March Mobile Game Roundup is herem this time with our picks for some alternative mobile games titles you need to play.
March is home to International Women’s Day and with that, Google Play Store shared a list of games in celebration of female developers and games with strong female characters. It got us thinking about all the games on their list but also tossed in a few games outside of that selection, so here is our March Mobile Game Roundup.
Zen Koi 2 (Landshark Games)
Zen Koi 2 presents itself as a peaceful game where you grow a koi in a pond. When grown, it can mate with other kois to hatch eggs. At the same time, it can also catch various types of prey which can then be crafted into other elements to expand and unlock artifacts to grow the pond. When the koi is fully developed, it will even ascend to a dragon. While the game idea seems rather simple, every expansion of the pond will lead to a different group of prey with distinct characteristics that will make them harder to catch or approached in a different way. The crafting formula also becomes more complex with each addition. The koi itself will level up with the more prey caught and can grow in speed, agility and rarity. However, this game is a relaxing game to enjoy as you grow one koi at a time, one expansion at a time with some zen music in the background.
KAMI 2 (State of Play)
For fans of Kami, this sequel brings a lot of the same with extra features. If filling up a multi-colored page into one single color is what you fancy, this game is right up your alley. If fact, for those who haven’t played KAMI before, that is exactly what the game is about. While that sounds easy, the puzzles are quite complex and it truly challenges your creativity and logic. The idea of the game is to use the limited amount of moves available to color up certain parts of the diagram and turn it into one single solid color. As the game progresses more colors get added into the mix and the patterns get more complicated to wrap your head around, however, the approach stays refreshing as it changes up the solution and how to maneuver around the puzzle. KAMI 2 has more than a hundred puzzles to solve as well as a level editor if you are up for the challenge to create your own. Blending logic and problem-solving together in a simple and unique idea, KAMI 2 delivers a truly addictive and challenging gaming experience.
Sandiego Inc. (Think Tesla Studios)
Are you a fan of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego games? We certainly are. Don’t know who she is? She’s a mastermind sleuth along with her band of heist criminals who steal all kinds of artifacts around the world. Following clues, players step into the investigative ranks where each case has a specific time limit to issue a warrant and catch the criminal. The clues help to track down the gang from one location to the next. Sandiego Inc. replicates the original game quite well although the clues dropped to build the description for the warrant does leave a little to be desired and feels like it is almost a necessity to trigger the free ads in order to obtain enough clues. However, Sandiego Inc. remains educational as players can learn about fun facts about various countries. While the game lacks a bit of the finesse of the original games, it’s still a educational fun that plays fairly well. Check out the review of another tribute mobile game Carmen here.
Reigns: Her Majesty (Nerial)
Last year’s sequel to 2016’s Reigns, Reigns: Her Majesty flips things to a queen who makes a lot of the choices in each monarchy. The way the game works is similar to the previous game. The concept is that you play as the ruler of country and you need to live as long as possible by swiping left or right to make choices on issues that occur. These choices will affect four different components to navigate and balance the politics and personal relationships. Any country that has one component skewed too much will fail, which usually means the queen will be overrun and die. Various special events are encountered as objectives and many times it will even trigger a new card pack to be unlocked with opens up new scenarios. This sequel includes an inventory system that the Queen can pick up some items along her reign and use it (for example a perfume bottle for the Coronation Rite process). Keeping with the same 4 elements to control and having a witty narration with fun characters and a easy to learn but hard to strategically master, Reigns: Her Majesty improves on what was already a great formula in its predecessor. Check out our review for Reigns:
Cooking Mama -Let’s Cook! (Office Create Corp.)
It’s probably pretty accurate to say that if you owned a Nintendo DS in the early 2000s then you knew what Cooking Mama was even if you never played it. For a cooking game, it worked incredibly well with touch screen and is probably why we are seeing the appearance of Nintendo DS/3DS/2DS games being ported to mobile. The market is fairly the same without having to purchase the actual console (though mobile phones are surpassing the cost of a handheld console depending on the brand).
With that said, the familiar Cooking Mama here is beefed up with more than only recipes that you can unlock or purchase. However, even without these add-ons, Cooking Mama still offers some new features like running a restaurant and having Papa as someone to taste the food. It might seem like a rather homely experience but moms should be celebrated and as silly as Cooking Mama is, there is some merit to learning a few cooking and chopping basics here. The mobile game retains the initial experience and adds a little more fun time.