While free-to-play games seem to dominate the Play Store, premium games haven’t gone away. Paying a few bucks from the start will get you a richer gameplay experience free of ads. Without or with less aggressive monetization tactics found in most of today’s free downloads. Paying for a game doesn’t automatically ensure that it will be awesome. Still, you can’t go wrong with the 10 games collected here. For just $2 to $5 a pop, these games provide engaging, fun, polished gameplay. Some of the most inventive experiences we’ve played on smartphones all year. Here’s a look at 2016’s best premium Android games.
Downwell
Downwell arrives in stark contrast to the heaps of casual games available on the Play Store. Despite being streamlined enough to work well on a small touchscreen. Downwell is seriously intense and aimed at hardcore players and fans of old-school arcade shooters. In case the mostly-monochromatic, lo-fi look didn’t give that away. Here, you’ll vault your hero straight down a well, get it? With only his bullet-blasting gun boots to help slow his descent and chew through any enemies found immediately below. You’ll need to react quickly to keep progressing and take advantage of the various power-ups you encounter. What lies beneath the surface? Elated fun, apparently!
Downwell ($3)
Chameleon Run
Like the great Rayman mobile games, Chameleon Run ditches the endless platform-hopping approach in favor of tightly-constructed increasingly difficult stages to conquer. And it’s likewise pretty brilliant in the way it continually throws you for a loop. Despite never making the controls any more complicated than tapping on either side of the screen. Chameleon Run’s unique hook is that its hero can change between yellow or pink with a tap. You can only play on platforms of the same color. Getting to the end of each level not only means dodging obstacles. But also ensuring that you switch colors. All while contending with new play mechanics and twists that pop up along the way. As far as Super Mario-esque side-scrolling games go, Chameleon Run is one of the best on Android.
Chameleon Run ($2)
Mini Metro
Building an effective subway system in real life requires extensive planning. Still, you’ll have to think fast in Mini Metro to satisfy all riders pouring into your rapidly-growing transit lines. This super minimal puzzler takes inspiration from subway maps, which may not look like much at a glance. But there’s a lot more to it than drawing lines between shapes. As new stations emerge on the map. You’ll need to create transit lines to ensure that passengers can get to their destinations promptly. You’ll need to make do with meager resources to keep your system up and running for as long as possible. Then use the lessons learned from your mistakes to try to last longer the next time.
Mini Metro ($4.99)
Don’t Starve: Pocket Edition
Don’t Starve hits it right on the head with its title. You are dropped into an uncompromising, unfamiliar wilderness setting; your imperative is to avoid dying from hunger. It’s a simple goal but not a small feat in this cartoonish survival game. You’ll need to craft items, and weapons. Contend with the local wildlife’s various threats; and deal with other weird things that happen along the way. Without tutorials, missions, or hand-holding; Don’t Starve is much like Minecraft’s survival mode; albeit with quite a bit more personality in the presentation encounters. Likewise, this indie game has been a surprise smash on consoles. Still, the Pocket Edition keeps the challenge charm intact on Android. Good luck out there.
Don’t Starve: Pocket Edition ($4.99)
The Banner Saga 2
The Banner Saga is easily one of the most fascinating games on Android, between its deep tactical battles and branching conversational options. And absolutely stunning hand-drawn artwork, it’s a challenging game to put down. And now The Banner Saga 2 provides much more of the same, which is excellent. It’s not the ideal starting point; you should start with the first game; since you can transfer your personalized story into the sequel. But just like the original; The Banner Saga 2 offers rich role-playing combat on the battlefield and intriguing characters to interact with as your caravan travels amid the apocalypse. And despite that grim premise, it’s still a beauty.
The Banner Saga 2 ($4.99)
Reigns
Think you have what it takes to rule, to balance the wants and needs of a kingdom with its institutions? Try to prove it with Reigns; a clever little swipe-based game, that makes you a medieval monarch in charge of making decisions with vast consequences. Each choice you face can be swiped towards one outcome or the next. And the story unfolds based on the results. Each decision quickly ripples through the kingdom. The little icons on the top show how it affects the people, the army, the church, and the treasury. You’ll need to keep all of them in balance to remain in power. Interesting sub-stories and new possibilities pop up with repeat play-throughs, so it’s worth seeing the extended lineage.
Reigns ($2.99)
RunGunJumpGun
RunGunJumpGun might be one of the wildest, absolutely chaotic games released annually on any platform. Still, that anarchic fun fits perfectly on a smartphone. Like a twisted new take on Jetpack Joyride, this game lets your hero vault off the ground by shooting his weapon straight down, but it can also be used to zap enemies ahead. You’ll need both abilities to get through the 120+ intense levels. Which feature crisscrossed laser grids, spinning saw blades and spiked walls. New gameplay tweaks pop up along the way. Super-simple controls and immediate respawn, this challenging gauntlet is fun despite all of the death. RunGunJumpGun is a pitch-perfect throwback to the 8-bit era.
RunGunJumpGun ($2.99)
Her Story
You’ve undoubtedly never played anything like Her Story before. This highly nontraditional game finds your character accessing an old police computer. To view a treasure trove of interview footage with one woman, Hannah. Whose husband has mysteriously disappeared? You’ll have access to 271 short clips from various interviews, but there’s no clear or correct pathway through them. Instead, you’ll search through the database by typing in terms and then viewing the results. Along the way, you may piece together what really happened to Hannah’s husband. It’s loopy and not immediately rewarding, but spend some time with the compelling clips. You may find that Her Story can be one satisfying narrative experiment.
Her Story ($4.99)
The Room Three
If you thought The Room used up its entire bag of tricks through the first two entries, think again; The Room Three is just as essential as a touch-friendly adventure game. As before, this is one of the most polished and pleasing games available on the Play Store. Showing dazzling production values, loads of atmosphere, and plenty of intelligent puzzle design. All of Fireproof Games’ design smarts are used to punish or delight your brain. The tactile puzzle box environments must be poked, prodded, and examined to locate the solutions. The Room Three is the most giant, the most ambitious version to date. Thanks to its expansive locations and new play mechanics.
The Room Three ($3.99)
Deus Ex GO
Like the great Hitman Go and Lara Croft Go before it. Deus Ex Go translates a complex console action game into a turn-based tactical puzzler; it works splendidly. Deus Ex Go keeps the slick cyberpunk theme. Of the widespread core series and translates hero Adam Jensen’s robotic augmentations into abilities. You can use to navigate each stage. Your task is to find a path to the goal at each new level. But that’s rarely an obvious task; you’ll need to overcome guards, robotic drones. And other hazards to emerge safely on the other side. Deus Ex fans will get more out of it, but anyone who likes a strategic puzzle game. Especially those who loved the other Go entries, should dig it.
Deus Ex Go ($6)
