I just uninstalled Disney Heroes and need something addictive that isn't P2W on android

[Kwigo]

I realized that I already spent 100 bucks on this game this month just to be able to keep up with the constant updates and I just need to stop playing this.

I uninstalled it 5 minutes ago and am looking for a good android game with addictive gameplay mechanics that isn't P2W, better yet that is simply pay 2 play with no MTX whatsoever. Everything I see in the playstore either is F2P and reeks MTX and P2W, or simply doesn't look good.

Any recommendations? Builder/Tycoon games, Turn Based strategy, RPG, anything would do as long as there is progression, it's playable on 5-10min chunks with the ability to save anywhere, and it can actually keep me occupied for a long time. Thanks!!!

 

[CloudCircus]

I know this isn't answering your question, but I would stay away from gaming on the phone entirely. Is there any other platform you can game on?

 

[dark_prinny]

COD Mobile it's a different genre, but boy it's addicting

 

[Kwigo]

I know this isn't answering your question, but I would stay away from gaming on the phone entirely. Is there any other platform you can game on?

Click to shrink...

Sure, I play on PC and PS4, but I often don't have a lot of time for it so something on the side on smartphone during the day while on the commute on during breaks at work is great.

COD Mobile it's a different genre, but boy it's addicting

Click to shrink...

I actually DL'd it last week but couldn't even create an account. Also I think that'd drain my phones battery extremely quickly. How long are matches in this?

 

[AllMight1]

I know this isn't answering your question, but I would stay away from gaming on the phone entirely. Is there any other platform you can game on?

Click to shrink...

.

 

[ScribeofGeadhain]

Epic Seven is a great gacha (hero collector) that's stupidly generous to F2P. You can even get the best units in the game now (moonlight) just through normal playing and the Cash Shop is totally on the side and never pops up in your face.

 

[dark_prinny]

Sure, I play on PC and PS4, but I often don't have a lot of time for it so something on the side on smartphone during the day while on the commute on during breaks at work is great.

I actually DL'd it last week but couldn't even create an account. Also I think that'd drain my phones battery extremely quickly. How long are matches in this?

Click to shrink...

I play it on iPhone and yeah it sure ma takes a good chunk of the battery. Matches are about 10 min long, give it a shot OP 😎

 

[Umbrella Carp]

I know this isn't answering your question, but I would stay away from gaming on the phone entirely. Is there any other platform you can game on?

Click to shrink...

I got a new phone again recently (Pixel 3), and I cannot agree more with this. You legit spend more time watching ads then you do playing games, and they even fuck you when you pay 7 dollars to "get rid of ads" and then you proceed to still have to watch them to build up that infernal fucking currency that every mobile game has.

Mobile gaming is legit a cesspool, no hyperbole.

 

[SephiZack]

Maybe Tropico? It's builder/tycoon, it's a pay 2 play without microtransactions, you can play in 5-10 minute chunks with the ability to say anywhere but honestly I don't know if it would keep you occupied for a long time.

Cons is that I've heard it takes some getting used to the touch controls.

I think it's like 10 dollars on the play store (or maybe less? Haven't checked).

Note: I'm probably biased but I think Feral Interactive is doing OK in terms of mobile games. All games are premium "pay once and play without microtransactions, ads or any of that bullshit".

I work at Feral but I'm not getting paid to advertise their games and I don't speak for the company 👀 Before working here I also thought mobile was just a cesspool of p2w/ads, but the thing is just that premium games don't become popular 10M downloads as there is a barrier to entry and not many people are willing to pay for mobile games upfront

 

[kurahador]

XCOM Enemy Within.

 

[Edge]

COD Mobile it's a different genre, but boy it's addicting

Click to shrink...

Urgh, everything but this.
It's one of the most heavenly monetized mobile games I've ever seen. And I play a f'n lot of mobile games. It has every monetization technique you can imagine.

If you want a game where you can keep up with content, stay away from this.

 

[Kwigo]

I got a new phone again recently (Pixel 3), and I cannot agree more with this. You legit spend more time watching ads then you do playing games, and they even fuck you when you pay 7 dollars to "get rid of ads" and then you proceed to still have to watch them to build up that infernal fucking currency that every mobile game has.

Mobile gaming is legit a cesspool, no hyperbole.

Click to shrink...

That's why I'm looking for something else, possibly pay to play so that I don't get ads constantly!

XCOM Enemy Within.

Click to shrink...

Oh I didn't know that was on smartphones. Is it any good on phones? Never played an X-Com game.

Urgh, everything but this.
It's one of the most heavenly monetized mobile games I've ever seen. And I play a f'n lot of mobile games. It has every monetization technique you can imagine.

If you want a game where you can keep up with content, stay away from this.

Click to shrink...

Ah... I was just re-DLing it. Well, gonna delete it.

Since you play a lot of mobile games, anything you'd recommend?

 

[kurahador]

Oh I didn't know that was on smartphones. Is it any good on phones? Never played an X-Com game.

Click to shrink...

It's pretty similar to the full game on pc/ps3/x360. If you like turn-based strategy, you'll love this one.

 

[Edge]

Since you play a lot of mobile games, anything you'd recommend?

Click to shrink...

I mostly try Gacha and kinda P2W games by myself cause, yeah, they are addicting, but I drop most of them after some time and try to stay with just a few. But I have a few suggestions, some in the other direction that you're looking for.

If you want a really f'n good Tycoon game, you have to play Game Dev Tycoon, it's a normal Tycoon game that started on PC a couple of years ago, was f'n great and one of the best Games Tycoon games ever made and then it finally got a f'n great mobile port of the PC version. This is a good one.

If you want something with a slight monetization but still fun, try the new Mario Kart Tour.
Yes, it has a 5 bucks per months monetization to get better rewards in their version of a "Battle Pass" but it's not a typical Battle Pass, it's just the rewards that get better in the races you finish. You do have challenges to make it easier and the game is basically a Gacha game, but I play it since release and even if they spit out a lot of content where you think "I have to buy crystals to pull more and to keep up", you really don't, the 5 bucks gold pass is all you need cause with that you can easily earn enough crystals to do 3-4 10 pulls each tour and a tour goes 2 weeks, so right at the point when you think "man I can't earn anything anymore" then the next tour comes around and you get showered with free stuff again.
The races and star challenges are super easy and everything is really enjoyable when it comes to reaching your goal and finishing the tour and the challenges. I know that one of the biggest problems in these games, specially with a pass, is that 95% of all developer don't respect the lifetime that you put into these games and they let you grind like f'n crazy so that you can barely finishing their stuff, but here, it feels different, even if many people are turned off by a monthly subscription, in my opinion, 5 bucks a month is really worth the way more chilled and enjoyable tour system. If that's what it needs to change a game from "play me 4 hours a day or fuck off you won't finishing our battle/sesson pass" to "just chill and play as much as you want to easily get everything", then shower me with subscriptions please.

So yeah, recommended.

Last recommendation for now, Project Highrise, also started as PC game, a really cool 2D Skyscraper building management (tycoon) simulator that got high praise on PC, now also on Android for a small dollar.
Not F2P, so no typical F2P horseshit and a fantastic PC port.

 

[Numberfox]

Since you mentioned turn-based strategy, have you tried your hand at playing online card games? Specifically card games with a draft/arena mode, where your card collection doesn't matter since you create a deck on the spot from a random pool, so everyone is on an even playing field no matter how good/bad the regular meta is. I personally have been enjoying Shadowverse, but there's several available if you're not too into an anime aesthetic, like Eternal or Elder Scrolls Legend. Hearthstone's obviously the progenitor, but I wouldn't recommend it in good conscious due to the current HK situation. Card City Nights 1 and 2 are offline card games that I've seen recommended, but I haven't had the opportunity to try them myself.

If you're still willing to give gacha games another go, there's a lot of (in my opinion) better ones than Disney Heroes. There's several PvE-only gacha games like Fate/Grand Order, GranBlue Fantasy, or Dragalia Lost. There's no PvP, so there's less incentive to "keep up" instead of just going at your own pace, and you'll feel a lot less compelled to pay as a result. Another Eden in particular is a PvE gacha which plays like a conventional single-player JRPG, with the same writer as Chrono Trigger, so it could could be worth checking out. The gacha is entirely optional, so you can just play through the main story without ever utilizing it.

For paid offline stuff, beyond X-COM which was already mentioned, I believe some stuff that might be worth checking out would be Stardew Valley, Minecraft, or Terraria, which all started on PC and are now available for android phones.

 

[Taco_Human]

The only games as a service game I play is NFS No Limits. I've been playing that for a few years and I've built myself up a McLaren and some nice cars with absolutely no payments. Just mad grind.

 

[stoke1863]

I don't want to judge but spending 100 a month on mobile games honestly sounds like you may have an addictive personalty and are failing for the same techniques that people who are gambling addicts fall for.

Its a slippery slope, please be careful.

 

[Setsune]

If you want something with a slight monetization but still fun, try the new Mario Kart Tour.

Click to shrink...

*spittingoutwater.gif*

Spoiler

I had a Diddy Kong version of this gif, but it costs $39.

 

[squall23]

Ever played Game Dev Story? Play any of their other games. They're all fun.

 

[Edge]

*spittingoutwater.gif*

Spoiler

I had a Diddy Kong version of this gif, but it costs $39.

Click to shrink...

You don't have to buy these 20 or 39$ packages, the characters in it are normal characters that you get easily everywhere.
They are just for people who want to pay for rubies, cause then these packages including items and a character are cheaper than buying rubies directly.

 

[Ramathevoice]

Probably not what you're looking for (it's more of an idle game), but Cookie Clicker just got a beta release on Android.

 

[Compbros]

Shadowverse. Very generous for new comers and daily players. Card game with several expansions throughout the year. I haven't spent a dime on the game and always have a few top tier decks at all times.

 

[Setsune]

You don't have to buy these 20 or 39$ packages, the characters in it are normal characters that you get easily everywhere.
They are just for people who want to pay for rubies, cause then these packages including items and a character are cheaper than buying rubies directly.

Click to shrink...

Nobody "wants" to pay for generic premium currencies in mobile games. You don't have to do anything, but the game is balanced around pushing these premium purchases, often at ludicrous prices. Specific characters get specific bonuses, and if you don't want to spend all day pulling your pipe, you're encouraged to shell out the cost of up to a premium game for a single character. Nobody "wants" to do that, but the game is prodding and needling you to.

This isn't a rare unique perspective I'm offering here; there's a lot of talk just how bad the monetization in Mario Kart Tour sucks. You may enjoy the game, but for someone wanting to get away from microtransactions, that's an awful choice. Even if you think you don't "really" have to spend anything.

 

[XDevil666]

spend a 100 on a mobile game in a month and asking for another mobile game?

dude just go and buy a switch!

 

[Magnemania]

Lost Frontier is an excellent Advance Wars-inspired TBS game for $3. There's a finite $5 of possible microtransactions in the game that merely skip content. It has, eh, 5-40 hours of content depending on how interested you are in replaying missions with different characters (I've nearly 100%ed it with everyone). Can be paused anywhere, very fun to play.

 

[TechnicPuppet]

Kingdom Rush games are fantastic.

 

[Howdyjacker]

I'll suggest brave conquest by igg.

It's fun And looks good with non invasive mtx

 

[Deleted member 9317]

Dota Underlords, by VALVE.

 

[Fuzzy]

Do you like Picross? If so there's Konami's Pixel Puzzle Collection or you can try Logic Square.

 

[Rolodzeo]

The GO series (Lara Croft, Hitman, etc) is really good and they are quite cheap.

 

[Alvis]

The only games worth anyone's time on mobile are emulators.

 

[Edge]

Nobody "wants" to pay for generic premium currencies in mobile games. You don't have to do anything, but the game is balanced around pushing these premium purchases, often at ludicrous prices. Specific characters get specific bonuses, and if you don't want to spend all day pulling your pipe, you're encouraged to shell out the cost of up to a premium game for a single character. Nobody "wants" to do that, but the game is prodding and needling you to.

This isn't a rare unique perspective I'm offering here; there's a lot of talk just how bad the monetization in Mario Kart Tour sucks. You may enjoy the game, but for someone wanting to get away from microtransactions, that's an awful choice. Even if you think you don't "really" have to spend anything.

Click to shrink...

I disagree, I played one whole tour already, almost all challenges, including the Highscore challenges and I just disagree. The monetization in this one is fantastic, with the 5$ pass, without I can see it being not good, but with it, you get enough premium currency and even high end characters in the pass to unlock MORE than enough to finish everything. You don't need to finish every race with all 5 stars, you know, you can get enough through standard challenges and daily missions and you can still get every single tour item. I did it, I never finished the last 2 courses with all stars because they were too hard, but you don't have to, and the most positive thing about it, again, is that you don't have ANY grind at all.

I even used all my speed tickets in the first tour because I didn't had enough to play for a day. You can easily max everything with not even spending 30 minutes of time a day, it's extremely refreshing and in most races you also have at least one other character besides the high end ones to get the highest bonus. It's a good system overall, no matter what you or other people say. 5 bucks is all you need and you're good to go for the whole month, in comparison to all other f2p monetized games, this is a really fair one, I just hate the pure antipathy from people against monthly subscriptions, 5 f'n bucks is nothing in the F2P games world and you get so much advantages here, it's great.

 

[jon bones]

Call of Duty is excellent

Gwent is dropping in a few weeks and is the best CCG out right now

Hopefully we get League of Legends Mobile released on 10/15

Black Desert MMO drops in December

Lots of good stuff coming

 

[Flecko]

Maybe battle of cats? It's a really good game, or maybe archero, both are addicting

 

[Syril]

Arkanoid vs Space Invaders is literally a former free to play game converted to a regular paid game with all the purchases taken out.

 

[MilesQ]

Unfortunately, the premium and addictive experiences you're looking for are all on iPhone and will likely stay there because of AA.

 

[Fer]

The single player mode in Hearthstone is a good deal for great content. They release a new adventure for about USD $20 (I'm not sure on the price) every 4 months.

Most times it's a card game roguelike. Although they did a card game puzzle mode last year.

 

[OneThirtyEight]

Try BlipBlop.

 

[klastical]

It sounds like your ready to play one of the best games of all time, Solitarica. It's a roguelike deck building game based loosely based around solitaire. You pick a charecter class (deck) who all have unique spells and battle your way through a series of monsters which have increasingly nasty attacks.

The monsters hp is the cards laying out on the board, clear the card to defeat the monster. You can play one number up or down on a card to clear it from the board. So if your trying to get rid of an ace you can play a king or a "two" card on top of it. Every card is one of a few different colors and clearing that card gives you one mana of that color. You use mana to activate your spells. Spells range from giving tour charecter armor (like in hearthstone), to rearranging cards on the playing field, to straight up destroying cards.


The base gameplay is simple enough that anyone can pick it up but it quickly gets difficult and will take a long time for you to beat the game with evey deck. I've played for atleast 200+ hours before I started to get bored. The game has zero microtransactions or pay to win mechanics, it does feature DLC that unlocks an addition four decks that are designed for more advanced users and feature trickier deck mechanics. It really is the best game on mobile and I will fight anyone who says otherwise.

 

[Kwigo]

Thanks for all the recommendations, I'm currently DL'ing Dota Underlords to try it out, and I'll take a look on some other stuff you recommended.

I also saw that there are some Layton games available and some cRPGs, are those any good, and actually playable on touchscreen for the cRPGs ?

 

[adumb]

Dragon Quest V is on Android.

 

[Timppis]

Disney Sorcerers Arena, from Disney to Disney ;)

 

[demosthenes]

I know this isn't answering your question, but I would stay away from gaming on the phone entirely. Is there any other platform you can game on?

Click to shrink...

On of the best changes in my life is this.

 

[Fer]

Ah yes, solitairica is a good card game too.
Konami Pixel Puzzle is 10/10

 

[astro]

The World Ends With You: Solo Remix is one of the best JRPGs of all time and, imo, the mobile version plays better than the original dual screen.

It's £18, but it's a full JRPG with no mobile bullshit (it has IAPs but you can just ignore them).

Edit: that was the iOS price, it's only £13 on android!

 

[Nome]

Urgh, everything but this.
It's one of the most heavenly monetized mobile games I've ever seen. And I play a f'n lot of mobile games. It has every monetization technique you can imagine.

If you want a game where you can keep up with content, stay away from this.

Click to shrink...

There's a difference between *how much* is monetized vs. *what* is monetized.
The vast majority of COD Mobile's monetization does not affect gameplay--it's mostly useless cosmetics. And yeah someone is probably going to cite that Jim Sterling video (big lol) but no one else really sees your skins and the one social peacocking moment is the Top 3 scene at the end of each match that everyone just immediately exits out of.

What does affect gameplay are the skin variants of guns that give you VERY minor gameplay boosts, and the fact that they can be purchased prior to unlocking them in the player progression. That might sound heinous, but if you actually play the game, the boosts are all but unnoticeable and these weapons really don't give you any advantage in 90% of the situations you find yourself in. Most importantly, they don't affect time to kill.

Moreover, COD Mobile is not a content-driven (arc-based) game, it's a loop-based game. If Kwigo enjoys the core loop of COD, it's probably a good fit, as the content is not going to be a driver for him like Disney Heroes (and hero battler genre in general) was.

 

[exodus]

How do you feel about incremental games? Kittens Game is one of the best incrementals and is very inexpensive with no IAP.

It's kind of a mix of A Dark Room and Civilization. It will last you a few months.

There's also Idling To Tule The Gods which is exclusive to Android on mobile. It has a ridiculous amount of depth. But be warned, the interface is atrocious.

 

[ryseing]

Surprised this hasn't been mentioned- give Play Pass a shot. It's Google's version of Apple Arcade but there's no exclusives yet.

$2 a month for the first year.

 

[foxdvd]

Battle Chasers...just pay 9.99 and you have one of the best turned based RPG games in a long time. I bought and got the platinum on the ps4. I bought and finished it twice on steam. I then bought it on my phone, and have finished it twice as well. Can be played in small burst, or for a few hours at at time. NO in game purchases. NO pop ups...just the cost of the game.

 

[saenima]

Solitairica is a fantastic card game based on solitaire. It's like 3-4 bucks.

Pixel Puzzle Collection is pretty good if you're into picross and Konami stuff.

The Braveland games are alright as well if you're into strategy combat in the vein of the King's Bounty series.