What are the best Android games to play in 2017?
If you're looking for the best new games available in the Google Play Store, you've come to the right place. It's that time of the year when we look back at this past year and choose the very best games we discovered.
Whether you're new to Android and need some fresh, new games to start building out your Google Play library or simply looking for the latest trendy games that are worthy of your time and attention, these are the best Android games for 2017!
- Stranger Things: The Game
- Reigns: Her Majesty
- The Battle of Polytopia
- Death Road to Canada
- Causality
- Framed 2
- Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
- Island Delta
- After the End: Forsaken Destiny
- Escape Team
- Fire Emblem: Heroes
- Heart Star
- Star Wars: Force Arena
- Neon Chrome
- Penarium
Stranger Things: The Game
Stranger Things: The Game is the tie-in mobile game that other companies wish they could churn out. It's a full-fledged action adventure game with a full cast of playable characters, tons of collectibles, and a retro graphical style that fits into the show theme and setting.
The game presents the entire town of Hawkins, Indiana along with the adjacent Mirkwood Forest to be explored. It plays like a classic Zelda-style adventure game, with the ability to switch between characters lending itself to creating complex puzzles.
Credit Netflix's marketing team for spending the time to make sure the developers at BonusXP Inc. delivered something special for fans of the series. They've created a real winner here, and a true contender for game of the year — and I'm not even a huge fan of the source material.
The controls are optimized for mobile and there's great game design on display here. The overworld is vast and filled with secret areas to explore and familiar items from the show scattered throughout as collectibles.
There's just so much to appreciate here. Not only is it a faithful adaptation of the show, it's available for free with no in-app purchases or ads — although you can certainly count the game itself as being an ad for the second season of Stranger Things. Here's hoping it ushers in a new trend of substantial mobile games based on TV shows and movies.
Download: Stranger Things: The Game (Free)
Reigns: Her Majesty
Reigns was one of the best games of 2016 and actually won the first ever Google Play Indie Games contest. So needless to say we were pumped to check out the sequel.
In Reigns, you play as the monarch of the land and make decisions that affect four aspects of the kingdom: the church, the people, the army, and the royal wealth. Your goal is to keep all four in balance — if any meter fills to the max or is entirely depleted your reign is over… and a new reign begins!
The sequel plays nearly identically to the first game, except this time you play as the Queen instead of the King, complete with new characters to interact with and multiple branching storylines to discover. The gameplay is as easy as swiping left or right on cards and if it's anything like the first game there's a ton of great easter eggs to find along the way!
I would hate to spoil anything for this new game, but if you played the first one and are afraid that it's going to be too similar, I can assure you there are plenty of new mechanics to make this one of the best titles of 2017.
Download: Reigns: Her Majesty ($2.99)
The Battle of Polytopia
Highlighted as a finalist for the 2017 Google Play Indie Games contest back in February, The Battle of Polytopia is a great game for anyone who's a fan of turn-based strategy games, like the Civilization franchise. The game features multiple game modes, including the rarely seen pass-and-play option for playing against friends. With multiple tribes to choose from, this plays like a full-fledged strategy game packaged with cartoony graphics and scaled down perfectly for playing on a mobile device.
The turn-based gameplay against the AI is brisk and you can add more opponents or up the difficulty level if you're in need of a bigger challenge. Best of all, it's a free download from the Google Play Store!
This games feels perfect for your daily commute on public transit or really any time you got time to kill — if you start a Domination game (last tribe standing wins), you can save and resume your game at a later time as needed.
Download: The Battle of Polytopia (Free w/IAPs)
Death Road to Canada
Death Road to Canada is a $10 game — I want to open with that just to get the sticker shock out of the way before I talk about how awesome this freaking game is. (It's currently on sale for a dollar, though, which makes it an even better purchase.)
Facing a zombie apocalypse, you must lead a scrappy squad of somewhat interesting characters on a deadly mission to the relative safety of Canada. Along the way, you'll need to explore and loot places for supplies, while also managing your team's health and morale.
Everything in Death Road to Canada is randomly generated, making every play-through a unique experience in this dynamic road trip action-RPG. You can randomly generate your character and buddy or custom design your starting characters with different attributes to help them stay alive, but you probably don't want to get too attached unless you're a really good shot.
The controls admittedly take some getting used to, and there's a pretty steep learning curve as you learn which weapons are most effective and which times it's better to fight or run. And you will die, early and often, although that's part of the fun of a zombie apocalypse, right?
There's a ridiculous amount of depth in this game, including 10 different game modes to unlock. The price might seem a little steep, but if you're a fan of rogue-like zombie games, it's well worth the investment!
Download: Death Road to Canada ($9.99)
Causality
Causality is a mind-blowing puzzle game that's all about manipulating time. This is just a brilliant game where you control time and make adjustments to the level and alter the sequence in such a way that you help your stranded astronauts reach their goals.
Set in simplistic-yet-beautiful alien landscapes, this stylish game will have you wracking your brain as you try to figure out how to guide each astronaut to their color-coded exit within the allotted time. Of course, you have full control over the timeline and can jump to any point in time and change an aspect of the level. There are 60 mind-bending puzzles to unlock and complete in this outstandingly polished and challenging game.
Framed 2
Get ready for more comic book stylized fun in Framed 2! This is a standalone prequel to groundbreaking mobile game Framed developed by Hideo Kojima back in 2014.
As the story unfolds, you control the action by rearranging the comic book panels to help your character make his way through each section. It's a totally unique way to play a game and is unlike anything else you've likely played on Android. It's got a cool noir look and feel to it, with an engaging story to keep you hooked.
If you love the format, you can pick up the first Framed game for just $3. Really worth your time if you're into unique puzzle games.
Download: Framed 2 ($0.99 on sale))
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
Nintendo has done it again.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is the latest Nintendo franchise to make the leap to mobile, and it's arguably the best transition we've seen yet.
If you've never played an Animal Crossing game on GameCube, Wii, or Nintendo DS, here it is in a nutshell: a relaxing casual game about collecting items, making friends, and building a little virtual life for yourself in a beautifully animated world. It's a super cute and fun concept that's been lovingly ported over to mobile.
In Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp you get to build out your very own campsite, which you can customize with furniture and decorations to entice other nearby campers to come and hang out. Your goal is to level up your friendships by fulfilling requests, which in turn help you to level up your character and unlocks new items to craft for your campsite. There's so much to explore and collect and while there are in-app purchases for buying in-game currency they can be disabled in settings and aren't required to enjoy the game.
Animal Crossing is a natural fit on mobile, as it's the type of game that's best played in casual bursts. Definitely worth checking out and a great pick for younger kids. Hop in your camper and get exploring!
Download: Animal Crossing Pocket Camp (Free w/IAPs)
Island Delta
Island Delta is a very stylish top-down action-adventure-puzzler developed by Mantisbite out of Finland. Explore the mysterious retro-futuristic island lair of Doctor Gunderson as our heroes, Zoe and Baxter.
Using your anti-gravity gun, you must work your way past mechanical minions, traps, and guards as you solve puzzles to make it through to the end of each level. At its best moments, Island Delta feels like a stripped down, third-person version Portal, which is something I wasn't aware I needed in my life. The cartoony graphics and outstanding level design will immediately draw you in.
You can read our full review here before deciding to buy it. It's available for $2.99 from the Google Play Store.
Download: Island Delta ($2.99)
After the End: Forsaken Destiny
After the End: Forsaken Destiny is a really beautiful puzzle game set in a mysterious desert world. The story follows a father-son duo who are on parallel paths at different times and must work together across time to help each other progress past obstacles and puzzles.
The wonderful art style will draw you in. The controls are fairly simple to pick up: you use the left half of the screen to control your character, tap the button that appears on the right side of the screen to interact with switches and objects, and you will also need to frequently rotate the camera by swiping across the screen.
The puzzles here are varied and increase in difficulty as you progress further through the game. There are so many secret areas to explore and relics to collect throughout the game. It's a paid game, so there are no ads or in-app purchases to distract you from the beautiful graphics and challenging puzzles.
Will the father and son ever be reunited? There's only one way to find out.
Download: After the End: Forsaken Destiny ($0.99 (on sale))
Escape Team
Escape rooms are great fun for a group of friends, but getting a group together can be tricky and booking a room can get expensive.
Escape Team lets you enjoy the fun of solving escape room-style puzzles in the comfort of your own home using pen and paper. You download and print off missions from the Escape Team website and then load up the matching mission in the Android app. The app gives you your countdown clock and delivers a fictional backstory for the missions via audio clips. You can also use the app to request hints if your group gets stuck on a puzzle.
The game is recommended for groups of two to four people, and requires some outside-the-box thinking and teamwork if you're to be successful. You get the introduction and first mission for free then you can get the remaining four missions for just $1 — and that's the only in-app purchase or ad you'll see. The paid missions are each around a half hour to complete, so for $4 you can get a full afternoon's worth of good clean fun saving the world.
If you've ever tried an escape room or just love solving puzzles, you're going to fall in love with this game.
Download: Escape Team (Free w/IAPs)
Fire Emblem: Heroes
Fire Emblem: Heroes represents Nintendo's first foray into developing games for Android (ignoring last year's Miimoto app) and is the eighth title in the popular strategy-RPG franchise to be released on North American shores.
Heroes brings all of your favorite Fire Emblem characters together for a brand new story that pits the noble Askran Kingdom against the power-hungry Emblian Empire, which wishes to rule all worlds. You play the role of a mighty summoner who has the power to bring Fire Emblem's best heroes together to help defend the kingdom. Battle takes place in arenas where you must strategically move your Heroes around to attack and defend against your opponents.
Play through the Story Mode to unlock new game modes, including Special Maps, Arena Duels, and the Training Tower. Arena Duel is the multiplayer aspect of the game that will keep you busy beyond the single player campaign.
You can read our full review to learn more.
Download: Fire Emblem: Heroes (Free w/IAPs)
Heart Star
Heart Star is a cute puzzle platformer with a simple concept: you swap controls between two characters who can only walk on certain surfaces. You must use teamwork to make it through the 50 mind-bending levels.
Featuring wonderful retro graphics and an 8-bit soundtrack, this is just a really complete game that offers a decent challenge as you progress through the later levels. You will have to contend with the occasional ad that pops up when you fail or complete a level, but it's worth the minor distraction to play this fun little game for free.
Star Wars: Force Arena
Star Wars: Force Arena is arguably the best Star Wars game you can play on Android. Combining the card-casting mechanic from Clash Royale with MOBA-style gameplay, it's an extremely exciting game that couples fast-paced action with deep strategic elements as you step in as general for the Empire or the Rebellion.
Choose from your favorite Star Wars heroes and villains from the original trilogy and Rogue One and lead your army into battle against online opponents. There's a freemium model in play here, meaning you'll be tempted to spend real money to help unlock and upgrade new characters and troops more quickly — but you can move up the rankings just fine by being strategic in battle and patient opening card packs. You can battle one-on-one or team up with another hero for epic 2 vs. 2 skirmishes.
At its best, Star Wars: Force Arena lets you recreate your own epic battle scenes on your phone. Rally your troops and take down the enemy turrets on your way to victory!
Read our full review to learn more.
Download: Star Wars: Force Arena (Free w/IAPs)
Neon Chrome
Neon Chrome is a must-own game in 2017. It's a top-down twin-stick shooter with super-stylized visuals and procedurally generated levels. Initially released in 2016 on Steam and then later for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, it arrived on Android earlier this year and is available for $6.99 from the Google Play Store.
This is a really polished game that's designed with replayability in mind. Each playthrough is going to present unique challenges and weapons, as you work your way through the compound on your quest to bring down the Overseer. Nearly everything you see is destroyable and there's a ton of loot to collect, which you can use to upgrade your character
If you're a fan of games with neon-futuristic cyberpunk aesthetics, like Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, you are in for a treat with Neon Chrome. The game is super deep with upgrades and is just a blast to play, though be prepared for a real challenge here. If you need more convincing, check out Windows Central's review of the game for the Xbox One.
Penarium
For those who love a great platforming challenge, you need to check out Penarium. Developed by Self Made Miracle and Team17 — the folks behind the celebrated Worms franchise — Penarium tells the tale of a simple farm boy, Willy, who is trapped in an evil circus forever.
This game looks and plays beautifully, with all the action contained within a single screen — all you have to do is follow the circus master's instruction and survive for as long as you can. Penarium features a story mode with 30 increasingly difficult levels to play through, along with an "endless mode", which tests your skills as you challenge yourself to see how long you can last while collecting coins, which can be spent on character upgrades to help you collect more coins in future playthroughs.
The touch controls are very simple and kept near the bottom of the screen so as to not distract from the action on screen. You'll need to develop lightning-fast reflexes to dodge everything this game throws at you. It's a paid app, so you never have to deal with ads or in-app purchases. It's a really polished game that's perfect for those who are gluttons for punishing platformers.
Update December 2017: Finalized our list of the best 15 games released for Android in 2017!
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