Mobile gaming has always been hit-or-miss. But as of late, it's been hitting a lot more than it used to. So much so that there are a few games on Android that we're legitimately hyped for! So...we created a list of our most anticipated Android Mobile Games of 2017!
Some of these titles are already on other devices/consoles, but most are new releases. However, all of them were picked with their compatibility with mobile gaming in mind.
Duelyst
Duelyst is currently on PC, Mac, Playstation 4 and Xbox One. It started as a Kickstarter project come to life and focuses on short play sessions. Clocking in at around ten minutes, each turn-based tactical battle is meant to be bite sized and pick-up-and-play.
As a Tactical RPG that also plays like a deck-building game, Duelyst lends itself pretty perfectly to the Android market. There's also a practice mode, Challenge puzzle modes and a tournament mode.
Armello
In September 2015, Armello released on PC, and later on Playstation 4 and Xbox One. After receiving additional support from government funding in Australia and meeting its Kickstarter stretch goals, the game was also planned to release on Android and iOS.
Armello is basically a board game. Unlike many board games however, it initially existed as only a video game with a board aesthetic.
The premise follows a dying king and characters aiming to take his place as ruler of the animal kingdom. The player chooses one of these anthropomorphic heroes and sets out to take the throne. The art-style alone is enough to sell the game, but those who enjoy board games would feel right at home with Armello. Speaking of art style...
Sdorica - Sunset
Not much is known about Sdorica - Sunset except that it's from Rayark Inc., the creators of Implosion: Never Lose Hope, and it is set for an Android and iOS release. It was set for a late 2016 release, but with 2016 nearing an end and no update on the release, it can only be assumed this will be pushed into next year.
Sdorica is a 2D fantasy game with beautiful artwork similar to Odin Sphere. The lack of details and a month of silence from their social media team is a little concerning. However, the success of Implosion should give some hope, although the new art style is a huge departure.
Sheltered
Another game coming from another platform, Sheltered started life as a PC game. In it, the player assumes the role of a family of four. They must survive in a bunker after an apocalyptic event. This involves crafting, decision making and scavenging for supplies.
The entire game takes a 2D perspective and is controlled mostly by a mouse, making the translation to Android touch controls relatively easy to comprehend. No release date has been promised, but the developers have said on multiple occasions, including their Kickstarter page, that they want to bring the game to Android and iOS in 2017.
Torchlight Mobile
The Torchlight series has been a big hit with gamers around the world. Torchlight Mobile is set to be a faithful adaptation of the series on Android and iOS. Each character has six skills, but they can be customized to create many more than that.
Torchlight Mobile will include a PvP mode and even a MOBA mini-game that doesn't detract from the game as a whole. Torchlight Mobile could really be successful on Android with its touch-to-move/attack controls, and if the dungeons are cut up into bite-sized pieces, this game could really sing.
The video presentation of the game shows the art style is very accurate to the existing iterations in the series and the action seems to fit right in with what Torchlight fans are used to.
Skullgirls Mobile
What's Skullgirls, you ask? Skullgirls is a 3-on-3 fighting game from Reverge Labs that pits cute girls in a battle royale. The series has been praised for its animation and controls, and it was actually heavily based on the Marvel Vs Capcom series in regards to its tag team combat system, assists and hyper counters.
Being quite successful in the fighting game market, Reverge Labs announced Skullgirls Mobile, which puts a twist on the fighting game's mechanics. To match the limitations of twitch mechanics on an Android and iOS device, the game focuses more on RPG elements like equipping your favorite Skullgirl with new equipment and moves. Don't worry though, the game still seems fast-paced and exciting.
Oceanhorn
This game is another title originally slated for 2016 being pushed into the next year. Oceanhorn is a Zelda-like action-adventure game that takes settings and ideas from Wind Waker but changes perspective to the isometric POVs of classic top-down Zelda titles.
A sequel, Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm has recently been announced, but a mobile version of the original could boost sales, as Oceanhorn was a bit of a sleeper hit, despite featuring music from Kenji Ito and Nobuo Uematsu. Expect to see this on iOS and Android in 2017.
King's Knight: Wrath of the Dark Dragon
Before Final Fantasy took the stage in the JRPG genre, Square made an arguably fun, arguably terrible game called King's Knight. It was a fun game, sure. Going through levels, shooting at blocks, revealing secrets, gathering points, beating bosses...
But the game failed to adequately tell you how to beat it. If you lost one character, you were allowed to continue, but you could not beat the game. This took a clever idea and stomped it into the mud. That is, until 30 years later in 2017, where a remake/reimagining takes place!
King's Knight Wrath of the Dark Dragon returns with similar gameplay as the original, but with a huge upgrade to graphics. It even adds a huge roster of characters.
The game never quite begged for a remake in the traditional video game sense, but it fits perfectly in the Android market with its bite-sized levels, item gathering and leveling up.
Durango
An original mobile game, Durango is an isometric survival building game. It takes place on an island filled with dinosaurs and present day people stranded there. Their only hope is to collect supplies, build tribes and make the best of their surroundings.
Durango is planned to be an open-world survival game with multiplayer elements from Nexon Korea, the team behind Maple Story. Although this game seems to be nothing like Maple Story, and more like How to Survive, the mixing of multiplayer and single player elements from Nexon Korea seems promising for this 2017 Android release.
Super Mario Run
Honestly, who didn't see this coming? Not Super Mario Run itself -- that was a total surprise. But once it was announced, how could it not make it on this list? Super Mario Run will feature typical Mario levels where instead of playing them normally, Mario will run on his own and the player must time his jumps, attacks and tricks accordingly.
In classic Nintendo fashion, they're making use of a different control scheme and creating something new out of it. There will also be a time trial mode where the player races another player's past performance on a track.
Nintendo will undoubtedly cram tons of features into this game, as they never release one-trick ponies, but the details are still under wraps. While this list wasn't in any specific order, this game is definitely high on many gamer's wish lists -- if not the top of our most anticipated Android mobile games of 2017.
2017 has a surprising amount of hype for its mobile gaming department. Our list of most anticipated Android mobile games turned out to be bigger than we thought as more and more developers realize how to make mobile games -- or translate old classics to one of gaming's youngest, yet most promising mediums.
Did we miss any of your most anticipated Android games? Let us know!
Published: Nov 27, 2016 01:52 pm