With the baseball season now in full swing as we head into mid-May, we’re reminded how similar America’s pastime is to the rhythm of the mobile games industry. Seriously, just hear us out. In baseball, if you strike out, you’ve …
With the baseball season now in full swing as we head into mid-May, we’re reminded how similar America’s pastime is to the rhythm of the mobile games industry.
Seriously, just hear us out.
In baseball, if you strike out, you’ve got another chance to make good coming a few innings later, or you can make up for it out in the field. Have a completely horrible game? No worries, there’s another one tomorrow most likely.
The same principle is true for mobile games. Nothing may strike your fancy one particular week, but you can be darn sure a bunch more games are coming to your favorite app store next week. Games of all genres and styles. And that’s a comforting thought.
In that vein, we’ve picked out nine new mobile games we’ve got our eye on as potential home runs, starting with a super hero throwdown with a name that should ring a bell or two.
Look, we’ll be honest and say we’re predisposed to like this game. It’s the follow-up to the mobile version of Injustice, which was pretty decent in its own right. It features Mortal Kombat-esque fights between a deep roster of DC super heroes and villains (Doctor Fate!) and has a story that builds on lore that ran through comics as well as video games. It came out a day sooner than expected, which is always a reliable way to build up some goodwill. It’s even likely to have links to its console sibling due out next week. Those add up to a lot of reasons to give Injustice 2 a shot.
Another game that became a pleasant surprise by making it to the App Store before the usual Thursday blitz, Crash Club takes the core concept of games like slither.io with a bunch of players all in one battlefield but makes it way more interesting because it’s cars battling against each other instead of snakes trying to eat each other. A bunch of different cars, weapons and abilities should keep things from getting too stale, plus Prettygreat promises more than 30 cars per battle at any given time. Sounds crazy and fun.
A zombie invasion? That’s a new idea for a mobile game. We kid Kill Shot Virus, we kid because we care. Anyway, ’tis zombies indeed, but Kill Shot Virus promises to do the idea with some panache thanks to a wide variety of ways to kill them, numerous customization options for your would-be survivor and a healthy dose of social features. Because surviving the zombie apocalypse is definitely better and more possible with friends … unless, of course, they turn into zombies. Then not so much. In any case, more decent shooters are always welcome on mobile.
You may recall this game’s predecessor, Kid Tripp, which came out way back in 2013. That’s practically a lifetime ago in mobile terms, we know, but better late than never and all that. Miles, that game’s hero, has found himself shipwrecked on an island again, but he’s got man’s best friend alongside this time. That’d be Kilo. It’s impossible to look at this game and not have warm, fuzzy feelings of platformers from days gone by, and Miles & Kilo pile on the nostalgia with a chiptune soundtrack and retro cutscenes. Looks relentlessly charming, and we like that.
Sounds like: the title to a metal band’s forgotten album from the late 80s. Actually is: an idle RPG with an interesting development process that saw the developers soft launch with a bunch of features intentionally left out so they could get the basics down pat first. Will that make a difference? The only way to find out for sure is to play Crush Them All ourselves, but mobile gamers certainly don’t seem to have tired of idle games of all kinds, including RPGs, so the odds are in Godzilab’s favor.
This game, on the other hand, sounds like it should be a Japanese fighting game thanks to its lengthy title. It also came out a few months ago on PC, so it’s possible you may have already seen or played it. Its tributes to said fighting game are very much intentional, except instead of throwing hands, the 12 characters here are competing to see who is the best blackjack player in the world. This author was somehow not invited. Sad. It also has multiplayer where up to four people can drop in and out, which definitely sounds fun. Also a lot cheaper than doing it for real at a casino.
Sure, fantasy RPGs are always full of dungeons, but did you ever wonder about the business side of having those monsters, traps and whatnot under one roof? Okay, probably not, but Dungeon, Inc. still looks like it could be fun as you tap your way to success. Expand your dungeon with a number of different types of rooms, make sure the monsters living in it are properly leveled up and keep your gold safe from those Tax Knights. Become Manager of the Week, even. Yes that was totally a thing back in fantasy times. Just go with it.
Kongregate always has new stuff cooking, and in this case, it’s an epic dungeon crawling RPG with old school graphics and sensibility. The app store write-up promises plenty of treasure and loot, crafting, lots of monsters to capture and force (we assume) to fight by your side, a PvP arena, raids and lots more. Randomly generated levels means its never quite the same adventure twice, and the soundtrack is said to sound “like it was ripped straight from an NES cartridge.” We’re game. Not for the cartridge-ripping, mind you.
Hey, we know this one too, back from its first life as a PC game about six years ago. To the Moon is an adventure RPG of sorts, but there’s no fighting, inventory or other usual trappings of the genre. Instead, the story and puzzle-solving take center stage in the story of two doctors who help patients relive their lives through memory and try to figure out how to grant the particular lifelong wish of one particular man. The title should give you some idea of what that might be. If you’re looking for something different among this week’s new offerings, this might be your jam.
