It's been a year of fun and games, this year 2019... A year of big events, market-changing developments and innovative new cloud gaming. In keeping with tradition, we'll pick our top picks and other mentions for 2019, and focus on mobile games, because that's what we do. The list goes regardless of the order of appearance as we believe there is no need to choose between these top 10 games, which managed to break through in their respective genres, combine otherwise incompatible genres and achieve critical success.
Black Desert Mobile
Black Desert Mobile the release date was December 11, and Pearl Abyss finally launched its hit game for the Western market. The original release of the game was in 2018 and has arrived here on Android and iOS. The game has already surpassed four million registered users just two months after it was made available for registration.
The game was developed, published and ported to Western markets by Pearl Abyss, a South Korea-based studio and this MMORPG title is its most prized and famous creation. The studio uses its own proprietary engine and is praised for its cutting-edge visual style and graphics, as well as an innovative take on the whole genre in terms of game mechanics and everything. It was acclaimed for its deep open-world environment, its high levels of customization both visually and in terms of playstyle, and it broke every standard in virtually every other aspect.
EVE Echoes
EVE Echoes The release date is still set for Spring 2020, but the game has already been in early access since early December 2019. This is the next revolutionary step in mobile gaming, brought to you by Netease Games and that's all they promised. It brings a deeply immersive massively multiplayer online sci-fi sandbox to the world of EVE Online that we all love and respect. It took a while for the critically acclaimed space MMORPG to be ported to mobiles, but it's finally here and it brings the experience intact according to community feedback so far.
The game is set in a parallel New Eden. In this game, the concept of open world is replaced by open space, as the universe is the scene of interstellar combat, hacking, exploration, resource harvesting, industrial manufacturing, trade and many other multiplayer social activities. Even ahead of its official release date, EVE Echoes looks set to expand the community and include mobile gaming as well. The game brings the same experience as the original, with the same possibilities, and the social aspect of the game is still impressive 16 years later.
Might et Magic Heroes: Era of Chaos
Might & Magic Heroes: Era of Chaos is a game from the Might and Magic series of PC games, specifically H3. Ubisoft eventually brought the franchise to mobile and their perseverance definitely paid off. There have been other attempts in the past with Might and Magic: Elemental Guardians, but this is the first title that features the original story, characters, units, skills, and gameplay elements from the famous games of turn-based strategy.
The game received high praise and ratings on iOS and Android, mostly topping 4,5 stars. The story brings back familiar characters like Queen Catherine Gryphonheart, Gelu, Sandro and Solmyr and follows up the campaign from Heroes of Might & Magic III. However, it's best viewed as a title on its own, which complements the original story, characters, and uses some of the mechanics and units of the original games.
Disease
Sickness mobile game is developed by Beardy Bird Games Company. It is an action game in rogue style and pixel-art appearance. The project was unsuccessfully funded through Kickstarter, but the game is still available for Android and iOS in the hope that players will help with feedback. BeardyBird Games Company originated in the UK. It's an independent studio but co-founded and CGI generalist Ivan Panasenko has over a decade of experience in the CG industry.
The game is filled with crazy action. The overall story takes you to your character, Jonathan, who is just a regular crew member of the Frontier-16 space transporter. The year is 2326 AC He suddenly wakes up three days later, after they were about to help the ship with the SOS signal. What he finds is disturbing to say the least. This title currently has 4,3 stars on Google Play and 4,7 stars on the iTunes App Store, and it's praised everywhere.
Call of Duty Mobile
Call of Duty: Mobile The release date was October 1, 2019. This title marks the transition of the critically acclaimed CoD franchise to mobile devices, and it was made possible by Tencent for iOS and Android. The series has otherwise been known for delivering engaging first-person shooter gameplay since 2003, when it began with a game set in the era of World War II. However, over the years the setting has evolved to cover many other historical and fictional conflicts, and now it's time for a mobile multiplayer battle royale.
On Google Play, Call of Duty: Mobile Android has a 4,7 star rating out of several thousand votes right now, increasing by the hour. On iTunes App Store, CoD iOS has 4,4 stars out of nearly 10 votes, also rapidly increasing in numbers, and the game is already #000 in action. Tencent aimed to compel everything we love about the multiplayer shooter genre, providing improvements and solutions to issues that most games have yet to overcome.
Journey
Journey was presented by Thatgamecompany, which is an independent studio, and it is an artistic video game that focuses on realistic graphics and a visually impressive art style. It has been released for other platforms since its original launch in 2012, but finally came to PC and mobile in 2019. It places a player in a mysterious and visually stunning setting, with an emphasis on exploration of ancient civilizations.
It immerses the player in simple gameplay, with basic functions like running, jumping and interacting, but its content and presentation are what do the trick. On the iTunes App Store, Journey has a 4-star rating, and the game is exceptionally well received all around. Its immersive experience is praised by the community, and the only catch is that it's a premium game, but well worth the price tag of around $5 for the mobile version.
Dragon Champions
Dragon Champions deserves its place on this list simply for the critical acclaim it enjoys on Android and iOS. On Google Play, the game has 4,5 stars from over 9 votes, while in the iTunes App Store, its current rating even reaches 000 stars. It is a free-to-play fantasy mobile RPG, with gacha flavor, awesome graphics and immersive storyline. Its tactical PVP and PVE battles have won over quite an audience, while the whole experience is described to invoke old school MMORPG allure but with modern features and kicks.
Dragons and demons clash in mysterious musings, and we face off against a team of our own champions, which is where gacha comes in. As usual, there are multiple races, including humans , elves, orcs, pandas, goblins, and more, and they're all split into two main factions. The assembled team can be evolved, upgraded, armed and modified to create the best possible strategy, and the replayability of the game is what allowed it to achieve such fame.
Dota Underlords
Dota Underlords The mobile game was long in its beta and early access, with fixes and tweaks being made by Valve as they went. The game features all of the original licensed heroes from Defense of the Ancients, along with items, mechanics, hero talents, animations, and visuals. It aims to satisfy the massive online DOTA 2 community's need for a mobile game to keep them busy in their spare time, when they're not playing the game itself.
Being described as an auto chess game doesn't do this game justice, or maybe it does, but first you need to understand what it is. This game is all about preparing and knowing its inner workings, just like the original. Heroes are divided into levels from 1 to 5 and some cost less gold while others cost more. It has 3,9 stars on Google Play and 4,4 on the iTunes App Store, out of nearly 100 votes for both. This game is just as exciting as the original when you win a round and it's even more devastating when you lose.
Grimvalor
This is a long-awaited mobile version of the famous game Grimvalor. The game managed to port to mobile, iOS and Android devices and retain its original appeal and even won Game of the Year in 2018. It is an action platformer fast where we play as a warrior who investigates the kingdom of Vallaris, in the midst of a plague that turns people into monsters.
The game is compared to Metroidvania and Dark Souls, and it certainly does its best to impress with its actions, graphics, and gameplay features. It's a premium buy on the iTunes App Store, but it boasts a perfect 4,9-star rating and is #63 in Adventure. On Google Play, Grimvalor Android is free and also enjoys a high rating of 4,5 stars, with over 10 votes on both stores.
AFK Arena
AFK Arena mobile represented the next and first concrete step of the Idle Games, in terms of title at least. Idle games, or incremental/clicker games, are famous for fulfilling people's need to play a game without having to deal with it a lot. It currently enjoys 4,6 stars on Google Play and 4,7 on the iTunes App Store.
Naturally, AFK (Away From Keyboard) is an old-school term that originated long before the mobile phone and mobile games. AFK Arena was developed by Lilith Games, which also brought us Rise of Kingdoms, Soul Hunters, Art of Conquest, Dank Tanks and many more. In addition to letting you go to AFK, the second part of the title suggests that it is a battle arena, which also means a hero collector. You build your team and go into battles – the usual stuff.
This is our list of the 10 best mobile games for 2019. Honorable mentions include Mobile Legends Adventure, which is a game based on Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and expands the franchise, and Football Manager 2020 Mobile, developed by the people who built the original Championship Manager from the 90s. We'd also like to mention Stardew Valley and the fun, old-school pastimes that have become incredibly popular over the past three years. Raid Shadow Legends, a game that spawned a cult following, and GRID Autosport, the latest installment in Codemasters' fan-favorite TOCA series, often considered the best racing game franchise today.
