Alto’s Odyssey In every sense of the word, Alto’s Odyssey is endless: You can lead Alto and their sandboard over numerous hills and ramps, backflip over gorges, and leap between grinds on temple ruins if you’re good enough. However, when you eventually fail and face-plant, which we are sure you will, it is incredibly simple to start a new run to see if you can just get a little bit further or even glimpse the next elusive biome.
Better Together is the name of the massive 2017 mobile update for Minecraft, as suggested by its name: However, it is still a fantastic game to play alone. You won’t be able to play with your friends on your favorite server or work together on builds when you go offline, but it will take you back to the basics of what makes Minecraft so magical. You, a pickaxe, and an infinite world of blocks to smash are all you have.
Oxenfree The premise of Oxenfree is a classic mystery trope: a group of teenagers from the 1980s gather on a creepy island. However, you will soon realize that this is not your typical video game. The characters are what really draw you in, but the supernatural twists and turns will keep you hooked. The cast’s obsession with teen drama makes them feel like real people, and developer Night School Studio paints their personalities with every word. 4.Her Story We strongly discourage playing this game with a friend or with someone watching over your shoulder. It’s not just Hannah Smith, a brilliantly acted murder suspect who spends the entire game being interviewed by police, but also your story in that you choose the order in which the clips are shown based on the keywords you search for. Hannah is the only character, and as you search through a police database for clues about her husband’s death, you’ll get a close up look at her personality and habits.
Stardew Valley is the best solo farming game for mobile devices: It was designed for spending long afternoons cutting down trees outside your house, spending cold mornings sitting on a wooden dock with a fishing rod dangling in the water, and creating morning routines to give your virtual life structure. It’s also very deep, much deeper than the cute art style would have you believe, and each season is a chance to learn a new system or mechanic.
Hidden People It’s Wally/Waldo’s Where’s Wally, but on your phone. Because every picture moves, it’s better than the original. Everything you tap will be rewarded with an adorable animation because your touchscreen provides an additional layer of interaction: Birds squawk as they take to the sky, blinds on windows open, and bushes shed their leaves.
Monument Valley 2 is a creative puzzler about shifting perspectives with some of the most exquisite levels you’ll ever see. They are oblique illusions of longing: sprawling, curved structures that are hard to understand but you have to learn how to bend to fit them. Ro can move to the next screen, where you’ll find a new color palette and another equally stunning building, with just a few staircase turns and strategically placed pillar twists.
The Room The Room is the best Android puzzle series: four games, each filled with unique objects that need to be twisted, pulled, and flicked until you figure out how to move forward. Whether you’re reviving an old oven or refracting laser beams on a chessboard, each puzzle has a satisfyingly tactile component. You get the impression that you are in a real space rather than just a virtual playground because of that physicality.
80 Days, Inkle’s mobile masterpiece, still feels relevant and rich five years after its release. You take on the role of Passepartout, Phileas Fogg’s valet, and guide your employer around the world in a race against time. It is a resource management game on one level: You must plot Fogg’s course while safeguarding his health and finances. However, it goes far beyond that. Evocative descriptions that give you a sense of place and history, all with a few sentences and an accompanying image, bring each of the 150 cities you can visit to life and exude personality.
Mekorama Mekorama is yet another internet-free, free Android game. The game only recently came to our attention, but the gameplay also looks pretty promising. The game only takes up about 5MB of space. Ironically, both the gaming experience and the graphics are top-notch. In case you were wondering, Mekorama is a mind-bending puzzle game. A robot is the only character in the game.
