It’s 2024 and mobile games are as popular as ever. From Android to iOS, there’s no shortage of games for players to pick from. Spanning various genres and playstyles, mobile gamers of all kinds are sure to find something they can enjoy. But what are the best mobile games out there, and how can players find them? Well, for starters, check out this list of the best Android and iOS games of 2024!
20. Warcraft Rumble
Within the Warcraft universe comes a brand-new story from Blizzard Entertainment. Originally titled Warcraft Arclight Rumble, Blizzard’s made-for-mobile-title features collectable mini characters that come to life in a superb action-strategy gacha. Find and collect over 65 characters and assemble multiple armies to fight in melee battles. Familiar factions, such as the Alliance and Horde, will contain well-known characters from the Warcraft universe. These include Jaina Proudmoore and Grommash Hellscream. With a single-player campaign, PvP and more, there’s no shortage of joyful chaos. Besides fighting, use your minis to gather resources, like gold, through mining or finding treasure chests.
19. Plants vs. Zombies 2
PopCap Games once again needs you to defend the neighborhood from brain-hungry zombies. Though, it might be hard to go back to playing the first game after playing Plants vs. Zombies 2. Everything moves significantly faster here, from the plants to the zombies. Not only that, but players also get to time travel beyond the backyard. From ancient Egypt to the distant future, there are all kinds of new zombies to defend your house from. A lot of them, like the Jetpack Zombie, are much tougher to deal with, which is why there’s a host of new plants as well, such as the Lava Guava and Laser Bean. And, to give your plants an extra boost, Seed Packets can power up attacks and strengthen defenses, among other things. With 11 worlds and over 300 levels, players will both have fun and be challenged. PopCap really upped the excitement with this brilliant sequel.
18. Civilization VI
An advanced empire building game that starts at the beginning of civilization and just keeps going. Depending on your choices. As the leader, you need to manage your resources to build new structures, empower your army to attack and defend, grow your territory, while keeping your citizens satisfied and happy. Your decisions will affect the entire world of Civilization VI. Will you be a conquering dictator or a benevolent commander?
17. Bad North
Vikings have invaded your home and it’s up to you to defend it. Bad North is a charming but brutal real-time tactics roguelite. Position and relocate troops on procedurally generated islands to stop the Vikings. Every island is different, so the tactics you use will also have to change. You only get one chance to protect each island. And the Vikings often know how to counter your troops. Though challenging, this game has immense replay value. Plus, there are some great unlockable upgrades that can help your troops become stronger. The better your troops, the better defended your islands will be. A major bug with this game, however, is that some players are losing their save files.
16. Asphalt 9: Legends
This series from Gameloft has been going strong for 18 years. Its most recent racing title, Asphalt 9: Legends takes players to racetracks across seven countries. Drive brands like Ferrari and Porsche to see which will burn rubber. Speed through locations such as Shanghai and Scotland to become the best racer worldwide. Face seven players in real time and raise the ranks of five different leagues in multiplayer. Additionally, there’s a Career mode with 71 themed events. While Asphalt 9: Legends is entertaining, it isn’t without problems. The frame rate is inconsistent, working when there isn’t much happening. Plus, some races are short, the menu is a UI nightmare, and microtransactions abound. The game doesn’t force players to spend money, however. Regardless, Asphalt 9: Legends manages to be a superb racing game. There’s potential for replayability and Career mode offers hours of play.
15. Atom RPG
Inspired by the first two Fallout games, Atom RPG tells a different story regarding war. In 1986, the world war between the Soviet Union and the Western Bloc ended in nuclear destruction of both powers. Civilization almost ended, but you are a survivor. Explore the wild and wondrous post nuclear world, fight mutated creatures and discover a conspiracy that wants to destroy everything that’s left. Create the kind of character you want and learn dozens of skills. While visiting several locations you meet all kinds of new people who could either be friendly or dangerous. Turn-based combat and multiple-choice dialogues, along with a nonlinear story, grant players over 60 hours of gameplay. Although, there are a few glitches here and there.
14. Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent
A prequel to Octopath Traveler, follow the chosen ones as they battle against the great evils of Orsterra. Offering beautiful 2D pixel art, enhanced with 3D and CGI effects, Octopath’s massive game world is filled with colorful environments. Plus, with over 64 characters to add to your team, the possibilities are endless. The combat system allows players to have eight party members, and fast controls help with quick selection. With the right team, fighting through the main story, side quests and scary bosses won’t be too difficult. You can even choose how to interact with all the characters, inquiring about information, asking for items as well as hiring characters to be party members. A cool fact about this game is that the composer for Octopath Traveler, Yasunori Nishiki, also made music for the prequel.
13. Kingdom Rush Series
One of the biggest tower defense series from Ironhide Game Studio. The first game was released in 2011 and garnered over 70 million downloads. Because of this success, a sequel, prequel, and further sequel were released in 2013, 2014 and 2018 respectively. All of the Kingdom Rush titles follow a typical tower defense formula. The dark wizard Vez’nan sends an invading force, and players have to use units and heroes to defend against them. Units include a bevy of Melee Towers, which send out up to three soldiers. Enemies range from goblins to demons, from giant insects to lizard people to straight-up humans and dragons. It shows just how creative the dev team is with such a variety of enemies to fight. Additionally, the title offers a slew of playable heroes, including the righteous knight, Gerald Lightseeker and the silent but deadly elven archer, Alleria Swiftwind, to name a few. With so much content spanning several games, players will hardly run out of things to do.
12. Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions
So, why is this game separate from the rest of the Final Fantasy series? While the others are JRPGs, FFT offers up what is to many the seminal tactical strategy game. Originally released in 1997 on the PlayStation, it went on to sell over 2.4 million copies globally. A re-release in 2007 on the PSP was also popular with long-time fans, and even added new features like new movies, scenarios and Jobs. The game even translates well on mobile, with intuitive touch screen controls. Simply tap to move around and advance the story and even rotate the map. Additionally, improved loading times help get to the action faster.
11. XCOM Enemy Within
What’s unique about this is that it’s not exactly a game, it’s a standalone expansion, meaning you get the original XCOM Enemy Unknown, one of the finest tactical strategy games available on mobile, plus all the benefits of the Enemy Within expansion. XCOM Enemy Within offers a bunch of new solider abilities to help advance your operatives, while new weapons and equipment give them an extra edge and a new threat will keep them on their toes. Plus, new story elements and a new strategic resource allow players to enjoy a lot more content. Although, because the game has incredibly rich graphics, you may want to turn off other apps before playing for the best experience.
10. PUBG Mobile
PUBG: Battlegrounds redefined the battle royale genre. Finding the best weapons, vantage points, and staying alive really gets the heart pumping. PUBG Mobile from Tencent hopes to achieve the same. There are 100-player fights and survival is paramount. Survive Classic Mode, 4v4 Arena battles and more. Ambitiously, new maps and items are added every day. If players need to adjust their playing style, there’s customizable controls and a training mode. PUBG Mobile is based on PUBG, with a few differences. The mobile version has lower resolution, meaning less detail. However, as pointed out by Screen Rant, the title’s audio-visual cues on minimaps really help. Once the enemy is exposed, they can be shot. Another plus is easier driving mechanics and more customization options. Along with additional game modes, PUBG Mobile might just be a little better.
9. Into the Breach
For their second outing Subset Games, makers of the seminal spaceship sim roguelike FTL, tried their hand at turn-based tactics, and the results are rather stunning. Into the Breach offers supervising strategic depth in a simple 8×8 grid format. Subset effectively nuances said small grid format, so that each battle unfolds like a puzzle. As a roguelike, Into the Breach’s brutal difficulty is offset by its highly addictive gameplay. What’s more, the game’s controls are well suited to touchscreens and the game has been otherwise seamlessly ported. With its tactical depth, puzzle-like tactical gameplay and considerable replayability, it serves as a superb example of Android’s potential as a gaming platform.
8. Final Fantasy Series
Since 1987, the Final Fantasy series has captured player attention with its dynamic characters and massive worldbuilding. The mainline games and various sequels represent some of the best JRPGs available. When speaking of the main games, some of the best include VII and IX. So why are they received so highly? Well, for FF IX, it has sold over five million copies since its release in 2000, which is very impressive. IX goes back to the series roots in a medieval fantasy setting and has gameplay features and references to past games throughout. It’s one of the most critically acclaimed games in the series. The original FF VII, a truly landmark game in the series, was the first to use FMV and 3D graphics back in 1997. This plus iconic character designs and emotional storytelling really ingrained the game into the player’s minds. The remake in 2020 only further improved it in addition to the high-def visuals. FF IX and VII translate well to mobile and are some of the best JRPGs on the mobile market.
7. Dead Cells
Exploding onto the scene in 2018, Palydigious’ colorful indie side-scroller became an instant fan favorite. Playing as a failed alchemic experiment, players explore a vibrant, constantly changing castle with frantic 2D combat. Make no mistake, you will die a lot. However, both replayability and learning from said deaths are encouraged. With a wide variety of weapons, enemies and levels, there’s a lot to do as you peruse the non-linear story. Besides the main game, Dead Cells has four DLC’s to check out, the main ones being The Bad Seed, Fatal Falls and Queen and the Sea. The fourth, Return to Castlevania, crosses over with the iconic Castlevania franchise. With each DLC comes new biomes, monsters, weapons, bosses and outfits to enjoy. It seems there’s no slowing down even in the real world with this epic game.
6. Battle Chasers: Nightwar
Inspired by console games, HandyGames’ epic adventure combines 2D cutscenes and 3D gameplay presented in a turn based JRPG format. A rich story driven by exploration, you follow a young girl named Gully as she searches for her famous hero father, Aramus. Along the way she teams up with five unlikely heroes, each with their own unique skills and abilities. These include the gentle but powerful giant golem Calibretto, the old and short-tempered wizard Knolan, and beautiful notorious outlaw Red Monika. Three characters fight at a time and face numerous enemies such as bandits, machines and even the undead. Craft everything the heroes are wearing, from armor to weapons to magical jewelry. These will help enhance the skills and abilities of the heroes. Though Battle Chasers: Nightwar costs $10 to download, it is inarguably well worth it.
5. Genshin Impact
There’s no shortage of things to do in Genshin Impact. MiHoYo’s popular open-world RPG has been around since 2020. What keeps Genshin Impact going is the multitude of unique characters, a massive world and interesting lore. Players will need a lot of storage space no matter what they’re playing on, but it’s worth it. MiHoYo’s RPG even became the “top-grossing mobile gacha game in the world” and was the talk of Twitter during the first half of 2022. Switching between four different characters with unique skills and elements keeps battles interesting and enjoyable. Additionally, there’s nothing forcing players to only follow the story, allowing for slow exploration. Genshin Impact can be overwhelming, so don’t do everything all at once. The strong narrative coupled with gorgeous landscapes shows Genshin Impact as a genuine labor of love.
4. Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has garnered a ton of hype since its release in 2023. Activision’s FPS battle royale seems to be ushering in a new era for the franchise. Classic combat, weapons and vehicles are present alongside incredibly large maps, including fan favorite Verdansk. Battle over 120 live players in epic cross platform action between mobile, PC and console platforms. With more competitors, there’s more opportunities for competition and fun. Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is an action-packed dream for those who love massive multiplayer mobile games.
3. The Banner Saga
No Norse-themed games compare to The Banner Saga from Stoic Studio. A story-driven RPG duology, engaging tactical combat and 2D hand-drawn art bring the series to life. Each game has a different story with 25 playable protagonists. The fates of all characters depend on choices made along the journey. Decisions made in the first game carry to the second, and so on. Combat is turn-based and inspired by chess. It’s more than just lowering health; players need to break armor first. Resource management is also important and can be a matter of life or game ending death. The Banner Saga is beautiful as it is heartbreaking. Players become attached to many characters, causing decisions to be harder to make, leading Phenixx Gaming’s Edward Harding to write: “I was actually shocked at the severity of…the consequences.”
2. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Is it old? Yes. Is it still a classic? Also yes. Originally released in 2003, this single player RPG captured gamers’ imaginations like no other Star Wars game has. Set four thousand years before the Galactic Empire, hundreds of Jedi have fallen to the ruthless Sith. You are the Jedi’s last hope (isn’t that always the case?). Explore a diverse universe through a deep, engaging story filled with crazy plot twists and complicated moral choices. Meet many memorable characters like HK-47 and Canderous Ordo as you travel in your own ship to different planets. Will you stay in the Light or stray to the Dark? There is a remake for the game in the works, though a release date has yet to be announced. Here’s hoping the remake stays true to Lucas Arts’ superlative original. Lucky for you, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is available in its entirety on the tiny screen.
1. XCOM 2
The original XCOM was released in 1994 and spawned a unique and underrated franchise. Rebooted in 2013 with the help of 2K and Firaxis Games, XCOM 2 is the sequel to XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Tactical strategy is the core of XCOM 2 since combat is turn-based. Most missions have to be completed within a time limit. Players need to think on their feet while also playing smart. Risks have to be taken or the missions will fail, resulting in losing a soldier. The game allows players to scout locations before beginning a fight, emphasizing stealth. Plus, there’s more variety of enemies. ADVENT Mecs, shapeshifting Faceless; the XCOM team have their work cut out for them. As GameCentral put it, XCOM 2 “achieves its ambitious goals with disarming ease…while excelling in areas you never would’ve thought.” It’s arguably the best strategy game available on mobile devices.
Enjoyed the list? Be sure to check out our list of the Best Android Strategy Games of 2024 and the Best Android RPGs of 2024.
iPhone user? By all means head over to our sister site, Hardcore iOS and check out their take on the Best iPhone Games of 2024, Best iPhone Strategy Games of 2024 and the Best iPhone RPGs of 2024.