The best mobile games for 2024 from Minecraft to Jetpack Joyride

Mobile games as we know them today are just old enough to drive. The Apple App Store opened in 2008 and changed everything.

Sure, there were Java and Symbian games for mobile phones years before, as well as the popular Nokia Snake. But app stores haven't just made mobile games reach millions of new faces; Many of those who play regularly today would not have described themselves as casual gamers at all.

Looking for something new to play? Here are 12 mobile games we think you shouldn't miss, including golden oldies that still shine today and much newer titles that you may have missed.

The room

What is it? Escape room puzzles

The first The Room game is more than a decade old, but still feels fresh today. It's a puzzle game played in 3D, one of the original escape room video games before such things even became mainstream in “real life.” When you're done with this approximately three-hour adventure, we recommend all the sequels as well. There are three on mobile and they are all great.

Kill the tower

What is it? A classic card fight

Would you like to watch hundreds of hours of your life disappear before your eyes? Try this challenging card game. You work your way through a dungeon that represents the floors of a tower. As you progress, you'll build your deck and fight against villains, each playing out like a card game.

Minecraft

What is it? It's Minecraft

Many classic mobile games are fading into the past. An end to the updates will eventually lead to a title no longer working. But Minecraft is regularly updated, and has been since the mobile version was released in 2011. It's a cultural phenomenon and one of the few seemingly non-educational games that feels both (potentially) educational and creative. You build things in a generated world, either just for fun in creative mode or to survive in the main monster-filled mode where resources are more scarce.

Bloons TD 6

What is it? Cartoony tower defense

Of all the tower defense games that would survive from the genre's 2008 heyday, you might not expect such a title to star a monkey popping balloons with an arrow. But that's exactly what happens with Bloons. You position monkey towers across a playing field to pop balloons before they reach the end of a path. It starts out simple, but this game has a deceptive depth to it. You could easily spend hundreds of hours on it.

Marvel Snap

What is it? Fast-paced Marvel-style card game

We tend to be skeptical of free-to-play games, and being affiliated with a big brand doesn't help. But this free Marvel game is a blast. Each round, which only lasts a few minutes, involves playing cards depicting Marvel superheroes against another player. The fun is finding wild synergies that increase your power to incredible levels.

Gorogoa

What is it? Artistic puzzle adventure

Appreciate Gorgoa while you still can. This beautiful puzzle adventure has not been updated since 2020 and has already stopped working on modern Android phones. Do you own an iPhone? You're lucky. Gorgoa is presented like a picture book, with each page, each frame containing a mystery or part of the story. It won a Debut Game Bafta in 2018.

Rolando: Royal Edition

What is it? A classic puzzle platformer from the early days of the iPhone

Rolando has a realistic claim to being the first truly great iPhone game. It is as important a historical record as anything else. Released in 2008, it's a cute platformer that uses the iPhone's control inputs. You rotate the phone to move the game's characters and manually manipulate level elements using the touchscreen. The game was removed from the App Store in 2017, but returned in 2019 as Rolando: Royal Edition with revised graphics. Unfortunately, Rolando 2 was never treated that way.

Monument Valley

What is it? Artistic puzzler

A favorite of mobile game evangelists for years, Monument Valley is an artistic and atmospheric puzzler that plays with perspective. They move parts of a level so that a character can get from one end to the other. It was named Apple's iPad Game of the Year in 2014, but it's still well worth a try a decade later. You can also traverse Monument Valley in a few hours, making it the polar opposite of attention hogs like Candy Crush.

Jetpack joyride

What is it? Endless runner with style

Most mobile game fans have probably played an endless runner where you try to keep your character moving and alive for as long as possible. Jetpack Joyride is one of the best endless runners of all time. You play as Barry Steakfries, a guy who breaks into a secret (and evil) lab and steals their experimental machine gun jetpack.

80 days

What is it? Visual novel meets board game

This title comes from Inkle, one of the master developers of video game storytelling. 80 Days is part board game, part interactive fiction. You play Jean Passepartout, the valet to explorer Phineas Fogg from Jules Verne's 80 Days Around the World, which you may recognize. Your goal is to reach the whole world and back, but that's easier said than done. However, 80 Days is all about the journey, and even failed journeys are fulfilling thanks to the brilliant writing.

Japanese adventure in rural life

What is it? Stardew Valley, in Japan

“Japanese Rural Life Adventure” has a clear inspiration: Stardew Valley. They renovate a house in the Japanese countryside, grow crops, fish, and generally work to be self-sufficient in a cozy and healthy virtual world. But it's only for iPhone and iPad users for now, as it's exclusive to Apple Arcade. The rest will have to play the original Stardew Valley game, but we find a special appeal in the style and sounds of Japanese Rural Life Adventure.

Honkai Star Rail

What is it? Epic role-playing game with turn-based combat

It's a small miracle that a game this big fits into a phone. Honkai Star Rail is a role-playing game with turn-based combat, full console-level graphics and a sprawling story. And you can play it for free, although it is a so-called gacha game, which means you can pay to unlock random items in the game. However, it is entirely possible to play for free for a very long time. And if you prefer the idea of ​​an exploratory action-adventure to an RPG, try its sister title Genshin Impact instead.