We all know that free Android games aren’t always free these days, but many of them are very close if you have a little patience. Most free to play bottlenecks occur when players get impatient and waiting the game out can usually get around those pitfalls. What we have here are the best free Android games that you should be able to play comfortably without engaging in too many in-app purchases and we hope you enjoy them! If you want free Android games with no in-app purchases, we have that linked just below. Let’s get started.
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Another Eden
Price: Free to play
Another Eden is an interesting mobile JRPG. It has the same writer as Chrono Trigger along with the same composer. The interesting part is how many elements of Chrono Trigger’s story end up in this game. It has time travel to various eras in history and there are some throwbacks to smaller scenes from Chrono Trigger. The game itself is a step above your standard mobile RPG. You roam around the game world with your companions instead of accepting missions like most. However, there are still gacha elements and simplified battle mechanics. There is no energy so you can play as much as you want to. However, our big gripe is the lack of Google Play Games cloud saving. It was a surprise hit of early 2019 and an easy shoo-in for a list like this. We do recommend preparing in advance if you trade in your phone and need to backup your data.
Alto’s Odyssey
Price: Free to play
Alto’s Odyssey is a natural choice for a free Android game. It features simple mechanics, gorgeous graphics, and a relaxing style. Players ski down a hill while avoiding obstacles and making massive jumps. There are also items to collect that can be traded in for various customization options. The game relies heavily on its wallpaper-worthy graphics. They are simple, but effective and the dark, gradient colors add a good atmosphere for the game. It’s completely free to download and play with some limited ads. There are in-app purchases, but they are all for customization stuff so it’s entirely optional and it doesn’t affect game play. It’s kid friendly and fun. Noodlecake Studios also does Alto’s Adventure and Farm Punks, two more games that could easily make this list.
Asphalt 9: Legends
Price: Free to play
The Asphalt franchise has some of mobile’s most popular racing games. Asphalt 8: Airborne and Asphalt Xtreme were the big ones in the series. However, Asphalt 9: Legends came out in July 2018. This is the most recent game in the series now. It includes 50 cars, a bunch of challenges, and a bunch of content to play with. That includes online multiplayer, single player stuff, and more. It uses an auto-go mechanism so you can’t control your acceleration. That has angered some players. The graphics are good and there are social elements as well. It’s a freemium game. Thus, the online competitive aspect may be skewed a bit. However, the single player stuff is classically good arcade racing. You can also skip in-app purchases with extra grinding. It’s tedious but entirely doable.
Brawl Stars
Price: Free to play
Brawl Stars is Supercell’s latest hit game. It’s a brawler with online multiplayer elements as well as some MOBA elements. Players drop into a game with a couple of teammates, brawl with opponents, and try to win. There are a few game modes, including a straight brawl mode, a mode where you collect crystals, a heist mode where you steal the opponent’s treasure, and a bounty mode where you beat specific opponents on a team. It feels like a Supercell game and that’s mostly a good thing. Supercell also makes Clash Royale, Clash of Clans, and Boom Beach. All of those could also easily go on a list like this if you like auto battlers (Clash Royale) or kingdom builder strategy games (Clash of Clans and Boom Beach).
Call of Duty: Mobile
Price: Free to play
Call of Duty: Mobile is the latest game on this list. We usually wait a bit to see how a game plays out, but this one is so intensely popular and so intensely good that we had to add it basically immediately. The game includes classic online FPS PvP like any Call of Duty. However, it also includes a 100-player battle royale mode similar to PUBG Mobile and Fortnite. That puts it in a rare category of a good regular FPS game like Critical Ops as well as a good battle royale like PUBG Mobile. The game has in-app purchases, but they seem to be solely for cosmetic gear and a good amount of it is available as in-game rewards. The game play is good and people seem to really like this one. It’s relatively new so there are some bugs, but those should be ironed out over time.
Critical Ops
Price: Free to play
Critical Ops is among the newer generation of first person shooters and it’s one of the best. In this title, you’ll battle terrorists in a variety of urban-oriented levels or you can play as the terrorists if you want to. It has a strong online multiplayer community where you can play with your friends as well. It’s still a work in progress, but it seems to hit all the right marks and it’s updated frequently. If you’d like a first person shooter that’s completely free, NOVA 3: Freedom Edition is quite good as well. They’re both free Android games worth checking out.
EA Sports games
Price: Free to play
EA has the market cornered on sports games. They are the only developer with yearly launches for most sports, including their Madden NFL Overdrive game, FIFA Soccer, NBA Live Mobile, EA Sports UFC, and others. These games all have very similar elements. You can play the actual sport and there is a sim mechanic in all of these games. The graphics are usually pretty decent and the controls are generally good. However, EA sports games have heavy freemium elements. That is a frequent frustration for many players and it makes it difficult to recommend EA in general. Unfortunately, EA is the only developer that makes games for most sports so that makes them the best by default. There are a few soccer games (Dream League Soccer) and Motorsport (Motorsport Manager Mobile 3) that are really good too. EA also has some popular freemium games like Star Wars: Galaxy of Heros that people seem to really like.
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius
Price: Free to play
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is perhaps the best Final Fantasy-themed freemium game out there. It features tons of elements from the original games, including actual town and dungeon explorations, hidden treasures, secret dungeons, and tons of lore. The game play is simple to learn but you’ll need to think critically in order to beat bosses and hard opponents. You’re frequently rewarded for logging in daily and additional missions, quests, and activities helps keep the game fresh. This is about as good as it gets for free to play titles. Square Enix launched a spiritual successor, War of the Visions: FFBE in early 2020 and it’s an excellent strategy RPG game that takes place in the same universe.
Legends of Runeterra
Price: Free to play
Legends of Runeterra is the newest game on the list. It’s a card dueling game similar to Hearthstone (another excellent free to play game). Players collect cards, build decks, and duel each other until someone wins. You pick a champion, build the deck around it, and that helps define your strategy. It’s honestly a lot like the Commander game type in Magic: The Gathering. It’s also the latest mobile game by Riot Games, developers of the super popular League of Legends. Their other mobile offerings include Teamfight Tactics (another good free to play game) as well as their upcoming mobile version of League of Legends.
MADFINGER Games (Dead Trigger series, UNKILLED, Shadowgun series)
Price: Free to play
MADFINGER Games is one of the best mobile game developers for first person shooters. Their list of titles includes heavy hitters like the Shadowgun series (including their latest release, Shadowgun Legends), the Dead Trigger series (two games), and UNKILLED. Dead Trigger and UNKILLED are a family of zombie shooters with tons of missions, some online PvP content, and tons of stuff to do. Shadowgun is a sci-fi shooter series with a campaign, online PvP, and more. Most of the main games are freemium. They are all extremely good games despite that, though. The developer’s latest title, Shadowgun: War Games, is available for pre-registration on Google Play now.
Nintendo games
Price: Free to play (usually)
Nintendo is an easy recommendation for free Android games. They have games in a variety of different genres and most of them tug at the nostalgia factor. Some Nintendo titles include Dragalia Lost, Fire Emblem: Heroes, Mario Kart Tour, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. There is also a Dr. Mario World game if you like puzzlers. Each game is cleanly done with smooth game play and colorful graphics. A few, like Mario Kart Tour, is a bit rough around the edges with its free to play elements, but otherwise Nintendo does a great job of delivering good experiences. We definitely recommend Fire Emblem Heroes to strategy RPG fans especially. Fun fact, Mario Kart Tour has the second largest mobile launch of all time behind only Call of Duty: Mobile
Pokemon Go
Price: Free to play
Pokemon Go was the biggest mobile game of 2016. Actually, it was the biggest ever. Even though its popularity has tapered off a bit, the game is still a very solid free option. Players can explore the real world around them all while catching Pokemon, taking down gyms, and finding Pokestops. New additions include legendary Pokemon, raid battles, trainer battles (with some caveats), and more. You can even trade Pokemon in the game now. The game continues to evolve beyond what many remember it to be. When it eventually ends its run, it’ll go down as one of the greatest and most iconic mobile games ever.
PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite
Price: Free to play
PUBG Mobile hasn’t been out globally for long. However, it’s already one of the most popular mobile shooters available. It features a 100-player battle royale on a small island. Players collect gear, weapons, and vehicles on the island and battle it out. The winner is the last person standing. It also includes mechanics like a shrinking play area to keep games from going too long as well as an expanding list of content, cross-overs, and customization items. There is also a Lite version of PUBG Mobile with lighter graphics, fewer players per match, and more. It’s only available for lower end devices, though. Its chief competitor, Fortnite, also finally launched on the Play Store and you can try that out here.
Rebel Inc
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Rebel Inc is a strategy game from 2019. It’s by the same developers of Plague Inc and the two share some core strategy elements. In Rebel Inc, you play as a leader of a country in chaos. You must stabilize the region by introducing social programs, a military presence, and fighting off insurgents. Make no mistake, this game is really tough and the difficulty progression is very high. You can play the first level in casual mode to start, but you have to beat it in normal mode to progress and it’s a whole different animal. In any case, the game is satisfying, difficult, and isn’t like other free to play titles. You can optionally unlock extra characters and cheats with real money if you want to. However, those purchases are permanent so it’s more akin to DLC.
Vainglory
Price: Free to play
Vainglory is perhaps the best MOBA currently available on Android. It boasts high frame rates, unlimited free play, and solid connections. You’ll be able to team up with people and go head to head against other teams much like you see in all MOBAs. There are also decent graphics, more than 25 heroes to unlock and play with, and you can play with (or against) bots if you so choose. There are a bunch of other MOBAs, but Vainglory has been consistenty good for a long time. Some may wonder why the game’s rating is pretty low on Google Play. It’s because the developers are re-doing large portions of the game and it’s messing with people’s accounts. You can read more about this game’s new community edition here.
If we missed any of the best free Android games, tell us about them in the comments! To see our complete list of best app lists, click here.