Articles by Rachel Mogan

Run, jump, dodge and shoot your way to these action Android games.

There are so many awesome action games in the Google Play Store, it can be hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. But we’ve done the heavy lifting for you and after hundreds of hours of playing, we’ve rounded up the best action-packed games for Android that are worth checking out.

Many of the games on this list are paid apps, which might give you pause, so you’ll need to trust us when we say these games are well worth the initial investment. Plus, it’s always good to support those teams developing great games for Android!

When you’re done here, be sure to check out our best Android games roundup!

The games

Ailment
AnimA
Battlelands Royale
Dandara
Dead Cells
Death Road to Cananda
Downwell
Genshin Impact
Grimvalor
Huntdown
ICEY
Injustice 2
JYDGE
Pascal’s Wager
Penarium
Redungeon
Suzy Cube
Tesla vs Lovecraft
Witcheye

Ailment

Ailment is a top-down sci-fi shooter with tons of movie references and horror e…

Dodgy monetization practices are casting a shadow over Roblox’s kid-friendly reputation. Is it still worth it?

Roblox is the free-to-play massively popular online game platform and game creation system that allows users to program and share games online. Its incredible popularity stems from its availability since it’s free on PC, Mac, iOS, Android, and Xbox One. Because of this, Roblox has attracted millions of younger gamers to its virtual playground ever since it launched in 2004.

A question often asked by people curious about Roblox is if paying for the game is worth it. Like other free-to-play games, Roblox can be enjoyed for free but offers bonuses for those willing to pay for a Roblox Premium membership. So is paying for Roblox worth it? It can be, depending on how you play.

What does the Premium membership include?

Roblox offers three different Premium monthly membership options for players. Each tier costs $4.99, $9.99, and $19.99, respectively, and offers a monthly sti…

All Pokémon are S+ tier in my eyes. Except Stunfisk. I do not much care for Stunfisk.

A new take on a long-established formula, Pokémon Unite pits teams of 5 trainers against each other, each armed with just a single Pokémon. Pokémon can evolve, hold items to improve their standing, and even learn new moves during battle, but some Pokémon have natural advantages over others which is why we’re heartlessly ranking them here. But let the record show that if my editor let me, this would be a tier list based on how huggable these cuties are.

Tragically for me, we’re instead ranking them based on how well they perform overall, along with how they perform in their respective categories of All-Rounder, Attacker, Defender, Speedster, and Supporter.

Only a fraction of all (extremely huggable) existing Pokémon are currently represented in Unite—there are just 25, including a limited-time Zeraora. That may be good news for early adopters, though, as a more concise roster makes it easi…

At the tail end of September, Google quietly debuted a new feature for creating avatars dubbed Google Illustrations. The feature is currently exclusive to Android users, but will likely roll out for iOS soon. Creating your own customizable avatar is quick, easy, and an excellent alternative for users who prefer not to use personal photos or virtual avatars of themselves as profile pictures. Here are just a few simple steps you can follow to create your own Google Illustrations profile image. After all, what’s the point of having a fancy Google phone if you don’t also have your Google apps kitted out to reflect your personality?

Navigating to Google Illustrations

Open Gmail or any other Google app.
Click on your current Google icon in the top right-hand corner to pull up your account. If you’ve never set an image before, this will be a default letter against a solid colored background.
Click the photo icon to pull up your Profile picture.

Click Change/Add profile picture.
You wi…

A chaotic, high-energy take on arcade dungeon crawling, wrapped up in a delightfully spooky setting.

The spook train does not stop this month, and I’m determined to keep digging up as many spooky, scary games as I can get my hands on. The thing is, after a head-scratching puzzler like last week’s featured game, I’m more in the mood for something a bit less pensive and a bit more smack-a-ghost-in-the-face. Enter Candies n’ Curses, a sugary cute arcade rogue-lite with all the Halloween flare required for playability this month.

Candies n’ Curses opens on a party full of kids playing truth or dare. Molli Pop is one tough cookie, and she would never choose truth like a pansy, so her friends dare her to go into the town’s haunted mansion. Full of the adrenaline and stupidity that only comes with youth, she agrees and bikes down the road to the terribly imposing house of horrors. It’s much scarier than she expected, and once she’s through the front door, a sinister breeze blows it closed…

Put on your thinking hat for these games!

Smartphone touchscreen controls offer a unique opportunity for puzzle game developers. Our pocket devices are uniquely suited for clever puzzle games because they’re easy to pick up and play whenever you have a few free moments. If you’re looking for a game to test your brain, check some of these out.

And when you’re done here, be sure to check out our best games for Android!

The games

Bomb Club
Brain It On!
Bridge Constructor Portal
Chess Light
The Eyes of Ara
hocus.
The House of Da Vinci
I Love Hue & I Love Hue Too
Lara Croft GO
Mekorama
Mini Metro
Monument Valley
Patterns
The Room series
Samsara Room
Threes!
Total Party Kill
Transmission
Turn It On!
Two Dots

Bomb Club

Do you like great writing, colorful characters, challenging puzzles, and explosions? Then Bomb Club is just the game for you. Featuring a charming cast of safety-minded bomb enthusiasts, Bomb Club has you make your way through a huge map of puzzle levels, …

Speed your way past the competition in these outstanding racers for Android!

We’ve rounded up the best racing games found in the Google Play Store. With so many options to choose from, we’ve compiled a list that covers a whole slew of sub-genres — from stylized arcade racing to highly realistic racing sims — so no matter your preference, you should find an outstanding game that’s right for you.

And if you want some great games in other genres, we have our list of the best Android games, too. Ready? Let’s hit the road!

The games

Asphalt 9: Legends
Beach Buggy Racing 2
CSR Racing
Data Wing
Dirt Trackin 2
#Drive
Grand Prix Story
GRID Autosport
Hill Climb Racing 2
Horizon Chase: World Tour
Mario Kart Tour
Motorsport Manager Mobile 3
Nitro Nation Drag & Shift
Project Offroad 20
Rally Fury: Extreme Racing
Real Racing 3
Riptide GP: Renegade
Thumb Drift
Tofu Drifter
Top Speed 2: Drag Rivals

Asphalt 9: Legends

Asphalt 9: Legends is the latest entry in one of the most…

How does the girl in the yellow raincoat keep winding up in these situations?!

Did you know there are currently NO category or search options specifically for horror games in the Play Store right now? This is a crime, especially in this, the most unholy of months of the year. Here I am trying to dredge up high-quality spooky games, and the Play Store is not helping. Thankfully, I got lucky in stumbling upon Very Little Nightmares, which is available for free to Play Pass subscribers.

Acting as a prequel to Little Nightmares I and II, Very Little Nightmares is the pocket-sized companion to the original console/PC series. It once again features Six, the girl in the yellow raincoat, as its protagonist. While its cool older cousins are often likened to Tim Burton’s animated films for their visual style, the mobile version differs in a few noteworthy ways. It’s up against some steep competition, but Very Little Nightmares might be worth ranking among the best Android games.

It’s un…

Beautifully produced gameplay meets fully licensed music in this sleek mobile rhythm game.

Beatstar is the hot new mobile rhythm game in town — not to be confused with popular anime Beastar. With easy to grasp gameplay that smoothly scales up in difficulty, combined with playlists that are tailored to preferred age groups and musical eras, Beatstar will appeal to a wide range of mobile gamers. But can it keep up in a stacked category of great rhythm games, or possibly even rank among the best Android games? That depends on your musical tastes, your level of patience, and how much money you may or may not be willing to fork over.

Beatstar’s gameplay presentation will look familiar to Guitar Hero fans. Three vertical musical bars stretch the length of your phone display; square music blocks drop from the top of the screen towards you to the beat of the music. You then have to tap or swipe the notes precisely as they overlap with your Perfect bar. The closer the notes to the Per…

If you like platformers, this list is for you.

A lot of you probably remember the heyday of the platformer. Whether it was Super Mario Bros or even classic Metroid, this style of game has been around a long time and it has aged incredibly well. We still see awesome platformer games like Trine and Hollow Knight to this day. The point, however, is that “platformer” isn’t really all that definitive. All it does is describe how the game in question plays. All of that being said, this style of game translates extremely well to mobile and you’ll find that any one of the entries in this list are wonderfully fun additions to your Play library.

And once you’re finished up here, feel free to visit our roundup of the best Android games.

The games

Bubble Tale
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Dadish 2
Dandara
Dan the Man
Dead Cells
Downwell
Grimvalor
Huntdown
Levelhead
LIMBO
Ninja Arashi
Oddmar
Ordia
Rayman Adventures
Sega Forever
Super Cat Tales 2
Swordigo
Sword of Xolan
Terraria

Bu…