In the past year or two, the world of mobile games has really blown up. Developers that have previously stuck to consoles and PC have started to port their biggest games to mobile, and publishers are making more money than ever from free to play mobile games.
The trouble is, many people hear ‘mobile game’ and instantly think about games like Candy Crush. There is, of course, a large market for these types of games, but there are many good mobile games out there that offer a gameplay experience on par with console titles.
In this article, we’ve listed the top 5 mobile games that have released in 2018. Before we get started, it should be mentioned that all games on this list are free to play.
Best Mobile MMO Game – Lineage 2 Revolution
There’s a surprisingly large market for MMO games on the app store, but for a long time, these games have always been second best. Then, Lineage 2 Revolution happened.
The developers of Lineage 2 Revolution have taken the Lineage 2 formula and completely reworked it to make it the best mobile MMO game in the world.
Lineage 2 Revolution features many elements that can make an MMO successful – grinding, quests, a huge open world, raids, dungeons, and PVP. However, what makes Lineage 2 Revolution special is that you can practically automate the vast majority of the game.
You no longer need to sit there and manually grind through mobs and quests. Instead, you can spend a few minutes in-game here and there, and then automate all of the grinding. This works very well for a mobile game because you can let it run on its own and play it throughout the day, taking small moments throughout the day to manage your progress.
Lineage 2 Revolution also plays as a great game for when you don’t want to automate things – there are many opportunities for hours of fun. Lineage 2 Revolution is free to play on Google Play Store and iOS App Store.
Best Mobile MOBA Game – Vainglory
There’s a lot of debate over which MOBA game is best on mobile devices. There’s a lot of choice and surprisingly a big market for mobile MOBA games.
If you want a game that’s as similar to League of Legends as possible, you’ll want to go for Mobile Legends. I personally think that Vainglory is the better game overall, however.
Instead of just ripping almost every last game mechanic from an existing MOBA game, Vainglory was built from the ground up to have gameplay suited for mobile.
Firstly, Vainglory matches are far shorter than typical MOBA matches. You’ll only be playing for 15-20 minutes in most cases, and sometimes games are even shorter.
All of the heroes have been created from scratch and they are balanced so that there are counters for each hero pick. There’s also a healthy competitive scene for Vainglory that helps to keep updates and balance changes pushed out regularly.
Best Social Mobile Game – Pokemon Go
Pokemon Go took the world by storm when it first launched in 2016. Whilst Pokemon Go might not be as wildly popular as it once was, there’s still a large player base.
If you haven’t played since the launch year, you’ll have missed out on a lot of changes and content drops. Firstly, there are now hundreds of more Pokemon from new regions. There are also regular community events, and lots of new content features to keep things interesting.
The biggest introduction since the release of Pokemon Go is the raids system. Players must work together to take down tough raid bosses for a chance to get a rare Pokemon. Players will have to carefully plan out which Pokemon to use and the abilities each Pokemon has will have their own pros and cons during raids and gym battles.
There’s also a new quest system that allows players to earn in-game rewards for completing basic tasks in-game.
With the summer around the corner and new features, there’s never been a better time to try Pokemon Go again.
Best Casual Mobile Game – Friday The 13th Puzzle Killer
So far, the games in this list are types of games that take a lot of commitment. If you’d prefer a casual game that you can pick up for a few minutes here and there, try Friday The 13th Puzzle Killer.
This game is based on a popular puzzle idea that’s been done before, but the unique Friday The 13th theme gives it a unique twist.
Essentially, Friday The 13th Puzzle Killer is a tile-based game in which you must swipe to move Jason across a board. The objective is to kill all survivors on the board without falling victim to different obstacles.
As you play for longer, the puzzles will become more challenging and you’ll find more levels that require you to complete them within a set number of turns.
Friday The 13th Puzzle Killer gets your brain working in creative ways, but it’s not a bore
like some other puzzle games.
Best Mobile Trading Card Game: Hearthstone
Once again, there will be a lot of debate surrounding which mobile trading card game is the best, but the numbers would suggest it is Hearthstone.
Not only is Hearthstone the most popular trading card game right now, but it is also the most frequent updates and content drops. Hearthstone also has a very strong competitive scene and competitive ladder system that allows players to try their luck against other top-tier players.
Hearthstone can also be a lot of fun to play casually – there are casual modes, story-based AI modes, and modes that give out rewards based on your performance.
Don’t Forget PUBG Mobile And Fortnite Mobile
You may have noticed that we haven’t mentioned PUBG mobile or Fortnite mobile. It should go without saying that both of these games are amongst the best mobile titles in 2018.
I personally think that PUBG and Fortnite deserve to be played on PC or console – playing a battle royale game on mobile can be quite difficult. Others are enjoying these games a lot, however, so you may still get a lot of fun out of them.
Upcoming Honorable Mentions: Black Desert Mobile And RuneScape Mobile
If none of these games take your interest, why not keep your eyes out for Black Desert Mobile and RuneScape mobile? Both of these games are expected to launch later this year.
Black Desert Mobile is rumored to be a spinoff of the main game, whereas RuneScape will just be another client for the existing RuneScape 3 and Oldschool servers.
These are two MMOs that already feature that ‘easy AFK’ formula that makes Lineage 2 Revolution so popular, so I think they’ll be great when they finally launch.
Summary
Are there any games in this list that might make you reconsider playing games on your smartphone? Let us know your thoughts!