10. Lode Runner 1 If you're one of the many who remembers the
Lode Runner game from their childhood, Nexon Studios has just the right treatment for you.
In Lode Runner 1, you get all the cool things from the classic game modernized into one,
well-crafted game.
This new version of Lode Runner doesn't just have over 35 different levels and a snazzy
new multiplayer mode, it also has an earned level creator that lets you stretch out the
fun further. But, perhaps the best part of it all, is the fact that it has absolutely
zero in-app purchases to distract you with, aside from a link to the rights holder's classic
game.
It's basically a giveaway, a gift, and a fitting tribute to fans of the old puzzler. Challenge
your brain, maneuver through their tricky stages, and compete against players from around
the world.
It has a playscore of 7.96
9. Father and Son Games that are absolutely free, with none
of the freemium monkey business, usually come with a purpose. For our 9th spot, it's all
about taking us on a tour of Naples' National Archaeological Museum.
But, instead of boring old pictures of their various artifacts, TuoMuseo's Father and Son
does this by telling the story of a son dealing with the death of his estranged father--an
archaeologist who dedicated his life to his craft, to detriment of his home life. As the
son meanders about Naples--going through scenic long walks and talking to the occasional stranger--not
only do we get a glimpse of what the museum houses, we also get transported into the various
eras of our own human history.
Its pace may be slow and its dialog a little stilted, it still evokes enough intrigue through
tiny activities and interactions while making its point about just how much we all have
in common, despite the years between us.
If you have an hour to kill, you may as well spend it here with a score of 8.13
8. Squadron 1945 Needing only one finger for maneuvering, shoot
em ups seem like an easy addition to the Android roster. Magma Mobile's Squadron 1945 delivers
everything you could expect from a barebones shmup. Set in a retro-futuristic world, it
will feel very familiar to those who grew up with the genre.
On the mobile, it seems simpler than ever. Guide your squad of warplanes through an onslaught
of bullets and projectiles and take them to the finish line with the biggest scores you
can possibly rack up. There isn't really much to break the shooting monotony, but the rising
difficulty will keep your eyes glued to the chaos of the aerial battlefield.
A simple but effective timesink, it gets a playscore of 8.3
7. Geometry Dash Meltdown This game may not be a full-on rhythm game,
but you'd be wrong if you think you can make it without your ear to the beat. One of the
most critically acclaimed games on the iOS, Geometry Dash levels up the exciting platforming
action with cooler designs, hotter levels, and a whole new soundtrack. As with all the
rest of the series, RobTop's Meltdown offers players musically charged adrenaline rushes
as you attempt to master the ins and outs of their complicated stages.
As a free-to-play counterpart to their main Geometry Dash game, Meltdown doesn't offer
as much content as you'd want it to. The most you get is three levels, each with varying
difficulties and set against F-777's electronic beats. With spikes, fires, and holes all still
getting in the way of success, there's enough of a challenge here to last more than a few
hours.
Offering a sampler size of their infamously punishing difficulty, Meltdown remains a top-choice
for hassle-free fun and it has a playscore of 8.33
6. Stranger Things: The Game Videogame tie-ins to popular movies and series
rare ever work since, more often than not, they're cash grabs for the big studios. On
the other hand, if there's one that does it right, at least on the Android, it's definitely
Netflix's Stranger Things.
Made to welcome the series' second season, Stranger Things: The Game is their first attempt
at a videogame tie-in and it was a massive success. Not only was it because it was absolutely
free, but also because it brought us back to the sci-fi intrigue of the town of Hawkins
in a spectacularly creative way.
Pixel aesthetics aren't anything new, but they managed to make it work for their signature
80s vibe. Aside from visuals, Stranger Things: The Game also manages to deliver a full narrative
experience within its limited format. Functioning well as an actual videogame, it almost doesn't
matter that it's selling you on something too--as long as it doesn't cost anything.
It has a playscore of 8.35
5. The Frostrune It's not Netflix, but if you're up for FREE
and original adventure, then Grimnir Media's Frostrune is one of your best bets. It switches
the sci-fi of Stranger Things with a not so familiar look at Viking mythology and ultimately
delivers a story filled with ancient wonder.
Shipwrecked and marooned into an unknown island, you find yourself in an abandoned settlement
with only ancient runes and burial mounds for company. Frostrune depicts its dynamic
world through 2D illustrations, and it never falls short of capturing the world's quiet
isolation and the burgeoning of something magical.
As a point and click adventure, it's a bit slow on the uptake. It might be a little lacking
for some, but worth the patient investment for others. It's a unique adventure that shows
off its ingenuity with its puzzles, and also its creativity with its Old Norse dialogue
that takes us fully to their realized spirit world.
It has a playscore of 8.47
4. War Agent In a list of free games without microtransactions,
Bazinu's War Agent isn't here to sell you anything other than a message. Reduced to
its most basic makeup, War Agent is merely a casual game with economic and management
elements that require you to balance the playing field between sides.
But, set against a backdrop of War, it becomes much more complicated than it seems. In order
for your business of mass destruction to keep booming, you'll have to need to use more than
your guns. Bribe governments, eliminate opponents and weaponize the media in order to win people
over to the side of eternal strife.
It's such a simple game, easy to learn and fun enough to keep playing for more than one
round. Throughout all this though, War Agent manages to get its point across. What is war
good for? For lining up somebody's pockets.
Whatever lesson you take from it, or don't fun is fun. And for War Agent, that means
a playscore of 8.47
3. Cube Escape: The Cave For the longest time, Rusty Lake's Cube Escape
games have been a haven for puzzle fans looking for a quick and free fix. This ninth installment,
which deals with the events inside The Cave, seems like the fan-favorite on the mobile.
First released in 2015, this entry to the Cube Escape games challenges you to decipher
the codes inside the titular to aid a familiar guest from the Rusty Lake Saga. The Cave returns
with the usual point and clicks mechanics. Investigate clues in every nook and cranny,
and dive even deeper in the mysteries of the Rusty Lake.
It's one of the more difficult entries in the series and it continues to intrigue puzzle
fans with a playscore of 8.49
2. Wrassling This arcade game doesn't exactly razzle and
dazzle, but it's got most of everything you want in a casual fighting game. Getting the
full experience for no cost at all, you can't expect a lot of mechanical complexity.
Forgoing the hitboxes and complicated movesets, all you
have at your disposal are a pair of arms that you use to hopefully throw your opponents
with. How you manage to do that despite the simplistic controls is all up to you. But,
there is a knack to Wrassling that, once achieved, will open you up to a world of low-stakes
combat.
While there's not a whole lot you can do with a few bulky pixels, Wrassling's makers Colin
Lane surely knows how to make it last. Compete in their four different game modes and take
up the challenge of throwing down enemy pixels, alone or with friends.
Fair warning though: while there might not be things to buy with digital money, you will
run into some ads. They’re relatively sparse, but they’re definitely there.
Other than that, It has a playscore of 8.5
1. DATA WING Nothing will ever beat a game given out of
pure generosity. Pair that with simple but gorgeous visuals and a beautifully crafted
story, and you got yourself a winner. Gifted to the world by developer Dan Vogt, Data Wing
was a passion project whose light has reached the thousands of android users looking for
something new.
Set in a futuristic cyber world, take the helm of a lone data wing as he takes orders
from a mysterious digital narrator. Part-racer, part-visual novel, you take on the challenge
of the Data Wing, competing against others of your kind in various circuits. By achieving
the goals of each level, you slowly piece together a story that, while ultimately about
cybertronic, is a manifest of human emotions.
Contrasting elements of heart and robotic obedience, its two-hour story is a moving,
microtransaction-less masterpiece, and it gets a playscore of 8.83