The best mobile games in 2022

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 The best mobile games in

 2022

A list full of the best mobile games to play on your iOS or Android device

 Writing a definitive list of the best mobile games is a tricky – some would say foolhardy – task at the best of times. We’re talking about a process that incorporates hundreds of thousands of games spread across iOS and Android, and covering a span of more than a dozen years.

So we’ve decided to approach this from a simple, if slightly out-there premise. If an alien were to land tomorrow and ask for a crash course in gaming, which of the best mobile games would you encourage it to install first? With such an unusual filter applied, we’re not looking for obscure gems or even necessarily run-away hits here. We’re looking at those important, genre-defining games that represent something essential to the history of smartphone gaming. A veritable greatest hits compilation of the App Store and Google Play.

All we stipulate is that the game has to still be active and great to play today. We’re also only going to include one game per series, so we’ll generally (but not exclusively) go with the first rather than the best entry

Now, let’s get into our list of the best mobile games.

1 Puzzles & Survival

Puzzles & Survival sees you braving a zombie apocalypse, but instead of the usual gameplay you find in zombie games, this one sees you moving tiles around in order to fight back against the undead brain munchers, giving more purpose to your actions than some of the more abstract puzzle games out there.

If you’ve ever played Puzzles & Dragons, you’ll have an idea of what this game is like, because it follows a similar formula. You go through levels where matching tiles and making combos create powerful attacks against the zombies, then you unlock characters, and head out into more dangerous territories and level-up your team as you go.

  Hero Wars

Hero Wars is a game that you may well have come across before, because the adverts for it are rather prevalent. Unfortunately, they’re also pretty misrepresentative, in that the sliding doors puzzle game that they show is actually only a very small part of what Hero Wars is. Having said that, the real substance of this game is still good fun.

The game follows a formula that many mobile gamers will be familiar with: it’s all about building up a team of heroes and watching them make their way through dungeons. If they’re not up to the challenge, you have to grind and enhance them, or you have to work to unlock other heroes who might be better suited to the challenge. It’s a game that’s really easy to get sucked into, and those who play it will soon find that it has become a part of their daily routine.

Mafia City

Thanks to the relentless marketing campaign behind it, we’re sure that many readers will already be aware of Mafia City. It’s a game we’d like to recommend due to the fact that it’s a unique blend of strategy gameplay mixed together with a storyline about becoming a new mafia boss.

While lots of other strategy games focus on history or fantasy realms, this one sees you running a crime syndicate in a modern day city, and that’s pretty darn cool. You choose which buildings you want to erect, and these get you new resources, and provide opportunities for training new types of units. Then you choose whether you want to play cooperatively with friends so that you can help each other grow your empires, or if you want to do battle and eliminate other players who stand in your way

Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact wears its The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild influence quite shamelessly, with a familiar anime-inflected fantasy world and action-RPG mechanics

But you’ll forgive the obvious tribute act because it nails the formula so well, and because it does so in the form of a free-to-play mobile game. Which is quite amazing.

Forge of Empires

This free-to-play mobile strategy game is one that delivers on multiple fronts. First of all, you get the satisfaction of creating your own settlement, which you can build and develop as you wish, using resources you gather to invest in different types of research. Then there’s the fact that you get to see it pass through multiple real-world era of history, before moving on into the science fiction realms of the future. On top of all that, you also get to engage in turn-based strategy battles as other nations wage war against you.

There’s so much great content wrapped up in Forge of Empires, and it’s one of those games that you’ll easily pour hundreds of hours into as you come back to it every single day. Addictive in all the right ways, it’s a must-play for fans of strategy or history.

Rise of Cultures

Yes, you’re right: this is the third game developed by Innogames that we’ve included in this list, but don’t worry, we’ll focus on other developers soon (we promise), and this game definitely deserves its spot on this list. So what is it that makes Rise of Cultures so special?

Well, like Elvenar and Forge of Empires before it, Rise of Cultures is a game about building a civilisation which grows and expands throughout different eras of history (Innogames are good at stuff like that), but in this one, there’s a more human-centred approach. Not only can you choose different types of cultures to cultivate in your civilisation, but you can take direct control of individual workers, giving them the most productive work schedules you can (including time for rest), and deploying them to enhance your city as you see please

Monument Valley

Monument Valley – and especially its sequel, Monument Valley 2 – is one of those rare video games that has crossed over into the mainstream. The kind that’s referenced in TV shows and played even by non-gamers.

That’s not to downplay its ingenious Escher-like spatial puzzles, or its achingly beautiful art style. It’s just to say that an awful lot of people like it an awful lot, including us.

Call of Duty: Mobile

Neither Android nor iOS are lacking for quality online shooters, but Call of Duty: Mobile is arguably the most comprehensive package of the lot. It bundles together a slick, fast-paced multiplayer shooter with a more expansive Battle Royale mode.

It all looks and moves beautifully too, with top-notch controller support and plenty of modes to try.

League of Legends: Wild Rift

MOBAs continue to be big news in the world of eSports, and on mobile just as on PC, League of Legends is the king. Choose your hero and embark on a classic 5v5 lane-running face-off with your fellow players.

What’s remarkable is how true to the original formula this mobile version is. If you’re interested in trying it out, make sure you check out our League of Legends: Wild Rift tier list.

League of Legends: Wild Rift

MOBAs continue to be big news in the world of eSports, and on mobile just as on PC, League of Legends is the king. Choose your hero and embark on a classic 5v5 lane-running face-off with your fellow players.

What’s remarkable is how true to the original formula this mobile version is. If you’re interested in trying it out, make sure you check out our League of Legends: Wild Rift tier list. 

Among Us

Among Us is a free-to-play online whodunnit takes a fresh and oh-so-modern approach to online multiplayer gameplay, demanding careful communication and no small amount of skulduggery.

Join your fellow players in preparing your spaceship for departure, but watch out for the imposter. Unless it’s you, in which case go right ahead and murder your crew.

Clash Royale

The game that launched a thousand imitators, Clash Royale combines card-battling strategy with MOBA-like base raiding. Playing cards here spawns 3D units onto a simple two-lane battlefield.

As so often with Supercell’s games, the presentation, learning curve, and balance are absolutely spot on.

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