Our picks for the best mobile games of 2024

Mobile gaming has come an incredible way over the past decade, with many newer releases offering console-quality experiences. 2024 was no different, with a slew of sequels, follow-ups, and entirely new titles hitting Android devices around the world.

With that in mind, and in no particular order, here’s a quick look at our favorite mobile games released in 2024.

After the resounding successes that were (and are) Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, it’s no surprise that developer Mihoyo’s latest project was one of the most anticipated of the year. Fortunately, it’s also very different from Genshin Impact, with a return to Mihoyo’s action RPG roots. Plus, unlike Genshin Impact, you can play it with a controller on Android!

In many ways, it’s a step back from the expansive worlds of the previous two titles, with more manageable dungeon-style gameplay and a less farm-heavy gameplay loop. The gameplay isn’t particularly innovative, but what makes Zenless Zone Zero shine is its style. The characters and world are beautiful, with a futuristic urban punk aesthetic that clearly stands out from the rest of Mihoyo’s portfolio.

With a simple concept and one of the most addictive gameplay loops I’ve ever experienced, Balatro temporarily took over my life when it landed on Android in September. For the uninitiated, it’s a poker-based roguelike deck-building game, with much more depth than it seems at first glance.

Although it was created by a single anonymous developer, it was one of the most accomplished new games on Android in 2024. It’s a premium game, costing $10, but it’s well worth the price. ‘entrance. It’s easy to spend hours playing this game on your phone (trust me, I’ve done it), and the auto-save and resume mechanics work great.

Star Wars: Hunters has been a game in the works since 2018, and 2024 was finally the year it launched. The team-based shooter is set after the fall of the Galactic Empire and features a very colorful cast of heroes from all sides of the conflict. For once, these characters don’t feature any big names you’ll recognize from the movies, but the designs remain a strong point.

The game does a good job of bringing Overwatch-style competitive matches to mobile, with much shorter and simplified gameplay. If you like this type of game, Star Wars: Hunters is free to play, so you have nothing to lose by playing. It’s currently available on Android, iOS, and Switch, with a Steam launch coming soon.

You might be tempted to think of Infinity Nikki as just another girl’s game, but there’s a lot more to it than glitz and glamor. I mean, yes, there’s a lot of glitz and glamour, but it’s presented in a way that really works. Instead of defeating enemies and dungeons, the game mainly focuses on exploration, puzzles, and collecting outfits for style challenges.

Pokemon TCG isn’t as popular as other competitive card games, but it was an integral part of my childhood. Pokemon TCG Pocket plays directly on nostalgia and above all hits the mark. While it features the PvP battles you’d expect from a mobile game, it’s unique because it’s more about collecting cards than using them.

Your main task is to open packs with satisfying animation, arrange them in binders and show them to other players. Sure, there’s a combat mechanic that will satisfy the competitive needs of some (if you’re into coin flipping), but it will never compete with Hearthstone, MTG, or even Pokemon TCG Live. And it’s not obligatory.

Squad Busters hasn’t gotten as much attention as other mobile games in 2024, but it’s Supercell’s latest multiplayer fighting game. In many ways, it’s an expansion of Brawl Stars, with the same top-down style and a huge, slowly shrinking arena. However, this adds an element of team building, where you must balance combat against other players with farming coins to strengthen your team.

Despite this, matches remain short and mobile-friendly. This one had a pretty rocky launch, and personally I think it’s missing some of the magic of previous Supercell games. Still, it’s great fun if you want a slightly more chaotic experience than Brawl Stars, and it’ll only get better as the developers find their feet.

Call of Duty Mobile made a splash when it launched in 2019, and the follow-up Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile has already racked up over 10 million downloads. It’s actually set to replace CoD Mobile in the coming years, so expect Activision’s support for Warzone to quickly overtake the previous title in 2025.

If you’ve been living under a rock, Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is a first-person shooter, just like the title on console and PC. Best of all, it’s connected to the other two versions with cross-progression on battle passes, allowing you to take your addiction with you on the bus. Unfortunately, there is no cross-play with platforms other than Android and iOS.

Netflix Games has regularly released a series of bangers, and the latest follows one of the most iconic mobile games of the last decade. Monument Valley 3 looks and plays almost the same as previous titles (for better or worse), with mind-bending puzzles and stunning visuals.

It’s a short game, but if you already have a Netflix subscription, you might as well play it. The other two games are also included if you haven’t played them yet, and starting next year, Monument Valley 3 will have seasonal updates every few months.

Kingdom Rush is a series that revolutionized the tower defense genre on mobile, and over 13 years later, it’s still going strong. The latest iteration, Kingdom Rush 5: Alliance, brings together the forces of good and evil against a greater enemy.

The biggest change here is that you can control two heroes at once. This makes it more micro-intensive than previous games, and the Elite Towers help improve overall replayability. But really, if you liked the Kingdom Rush games in the past, you’ll like this one too. At the time of writing, it’s on sale for $4, with in-app purchases to unlock additional heroes.

My last choice is a bit strange since most of you have probably never played it – or at least never played it on a phone.

Grid Legends: Deluxe Edition is a port of the Codemasters game launching on consoles in 2022. It is a direct upgrade of GRID Autosport, but the problem is that it does not work on most devices. At launch, it requires a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 or Gen 3 smartphone, as well as at least 15 GB of storage. It also costs $13.49, which is a pretty penny for a mobile game.

It is nevertheless a very complete game, with a career and multiplayer mode, as well as all the DLC content. It’s great value for anyone looking for mobile racing action, and if you’ve already purchased a modern flagship, you can probably afford the price of entry.