Finding good free-to-play mobile games can be incredibly difficult if you don’t know where to look.
The mobile game industry has absolutely exploded since smart phones became ubiquitous around 2008. Nowadays, mobile gaming constitutes over half of all revenue in gaming, period. For this reason, free-to-play mobile games have become a gold rush for companies looking to make a quick buck, with many games existing as vessels to shove ads and microtransactions in your face. Some of these titles can, admittedly, be fun for a day or two. But what about the games that at least appear to respect your time and money?
In truth, cataloguing every worthwhile mobile game would be a herculean feat. Even if we spent the rest of our lives trying every game on the app store, we wouldn’t be able to properly cover every title out right now, let alone in the next ten years. But at the very least, we have played some better-than-average free mobile games that have given us some quality entertainment. We’ll continue to build this list as we check out more titles, but in the meantime, here are free games we can generally recommend.
Since these span a variety of genres, we won’t rank each game as better or worse than the others. Check out the titles that look most appealing to you.
A disclaimer about free-to-play games
Now, regardless of how much we may like some of these games, you should exercise caution when playing any free-to-play title. No game is truly “free” by design, so these titles will tempt you to spend money in one way or another. Some players can ignore the monetization methods and just enjoy the games for what they are. However, others may find themselves pulled in by these titles and wind up spending more real-life money than they bargained for.
For those worried about predatory monetization, you may prefer our list of the best non-gacha mobile games instead. These games generally require a one-time purchase or a subscription service, but otherwise don’t involve recurring spending.
If you struggle with a gambling addiction or simply spending more than you’re comfortable with, you’re not alone. Check out the following resources to get the support your deserve:
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector
As far as quick, casual distractions go, Neko Atsume is the master of its genre. It is a game about collecting cats by setting out toys and food in your yard. That’s it. Yet despite having such minimal gameplay, seeing which cats appear and figuring out how to get each one keeps this one captivating.
Neko Atsume is the kind of game that is still fun even if you’ve never played a video game in your life. If you’re a hardcore gamer looking for something to dig your teeth into, this might not be the game for you. But it’s at least worth a try, especially if you love cats and love every kind of cat.
BONUS: Apple Arcade subscribers can access Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector+, which removes the microtransactions from the game.
Puzzle & Dragons
It can be hard to find a good Match-3 puzzle game, simply because there are so many games to choose from on mobile. But when it comes to the quality of that core puzzle gameplay, Puzzle & Dragons is still one of the best.
Originally released in 2012, Puzzle & Dragons is one of the longest-running free-to-play games on mobile devices. It was a pioneer in the gacha/hero collector genre, mixing deep RPG elements with a puzzle-combat system. What makes Puzzle & Dragons work is just how frantic that puzzle gameplay gets. While most Match-3 games have you making one move at a time and hoping for the best, Puzzle & Dragons instead has players speedily swapping gems around to make huge combos that translates into devastating attacks.
It’s an incredibly satisfying hook. Even if you aren’t into RPGs, the puzzle gameplay is among the best you can find.
Honkai: Star Rail
For those looking for a free, story-focused game, Honkai Star Rail is for you. From the creators of Genshin Impact, this casual Sci-fi RPG has players exploring diverse worlds, uncovering hidden treasures, and even texting their in-game friends every day to enjoy some genuinely funny dialogue. If you’re a casual gamer, the turn-based combat is simple enough for even a complete beginner to get a hang of.
With excellent visuals and some spectacular story moments, Honkai Star Rail is easy to recommend. Some of the other picks here may be better if you aren’t as interested in the story or lore of a game, but otherwise, this really is a console-quality game that you can play for free on your phone.
Monster Hunter Now
If you were alive in 2016, I’m going to assume you heard of Pokemon GO. That concept of venturing outside to catch some of the world’s most iconic fantasy monsters took the world by storm, and that game is still going strong today. That said, developer Niantic has tried to replicate that success with many other games since then, and I’d argue that Monster Hunter Now is the company’s best work yet.
Based on Capcom’s Monster Hunter series, Monster Hunter Now is completely beginner friendly. Instead of looking for fantasy creatures to catch like in Pokemon GO, you’ll hunt down fearsome monsters lurking in parks and street corners alike. Battles only last about 75 seconds, but you’ll have to tap and swipe strategically to both land blows and dodge powerful attacks. Defeating monsters gives you materials to craft better equipment, which lets you hunt down more tough monsters. It’s a simple loop, but it’s so immediate and easy to understand that it’s hard not to get immersed before you know it.
If the idea of a game that encourages some exercise interests you, Monster Hunter Now is a great pick. It supports four-player co-op as well, so if you have some friends with you, this is the title to dive into.
Another Eden
Chrono Trigger is often called one of the greatest RPGs of all time, yet it has never gotten a true sequel. While explaining the whys of that would encompass an article on its own, clearly writer Masato Kato and composer Yasunori Mitsuda still have a lot of love for that title. So fittingly, Another Eden is a free-to-play RPG that involves these two industry legends, and it feels an awful lot like Chrono Trigger.
What makes Another Eden so great compared to countless hero-collector gacha games is that this one really feels like a classic, Final Fantasy style RPG. It’s a story driven adventure that has you exploring towns, dungeons, and chasing down sidequests without any stamina systems to limit your playtime. What’s more, the game is incredibly light on time-limited content, so even a totally new player shouldn’t feel like they missed out by starting now.
This one’s definitely for RPG fans. But if you want a game to really sink your teeth into, you can’t go wrong here.
Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent
Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent is incredibly similar to Another Eden. It’s a free-to-play RPG with a gacha system that, otherwise, plays almost exactly like a full-priced RPG. This one also comes directly from the team that brought us the console Octopath Traveler games, so that iconic HD-2D pixel art style translates perfectly here.
That alone could cement Champions of the Continents’ place on this list, but the game also innovates on Octopath Traveler’s combat system in ways that arguably improve on the original. You control a party of eight characters here, and managing who’s on your front and back lines is crucial to success. Additionally, like Another Eden, this one doesn’t feature much time limited content. You can experience a console-quality story filled with dramatic twists and turns entirely for free, with an enormous abundance of character-specific sidequests to chase down as well.
Some story objectives can require a bit of grinding to overcome, but everything is perfectly doable as a free player. Even if you’ve never played Octopath Traveler or Octopath Traveler 2, this one’s worth your time.
Arknights
There are countless gacha games on mobile devices vying for your interest, but as far as those traditional stage-by-stage games go, Arknights reigns supreme. If a Tower Defense RPG with a gritty story and a strong focus on strategy sounds good to you, you’ll dig this.
Even if Tower Defense games aren’t your thing, Arknights blends deep gameplay with simple controls in a way that will make you a fan of the genre. And while you will need to roll for new heroes via its gacha system, the game makes it easy to build your roster. It’s the perfect game to play for a few minutes or a few hours (if your in-game stamina meter allows for it at least), whether you’re at home at the go. As far as free-to-play games go, it’s hard to go wrong with Arknights.
Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact lit the world on fire when it hit mobile devices back in 2020, and it’s easy to see why. It looks and sounds like something you’d play on a PlayStation 5, and its huge open world has been compared to all-time legendary games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Genshin Impact single-handedly redefined what mobile games were capable of, and to this day remains one of the most stunning titles you can play.
Like the entries immediately above this one, Genshin Impact is a gacha game. Collecting all your favorite characters may take time, but the game fortunately has protections in place to ensure you’ll get new top-tier characters even without spending any money. Additionally, this one requires a relatively new device if you want to really enjoy this one on mobile. But if you can deal with that, you’ll easily lose yourself for dozens of hours uncovering everything Genshin Impact has to offer.
Fortunately, a few of us here at Destructoid are really into Genshin Impact. If you want to know where to get started with this game, check out our ongoing coverage and guides here!
Published: Nov 8, 2023 10:32 am