The best Android games in 2022:
Hunting down the best games on Android isn't easy, especially if you're interested in quality titles built for fun instead of sucking up money. Not to worry; we here at Nitinyt have compiled a roundup of the best games currently available on the platform in 2022. The cream of the crop, as it were, all to help everyone with discoverability.
So if you're the sort that's always on the hunt for quality games worthy of your free time, you've come to the right place. Whether you're looking for shooters, platformers, or racers, AP has your back with today's best Android game roundup.
Action
Alto's Adventure
The Play Store is rife with auto-runners and endless-runners, and there are definitely a few good ones, but Alto's Adventure is easily one of the best. Sure, there's a sequel available, but the original is where perfection lays. It's an incredibly simple setup; snowboard as far as you can while completing goals. Once you finish a goal, you earn currency, which can be used to unlock new riders. And some of these riders offer better handling and speed, which means the more you unlock, the more currency you'll earn, snowballing until you complete the game.
The graphics are gorgeous, the controls are spot-on, and the gameplay loop is addictive. Best of all, you can pay to remove the annoying ads, which is the best way to play, totally unencumbered.
Among Us
If you're familiar with the tabletop game Werewolf or Mafia, you should be familiar with the social deduction gameplay of Among Us. While the title didn't get much attention upon release, it gained traction once some streamers started getting views while playing it. As you can imagine, streamed social deduction games are fun to watch, so Among Us got wildly popular.
So if you'd like to play a multi-layer game where cooperation and backstabbing are prerequisites, a game that almost always results in drama among those playing, you'll probably get a kick out of Among Us. The game is fairly monetized, plus it's free to play, so there's definitely no harm in giving it a try.
Call of Duty: Mobile
What would a best-of Android game roundup be without one of the popular free-to-play shooters on the list? Seeing that Fortnite is no longer available on the Play Store, Call of Duty is the obvious choice for today's roundup. Sure, PUBG is still cruising along, but there's no denying Call of Duty: Mobile is the cool kid in the group. It's newer, and, well, it's freaking Call of Duty. Classic maps are included for those feeling nostalgic, along with a battle royale mode that mirrors the gameplay found in every other battle royale.
Monetization is greedy but primarily cosmetic, though cheating is an issue. But what competitive mobile game doesn't struggle with this problem? More or less, Call of Duty: Mobile does an okay job bringing the primary characteristics of the popular shooter from consoles to mobile, though all of the familiar issues that plague the majority of F2P mobile games are present.
Castlevania: SotN
The term Metroidvania was coined to describe Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. This is a classic PS1 game from Konami, a direct sequel to Rondo of Blood, and it's still heralded as one of the best Castlevania games ever made. Konami brought the title to mobile in 2020 as a surprise release, and the port is fantastic. Not only does it run great, but controllers are supported, which means you can play this just like you did on the PS1, with tactile and responsive controls, which are indeed necessary to beat this challenging game.
Sure, the touch controls work in a pinch, but you're not going to finish the game using them, which is why controller support is so important. Hands-down, this is an excellent port of a fantastic game, and the price is totally on point. For once, Konami did something right.
Adventure
Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact is an adventure game that might not appeal to everyone, thanks to its gacha design, but there is no denying that miHoYo Limited raised the bar exponentially when it comes to the polish and content of free-to-play mobile games. The graphics in this Zelda-like adventure are superb. There are still very few mobile games that can compare a year later. The writing is also better than expected, and the game's characters are detailed and interesting. Still, monetization is greedy, and you will be bombarded with all manner of sales and other annoying in-game notifications. There's also a lack of end-game content, and you'll run into plenty of false walls along the way, purposefully slowing down your progress.
It's a love it or hates it kind of thing, which will ultimately come down to how willing you are to put up with grindy gameplay that's monetized poorly. Still, Genshin is a great-looking game that's perfect for stress-testing new hardware, and there's some fun to be had if you play casually, especially since there's cross-save support across all supported platforms.
Arcade
Minecraft
Minecraft is a game that does not need an introduction. Mojang's open-world voxel sandbox content should be familiar to most. You can build like legos in a free-play mode or jump into survival mode to grind your days away. Multiplayer content is a huge part of the game, and while the store is packed with all kinds of content to buy, at least the primary gameplay loop remains consistent.
Controllers are supported out of the box, and the touchscreen controls are plenty serviceable. All around, this is a solid port of a great game that offers hundreds of hours of gameplay. For the asking price, you can't really go wrong.
Card games
Slay the Spire
What can I say? Card game fanatics love to Slay the Spire. You see the name every time people ask for Android game recommendations, and for a good reason. Unlike many mobile card games, this is a solo experience, and it plays like a roguelike, where you'll build a deck to set out on your adventure just to see how far you can get. This is a game that many have spent hundreds of hours in. It's basically endless if you're into theorycrafting.
So if you're sick of wasting time and money grinding through pointless pay-to-win cards games, perhaps it's time to give Slay the Spirea a try?
