reddit’s top 25 favorite Android games in GIFs
Monument Valley, Super Hexagon, BADLAND, Pixel Dungeon, Threes!, and heaps more. As voted by /r/AndroidGaming in Summer 2014
This post was originally published on the Appszoom blog.
The Appszoom editors spend more time on reddit than we should probably admit. It’s one of the ways we take the pulse of the internet. It’s also where we get lost looking at GIFs of cats (whoops).
I’m subscribed to /r/AndroidGaming, which helps me keep track of upcoming and popular titles by and for redditors. They tend to be slightly more basement-geek than me, but they inevitably sniff out some real gems that the app stores miss. They just came out with their list of the best from this summer, and the only thing lacking… was GIFs.
Voilà: here’s Appszoom GIFs of the top 25 best Android games according to reddit (as of Summer 2014).
1. Monument Valley
Monument Valley deserves every little bit of buzz it gets. It made our list of Best iOS Games of 2014 Q2, plus our list of Best iPad Games for Non-Gamers. But enough about accolades. It’s a beautiful, Escher-esque journey of joyful discovery, suitable for all ages and backgrounds. A true revelation in the world of mobile gaming.
Check out the full review (9.4/10)
2. Super Hexagon
Infuriatingly brilliant. Is there a word to express this yet? Infrilliant? Linguistic shortcomings aside, the best apps often fall into this category, and Super Hexagon may be the best example yet. Move the triangle around the hexagon so that it avoids getting smashed by the falling blocks. That’s it. Left and right. A little faster now. Now faster. Now — ohhwaitnononono DAMN NOT AGAIN. Where’s that retry button.
Check out the full review (8.3/10)
3. The Room Two
Everyone thinks they loved Myst, but really, it was just needlessly difficult puzzles set on a beautiful island (and those two brothers never shut up, either). The Room Two is far better, from a perspective of both general fun and time investment/reward.
It’s a classy 3D puzzler in which interaction with objects feels natural. The rich unfolding storyline will keep you turning the puzzles over in your head long after you’ve put your device away. The visual and audio design are gorgeous and spooky, making it ideal either for your next car trip or for sneaking under the covers with you at night.
Check out the full review (9.3/10)
4. Threes!
Here you are, folks, the one and only Threes! Regardless of whether you’ve played one of many knock-offs, you should really give the original a go – it’s filled with thoughtful little details that render the experience both addictive and adorable. Smush alike blocks into each other to add them together, aiming for the highest sum possible before filling up the screen.
Check out the full review (7.4/10)
5. BADLAND
BADLAND was one of the very first mobile titles I ever reviewed, and I recall being blown away by how clever and unique it was. Control a misshapen flying clone (seriously, he looks like an afro with stunted wings) with just one tap, bumbling through levels ripe with silhouetted traps. Some will require you to shrink, some to blow up huge, others to become sticky, still others to multiply yourself tenfold. There are a zillion weird and wonderful levels, and, would you believe it, it’s free.
Check out the full review (9.0/10)
6. Hitman GO
Hitman GO plonks you down in suburbia as Agent 47, a sneaky man with a gun. You gotta take out all your targets, but if they see you first, you’re a dead duck – so sneak around the neighborhood avoiding gazes and shooting folks in the back. Difficulty ramps up as you go along, of course, and the challenges become more complex.
It’s related to a video game series, but I know nothing about that so won’t write about it further.
Check out the full review (8.1/10)
7. Spaceteam
Spaceteam is just as innovative as the aforementioned Monument Valley. Oh yeah, definitely going there. Here’s the deal: you have to play with at least one other person, and you have to be in the same room, because it’s a cooperative shouting game. You’re collectively in charge of running a spaceship, so each person’s device displays a number of controls with thoroughly ridiculous names. You’ll get instructions on your screen for other crew members to follow, so you’ll have to use your big people words to yell it out across the room if you want to avoid crashing. It’s inevitably chaotic and thoroughly hilarious. It goes great with beers.
Yes, I am fully aware our GIF for Spaceteam is in Spanish. Honestly, that just made it funnier.
Check out the full review (7.0/10)
8. Knights of Pen & Paper +1
If ever you’ve owned dice with more than six sides, you need to stop reading and download Knights of Pen & Paper +1 immediately. It’s an homage to roleplayers everywhere, an RPG of an RPG, just enough tongue-in-check irony to give a nod to the in-crowd but certainly far from parody. Line up your geekoid crowd (the Pizza Guy, your little brother, etc etc) and get to rolling; the DM will guide you through the world of baddies and treasure as it unfolds before you, just like it did in your imaginations down in mom’s basement.
Check out the full review (9.0/10)
9. Wayward Souls
Rogue-like gameplay, jam-packed with action, retro-sexy graphics, something-hyphen awesome. Wayward Souls is for those who miss the dungeon crawling of Zelda: A Link To The Past (so, uh, everyone). Controls are totally mobile native, that is, tap on an area to move there, making it a much more reasonable fighting experience than a lot of games in this genre. There’s heaps to explore and collect and kill. Your character will makes snarky commentary to add just the right flavor when needed.
Soundtrack’s great, too.
Check out the full review (8.3/10)
10. Pixel Dungeon
Our reviewer wasn’t as bonkers for Pixel Dungeon as reddit seems to be, but I found it worthy of at least an afternoon or two myself (plus, it’s free, soooo). Choose your character type (Warrior, Mage, or Rogue) and scoot your way through sprawling labyrinthine dungeons, slashing marsupial rats and uncovering items in the meandering vines. You can only see a selected area of the map at a time, so having a good memory for dungeon layouts is a must here. Difficulty is actually cranked quite high, and you’ll quickly perish if you hack and slash at random – so plot out your moves with forethought, adventurer.
Check out the full review (6.9/10)
11. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
XCOM: Enemy Unknown will look damn familiar if you’ve played the same title on PC or console – because it is an exact port of the original. Since it’s turn-based, the strategic gameplay makes a totally legit mobile experience, and the graphics suffer absolutely none if your device has enough juice. The rich cutscenes full of bullets and alien entrails are especially sexy to see in the palm of your hand.
Try not to balk at the $10 price tag: this is a fully fledged console game gone mobile.
Check out the full review (9.3/10)
12. Game Dev Story Lite
Kairosoft’s Game Dev Story Lite is the free trial version of a fully-fledged management game, with all the features of the paid version but with a two-year in-game cap. Pretty much every geek’s dreamt of making fat stacks by putting out games that totally own, so here’s your chance to deal with all the paperwork and office management crap on the other side of the controller. Look, it may not be my personal bag, but this game is a dream come true for folks who love mad details. Hire devs and train ‘em, keep track of their morale, decide what kind of game you’re going to put out and how you’ll market it, etc etc.
Kairosoft pretty much has the final word in micromanagement titles, and people find this one seriously addictive.
Check out the full review (8.0/10)
13. Hoplite
Part dungeon crawler, part chess, part ancient Greek brawn, plenty of brain. Think before you act in Hoplite, which is about as far from hack-and-slash as you can get. Tap any enemy to see its range of attack, and consider which of your abilities will allow you to maneuver into the most advantageous position. The baddies aren’t static themselves either, though, so anticipation is the name of the game.
Check out the full review (8.4/10)
14. Smash Hit
The word is satisfying. Smash Hit is about breaking glass, as much of it as possible. Fly through pretty, abstract rooms full of ever-so-delicate objects. Instead of protecting them from ne’er-do-wells, smash absolutely as much of it as possible, resulting in a barrage of delectable tinkling noises.
I know I sound like some kind of nutter bent on destruction. Try it yourself and you will too. It’s free, so why not?
Check out the full review (8.6/10)
15. rymdkapsel
rymdkapsel is base building in its purest form. A pair of pixels represent two minions ready to do your bidding, as long as you provide them with the blueprints. Collect resources to expand towards mysterious monoliths left behind by prior civilizations. Breed a whole hoard of minions so you’re never left defenseless against the Evil Flying Red Pixel Beasts that attack promptly every couple minutes. The pacing is calm with a spacey soundtrack to match, but you’re never left without a hell of a lot to tend to, and you’ll want to do it all.
You won’t miss all the effluvia attached to traditional defense games. You will miss your stop.
Check out the full review (8.8/10)
16. Rayman Jungle Run
Above all else, Rayman Jungle Run is cheery. It’s well-nigh impossible to bound about the forest collecting golden sprites to the chipper doo-bee-doo-bee-doo tunes without cracking a grin. Simple controls call for honed reflexes to jump at just the right moment. However, neither is it ultra difficult to make your way across the vines, making for goofy, relaxing gaming.
Check out the full review (7.0/10)
17. Out There
Our entire office got obsessed with Out There (turns out the dev’s a cool cat, too). It’s slightly Choose-Your-Own-Adventure, a good smattering of risk/reward strategy, and plenty of unbelievably cruel twists of fate in deep, uncaring space. The aim is simple: get your spacecraft from the initial galaxy all the way to the one glowing blue with intrigue. You have the constraints of fuel, oxygen, and the condition of your hull, all of which continually drain with every action you take. Siphon hydrogen from a gaseous planet and you’ll blast your hull with radiation; drill too deep looking for iron to repair it and you’ll break your equipment altogether. Maybe you have the tech to repair it, maybe you don’t. Deep space doesn’t give a flying saucer about your well-being.
You’ll try again and again and again in the face of hopelessness, only to asphyxiate in plain sight of victory. It’s glorious.
Check out the full review (8.7/10)
18. Duet
One of the major perks of this job is coming across games like Duet. I couldn’t stop trying to describe the experience to friends: “It’s like, you’re controlling a circle with two dots, okay? They’re always equidistant from each other, and you can only rotate the circle clockwise and counterclockwise. And the circle is always moving upwards towards oncoming obstacles, so you have to think about circular motion and precise timing in order not to splat against the walls. If you do splat, then you’ll splash paint all over, which stays there and accumulates as you fail again and again. And there’s a ladybot voice that soothingly provides you non-instructions, also. And the evolving electronic beats perfectly straddle the line between zen and high-stress. And it’s the most amazing simple concept I’ve seen in a long time.”
A better way to describe Duet: I constantly smiled IRL. It’s beguilingly elegant and unlike anything else I’ve ever seen.
Check out the full review (9.6/10)
19. Reaper
Reaper was another of the very first games I ever reviewed (I may or may not have played it on my ancient iPod Touch). It remains one of my staunch favorites, an engaging, attractive mobile RPG done right. Even the fighting feels just the right amount of complex, which is often where mobile titles miss the mark; the tutorial level quickly schools you in a series of gestures used to attack. Exploring the map means random battles and unfolding storyline. Don’t go in looking for Mass Effect-like plot, but you do get to make frequent dialogue decisions that affect what events you’ll face in the future. This, interspersed with the atmospheric fighting sequences, give the game variety and spice.
You can try the first bit of the game for free, then pay once to have access to way more chapters. There are absolutely zero microtransactions, either – gotta reap that gold the old fashioned hack-and-slash way.
Check out the full review (9.4/10)
20. Kingdom Rush Frontiers
Whether you’ve never tried tower defense before or are a seasoned veteran of the genre, Kingdom Rush Frontiers is a solid title. Plant your buildings strategically to beat back the waves of dragons, aliens, pirates, and so forth as they march across your lands. Upgrades and power-ups abound, meaning you’re never without something to micromanage. Graphics are well above standard for the genre, and difficulty is adjustable.
Check out the full review (8.7/10)
21. Sorcery! 2
What are we calling this kind of game these days? Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Plus? Interactive Gamebook? Flippin’ Sweet Dynamic Fiction? The storyline choices you make in Sorcery! 2 don’t just affect the plot, but also your character sheet, resulting in wildly different abilities and possible actions. It’s full of fantasy geek details that the fantastic dev team’s getting known for (I did an interview with them regarding their latest title, 80 Days).
Check out the full review (9.2/10)
22. Bloons Tower Defense 5
Bloons TD 5 is tower defense with monkeys. And b’loons. It’s well done goofy fun. Easy to learn, easy to love. Crank up the difficulty when you feel the need.
Check out the full review (8.1/10)
23. Terraria
Minecraft — oh, excuse me, Terraria is all about digging.
Check out the full review (8.5/10)
24. Super Stickman Golf 2
Good, clean fun on golf courses from hell. Super Stickman Golf 2 is polished slick, wholesome enough for your parents and tricksy enough for anyone who digs a good precision challenge. The multiplayer mode is magnificent.
Check out the full review (9.0/10)
25. Dots: A Game About Connecting
Connect the Dots. That’s it. Really. Play with a time limit (stressful!), by number of moves (calming!), or in endless mode (coma!).
Check out the full review (7.4/10)
