Dearbhla Gibbs details some mobile games she finds especially addicting
Mobile games: addicting, accessible, and overall underrated. Remember growing up and asking for your parent’s phone? Playing Flappy Bird, Subway Surfers or Temple Run was considered peak entertainment back in 2011. But as we got older, we forgot the intense joy of beating your high score off of a free game that took merely seconds to load. This in theory is a gamers heaven, having access to free games that are only a few clicks away. Yet look at the reputation mobile games have today. Nowadays these are considered childish and low quality, with people playing games on their mobiles being a common joke among gaming and online communities. The further you look, however, the more you realise that these apps have not decreased in value but instead evolved. Sure, there are plenty of knock offs and microtransaction filled predatory garbage waiting at your play store but let’s take a look at some mobile games that are still hitting different in 2021.
With over 1500 dragons to assemble, alongside seasonal updates of more dragons and mini games, this game is never ending
One great mobile game is Dragon City. Dragon City is a game where you play to breed, win, and compete for dragons. With over 1,500 dragons to assemble, alongside seasonal updates of more dragons and mini games, this game is never ending. It still remains relevant and very addictive to the point where you start to check up on your dragons a few times throughout the day. As previously stated, this availability is proof of the mobile game genre having easy access to play. The app grants you entry to your game whilst waiting at the dentist, during a lunch break or even on the toilet. Tell me how many of you can play on your PS5 whilst taking the bus to college…? Exactly, but with mobile gaming it’s as simple as can be.
Another example is the hugely popular Among Us. A throwback to the end of 2020, this game took over the internet. Yes, this game can be played on both mobile and PC however a good majority of us played on mobile as it was free. Developed in 2018 as an online multiplayer version of Mafia, the game blew up when twitch streamers and gaming got into it. In the midst of a pandemic, our brains with nothing else to do, ate this up, creating a phenomenon of addictive gaming, memes, fanart, cosplay and the inability to trust your friends ever again. With its simple yet practical graphics, the game became known worldwide. In fact, according to Statista and Steam Charts, at peak (September 2020) the number of steam accounts who downloaded the game only reached 438,000 in comparison to Android and IOS players making up 120 million downloads that continued to soar to 300 million downloads only two months later. With these statistics, it is safe to say, mobile gaming is far from dead and with the right game, it can exceed expectations.
Overall, mobile gaming is underrated and needs more appreciation from the gaming community. Between the accessibility, inexpensive nature and growth within this genre, I highly recommend the gaming community to rid it's stigmatism against these games and instead look forward to the future evolution of mobile gaming.