The landscape of both online and offline gaming is rapidly shifting. Gone are the days of people being willing to remain still in front of a console or PC for hours on end, because now folk want to game on the go, using their mobile devices.
As phone and tablet technology has improved so too have the games that are now available on them, with a huge array of battle royale games such as Fortnite now being played on phones from all four corners of the globe.
The added benefit for gamers is that many of the best titles available for Android and iOS are completely free to play, so as long as you resist being drawn into the endless inventories of in-game purchases such as skins and weapon upgrades, you can play along to your heart’s content free of charge.
Here are some of the must-have mobile games out there in app stores today, each and every one of them completely free to download and play. Enjoy!
Which of these great games will have you glued to your touchscreen?
Games That Start Out Free
There are many online games that start out as being free before then requiring funds to be deposited for you to continue to later levels.
One such example of this is PUBG Mobile, which is a scaled-down version of the original desktop and console-based battle royale game, but is no less entertaining as a result.
Just be aware that if you find the mobile game too limiting after a while you will be required to pay if you want the Xbox or PC versions. Other games that work this way are the likes of casino games including those that offer free spins which may or may not see a player win big, all for the great initial price of zilch.
Whatever your taste in games, there is a free mobile one out there that is perfectly suited to you
Go on an Odyssey
If flashing machines and battle royales all get a bit too much for you, sometimes it can be nice to use a free game to escape the drudgery of your day-to-day routine.
One of the perfect mobile game titles for just this purpose is Alto’s Odyssey, a game whose YouTube trailer even manages to lull you into a zen-like state.
The premise is simple: putting you in control of a man who surfs sand dunes, all the while jumping and spinning his way past obstacles. This is backed up by luscious graphics and an haunting soundtrack that when combined together are certain to have you glued to your phone for many an hour.
Enter an Augmented Reality
AR games shot to prominence in 2016 when Pokémon Go took the world by storm. Although the hype around that free game has somewhat died down these days it has now spawned others that wish to follow in its successful Pokémon paw prints.
Perhaps the most interesting of these is Minecraft Earth, which allows players to dream up and construct Minecraft’s classic pixelated structures while incorporating elements of the real world around them.
This means there is nothing stopping you from heading to the park on a balmy summer day to build a castle or a tree house – or whatever else takes your fancy – and none of it will cost you a penny (as long as you don’t run out of data).
Harness the Rebel in You
If strategy games are more your thing then you are in for a treat because more of them are freely available than virtually any other genre of game.
One of our favourites is Rebel Inc, which puts you in charge of a society under siege from those who wish to see your towns, cities and villages burnt to the ground.
In order to fend them off and help your communities thrive, you have to build an army as well as social policies to keep the masses happy. The real beauty of this game is how hard it is but avoid taking short cuts with paid in-game add-ons and you will find it a really challenging and yet rewarding free game.