Upcoming Android games 2019

It's been a fantastic few weeks for Android game releases, and we've selected the cream of the crop to bring you the best Play Store releases for August, including Life is Strange, the first Shin Megami Tensei mobile game, and a zen-inducing endless surfer.

Life is Strange Mobile

Life is Strange broke a lot of hearts back when it released for PC and consoles in 2015, but in a good way. The emotional story game was ported over to iOS at the beginning of this year and now, finally, it's ready to reach a new audience with its release on the Play Store.

I’m coming to this review after having previously played Life is Strange on PC, and it’s good to see that the port doesn’t cut too many corners. Graphically, Life is Strange looks good on mobile, even if keen eyed PC gamers will notice a few lower-res assets textures here and there. But all the important story content is there, and the overall game experience hasn’t been pared down for phones.

Life is Strange puts you in the shoes of Max Caulfield, a high-school girl with a passion for photography who just recently moved back to her hometown of Arcadia Bay.  After she witnesses a girl get shot in her school, Max discovers that she can rewind time, allowing her to change what happens in the past, hopefully for the better.

The girl you save turns out to be Max’s former best friend Chloe, a charismatic but troubled teenage rebel who’s gotten in way over her head. As Max, you team up with Chloe to solve a mysterious disappearance, all the while our heroine is haunted by visions of a terrifying storm sweeping in to destroy Arcadia Bay.

Life is Strange is a story game where your choices matter. You guide Max around the scenes, interact with objects and characters and make decisions that advance the story. The ‘rewind’ ability lets you play around with these decisions, and reverse your choices and check the consequences of different actions (at least in the short term...the far-reaching consequences will still come back surprise you).

While the supernatural weirdness adds some big-picture tension and interesting gameplay mechanics to Life is Strange, it’s the game’s more down to earth depictions of human relationships and interpersonal drama that make it so compelling. As you play through the story, you’ll interact with fellow students, parents, teachers, and various other residents of Arcadia Bay, many of which have their own agenda and secrets that you have to negotiate to pursue your goals. Most affecting is the relationship between Max and Chloe, two estranged friends who still care deeply for each other

Life is Strange shines with cinematic storytelling. / © AndroidPIT (screenshot)

Life is Strange isn’t an accurate portrayal of the life of a teenage girl by any means, and the dialogue can sometimes come across as unrealistic or corny. But by and large, there are more hits than misses over course of the story, and when the emotional beats hit hard, they really work. Dontnod’s cinematic scene-setting and touching indie score carries the storytelling over the rough parts.

Life is Strange is definitely worth playing, but what sacrifices to we trade for the convenience of playing it on mobile? Well, the controls for one thing. Point-and-click gives way to drag-and-tap, and this can get frustratingly clunky and slow on the small screen, especially when the story demands urgency.

Another source of annoyance is that there’s no manual save in Life is Strange, instead, the story simply autosaves at predetermined checkpoints. Fine when you’re spending an evening gaming at home, but not ideal for playing in short bursts when you have to stop playing to step off the subway or take an important call. Playing on the go, I had to repeat myself a few times because I’d been interrupted before the checkpoint. For the mobile version, I’ve have appreciated more frequent autosaves.

Overall, Life is Strange remains a worthwhile game and essential for fans of a well-developed story. Your mobile device still isn’t the best way to experience it compared to PC or console, but if you lack a home console/PC or just prefer handheld gaming, then this stands up as one of the best titles available on Android.

Get it on the Play Store

App version: 1.00.258App size: 1.25 GB Compatibility: Android 6.0 and upPrice: First episode free, $8.99 for the complete game

The best upcoming games of 2018

 
 
 
 

We're only a few months away from hotly anticipated sequels like Red Dead Redemption 2, Fallout 76, and Assassin's Creed Odyssey - but those aren't the only games you have to look forward to. There's plenty of greatness left to go this year before we start thinking about the best new games of 2019 - and you might not have even known about some of these titles until now. Whatever your platform of choice, from your favorite console to the best gaming laptop, there are plenty of games you should keep an eye on over the weeks and months to come

We've gone ahead and collected the standouts for your viewing pleasure, updated weekly with new additions. Donut County and Artifact have just been added to the lineup now that they have confirmed release dates. Browse our list, which is ordered by release date, and see what you need to start saving up for ASAP - then be sure to let us know in the comments which games you're most excited 

Overcooked 2 

Platform(s): Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC
Release date: August 7, 2018

The original Overcooked became an instant co-op classic, sure to turn any party into a ruckus of virtual chefs shouting out tasks in a fervent mix of joy, anger, and excitement. Overcooked 2 keeps all the spicy chaos that made the first one so great, and simply adds in even more flavor with a fresh campaign, plenty of themed kitchens, additional recipes, and a host of cutesy chefs to choose from. You and up to three other cooks can serve up orders online or in couch co-op, and the level designs of the kitchens look particularly inventive this time around. It's never as simple as taking the ingredients directly to the pan, plate, and patron - you'll probably have to run through traffic, charter a raft, or cross a perilously windy bridge in the e Happy Few 

Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC
Release date: August 10, 2018

We Happy Few is practically a must-play based on the concept alone, which somehow manages to blend a BioShock-style society of deranged drug addicts and the kitschy 1960s whimsy of Austin Powers into one delightfully creepy survival game. You play as one of several residents of the fictitious English city of Wellington Wells, navigating in first-person through a society where residents are forced to take a daily dose of the hallucinogenic pill known as Joy. You've refused to take your medicine and have been labeled a kill-on-sight Downer, forced to flee from the mind-altered citizens and coppers while crafting and scavenging for anything that might help you survive. All the while, you're taunted and oppressed by Uncle Jack, a live-action TV host who's like a sinister, pill-pushing Mr. Rogers. 

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World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth 

Platform(s): PC
Release date: August 14, 2018

Blizzard's touchstone MMO is still going strong after almost 14 years worth of content, and its seventh expansion, Battle for Azeroth, is something of a throwback to the classic conflicts between the Alliance and Horde factions that trace back through Warcraft history. Leaders on both sides have risen, fallen, and been replaced, and now things are gearing up for what could very well be the turning point after years of animosity. Besides the potentially faction-altering impact of this expansion's plot, its biggest feature is the addition of Allied Races - NPC races you can earn the right to play as - and two massive new zones, Kul Tiras and Zandalar. Of course, there will also be a bevy of fresh dungeons and raids to tackle as you work your way to the raised level cap of 120 and strive to get the latest must-have gear.

Platform(s): PS4, PC
Release date: August 14, 2018

We've been keeping tabs on this grandiose 2D action RPG for some time, so it's nice to see publisher Adult Swim Games finally lock down an August release date. With the scope and heavy combat of Dark Souls and an art style akin to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Death's Gambit has you battling your way through the fantastical realm of Siradon (which clearly evokes Lordran). With any luck, Death's Gambit will be right up there with Hollow Knight in the renaissance of modern Metroidvanias with rich stories, captivating visuals, and steep challenge.   

Guacamelee 2

Platform(s): PS4, PC
Release date: August 21, 2018

The original Guacamelee is one of the indie greats, with its delightful blend of luchador theming with Metroidvania design, punchy combat, and pitch-perfect platforming. So we're stoked to see masked wrestler Juan and his pals make a comeback to save the world (or 'Mexiverse' as the game calls it) once more. Along with all those fun, tricky techniques from the first game, like swapping between the planes of life and death to phase in different parts of the level, Guacamelee 2 adds news grappling-hook-style points you can launch from (much like Ori and the Blind Forest) and ups the co-op antics from two players to a chaotic four, with everyone leaping around and walloping skeletons 

Donut County 

Platform(s): PS4, PC, iOS
Release date: August 28, 2018

If you adore the quirky humor, pleasant art style, and simple satisfaction of the Katamari Damacy series, you're going to love Donut County. Instead of collecting every element of a city - from bite-sized bits to entire buildings - rolled up into a big ball, you'll be sending it all down an ever-widening pit controlled by a mischievous raccoon. It's not just a matter of dropping increasingly large objects down the hole, though; you'll also need to solve a few puzzles along the way. Add in some goofy dialogue, and you've got an irreverent adventure that looks like an absolute delight to play.

Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate 

Platform(s): Switch
Release date: August 28, 2018

Monster Hunter World was a perfect gateway game for legions of players earlier this year, enticing plenty of series greenhorns with its slick visuals that put the PS4 and Xbox One to the test. Switch owners might've felt left out at the time - but now the Switch-exclusive Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate is here to fix that, with a substantially upgraded port of the 3DS entry from 2016 (complete with save data importing if you already played it back then). Veterans who thought World's endgame content and exotic bestiary felt a bit lacking compared to previous entries will be overjoyed to hear that Generations Ultimate has the largest monster list of any game in the series, so it'll be hundreds of hours before you and your multiplayer hunting party have seen everything. The aesthetics of Generations Ultimate are definitely more in line with its portable predecessors - but that look could easily be a plus for anyone who prefers supersaturated colors and simpler environments in their Monster Hunter. 

Yakuza Kiwami 2

Platform(s): PS4
Release date: August 28, 2018

Just as Yakuza Kiwami remade the first game in this long-running, open-world crime series, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a spruced-up version of Yakuza 2 from way back in the PS2 days. Our debonair lead Kazuma Kiryu must once again bust some heads on the streets of Tokyo and Osaka as he attempts to defuse a gang war before it even begins. The plot follows Yakuza 2 closely, but the gameplay includes most of the niceties and refinements from more recent games in the series, making for a modern take on a cult-classic beat-'em-up.

Strange Brigade

Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC
Release date: August 28, 2018

One look at Strange Brigade, and you'll wonder why nobody thought to make a co-op monster shooter set in the 1930s sooner, because you need it in your life immediately. As one of four intrepid adventures braving the heat and sand of early 20th century Egypt, you'll have to fend off hordes of mummies, zombies, animated statues, hulking minotaurs, and all manner of supernatural creatures that want you dead. Each Indiana Jones-esque environment is loaded with secrets to seek out, and traps you can use against your rotting enemies. Strange Brigade comes to us from Rebellion, makers of the cult favorite Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army trilogy, so you can bet it'll deliver plenty of intentionally campy, mummy-mutilating fun.

Destiny 2: Forsaken 

Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC

Release date: September 4, 2018

Bungie has to regain a lot of good will for its shared-world shooter, with many Destiny 2 players tapping out in frustration over the current state of the game - but the Forsaken expansion could win a lot of those lapsed Guardians back. Revenge might be motivation enough, after beloved hero Cayde-6 met his untimely end at the hands of Uldren Sov in Forsaken's cinematic trailer. Each Guardian subclass has a new Super Ability to try out, and the introduction of the Bow weapon class will be a treat for any would-be space Legolases (Legoli?). Besides the story, the main reason to jump back in for Forsaken is Gambit, a fresh competitive mode that blends elements of PvE and PvP into one colossal, enemy-filled battlefield.