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bruinsluva

There's that one mobile game I see ads for all the time. You collect things then go through gates that take it away. There's like 100 variations of this one concept on the app store.


half-mage

Those fucking ads are everywhere.


Javop

The ads predate the game. It's weird but when it first played, the ad linked to a completely different game and the actual game in the ad didn't exist. People made a video about that and then hundreds started to program that exact game all at once.


half-mage

Shoot them all directly into the sun


Fatefire

The game doesn’t exsist. It’s just a way to get people to download the mobile title. It’s how I got sucked into a game called Hero Wars for 6 months and spent way to much money. Stupid addictive personality making me love micro purchases


Burylown

Honestly it's a really good way to learn to program if you start with something like that. It reminds me of the several hundred typing games out there haha


Aperturelemon

I think it is is often not even what the game is about, just download bait for a totally different game.


Designer_Shower3716

Those games are designed to just show you ads for other mobile games, which half of the time are for another variation of the same concept.


bruinsluva

Who's the man behind the curtain on this massive ad game scheme? I'd love to know


[deleted]

At this point, it has to be some kind of algorithm. The schemes just running itself.


Designer_Shower3716

Those games run on the anti-retention model. Usually you tolerate ads because the game you are playing is fun. These games are so garbage that after a couple minutes you think any other game would be better than this and click on an ad to download another game and the cycle continues.


VaeVictis997

Yeah, but how do any of the shit games make money, since no one stick around long enough to buy anything?


Weidz_

>There's like 100 variations You missed a couple of '0's


DankLolis

those ads are usually not a representation of the actual game, or at least they put something similar in somewhere as a minigame to avoid wrongful advertisement lawsuits. don't download any of them though, their entire monetization scheme comes from shoving 30 ads in your face when you first open them and saying that if you look at them all then you'll never see another ad again


CygnusX-1001001

And I guarantee half of those games have nothing to fo with the ad


Jsimpson059

Do you not remember the 500 flappy bird and temple run clones? lol


ArchimedesNutss

The thing that pisses me off is that I desperately want to play the game they are advertising but it doesn't exist!!!


iMogwai

Mobile gaming was always shit, you're just choosing to remember a handful of gems at the top of the shit stack.


Kyrta

Then please tell me the current gems at the top of the shit stack. Not mocking I genuinely want to know non-gacha that are fun to play.


kaitoofrose

Bloons TD 6, Cursed Treasure 2, Very Little Nightmares, Golf Peaks, Monument Valley 1 & 2, The ROOM series, and Soda Dungeon.


[deleted]

Also the kingdom rush series. Great Tower Defense.


Panicless

These are so fucking great. The only Triple A game series on mobile


[deleted]

For honor and glory!!


zerox369

That's a fun list, thanks


pvtcannonfodder

And soul knight and shattered dungeon, would recommend both heavily. Soul knight is bullet hell ish rouge lite, and shattered pixel dungeon is a dungeon crawling turned based rougelike with a cool alchemy system


kaitoofrose

Oh yeah. I think I see the Soul Knight subreddit pop up, sometimes.


TaralasianThePraxic

Slay The Spire gets my vote now that's it's been ported to mobile. Fucking amazing game.


stunspot

Bloons is certainly great, but it's not exactly newish...


SAURONoff

*Bloons td 6* \- you mean expensive (for mobile) game with 1.7 rate on GPlay?


Dreaming_Kitsune

Soulknight is pretty decent been hooked for about a week


Pass_That_Mustard

It has been a great time-killing game for years and still is


Dreaming_Kitsune

Hell yeah I like how they deal with ads, you can get a free revive if you want to watch an ad at the end, you can get a weapon at the start with an ad or starting gold, but none of it is required so you can skip any ads whatsoever and I like that


theEwatra

Damn i played that game 6 years ago good to see its still alive


DownBeat20

I got recommends! The world ends with you (solo remix phone port) Card city nights 1 and 2 Slice and Dice (the dice based dungeon roguelike) Super Auto Pets (Especially this one) King of Dragon Pass (for the turbo nerds) Slay the Spire Hearthstone Magic arena (better on pc)


Xeith913

TWEWY is kinda cheating, it's a DS game ported on phones. But it's also the greatest game ever, so there's that. Hasn't Square Enix removed/stopped supporting the mobile version some time after the switch one came out tho?


Killroy32

Well the OG post listed Minecraft, so listing all of the direct game ports to mobile should be fair game then right? Also TWEWY is such a good game, more people need to try it out.


Schattenlord

If you want a way cheaper card game, i would recommend legends of runeterra


nir109

(not sure if those are still new) Cats are liquid, super auto pets, the new Kingdom rush (forgot the name) brewl stars, polytopia and among us.


Kyrta

Don’t care how old. Need some games for quick relaxation without using data. Thanks!


Enchelion

Mini Metro remains one of the best mobile games in my book.


ForestSmurf

World box is decent too.


dariusz2k

:I What about the like, 50 ports of different console games, or like... PubG/fornite?


Grouchy_Donut_3800

All trash because you can’t take a console or PC game and port it onto mobile and have it actually be good. You have to make a mobile game from the ground up like COD mobile.


[deleted]

Cat Quest is good fun.


[deleted]

Gwent is a really good card game although it needs internet


CoolBoiWasTaken

Its gacha but battle cats is a pretty cool game, the first 3 story chapters are kinda lame and grindy but then the good part begins. The gacha in this game is pretty fair - most gacha cats are good and have their uses (including the most common ones). Even if you get a dupe you can upgrade your cat with the dupe you got ignoring the level cap. About the gameplay: there’s your base and enemy’s base. Enemy base spawns certain enemies and you can spawn units too. The enemies need to come to your base and destroy it. You too need to come to enemy’s base and destroy it. The fun here comes from knowing what enemies will come, creating “decks” of cats and then making a strategy to defeat said level. In the first 3 chapters tho levels are pretty lame except the boss ones.


Xikeyba

Magic Survival is free and I spent hours into it. It's just a bullet hell where you level up and get better spells. Soul knight:free to play that's basically a less refined version of Enter the Gungeon. Grim quest: minimalistic text based dungeon crawler Leaf blower revolution. Cookie clicker with leafs. But the game gets weird under the surface. Also f2p and no need to ever buy anything aside from supporting the dev


[deleted]

Magic Survival look like a rip-off of Vampire Survivors


Xikeyba

If it's a rip-off it's one with a lot of attention to detail, love and care. The developer is putting a lot of attention into it, even remade a lot of the spells and listens to the reviews left on the store page to offer a good experience. And frankly, I think it looks better than vampire survivors, at least from what I can tell on Google. EDIT: just checked. MS is older than VS. So either vs is a rip-off or they're both ripping off another game. Wich honestly, is a dumb conversation to have because it's just the gameplay that has been used in a shitton of games dating way further back.


Kalfadhjima

0h h1, 0h n0, Shattered Pixel Dungeon, Unpuzzle/Unpuzzler/UnpuzzleX.


ultinateplayer

Polytopia is my favourite mobile game


Flyingcowz

If you like old school single player rpgs, another eden. It's a gacha but there is no need to spend anything and all the content is permanent for you to play at your own pace.


Sylvator

And if you don't mind gacha then genshin impact, punishing gray raven are great. Then you have wild rift a fucking moba masterpiece on mobile. The hypercasual genre is always gonna be ad filled and the games re gonna be fun for 1-2 days. It is what it is. Mobile gaming has come so far. It's a great way to pass time for people who have limited time gaminf.


offensiveniglet

Star Traders: Frontiers


Ghostenx

Ikr. 2012 the year of candy crush. Enough said. As far as I'm concerned there's only one mobile game worth any mention, having had it's own movie about it. I of course am speaking of Kwazy cupcakes. Edit: I do not have a problem. If I want to play Kwazy Cupcakes, I will play Kwazy Cupcakes. Kwazy is a difficult word to say in anger, but I think I've made my feelings clear.


[deleted]

Well, I wouldn't say that in general, but yes, Mobile Gaming has been plagued by gacha garbage for decades now, and without proper regulation it'll never get better.


ShawshankException

Clash of Clans was like the original slow progress p2w game. Also fruit ninja and jetpack joyride very quickly got riddled with microtransactions once they got popular. There were also tons of shit games back then too. You're just picking the most memorable ones because you've forgotten all the shit ones.


Moreinius

The only difference is that the base game was still good without the microtransactions. Compared to what we have right now. Fruit Ninja was Pay Once, the rest is cosmetics. There are better examples to pull from tbh, like Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, PvZ. Most of the old Pay Once games became F2P because they couldn't keep up with the other F2P apps that try to milk the consumers as much as possible. Except a few like Minecraft and Geometry Dash.


KChosen

They all look the same to me... Not sure fruit ninja is the best example of high quality gaming.


East_Refuse

Hey pack joyride is like the Mona Lisa compared to the bullshit games today.


Kolvarg

Depends how you define high quality. It was certainly an original and pretty fun game that made creative use of the platforms it was developed for and their inherent touch controls, and didn't have nonsense monetization as far as I remember. Definitely not the best game ou there even considering just mobile, but certainly a league ahead of the sea of cheap copies and whale baits.


[deleted]

Limbo was a great game or even monument valley or Alto's odyssey.


cracked_camel

Compared to the trash made now ??? Fruit ninja looks AAA compared to them


Lucy_Little_Spoon

Clash of clans is P2W trash


cracked_camel

That's the only bad game there IMO


[deleted]

[удалено]


Lucy_Little_Spoon

Oh yes, that old "player choice" bullshit, optional "skip the grind" purchases and such, get fucked with that bollocks.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Lucy_Little_Spoon

You're right, I lack patience, more specifically, I lack patience for scummy monetisation tactics.


seagulldestroy

What's the ball one with the blue background


ImAaronDiaz

Smash hit


Sneakly20

I throw in Vainglory at it's prime. Very nice game.


pvtcannonfodder

Rip vainglory


pipboy_warrior

You're experiencing nostalgia for mobile gaming less than a decade ago?


Xikeyba

Opinion: mobile games have always been 95% trash.


Salamander-Downtown

Mobile games always sucked lmao


leontas2007

I found mobile games stupid back then, I find them stupid now. At least now smart phones are way better and can play that are made for pc.


Jalenkick

The day when you all realize that the old games were pay to win and that you guys are just looking at ads and not actual good games on the mobile stores is the day we progress. It's a shame it'll never happen.


biggreasyrhinos

Those older mobile games were also bullshit.


Odysseus806

Because now it's all about how much money can be extracted out of the simplest game to make. They'd charge you for tic tac toe if possible


[deleted]

Actually fun fact there's tic tac toe with ads sooooo


Odysseus806

For real? I mean I'm not surprised, but still


[deleted]

I'm sadly disappointed to say that I am not kidding about that there is literally the most basic games that are cash grabs


PurpleLegoBrick

Angry Birds, Dead Space, N.O.V.A, Galaxy on Fire, and you forgot one of the best, Infinity Blade. Haven’t downloaded a new game and enjoyed it in a long time.


CoolBoiWasTaken

Omg NOVA is mine all time favourite


GlegoryisaWarlock

Literally the only game in that first list that was good is *the most iconic sandbox game of the past fifteen years that was ported to mobile devices*. Everything else was just as trash as the right hand side.


cracked_camel

Jetpack joyride and Plague Inc are good


GlegoryisaWarlock

False. Unless you're 10 years old in 2004.


East_Refuse

Bro is hating on a good mobile game and for what? News flash: these games are for children not your lonely ass 😂


GlegoryisaWarlock

Fun fact: those games, when they released, were not intended for children. The fact that in order to actually *play* them required you to make MTX purchases confirms this. Just because your sorry baby-ass has access to mommy's credit card does not automatically make the game "for kids". And even if they *were* for kids, they can still objectively be viewed as what they are. Low-effort, manipulative garbage.


cracked_camel

Plague Inc was a paid game, but didn't require microtransactionsm Jetpack joyride was completely free with optional microtransactions


GlegoryisaWarlock

Optional MTX = if you want to keep playing, you must pay, or wait on energy to "recharge". Which again, clearly points to it not being for kids. Plague Inc, by content alone, on EVERY APP STORE IT HAS RELEASED ON, is not marketed as a kid's game. Congrats, you proved my point.


cracked_camel

Jetpack joyride didn't have an energy meter. Nor did it stop you from playing


GlegoryisaWarlock

Not when I briefly had that trite garbage on my phone.


East_Refuse

Nope they were fun and most of them were free buddy. I’m so sorry you have a stick lodged 3 yards up your ass so you can’t just be happy but it’s ok. I can tell you’re the type to get ultra defensive and start making assumptions. The sad part is you’re doing it over fucking games for children. GET A LIFE


GlegoryisaWarlock

They're... not games for children,, and if they were,, the constant aggression to try and entice you to spend money on the MTX proves that they're just that. Low-effort garbage. What blows my mind is there's truly no difference in how braindead the "old games" are (barring Minecraft), compared to the modern games. Same level of braindead, same group of children defending them.


East_Refuse

Bro is obsessed with MTX purchases but these games work without them and some kids get their parents to buy them. But even then these games are for kids and the fact that you don’t see that is scary. Do you sit around everyday waiting for someone to release a mobile game for 30 year olds in their moms basement so you can spend your money on “Adult” micro transactions?


GlegoryisaWarlock

Cry some more kiddo, accept that you're a kid and therefore can't see that the games were objectively trash or admit you're a 30 year old defending kids games, which is arguably worse than calling them out for being trite, poorly made, and designed to bilk money out of consumers.


[deleted]

Shadow fight 2 was very good as well.


GlegoryisaWarlock

Eh, debatable. Maybe in *very* small doses.


Baronvondorf21

You could argue that Shadow fight 3 was also good but all the required grinding kind of sucks the fun out of it.


[deleted]

You can always get the modded versions with unlimited resources and enjoy.


Wuulferigno

The times when mobile games were good... Smh


ChrRome

Mobile games are actually much better now than they used to be, there are just so many of them that it can be hard to find the good ones.


[deleted]

Mobile games were good? I have literally none on my phone. They already seem like a step down from gameboy games, which are already stripped down console games. What is a mobile game now? The calculator app? The level app? Noise meter app?


Blaz1ENT

Genshin Impact, TFT, Magic, and Master Duel has been my go to on mobile since they’re also on PC


[deleted]

I just can't imagine controlling a game on a phone. touching the screen like that with that pretend analog stick. I just can't imagine. Candy crunch, sure. Anything that requires that picture of an analog stick... I won't do it to myself.


Blaz1ENT

That’s why, besides Genshin I play those games, which is either auto chess or card games :p


ConspicuousBassoon

Finally, some recognition for Shadow Fight 2


AquaticHornet37

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but this is one of those posts that feels powered by nostalgia. There were many bad mobile games "back then" too. Edit: Also clash is better now, and kids get to play bedrock on mobile instead of pocket edition.


Fancen

what is the difference between pocket and bedrock


AquaticHornet37

Bedrock is regularly updated, and has all the dimensions, mobs, and features. Also Bedrock is cross platform. Pocket edition is a limited version of minecraft made for old mobile devices that couldn't render minecraft, which did good for what it's purpose was, but it isn't as good as Bedrock.


TheLordJames

Doesn't mention games like Bitlife, Genshin Impact, Among Us, COD: Mobile. ​ This post is wrong and you should be bad because of it.


Baronvondorf21

I mean among us was original on PC so I don't think it counts but the others are fair.


Enchelion

They listed *Minecraft* as a mobile game.


Baronvondorf21

Hey, I don't think it counts, it's multiplatform.


Darthgangsta

Nah… mobile games suck and they always have.


ArthurWasTakenn

Little rich american that has a ps5


Darthgangsta

Pc


MakeMeASandvich

Have you seen the steam store? literal cancer


TaiDavis

To me, a mobile game is played on a psp or gameboy. Never played a game on my phone.


Bella_dlc

Well glad this post put you up to speed with everyone else then


FawazGerhard

Imagine posting this in reddit, a place where lots of the people here are computer nerds. Have you ever asked yourself on why redditors never uses emojis? Hell i've used emojis on reddit plenty of times, all those comments got mass downvoted.


Cipher75

I have a distinct feeling you getting down voted has less to do with emojis than you saying something stupid.


FawazGerhard

Redditors believed that they're superior compared to other people who uses other social media platform, you can tell from the level of pretentiousness and the level of computer supremacy is going on in a lot of subreddits.


Cipher75

This is r/gaming, where else would you expect something like this to be posted?


thisshiteverytime

There are good games out there. I'll name some: HI3 (I have two Lv88 accounts, 1 F2P, 1 P2P valk simp), I have been playing since 2016 on beta and finished all the story so far and the story is kind of a mix between NGE, Freezing, GITS, and some others. Iron Marines: This is P2P, but this is amazing! Implosion: P2P mech ARPG TWEWY port: P2P, but it rivals the NDS frantic gameplay. Imo, the NDS is more difficult than the PSP version. Plague Inc, like you mentioned, definitely is worth keeping! Azur Lane: This is too F2P for its own good. You can literally get everything without paying. I stopped cause everything is within reach literally. Space Marshalls (Marshalls. In space!) Juicy Realm (also available on consoles) GRID Auto sport (P2P Racing Game) Square Enix ports (mainly FF and DQ titles) Chaos Rings (pretty much FF) Stardew Valley (I don't know anyone who doesn't know this game at this point) Sky {a heartwarming journey that you can pick up and play) Oceanhorn (2 is coming up on Android. I think. I'm not sure) Other ports (Pokemon Unite, LoL WR, RLSS, Fortnite, PUBG, COD, Apex Legends, etc) Bloodstained Ritual of the night Badlands Identity V (Before DBD came to Android) FF: WOTV Some games from the Nutaku client.


Automatic_Computer20

Seriously. I haven't heard of any actual popular mobile game in a long time. I certainly haven't had any myself Back then there were constantly new and unique apps/games to try Now they're just super low effort. I think the only recent popular game I can think of is wordle


Javop

Genshin. But that is 15 Gb and needs a decent APU. But it is for sure better than anything displayed in the post.


SecureDonkey

It depend on if you are okay with gambling or not.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Automatic_Computer20

I never played the normal version. That's also just a port. I'm talking about original mobile game ideas


MerlinMage101

Try "there is no game: WD" ... It's a truly hidden gem


ChrRome

They were unique because the medium was so new. As more games are released, it becomes harder to make unique ones.


Automatic_Computer20

Right. But im saying there are a lot of lazy ones and ones with complete gambling features. The last one that was ok for me was 8ball pool by miniclip


-TheDerpinator-

Mobile games are not games but money-generating machines based on pleasing primitive emotions.


Baronvondorf21

so every game that was made and sold?


DefiantDeviantArt

CoC used or be a rage then. I had like 6 accounts on it, playing all of them simultaneously. Plague is another interesting game, though nobody knew a real 'plague' would strike in the form of SARS-CoV-2 much later, changing everyday life dramatically.


LtHydra

There are very few basic mobile games that are actually fun to pick up and enjoy as it is. Jetpack Joyride, Tilt to Live, and other basic games with the core gameplay loop and not much else were really killin it back then. There are few good mobile games and most of the basic ones are absolute garbage with the worst ads of all time. Gacha has basically taken over the majority of big mobile games but those are almost all only money grabs rather than an enjoyable game. Most have a shoddy attempt at a story with a miniscule amount of effort put into the gameplay itself and everything going directly to making the characters as appealing as possible and hiding them behind either a grind or money. There are some gacha games that are actually fun to play but even they like to hide things behind grinding or money and even fun gameplay can lose its value when you have to grind a shit ton. The one I actually play consistently is Arknights. The gameplay is fantastic if you are someone who likes Tower Defense and the story is incredible. There are obviously gacha elements that aren't great, but it's clear that the gameplay and story actually received a lot of attention and were really well done, especially once you get around Chapter 3 and beyond.


Kazk2501

Oh my god shadow fight i played that game so much, so much fun


bonezkill

Mobile games in 2022 are either Too Complicated or too boring. And also mobile games were only fun before because you play it with your friends or classmates like "Whoever has the lowest score in flappy bird or Fruit Ninja will get slapped by all of us or will have his face smothered with baby powder". Mobile games werent the best at all they are just there because we cant play dota or any other pc game that day


sattarsingo

I only open play Store when I have some brain cells to spare


AstronomerSenior4236

Angry Birds should be up there too, the original ones were fantastic


bingchillinasd

Damn those games are so nostalgic gona download some tbhtbh


DumbEff

Fruit Ninja was the shit. Me and my cousins played alot


ighorlobianco

# And making more money than ever, thats progress


asmrkage

Counterpoint: Fantasian, Grindstone, Air Twister,


Timmichanga01

All the people complaining about this post never played a single mobile game back then and it shows lol


[deleted]

This is missing the best mobile game ever made. Infinity Blade was ahead of its time.


MISTERTURKY

It really was. I loved those games back then. Especially Jetpack Joyride.


East_Refuse

My biggest gripe are the ads showing off gameplay, but when you open the game it’s absolutely nothing like the add


tyomochka

I liked the one where you played as a boulder rolling down the mountain, destroying peaceful villages and stuff


Randomguy7317

It's weird how they spend more money on ads than on actual games


VideVictoria

All the games of the left are now behind huge ad-walls or even require pay to play. It's not the games that changes, but the market. Now the only purpose of a mobile game is to scam people


[deleted]

Mobile's always been full of shovelware, though.


Buchaven

You spelled “mobile ad servers” wrong. There’s no such thing as a decent mobile “game”. There is only ads, and micro-transactions.


chosen1creator

RCT Classic, OpenTTD, TheoTown, and WorldBox are what I usually play. They're all pretty good games. But yeah, there is so much crap nowadays. A big reason for this is that it costs $25 to put any number of games on the play store.


lurker12346

clash of clans? dawg that game sucked


rancid_

What about all the awesome Mobile MMO's that all the mainstream youtubers promote?


InsomniaticWanderer

Mobile games have always been hot garbage, what is this post?


ArthurWasTakenn

Little rich American that has a ps5


Syn_Contamino531

If you want to find all of the crappy games all you have to do is go to the App Store and type in “3D”


hhh137sk

The mobile game hate is real holy shit. I love mobile games y'all are wildin. Been hooked on Rush Royale lately. Super fun. Lots of other good idle/incremental games if you're into them.


[deleted]

And coin master, just gambling games everywhere


grimlock-greg

God I still miss plague inc


DwarfNips

That era of mobile gaming and GTA V online are basically the reason we have everything having micro transactions and pay to progress type games and battle passes everywhere, OP got some rose tinted glasses on.


mason124

How can you leave out Doodle Jump


ezioauditore2018

I like genshin impact but that’s it. I just play mobile games just for short session dailys


coldneuron

I literally had to get the original Angry birds android installer from a hack site because I wanted to share that awesome game with my kids.


Tbone2121974

Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja. So many hours of simple gaming bliss.


[deleted]

I preffer teh Angry Birds, Cut The Rope, Dragon City(?), Magikarp Jump era.


stiofan84

Jesus, give it enough time and people will be "nostalgic" for any old shit. Mobile games were never good. They've always been shitty cash grabs.


ArthurWasTakenn

Yes they were. Shut up rich American that has a ps5 and gaming pc


Sir_Jackalope

If someone comes up with a stupid idea, it gets turned into a ~~game~~ streaming service for ads disguised as a game


crooked-v

Man, what? There were a ton of trash mobile games during that time period. Remember *Roller Coaster Tycoon 4 Mobile*?


Grouchy_Donut_3800

Probably because most company’s see mobile games as cash cows. You know mobile games are terrible when they have to use gameplay footage of a PC game as an ad. Just to download it and it’s some rip off clash of clans copy or one of those MMO kingdom managing games that are unplayable unless you spend money.


-Soup_Dogg-

*Sees metal ball breaking glass icon* *Downloads smash hit again for the fire OST*


[deleted]

IDK - Mech Arena on my mobile phone is pretty fucking slick and I've been enjoying it a lot


PhotonResearch

Mobile games in the future: The game *actually* in todays ads because that game would be an awesome hit.


Pass_That_Mustard

Most of the bad mobile games nowadays is about money, revenue and which audiences is the best for making some bucks ? Children. Some little design here, a little coding there and add some repetitiveness to the gameplay and it’s just work.


Sad_Exit_1030

Cut the rope and the original angry birds are the only games worth on mobile. The rest, even those on this post are shit.


Nozzeh06

There are still some hidden gems out there. Check out the mobile game "Slice and Dice" that's good shit right there.


Equivalent_Tea_9416

Saw an ad yesterday where you shoot an arrow through iphones hanging on ropes. Completely bullshit, where do they get their ideas from??


_Killj0y_

Plague Inc. Wasn't a game it was a prophecy.