Stephanie Bendixsen: Mobile games worth downloading
Mobile games are not created equal. But the good ones can make a long commute fly by. Stephanie Bendixsen finds four worth your time.
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I’ve never been much of a mobile gamer — I have a beefed-up PC at home, all the latest consoles (I’m serious about this stuff, if you hadn’t noticed) so I suppose the idea of tapping away at Bejewelled on a tiny screen just seems like a sub-par gaming experience and frankly, a waste of time.
I’d rather wait til I’m home and getting the full benefit of all of my gear and can play something actually good. Add to that the ever-increasing release of games for the Switch, and it’s hard to imagine mobile games ever getting a look-in.
My situation recently changed however when made the decision to move about an hour and a half out of Sydney, meaning my commute has now significantly lengthened.
Suddenly my phone’s access to a whole new library of games wasn’t looking so bad after all. I now rather sheepishly admit to turning my nose up at mobile games a little prematurely as I’ve recently discovered a heap of games in the mobile department that are seriously worth your time.
With that, I bring you this roundup of cool gaming experiences you can have on your mobile device to suit all tastes: puzzle and adventure, strategy and competition, and just plain mindless fun — and perhaps your next commute will be a little less tedious as a result.
First up: Lara Croft GO. This is an older title that I’m highlighting here because it’s still one of the best and most stylish mobile games I’ve ever played, and if you haven’t played it — you must.
Your task is to guide the iconic Lara through various caverns, temples and tombs to collect relics and shiny goodies, while avoiding snakes, saw blades and tumbling to her doom. Almost like a board game, she sticks to a predefined track — and this is important because other enemy and obstacle mechanics are timed to her movement.
This means the puzzle aspect often focuses not only on the route you take, but the timing of specific moves Lara makes against other moving parts.
Hidden collectables throughout each screen are delightfully sneaky often tough to find, especially when you’re so focused on the puzzle solution — but collecting them all unlocks new outfits for Lara in future levels and playthroughs. Overall what truly makes this game sing, however — is its sleek design. It’s simple but so wonderfully artistic, and the way Lara flips and wheels her way through each beautiful new zone is just beautiful.
Next, for the strategists with a competitive streak, I’d suggest downloading either Auto Chess or DOTA Underlords.
Auto Chess has been around for a little while and hugely popular, but Valve has recently released their own take on the ‘autobattler genre’ using the DOTA franchise — so I thought I’d check that out.
I’ll admit, this type of game is a little trickier to pick up even with the tutorial, so give yourself some time to work things out while playing against bots on lower difficulties.
The general idea is that eight players will fight against each other in several one-on-one rounds.
In a way, it could be likened to a battle card game, as you choose a selection of heroes from a rotating pool each round, each with different attack and defence attributes.
Once you’ve selected the heroes you want to fight for you, the fight plays out automatically based on what your opponent has chosen. You also can only place a certain number of heroes on the board at any one time based on your level, the higher your level, the higher the tier of hero you have access to in the picking pool.
Rounds are quick, full of colourful animations and it has a thoroughly ‘morish’ quality to it that will likely result in you missing your train stop as you become evermore determined to show your opponent ‘what’s what’. For DOTA fans there’s the added joy of recognisable heroes and items to keep it feeling familiar. If you feel like you’re not improving, there are plenty of guides online to help you up your game.
Lastly, if you’re keen to simply check-out at the end of a long day with a bit of fluff — The Sims Mobile is actually a pretty detailed and well fleshed-out iteration of the game.
Despite having more experience with the city-building original, The Sims has its own charm that fulfils some strange fantasy we all have to craft an idyllic virtual life.
Here, I created a character to look more-or-less like me, set to work fixing up my little home, got a job as a barista at a local cafe, made friends, attempted romance with a woman I met on the street (which didn’t go well, I made a sexy joke and she didn’t care for it, but I haven’t given up hope), and laid-out plans to improve my humble abode with stylish unlockable furnishings.
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It’s always worth being wary of these games when it comes to microtransactions, they can suck you in and pry the simoleons from your pocket with the tempting desire for a better virtual TV for your virtual avatar’s apartment.
Thankfully in this instance it seems fairly easy to just play the long game and enjoy your character’s hard-earned success.
So, there you have it. I humbly accept that mobile games have seriously hit their stride. I am a mobile gamer. Something difficult for me to admit as someone who takes games so very seriously — but credit it where credit’s due. Now go forth and tap your way to distraction!