15 Best Mobile Games Right Now

Mobile games offer a unique proposition: access to hours of enjoyment from the same device many people already spend much of their days on. While the reputation for mobile games hasn’t always been stellar, it’s a relic of an age long in the past. Today’s mobile games feature a slew of hard-hitting, engaging content, whether it’s Pokemon GO‘s active environment, Genshin Impact‘s dizzying amount of gameplay modes and combinations, or Vampire Survivors‘ addictive loop of action and customization.

Mobile games offer people the ability to engage with their favorite content while on the go. They also don’t require the same level of investment that other platforms might; for many, a mobile device is already part of their daily routine, whereas a PlayStation 5 or gaming PC might represent a much larger accessibility cost to begin with. These games are the very best ways to turn the average Android or iOS device into a deep library of incredible adventures.

15

Pokémon GO

Metascore: 69

Pokémon GO is the only game on this list below an 80 metascore, but that’s with good reason: its reviews date all the way back to 2016, where it launched as an ambitious but troubled app with a lot of growing pains in its near future. Now, in 2024, it’s pretty hard to imagine the mobile gaming landscape without Pokémon GO, and its frequent content rollouts and consistent additions to its growing roster of creatures make it a mainstay for many.

Pokémon GO is successful because of its willingness to adapt; when it launched buggy and broken, developer Niantic took time to refine the process of the ARG’s mechanics, honing it into something that works exceptionally well regardless of device (provided it meets minimum requirements) or location (within reason – probably not deep in a cave). When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Pokémon GO needed a from-home version of its gameplay that kept players active and engaged and delivered. Pokémon GO offers a consistent, updated experience across the years and shows no signs of slowing down now.

14

Honkai: Star Rail

Metascore: 80

Honkai: Star Rail features a distinct sci-fi world and a growing adventure that includes dramatic political scuffles, world-ending threats, and amnesiac chosen ones. What makes it such an exciting mobile RPG, however, is its turn-based combat, which is exceptionally well-suited to Android and iOS devices. Without input-based timings as a concern, it’s a lot easier to enjoy Honkai: Star Rail during a commute or similar timesink, and it’s also easier to look up from the screen without risking getting hit by an enemy.

Honkai: Star Rail‘s story sees the Trailblazer wake up with no recollection of who they are, and a majorly powerful artifact embedded within them. The game’s wide range of characters is part of its appeal; as a gacha title, however, many of those characters will need to be obtained via luck or in-game spending. Still, a wide roster of free-to-play options and a generous amount of events & rewards keeps Honkai: Star Rail cemented as one of the best mobile games currently available.

13

Call of Duty: Mobile

Metascore: 81

Call of Duty: Mobile is one of the best mobile shooters available on the market. Releasing in 2019, the game immediately found success, achieving around 270 million downloads in its first year while generating over $480 million USD in the same span. What’s available is what players would expect from a Call of Duty release: deep weapons-based gameplay with a focus on action, and less of a need for aim than, say, something like CS:GO or Valorant.

While Call of Duty: Mobile now has competition from its own franchise in Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile, the game will continue to get new content every season. With multiple years’ worth of experience and a strong gameplay style that’s familiar and friendly to many shooting game veterans, Call of Duty: Mobile remains an ideal way to bring the iconic series’ skirmishes onto Android and iOS devices.

12

Reigns: Her Majesty

Metascore: 81

Reigns: Her Majesty is a strategy game developed by Nerial and published by Devolver Digital, and is the stand-alone sequel to the immensely popular Reigns. The game places players in the role of a fictional monarch who must consistently field suggestions from a group of advisors who each have their own interests influencing these options. It’s up to the Queen to decide what’s ultimately best for her kingdom – or face the consequences.

Reigns: Her Majesty is sublime in its simplicity. Players address concerns via cards that are reminiscent of Tinder profiles and function similarly – they can swipe to match with a corresponding action on the card. The art style is uniquely blocky and aesthetic, and success is measured by four metrics that are the pillars of society. Should any fall too low, the Queen’s reign ends; but the player may immediately begin again as their heir, starting the cycle anew.

11

Genshin Impact

Metascore: 82

Genshin Impact is the second HoYoverse title to appear here, and it’s also been around longer than Honkai: Star Rail, first releasing in 2020 to a mixed reception as some referred to it as a Breath of the Wild clone. Quickly proving those naysayers wrong, Genshin Impact has since become an immensely profitable fantasy RPG with five distinct regions and dozens of hours of main quest content rivaling AAA RPG releases in depth.

The biggest reason for Genshin Impact‘s stay at the top of revenue charts in mobile gaming boils down to its clockwork release schedule: there are very few “dead” weeks when players aren’t given something to do, and each Version Update brings new characters to try to acquire and additional content to explore. While people may still have a lot to say about the presence of Paimon in Genshin Impact, there’s little reason to doubt it won’t continue its dominance in the genre.

10

Hello Kitty Island Adventure

Metascore: 83

Hello Kitty Island Adventure was an unexpected hit when it released in 2023. While it borrows heavily from Animal Crossing in its gameplay style, it also splashes in the distinct vibrancy and charm that comes with Sanrio characters. Players begin with a character creator and are quickly thrown into the mix as their plane full of Sanrio stars is forced to parachute onto the titular island and begin to get it back up to standard.

There’s a huge amount of content available in Hello Kitty Island Adventure as soon as players begin: they can look for where other characters landed, complete fetch quests, solve the mysteries of the island, bake, fish, and plenty more. It’s very difficult to run out of things to do in the game and even more difficult to put it down once its gameplay loop is established and the protagonist is drawn into the Sanrio society of cute animals, island living, and some hidden Gudetamas to find and take selfies with.

9

Slay the Spire

Metascore: 83

Slay the Spire is one of the most iconic deckbuilding games of all time. It redefined metaprogression in its genre and became the blueprint for many other successful games like Monster Train and Across the Obelisk. And it’s also so sleek and easy on processing power that it was able to find a home on mobile devices without much fuss, launching on iOS in 2020 and then Android in 2021.

As a deckbuilding roguelite, Slay the Spire tasks players with slowly constructing a pile of cards that represent abilities for one of its heroes. Each hero comes with their own starting deck and different concepts, so runs can be customized right from the beginning based on a player’s preference. Progressing through the Spire sees players add, remove, and upgrade cards while obtaining artifacts with other bonuses and synergies. Metaprogression in the form of Ascension levels keeps runs entertaining and increasingly difficult, making for hours of content.

8

Marvel Snap

Metascore: 85

Marvel Snap is a digital collectible card game from a studio featuring some ex-Hearthstone developers. With that kind of pedigree, it’s no wonder the game took off and didn’t look back, releasing in 2022 to critical acclaim and sustaining that success across multiple years with frequent content updates, card design shakeups, and an evolving PvP metagame. That, coupled with close attention paid to variant card arts enhancing the collectibility side of the offerings, has kept players happy and invested well into 2024.

Marvel Snap is designed to be enjoyed more quickly than many other card games, with decks of 12 cards pitted against each other across three locations – a player must win at two of the three locations to be the victor. Rounds are quick, and games typically last around six rounds, so climbing the competitive ladder doesn’t take very long. Multiplayer game modes include Standard, Battle, and Conquest, with over 1,000 card variants already available to collect.

7

Among Us

Metascore: 85

Among Us probably doesn’t need much of an introduction, having taken the world by storm in 2020, two years after it released and during the height of the pandemic. The social deduction gameplay has entertained ever since, pitting friends against each other as crewmates attempting to complete tasks in space while also trying to discover who among them is an evil monster that wants to eat them.

Among Us on mobile works very well, and cross-platform functionality means that not everyone has to be seated at their PC or on their phone. Discussions with players might take a bit more time on mobile but completing tasks tends to be a bit faster; it’s a balance, but not one that typically matters in a game that’s more about engaging with friends in a group setting. Better still, Among Us is free on mobile, so those looking to try it out on that platform will have no trouble accessing it.

6

Rocket League Sideswipe

Metascore: 86

Rocket League Sideswipe is exactly the sort of game that mobile players enjoy sinking time into, with a balance of competitive desire and flashy substance helping appeal to a wide range of potential drivers. Sideswipe ports the rough-and-tumble action of Rocket League from a 3D arena to a 2D one, sacrificing some of the mobility the game is known for to make sure it functions better on mobile devices.

Rocket League Sideswipe is essentially the same as the console version, with players competing 1v1 or 2v2 and trying to put the ball in the opposing team’s net. The game also features a diversity of gameplay options for both single-player and multiplayer modes, and has Casual and Ranked playlists to choose from. It’s a popular game that was the most downloaded mobile game in the US and UK in December after its launch in late November, and it’s still one of the best mobile games today.

5

Poinpy

Metascore: 87

Poinpy takes the formula of Downwell and inverts it, sending its titular character upwards in search of more food to sate the appetite of the adorable but nonetheless ravenous monster chasing the character from the bottom of the screen. It’s also a bit more of an obscure title, locked behind exclusivity for Netflix members only, so keep that in mind while trying to access the content. For those who can play it, though, Poinpy is a blast.

Players move Poinpy by dragging down on the screen and launching them at a certain trajectory by releasing the drag. In theory, this is quite simple, but in practice, it’s chaotic – Poinpy can bounce around and get caught on things, and there are a limited number of jumps available for the character to begin with. Additional jumps can be earned by well-timed bounces off enemies, which is where the gameplay loop really starts to solidify – find cool angles, launch Poinpy, try to earn extra jumps at the same time, and repeat. It’s simple but addictive and a highly enjoyable game.

4

Ex Astris

Metascore: 87

Ex Astris is something of a departure for developer HyperGraph, best known for massive gacha game Arknights. Ex Astris is advertised as a premium mobile gaming experience and, for the low price of $9.99 USD, it delivers on that concept wholeheartedly – and without gacha elements at all, a rarity for popular mobile RPGs. It’s also an anime game, with an aesthetic that’s familiar to many who have scrolled through the app store’s most popular games.

Ex Astris is a turn-based game with a real-time element, with teams of three characters jumping into battle that sees players able to launch follow-ups with characters by tapping the screen. During the enemy’s turn, players can attempt to parry their attacks to minimize damage received. This blend of combat is complemented by an accessible and interesting story accompanied by a gorgeous world design. At about 15 hours needed to playthrough its launch story and more content on the way, this already great mobile game continues to cement itself as one of the best.

3

Old School RuneScape

Metascore: 87

Old School RuneScape is a return to tradition for the long-running fantasy MMORPG, eschewing the changes that have come with attempts to update its aesthetic and gameplay in favor of the nostalgia of its most classic interpretation. Old School RuneScape features an immersive blend of battling, social interactions, and “skilling,” the latter of which remains the biggest selling point of the grind that comes with playing this title.

On mobile, Old School RuneScape finds an ideal home. Its simplistic but tap-based controls are responsive and all that’s needed to play, and the ability to play cross-platform with PC means completing daily tasks that don’t involve combat is often best-served on a mobile device. The game is essentially the same on PC as it is on mobile, with an incredibly deep experience and a community that is often quite welcoming to new travelers discovering the world of Gielinor for the first time.

2

League of Legends: Wild Rift

Metascore: 89

League of Legends: Wild Rift is a multiplayer title developed and published by Riot Games. Players control a champion the same way they would in League of Legends, competing against an enemy team with the end goal of destroying the Nexus. Champions scale the same way, too, starting off relatively weak while slowly accumulating unique abilities that impact the battlefield and gold to purchase equipment and items that can turn the tides at a moment’s notice.

Wild Rift still features the traditional 5-on-5 modes of League of Legends, but everything is condensed to better serve mobile players. Respawn times are cut in half, gold gain is accelerated, and the map has been reduced in size to incentivize combat more often. League of Legends: Wild Rift might actually be the best way to play a League of Legends game for certain people – with match times lasting roughly half that of the PC version (15–20 minutes vs. 40 minutes), those with less free time should select this excellent mobile version of the LoL experience.

1

Vampire Survivors

Metascore: 91

Vampire Survivors is a roguelike bullet hell shoot ’em up that defies description – while all of those elements are accurate, it really needs to be experienced to be fully understood. The average mid-game screen of Vampire Survivors looks completely inaccessible to those unfamiliar with the title, but underneath the chaos is a game of simplicity refined into excellence – and that ports extremely well over to mobile, where it’s a smash hit with a metascore of 91.

Vampire Survivors sessions have soft time limits that run between 15 and 30 minutes, which makes it an ideal mobile game for short-term play. The player selects a character to begin their run that offers a different starting weapon & bonus combination, then allows their weapon to fire automatically as they navigate the level and avoid enemies while slaughtering them. Progression involves experience gems, upgrade levels, and loot chests; metaprogression involves unlocking persistent power-ups with gold. It’s delightfully addictive and one of the best mobile games ever.