s easy to see why. In it, you play as a young fungus who hopes to eventually evolve into a human being, and aren’t we all just mushrooms hoping to become people one day? It’s an idle game where you can leave your little mushroom tearing through auto-battles, but you can hop into the driver’s seat at any time.
Outside of battling, you can also do a bit of farming, or mining for other resources. These resources then go towards enhancing your mushroom, and the whole thing is wonderfully cozy and laid-back. It’s exactly the kind of game that is perfect to unwind with after a long day of work or study.
Play Legend of Mushroom for free.
Mech Arena
Mech Arena is all about taking huge mech suits into battle, collecting resources to upgrade and customize them, and ultimately cementing yourself as the ultimate battler in online arenas. It’s one of those multiplayer games that you can easily lose yourself in for countless hours.
There’s quite a wide variety in what the mechs do and how they fight – as you build yours, you’ll find that you’re carving out your little niche and creating something that aligns with your unique approach to battles. Because of this, every game will feel a bit different, add in a selection of 18 different maps, and you’ve got an online experience that manages to keep itself feeling fresh even after you’ve already played for hours and hours.
Harvest Land
Harvest Land is a free farm game that gives you everything you could ever need from the genre – it’s got cute animals to tame, it gives you an adorable little house to make your own, it lets you trade with your friends, and it even gives you monsters to battle (don’t worry though, this side of things doesn’t ruin its overall cozy vibe).
Set in a small village that your character moves to at the start, it lets you enjoy the feeling of helping that community grow and expand over time. It’s the perfect kind of game for you to have on your phone, giving you the chance to check in at any time, whether it’s to escape the stress of your morning commute, or as you flop down on your bed at the end of a long day.
Dice Dreams
Are you looking for something where you can just unplug your brain and unwind without having to worry about complex battle mechanics, a labyrinthine overworld, or a convoluted story (like you might find in the best MMOs)? Well, Dice Dreams is a game that’s all about the thrill of a dice roll. That might sound like a pretty basic idea for a game, but the developers nailed the presentation, to such an extent that you won’t be able to resist coming back over and over again.
The biggest appeal of the game? Peons. They’re small dumpy creatures that inhabit the world of Dice Dreams, and you’d have to have a pretty cold heart to resist a smile when watching their silly antics (no disrespect to cold-hearted readers). They live in the town that you’re looking after in the game, and each time you roll a dice, it decides which resources you’ll gain access to, what money you’ll get, or even what will happen. With the option to play with friends (competitively or cooperatively), it’s a wonderfully social and cozy world to lose yourself in.
Gold & Goblins
A simple game that’s all about mining. You have a team of goblins who you send out into caves so that they can burrow deeper and deeper and gather more resources for you. It’s another idle game, so you can just leave your little goblin assortment to do their job and reap the rewards when you have time to log in.
But that’s not to suggest that there’s no depth to the experience. It is very satisfying to think carefully about how and where you went to send out your workforce. Different types of rocks take different lengths of time to wear down and yield different resources too, and the more you gather, the more options you have for expanding in different ways and gaining new machinery tools to dig deeper. The goblins are quite cute and endearing too.
Rise of Cultures
One of the best strategy games around, Rise of Cultures gives you an experience quite unlike any other. We’re sure you’ve seen hundreds of other city building games, or even civilization-building games, but we’ve never seen anything else that takes you by the hand through the course of history while keeping your focus on human wellfare.
When you start playing Rise of Cultures, you’ve got a simple community – but over time, you’ll watch them grow and expand into a giant empire. However, unlike many other games of its kind, you have to pay special attention to the happiness of your people, ensuring that they have ways to unwind and plenty of time to rest and cultivate their culture. It’s something that the genre is often very guilty of ignoring, but it makes the game uniquely appealing.
Play Rise of Cultures for free.
If you love gaming on the go, read our list of the best PC games you can play on mobile. Our list of the best online games with no download also includes many classics that you can play on your phone.