Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android games that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous week or so. Today I have a collectible hero Skylanders title, a new take on a classic Kung-Fu game, and a beautifully illustrated story-driven game that revolves around music. So without further ado, here are the most notable games released this week.

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Featured App

Medieval Dynasty: Game of Kings

Today's roundup is presented by Medieval Dynasty: Game of Kings by RoboBot Studio. Ruling a kingdom can be tough, especially during contentious times, such as the Middle Ages. Maintaining the stability of a kingdom often comes with some difficult choices attached, and Medieval Dynasty takes this truth to a whole new level since the complexity of its choice-based strategic gameplay will increase as the years pass. So while things will start easy, some tough decisions inevitably lay ahead. Solutions to your problems may rely on playing the part of a deranged king, while others will require tact and diplomacy. So if you're looking for a quality strategic experience with deeper gameplay than decision-based games like Reigns, look no further than Medieval Dynasty: Game of Kings.

Games

Skylanders™ Ring of Heroes

Android Police coverage: Skylanders Ring of Heroes lands on the Play Store with all your favorite Spyro characters in tow

Skylanders Ring of Heroes is a new free-to-play team-based gacha RPG that stars everyone's favorite characters from the Skylanders universe. It'll be your job to collect these heroes and villains to form the ultimate team. A ten-step story is included, as well as a globally ranked PvP mode and dungeons. You'll even discover 'awakened" forms of your favorite characters that will bring along new skill sets that can be used to your advantage.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $99.99

Mister Kung-Fu

Mister Kung-Fu brings me back. It looks and plays very similarly to the NES title Kung-Fu, which was a port of a game called Kung-Fu Master, and apparently Mister Kung-Fu is an enhanced version of Kung-Fu Master. This means you can expect there to be plenty of snakes that will inconspicuously fall from the ceiling as you traverse an endless dojo. Of course, falling snakes won't be your only problem, since you'll also have to deal with an endless onslaught of enemies who are trained in the ancient art of kung-fu.

Monetization: $2.49 / no ads / no IAPs

Plunder Kings

Plunder Kings is a top-down space shooter, but with the added twist of an interesting gambling mechanic. Unlike the many free-to-play games on the Play Store, the gambling mechanics in this game are not abusive. You can wager your earned in-game currency on your success, so if you're feeling quite confident with your shooting skills, you can go all in and hopefully earn back even more currency than what you started with, and maybe even unlock some extra prizes.

Monetization: $2.99 / no ads / no IAPs

DISTRAINT 2

DISTRAINT 2 continues the puzzle-based psychological horror adventure from the first game in the series. Just like the original title this sequel plays like a point and click adventure game, and of course, it contains a spooky atmosphere. It will be your job to help the protagonist by restoring his hope and helping him to find a purpose in life. DISTRAINT 2 is definitely a dark puzzle game, but luckily it's also filled with tongue-in-cheek humor that lightens the mood and keeps things thoroughly entertaining.

Monetization: $6.99 / no ads / no IAPs

The Castles Of Burgundy

The Castles Of Burgundy is an enhanced digital adaptation of Stefan Feld’s award-winning strategy board game. The title is set in the Burgundy region of Medieval France, and each player will get to take on the role of an aristocrat who controls a small principality. The goal is to build as many settlements and castles as possible while also balancing the acts of mining and trade. For the most part, The Castles Of Burgundy is a faithful adaptation of the physical board game, though it is a bit of a battery hog.

Monetization: $9.99 / no ads / no IAPs

Squeelings

Squeelings is an adorable casual puzzle game, and it's totally free to play. The gameplay revolves around hugging cute creatures called squeelings. Each level will contain a few grumpy and sad squeelings, and it's up to you to cheer them all up by hugging them in the correct order so that every creature in the stage is happy. If you hug the wrong in the wrong order, then you'll never cheer up all of the grumpy squeelings, which means it's game over.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

A Life in Music

A Life in Music comes from TuoMuseo, a developer that has a panache for turning Italian heritage into digital, social, interactive fun. The studio's games definitely give off an artful vibe, and A Life in Music assuredly continues this trend. It's a game that focuses on telling a story instead of relying on deep gameplay mechanics, which is fitting for mobile since precise controls aren't really easy on a glass screen. So if you're looking for a relaxing game that tells a beautiful story, make sure to check out this release.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Pocket Mini Golf

I'm a sucker for mini-golf games, so if you were worried that Vivid Games' Pocket Mini Golf might not deliver enjoyable golfing gameplay, rest assured I've checked, and its gameplay is a heck of a lot of fun. The slingshot controls work well, and there's plenty of challenging courses to test your mini-golf skills upon.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs $0.99 a piece

Dodgeball Duel

VOODOO's Dodgeball Duel is a simple arcade game where you throw and catch dodgeballs to see how long you can last against a computer-controlled enemy. You can catch the ball in your left or right hand, and then that is the same hand that will fling the ball towards your opponent. Whenever a ball hits you in the face, you'll lose a hand, and whoever can last the longest without losing both hands wins the match.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $2.49

Reflections

Reflections is an enjoyable puzzle game where you draw lines on your screen to try and reflect a ball into all of the green objects on the board. If you draw the line in the wrong position, the ball won't bounce off in the appropriate direction, which is detrimental to clearing the board. It takes a bit of practice to get a feel for where your ball will bounce, but once things start to click, you'll find a lot of challenging puzzles in this release that are very fun to solve.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $2.49 - $11.99

Downhill Masters

Downhill Masters is a bicycle racing game similar in style to a kart racer, though there are no projectiles. You can, however, bump any other racer to throw them off balance, and there are speed boosts available too. There are many different racing modes to choose from, and you can even play offline without a data connection, which makes this a solid racer for your commute.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $1.99 - $49.99

Miracle Pororo

Miracle Pororo is a new idle RPG that takes advantage of the Pororo the Little Penguin license that stems from the popular Korean animated children's TV show. Like most idle games, you'll spend the majority of your time micromanaging and increasing your stats, all so you can build up your team and rescue your friends that are being held hostage.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $89.99

LifeAfter

LifeAfter is a new release from NetEase Games, and it's basically a co-op survival game. Yes, there are zombies, and yes, crafting plays a major role, but on top of these things, there's at least a unique story that ties it all together. Like most NetEase games the graphics are outstanding, though the monetization isn't the best. While I'm sure the English release of LifeAfter will find a large audience, if you've played a mobile survival game before, then you're not going to be surprised by much in this title.

Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $99.99

Alita: Battle Angel - The Game

Alita: Battle Angel - The Game is a movie tie-in release for the Robert Rodriguez live-action film adaptation of Battle Angel Alita. It's described as a "high-octane cyberpunk MMORPG mobile game" though user reviews haven't been as kind. The game lacks polish and feels rushed, though there is some enjoyable hack and slash gameplay to be found if you're willing to put up with more than a few rough edges.

Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $99.99

Critter Clash

Competitive games on Android aren't usually my cup of tea since the vast majority are very similar, but today I'm excited to present Critter Clash, a turn-based competitive multiplayer game that actually offers gameplay that's original and enjoyable. The concept is pretty crazy. You get to form a mobile of animals by choosing where each creature should hang, and each animal has a different weakness and strength, which means you'll have to think about what formation is best for each and every fight. Once your configuration is complete, you'll spend your time throwing objects at your competitor to try and knock off all of their animals before they do the same to you.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $99.99

Idle Hero TD - Fantasy Tower Defense

Idle Hero TD is a new release from Iron Horse Games, a studio that usually concentrates on idle tappers. This particular release strays a little from the company's idle roots by mixing in a few tower defense mechanics, which gives the game a slightly different feel than the majority of idle titles released by the studio.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $2.99 - $99.99

Know A Worthy New App? Let Us Know!

If you have an application in mind for the next issue of the roundup, feel free to send us an email and let us know.

Important: there are 2 requirements in order for the app to be considered, listed below.

the app's launch date has to be no longer than 2 weeks ago

it has to be original, ground-breaking, well-reviewed, interesting, fun, etc - the cream of the crop

Now, if and only if the above requirements have been satisfied, fire up an email to this address: [email protected].

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