Monster Sweeperz 5/5 (side scrolling shooter): This has been my favorite game from the Google Play store. Like almost every other android game, it features an autoplay button. But unlike other games, the autoplay is treated like a gameplay feature rather than just an anti-grinding mechanic. The most useful aspect of it is that automatic movement is better at avoiding projectiles than the player, which works even better due to the fact that not every projectile is meant to be avoided and must be destroyed or you take damage anyway. This turns knowing when to take your fingers off the screen into a strategic element. I'm not sure if I got a lot of design ideas from it though, as it is a really solid game but doesn't do anything all that different from other android games, just improves on already popular gameplay features.
Pokemon Go 3/5 (I don't know): It's a barebones game, whose mechanic isn't as unique as everyone seems to think. The best thing I guess would be the explorative element, which I would probably enjoy more if I didn't live in such an empty town. And of course the reason it's so popular is because of the fact that it's Pokemon, the most popular video game series in history. I wonder if parents out there recognize Mario, Mickey Mouse, or Pikachu faster.
Hit 5/5 (Top-down Action Game): My second favorite game. I don't normally like top-down beat-em-ups, but Hit's gameplay, graphics, and abundant features make it very worth playing. I'd like to try making a game like this one some time using Evanlily characters. It'd be relatively quick and easy compared to making a metroidvania, 3D platformer, or platform fighter. Another idea I like is the "instant complete pass" that lets you immediately complete a level you've already beaten. It helps save on the grinding, and they're not too rare or too common.
Delight Games Full Library (Pick your own adventure story) 4/5: Ironic that my three favorite games from the android store are from genres that I normally hate playing. The stories are pretty good, though I've only played 4 chapters total of the Wizard, Witch, Dragon stories, and haven't finished any of them fully. I'm enjoying it though, so I wanted to recommend them anyway.
I also felt a bit of inspiration from them, but not really game design inspiration. I don't plan to make any choose your own adventure games, but I have been writing Evanlily's story lately. I hope to be able to share that story in novel format during future blog posts. Years ago I had planned the story out as a comic series, but when I started learning how to script for games I decided to concentrate on this instead.
Soul Seeker (Top-down Action Game) 3/5: This is the kind of game I would like to make myself. The character designs are pretty good, the graphics are nice, and there's a crapload of content. The biggest drawback is how repetitive it is, as the levels are just the exact same thing over and over again regardless of how far you get into the game. There's also a risk of getting a lot of lag due to all the monsters that can appear on screen at once. What's more the gameplay is not very involving, you might as well just always have auto on. It could have been fixed easily just by including any sort of defensive option, like the dodge button that every other game in this genre has. One thing I do really like though is the fact that you get rewarded every time you fully level up one of your characters. Playing it has pushed me away from wanting to make a top-down action game with a "crew," and instead makes me to want to make something more like Hit that focuses on one character at a time. Not that I have any current plans to do either, I'm trying to focus on Crown.
Minimon (Top-down Action Game) 2/5: Minimon is very similar to Soul Seeker but with worse graphics, less playable characters, and slightly better gameplay. Like Soul Seeker, I really wanted to like this game. The graphics and repetitiveness are the only things pushing me back. The character designs were my main draw, they're all pretty attractive and the girls are thick as fuck which I love. The gameplay also doesn't lag like Soul Seeker, but it's still repetitive. There are a lot of levels in each world, but they all look the same. And the game only ever gives you baby monsters, expecting you to put in hours of work to evolve them into the better ones. I just got bored, but at least there's a dodge button.
Digimon Heroes (Matching Card Game) 4/5: This game has the exact opposite problem as Minimon. While Minimon gives you utter shit, and expects you to work like a bitch to evolve it into good shit, Digimon gives you great shit early game. But that's still a problem. Why should I be expected to evolve the Guilmon I just unlocked through lottery, when I already have a Gallatmon Crimson mode? There's no balance to the Digimon you can get. In the early levels you can unlock a Patamon, and in the next world you'll be unlocking MagnaAngemon before you ever get to gather the evolution materials to get regular Angemon (Which you already unlocked from another level). Evolution is worthless and difficult, but I still enjoyed the gameplay. Once you get the hang of it, it's a very easy but very fun game to play. I'd like to try making a card game some time, but it's not a high priority and probably wouldn't be a matching game.
Honorable mentions: I don't care enough to write full reviews about these games.
Pocket Mortys: It's good, but I'm not a fan of RPGs.Sonic Boom Dash: It's just a boring runner. I don't have a real opinion on the genre, I've enjoyed runners before. There's nothing special about it, it's really just a time waster.
Sonic Runners: Just like the game above, but better and more fun. Unfortunately all support for this game will have ended by the time I publish this review. Hopefully there's a sequel, and they fix the lag.
Plague Inc: It's alright. It can be fun, but I don't think I will be playing it very much. Maybe the fact that I only played the free version just left a sour taste.
Traffic Rider: It's fun at first, but I hate how much it makes you grind.
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