Top 20 Android Games of 2014

by Dan Vlasic on 21 December 2014 · 5197 views

We have compiled a list of the Android games we think deserve the spotlight in 2014 top list - be it new and widely acknowledged, one-of-the-kind titles or everybody's favorites that have no equals in their niches.

Here are our 20 picks for the best Android games in 2014. Don't miss the awesome trailers are at the bottom. iOS fans should read our top 10 iOS games in 2014.

1. 80 Days by inkle, $4.99

We wrapped up some of the adventure gamebooks we consider stellar (Part 1 and Part 2), all of them are dear to our hearts, but we can't deny the obvious fact – 80 Days is unanimously named the best adventure gamebook of 2014, setting the benchmark for the niche. Based on Jules Vernes' “Around The World in 80 Days," this adventure brings back the sense of wonder and discovery found in children – genuine and starry-eyed. You play as Passepartout, Phileas Fogg's loyal valet, as the two of you attempt at completing the world tour in a short time. The story takes place on the alternate Earth where technology developed in a different way, and you can use all sorts of automata and flying machines. Your race across the world's greatest cities via choose-your-own way interface, and balancing well finances and routes will get you through.

2. Monument Valley by ustwo, $3.99

2014 will be remembered by mobile gamers as the year Monument Valley was released, and this is in no way an exaggeration. A beautiful, stylish and atmospheric puzzler, it has a deeply emotional story, heart and a brilliant mind. Guide beautiful lonely princess Ida through the surreal architectural structures and traps of optical illusions, and protect her from the sinister crow people. Watch her make friends with an unlikely companion, and weep as he (it?) sinks in the deep blue waters of this abstract world. Unique, charming and innovative, it has millions of users begging for more levels, please. Ustwo heard you and in addition to recently released Forgotten Shores, is working on more levels.

3. Valiant Hearts: The Great War by By Ubisoft Entertainment, $19.99 and $5.99

Valiant Hearts is another gamebook adventure set in the times of the ravaging World War I, as you choose from four available characters who try to help a German soldier reunite with the woman he loves. The sentimental story won the hearts of many gamers and there are websites nominating it as the best game of the year. Accompany your heroes and their loyal dog Walt in their struggles through he trenches of the Western Front, namely the Battle of Somme and the Battle of Marne.

4. Threes! by Sirvo llc, $1.99

Here at D3k we are more fond of 2048, but mobile-wise Threes is a winner with its stylish simplicity in design and gameplay accessibility that sucks you in before you know it. Here, players are tasked with bashing out numbers until they form multiples of three and get cleared from the grid, but the catch is once you start, you can't stop until your device tells you to. A case of ingenious simplicity, Threes is a go-to premium time killer for the fans of sophisticated aesthetics and mathematical challenges.

5. Minecraft - Pocket Edition by Mojang, $6.99

In terms of depth, creativity and brain boost, Minecraft is the unquestionable leader, with its highly polished mobile port of the original desktop version. In fact, the developer paid it due respect transferring all the bits and bobs from desktop to mobile, so no wonder gamers get lost in the open pixel world, exploring, creating, building those blocks and escaping the harsh reality of the world at war. As far as Christmas gifts are concerned, there is no way you can go wrong with Minecraft as a digital gift to a teenager or a grown-up gamer. Finally, no other mobile game has managed to beat or at least come close to Minecraft in quality.

6. Leo's Fortune by 1337 & Senri LLC

A charmer, Leo is an adult male fur ball with a strong Russian accent on hos quest to recover his stolen fortune. Level by level, you glide and float him as he retrieves his golden coin and shares bits and pieces of his inner dialogue with you. The more you find out, the more you realize it's not yet another side-scroller, but a story-driven adventure of a living being that lost his family to money. Or rather, his family lost him to gold. Leo uncovers the story of his relatives one by one as he makes it through the deadly maze of the woods and dungeons. In a way, it is similar to Badland, which is also one of the hits this year. What will be Leo's treasure at the end of the game?

7. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft by Blizzard, Freemium

Sometimes being objective hurts. Hearthstone for Android was released about a week ago, and it immediately made it to the top lists of nearly everyone, so there is no way we can leave it out. An international hypnosis, Hearthstone Heroes of Warcraft has millions in its fan base, as folks fond of the Warcraft universe trade, collect and craft powerful decks and spend nights away in this easy to pick up and dangerously addicting CCG. Should I mention the game has evolved into a standalone sub-culture, with live tournaments, custom tutorials for success and regular extension packs players are fondly waiting for.

8. The Banner Saga by Versus Evil, $4.99

Another game that is largely nominated as the top 1 on 2014 on mobile is the Banner Saga, a tactical story-driven RPG based on the mythology and tales of the Norse Vikings. The game offers 25 playable characters of 7 different classes, as you move them across the grid fighting for glory and power. Another stellar side of banner Saga is its 2D art work that has been highly praised by everyone involved – gamers and reviewers alike. Each decision you make affects the outcome, and the replay value is great, so all things considered, Banner Saga could very well be on your list of Christmas gifts, too.

9. GTA: San Andreas by Rockstar Games, $6.99

If a mobile racing game should be on this list, it must be Grand Theft Auto: Sand Andreas, although its rivals are very close, and some might argue NFS did better this year. Top charts are subjective and nonetheless, we picked GTA. Its long-time console fans admire how Rockstar made the console to mobile transition a smooth and complete port, with nearly every tiny speck of the original making it to the mobile version. Crime, passion and speed in the majestic 3D hi-res visuals and open-world exploration of San Andreas leaves no gamer indifferent.

10. Modern Combat 5: Blackout by Gameloft Action Price: $6.99

One for the boys – Modern Combat 5: Blackout is not cute, charming, relaxing or sentimental. If you miss adrenaline in your life, or your fantasies of being a Die Hard are not enough, this game will let you live them on your handheld device in the tiniest of details. The game is about big bad muscular men armed with tons of weapons dashing around spectacularly ravaged environments and shooting each other in either single player or multiplayer assaults. A gorgeous premium title, Modern Combat 5 is worth every buck.

Bonus: BytesIn has an interesting list of 25 Best Space Sim and Shooting Games for Android.

11. The Walking Dead: Season Two by Telltale Games, Freemium

Deep in my heart, I hope this zombie obsession will stop haunting humanity, or at least its Western part that got infected so much. Until those blessed days come, millions of young people will keep getting obsessed with the Walking Dead. To think of it, placing a 12-year old girl in the center of a zombocalypse, as she struggles with survival choices when it comes to those closest to her being bitten, is kind of wicked and sick, but that's the main selling point – people love rotten meat and children with crippled lives.

12. Osmos HD by Hemisphere Games, $2.99

The list would not be complete without Osmos HD, one of the most visually dazzling games of 2014. Play as a cell, a blue shiny speck of self-awareness, as it realizes it needs to move and feed on others in order to survive. So, tap the screen to make the cell eject a portion of its own mass to propel itself and feed on other cells. You can only eat those that are smaller than you while the bigger ones will consume you if you get too close. Sometimes you would swim in a bio-soup; other levels look like you float in space, orbiting a bright sun, with other cells being like planets – consume them, but stay away from your gravitational center. A gorgeously zen and hectically desperate experience, Osmos HD is a great allusion to life as we now know it - '”The weak are meat; the strong do eat.”

13. Football Manager Handheld 2015 by SEGA of America, $9.99

One more title for Christmas gift ideas list that will make any soccer fan happy. This heavy-weight SEGA game comes polished with loads of football team management content that comes directly from its console original. As of now, it does not cover that part of soccer where players hang out with top models at expensive VIP clubs, but who knows what we might see in the next update? On a serious note, the game covers nearly all crucial aspects of football team management – transfers, hires, talent hunt, fame and media, matches, ranking and all that soccer attire. At the end of the day, a real soccer fan spends his free time playing soccer with friends or Football Manager Handheld instead of firing Molotov cocktails at people.

14. Galaxy on Fire™Alliances by Deep Silver, Freemium

Galaxy on Fire is highly acclaimed among mobile gamers, and Alliances came out a few weeks ago, immediately taking over the niche. Unlike its older siblings, Alliances is a strategy game that has you constructing your bases across your conquered planets, while space battling is somewhat secondary to the gameplay. With all its weight and dependence on Internet connection, GoF Alliances runs surprisingly smooth while the visuals are fantastic. All that glam is topped with a complex, yet easy to sort out management dashboard that sends missions your way and lets you build defensive, offensive and tech structures, or research new technology. You can play solo and have loads of fun, but the real expansion and battles shine best when you join an active alliance. Notably, the number of members is limited to 50 to prevent bigger alliances gobbling up emerging ones.

15. Unpossible by Acceleroto Racing, $1.99

Unpossible is on our list of the best reflex-testing games, and by far, it is one of the best releases this year, with its Tron-styled design and neck-wrecking race into the pale face of the full Moon. With three difficulty modes, one crazier than the other, Unpossible features a gorgeous Cruise mode that can be a chillout video at your parties, or simply a zen screen saver as you relax with a glass of wine. You race along a magnet tube that snakes around a futuristic night city, and your speed is increasing the further you go. The catch is the tube is like a hedgehog, with spikes and knives, and all sorts of abstract sci-fi objects designed to crash your face into nothingness. Can you survive for 60 seconds?

16. Out There by MiClos, $1.99

A February release, Out There is about to make it to your desktops. The text-based adventure has the atmosphere of Solaris by Stanislaw Lem and the music of a top-notch sci-fi movie, which is no wonder because Siddhartha Barnhoorn is a movie music composer. However, Out There is an AAA-class game wherever you poke it – art work, gameplay, performance, balance and difficulty. You wake up in your spaceship years and miles away from Earth. How you lost course and why is a question that remains unanswered until you reach your destination point, but until then, you face desperate reality of nearly 0 chance of survival out there, in the deep space, as your ship's storage of oxygen and fuel fall short. Jump from planet to planet, mine resources, terraform them, learn alien technology and language, make decisions that pave the way to Earth, or death... alone.

17. Plague Inc. by Miniclip.com, Freemium

Plague is on our list of the best creepy games that destroy humanity, and even though the Christmas update brings a special jolly scenario, where you infect the world with happiness (because presidents of the world have canceled Christmas), its overall doomsday gameplay is eerie, intense and engrossing, as you meticulously craft your plan of sending the billions of “homo economicus” into the beautiful non-existence. How you do that is up to you – Plague offers a huge lab full of viruses, fungi, worms and other tiny charming critters that turn rationale office workers into blood-spitting zombies. Scary, disgusting, but intensely addicting and beautiful.

18. Kingdom Rush Origins by Ironhide Game Studio, $2.99

Origins is the recently released prequel to the best mobile tower defense Kingdom Rush, and without a doubt, it tops the competition. Kingdom Rush Origins takes the original classic gameplay and structure of its predecessor and elaborates on that, adding more towers, more troops and more foes. Even though it was very tempting for me to put Star Wars: Commander, which is a great take on the Star Wars franchise, and deep down I am still torn. Nonetheless, Kingdom Rush Origins is a safe bet simply because it's Kingdom Rush.

19. Hitman GO by SQUARE ENIX Ltd Puzzle Price: $4.99

Hitman GO is anti-Monument Valley, if you like, but with equal grade of glam, polish, style and puzzle sophistication. It is not a third-person shooter, as we expected, but a stealth puzzler with delightful, clean design and a variety of missions, all of which creates a peculiar Hitman atmosphere of tension, focus and determination. Your missions vary, but ultimately they are all about taking out VIP targets, and it is up to you how you go about each mission – infiltrating the enemy locations without exposing yourself and doing your job silently, or making a huge blood bowl and taking out tons of people along with the target. It's a premium game and a luxury stealth gameplay, so its spot on the list is totally justified.

20. World of Tanks Blitz by Wargaming SEA, Freemium

World of Tanks Blitz hit iTunes last year, bringing the major Wargaming desktop game to iOS devices, while Android users were left weeping and biting their lips with envy. Nearly a year later, WoT Blitz launches on Android, bringing the luxury tank battles to our tablets. A capricious one, it is heavyweight and focused on higher-end devices, but nothing can stop it from being the best tank sim on mobile, because ultimately, the other games in the niche just trying to come close to WoT. Featuring over 100 tanks of the USSR, Great Britain, Germany and the United States, this engrossing sim offers a neat tutorial, which makes managing your machine a breeze.