Some of Android's Most Interesting Games Aren't on the Play Store

3 days ago by PerfectDark to c/technology

When I read about gaming on Android phones (the “native” kind, not emulation!), the posts and comments usually revolves around big-budget ports, blockbuster mobile releases, and increasingly powerful hardware. Games like Red Dead Redemption, Subnautica, and Tomb Raider are pretty damn clear indications of just how far smartphones have
boaratio 73 points 2 days ago

Have any of you been on the PlayStore recently? It's a fucking dumpster fire. I recently had to get a new phone, and when I try to search for and install an app I had installed before the results are, "try tiktok, or Whatsapp" which are listed at the top of the search results even though they're completely unrelated to what I searched for.

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PerfectDark 14 points 2 days ago

I avoid it like the plague.

My main personal phone is on GrapheneOS, and my work phones are as basic as possible with what they run. The only time I really ever spend on Play Store (and even then I tend to use Obtainium instead) is for when I review retro handhelds which emulate.

F-droid/Izzy and so on have everything we need!

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pirat 6 points 2 days ago

Are you saying that Obtainium can install an app from a PlayStore URL?

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PerfectDark 17 points 2 days ago path: 0 24354278 24356284 24357822 24357986, hotness: undefined, score: 17, children: 0
Schlemmy 54 points 3 days ago

Mindustry is amazing. Really fun to start over with the community mods.

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lyrial 19 points 2 days ago

Honestly it is way better on PC. I don't think the controls translate very well to touch screen. It gets pretty damn hard, and I don't think I've ever been able to get very far on phone or tablet. That could be a me thing, though. The game is amazing nonetheless.

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qualia 12 points 3 days ago

How in the $@-# are you sposed to change the direction of a conveyor belt?

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Schlemmy 21 points 3 days ago

Tap this arrow. 1000022972

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foremanguy92_ 12 points 3 days ago

Double tap and drag Or click the arrow to rotate it in the first place

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qualia 7 points 3 days ago

Thanks!

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Schlemmy 0 points 3 days ago

Just build over it in the proper direction or look in your game settings for the controls?

When you build and drag in any directionele the belt direction is adjusted automatically.

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Anberibaburia 2 points 2 days ago

That's on the playstore but Good game

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oxideseven 50 points 3 days ago

Let me guess... Mindustry, breakout, pixel dungeon, unciv?

EDIT: Close! 4/5. Never even heard of aaaaxy

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YiddishMcSquidish 25 points 2 days ago

Shattered pixel dungeon is such a fucking masterpiece of a rogue like! I legit played it so much one day I had this weird aphasia the next day, where it seemed like time only moved when I did. What a strange day, wouldn't trade it for anything though. I love that game.

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Slashme 5 points 19 hours ago

I recently had to uninstall Angband because I was spending too much time on it. I had never thought it would work on mobile, but it's an amazingly faithful representation of the desktop version.

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Slashme 3 points 19 hours ago

Shattered is good, but the original pixel dungeon was absolutely brilliantly done in the sense that it was kept so small and with such tight gameplay that there was no grinding, just a fun mixture between puzzle game and roguelike.

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Sidyctism2 3 points 19 hours ago

Should have played SUPERHOT too for that complete brainscramble

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YiddishMcSquidish 2 points 18 hours ago

I think I actually have it on steam share. I'll give it a fair shake right quick.

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StarvingMartist 33 points 3 days ago

You know what I've noticed? I have a pixel pro 9, like a quarter of the apps I look for on the app store say "this app is not available for your device"

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d00ery 11 points 3 days ago

I have a bunch of games I bought a while ago that are now no longer available ...

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StarvingMartist 5 points 3 days ago

Some fuckin' conspiracy, I swear

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PerfectDark 7 points 2 days ago

If you're open to it, there are seas to sail where you can download said APK and run it without issue. Not a 100% fix since some don't, but I have others which did and do!

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mal3oon 5 points 2 days ago

Wait, is lemmy sensoring pirated websites/apps mentions? For anyone wondering, mobilism.org is the ultimate place.

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StarvingMartist 3 points 2 days ago

yeah, i've done so before, but its such a crapshoot with some apk providers. Got any trusted sites you would never suspect malware from?

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PerfectDark 1 point 2 days ago

Absolutely, feel free to send me a direct message here!

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ObsidianZed 6 points 2 days ago

Are you grapheneos? I've noticed similar for my Pixel Fold 10 but assumed it was an odd combination of the two.

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StarvingMartist 4 points 2 days ago

lineage, but yeah, you think rom might be the cause?

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rakeshmondal 9 points 2 days ago

Yeah the rom is most likely the reason. Give aurora store a try

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StarvingMartist 2 points 2 days ago

Damn shame that, okay i'll check it out. Thanks!

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zergtoshi 31 points 3 days ago

I love your posts/articles/reports 🤗

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PerfectDark 25 points 3 days ago

Thank you very much!

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YiddishMcSquidish 6 points 2 days ago

Hey I just noticed it's you! I got one of those rotates cause of your review.

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PerfectDark 4 points 2 days ago

OH that's really nice to hear!

Are you loving it? I still have mine on my shelf each and every day. Right now it is playing Olivia Rodrigo's latest album. But I mean...also for games. So happy to hear it helped you!

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YiddishMcSquidish 4 points 2 days ago

My hands are a little too big for the gamepad, but I've been doing a new Stardew with it and yes, loving it.

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wk5ar 23 points 2 days ago

thank you for letting me discover f-droid and some of it possibilities.

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Axolotl_cpp 14 points 2 days ago

I suggest to try "Droidy-fy" it uses the F-Droid repository along side some other famous thirdy-party repository and has a nicer look, i never used the playstore since then

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PerfectDark 7 points 2 days ago

As Axolotl said below, make sure you use F-droid to search for Droidify. It looks and behaves far nicer than plain old F-droid and gives you many more options!

And enjoy, I'm so glad my article helped at least one person find new things out there :) :) :)

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JPAKx4 17 points 3 days ago

Great picks, love Breakout 71. My extra pick is ChipDefense, a short tower defense game with some cool science/tech history

And simon tatham's puzzles is excellent.

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perishthethought 4 points 3 days ago

Oooh, yes! I have all three too. But Breakout 71 is really where I spend most of my free time on my phone. Every game is different!

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lyrial 1 point 2 days ago

They are constantly adding levels too.

Edit: maps to levels

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zurchpet 17 points 2 days ago path: 0 24354251, hotness: undefined, score: 17, children: 3
Dave 7 points 2 days ago

I've been playing this too. Seems like every time I open it there has been an update with new features added!

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tedvdb 3 points 2 days ago

I came here to mention this one! Found a bug recently, it was fixed within 24 hours. The dev is really invested in this game at the time, I can't imagine that will stay this intense forever.

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Tieas 2 points 2 days ago

Dude, I've been playing the hell out of idol fantasy for a while. I wish I had a discord or something

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crossdl 13 points 2 days ago

Fuck yeah, Shattered Pixel Dungeon.

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majiks 12 points 3 days ago

Most of the mentioned games actually ARE on play store.

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PerfectDark 16 points 3 days ago

I just realized -__-

Worst reflection of my lack of research there. I did just add a callout in the intro reflecting my own idiocy on that front (there's no excuses)

You're right!

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Valmond 7 points 2 days ago

I don't care :-) please do more lists like this!

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PerfectDark 5 points 2 days ago

You know what, I think I shall!

I appreciate it :)

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cmnybo 5 points 2 days ago

Finding a decent game on the play store is nearly impossible. They will be buried under a mountain of ad and microtransaction infested crap.

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DeathByDenim 10 points 2 days ago path: 0 24355136, hotness: undefined, score: 10, children: 1
ace_garp 1 point 2 days ago

There is a few months of tongue-in-cheek gags there, plus grind, much grind. Great community built game.

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webkitten 5 points 2 days ago

Shout out to Antimine. It's just Minesweeper but it's fun, well made, and gorgeous.

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reksas 5 points 2 days ago

hyperrogue is quite interesting one

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Truscape 4 points 2 days ago

Ah, the wonders of FOSS gaming :)

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InFerNo 4 points 2 days ago

I have the following:

  • Anuto TD

  • Ricochlime

  • Unblock Jam

Great to pass time

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ivanafterall 3 points 3 days ago

Ricochlime and Tensy are also pretty fun.

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tuxiqae 1 point 2 days ago

Weird, Aaaaxy crashes on my GP9 GrapheneOS with Memory Tagging enabled

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