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The best NEW Android games from May 2023
Android gaming is getting bigger and better every month, and there is always a slew of new titles coming to Google Play. Whether you’re a casual gamer or want something with a bit more meat on its bones, there’s usually a game coming out to suit everyone’s taste. Some months are better than others, but there is usually at least one great new game on mobile every month. Let’s look at the best new Android games from the last month! You can also check out our picks for the best new Android games released in all of 2022.
The best NEW Android games from May 2023
Coco Valley
Price: Free to play
Coco Valley is a town-building simulator with farm simulator mechanics. You build yourself a little town, use it to produce goods that you sell to villagers, and upgrade your stuff over time. The main loop is producing stuff, using it to craft other stuff, and then selling it for profit. There is also a story to play through, some social elements so you can interact with friends, and quests for you to complete. It’s a pretty big overall experience, and we think it competes favorably with other games in the same genre.
Drop Merge
Price: Free to play
Drop Merge is a merge game similar to games like Threes or 2048. You drop blocks into a space and try to merge them together to create increasingly large numbers. You continue this process until you clear the level. It features most of the same strategies as any puzzle merge game, but this one adds a Tetris look to it, although it doesn’t really feel much like Tetris. The ads are quite annoying, and we wish there were fewer of them, but otherwise, the game is a decent time killer.
Life Makeover
Price: Free
Life Makeover is a dress-up simulator with some truly excellent graphics. Most people who have played dress-up sims know how this works. You unlock outfits, create your own look, and engage with other players. You also compete in fashion competitions, and there is a gacha mechanic for more outfits. There is also a mechanic where you can build and decorate your own house. It adds another level of complexity to the game. This game came flying out of the gate with very little wrong with it, and we hope the developers don’t get greedy with this one.
Lost Words: Beyond the Page
Price: Free / $5.99
Lost Words: Beyond the Page is a narrative-style game where you play through the game by solving various puzzles. Among them is a mechanic where you literally tell the story by moving the words around on a book page in unique and creative ways. The book is actually a diary that belongs to a girl named Izzy. I don’t think I’m explaining that the best, but trust me, this is one of those really fun games. It features a single price tag, so there are no free-to-play pitfalls to fall into, and this may be one of the better games to launch this year.
LotR: Heroes of Middle-earth
Price: Free to play
LotR: Heroes of Middle-earth is a gacha RPG with some minor strategy elements. The gacha part is pretty self-explanatory. You can summon various heroes from the movies and books to fight alongside you against evil. You get a story to play through alongside a PvP mode where you can test your party against other people. The game has a lot of potential but feels a little barebones in its early days. We hope the developers focus on adding more content over the game’s life. It’s okay, but it could be better.
Paper Bride 4 Bound Love
Price: Free / Up to $7.99
Paper Bride 4 Bound Love is a horror-puzzle game, and the fourth game in the Paper Bride series. The developers state that they’re going back to the basics for this one, which means good puzzles and good storytelling. It’s also pretty scary for a phone game. Players solve puzzles to progress through the game. The puzzles can be pretty challenging, especially if you don’t know the Chinese alphabet. You can watch ads to get more chances at solving any given puzzle, which is the only part of this game that actually feels like a phone game. It’s definitely good.
Peridot
Price: Free to play
Peridot is the latest Niantic game, and the second game the developer has launched this year. It plays somewhat similar to the company’s other games. It’s an augmented reality game where you raise and take care of a little magical creature called a Peridot. You walk around the world in real life, meet up with friends, and do the game’s activities together similar to Pokemon Go or Ingress. The game definitely needs some optimizations, as many folks have reported bugs and overheating issues, especially with lower-end devices. Niantic should get those sorted out like they have for other games.
Run Legends
Price: Free to play
Run Legends is a fitness game that you play by walking or running. It counts your steps and uses them as a point system for the sake of game progression. The game also lets you play with other players. The general idea is that you walk or run with other players to achieve a goal together. It’s a fun idea, and gamifying the exercise process has worked for people before. We cite Pokemon Go and Zombies, Run! as examples. It needs some optimization as the UI can get laggy at times. Otherwise, it’s pretty good.
Sid Meier’s Railroads
Price: $12.99
Sid Meier’s Railroads is a surprisingly competent train simulator. It’s a tycoon-style game where you play through a scenario and try to achieve the goal within the given time frame. Think of old-school Rollercoaster Tycoon but with trains instead of rollercoasters. The game has 16 scenarios to play through along with a free-play mode where you can build whatever you want without restriction. It’s odd that we’re so excited about a train tycoon game, but when it’s rare to see a game come out in 2023, and so obviously become the best in its genre. The game is expensive, but many good games are.
Valiant Force 2
Price: Free to play
Valiant Force 2 is the latest game in the Valiant Force series. It takes place after the events of the first game, but not so immediately that players need to play the first game to understand the second game. It features a turn-based battle system, a PvP mode, a new storyline to play through, and some fairly typical gacha elements. The presentation is pretty good, even if the UI can get a little stuttery on occasion, and it’s one of the better gachas we’ve seen this year.
If we missed any great new Android games, tell us about them in the comments.
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