There are a LOT of games in the Play Store (the clue's in the name), and finding the games that are worth your time can be difficult. But don't worry, we've done the hard job of playing through the most promising titles out there to compile this list of the best Android games. Whether you're a hardcore handheld gamer or just looking for something to pass the time on your commute, we've got games for you. Want something for nothing? Try our favorite free Android games

Compatibility : Android 2.3 or higher

: Android 2.3 or higher Price: $6.99 Crashlands Reigns: Her Majesty In the game of thrones, you swipe or you die. And sometimes you still die, but it's always fun. A sequel to Reigns, which was an entertaining mix of kingdom-sim and Tinder-style swiping, Reigns: Her Majesty puts you in the queen's fancy shoes this time, but the basic premise is the same—using a selection of cards and quirky items (new to the sequel), you make decisions that attempt to balance various factions in your kingdom, such as the people, the army and the church. And of course, your own desires come into it too...don't they?

Reigns: Her Majesty works best played in roughly 15-minute sessions that give the impression of an episodic progression through a story of intrigue, tension, and unexpected twists. Although it's a game that makes you think if you want to work for a perfect ending, I never got too stressed with the decision making because of the clever writing which delivers even missteps and misfortunes with delightfully dark humor. Reigns: Her Majesty Compatibility: Android 4.3 and up

Android 4.3 and up Price: $2.99 No internet for a while? Download more brilliant offline games for Android Have fun figuring out these Android puzzle games Need a brain scratcher to keep you entertained? These suggestions should have you covered, whether you like physics-based puzzlers or more exploratory games. ALTER: Between Two Worlds Developed by Fivestones Games, Lift ALTERS transports you to a retrofuturistic universe to solve puzzles in this click and point adventure. The game offers an interesting gameplay mechanic which consists of allowing you to change dimensions in order to modify the map and overcome obstacles.

Compatibility: Android 6.0 and up

Android 6.0 and up Price: Free Get it from the Play Store. The Room: Old Sins The Room: Old Sins is the latest in a beloved series of atmospheric puzzlers with a focus on manipulating contraptions in a limited space. On the trail of a precious artifact believed to be the key to a mysterious disappearance, the player must explore disturbing places, puzzle through obscure clues and operate bizarre devices to uncover the secrets of Waldegrave Manor.

Manipulating intricate puzzles boxes with touchscreen controls sounds like it might be awkward, but the controls of The Room: Old Sins are really well implemented. As you explore the devious dolls house of puzzles, you'll want to poke your nose and fingers into every nook and cranny, looking for levers, buttons, and other hidden mechanisms with the help of a special eyeglass. The level of graphical detail and sound quality immerse you into the creepy story, making the game feel tense and tactile even as you're free to take your time to figure out the latest brain teaser—when you get stuck, the game will offer you progressively more informative hints. Get it on the Play Store. Compatibility: Android 4.4 and up

Android 4.4 and up Price: $4.99 Homo Machina This game from the highbrow European media group ARTE has an intriguing concept. This game reimagines our squishy, leaky, throbbing flesh-vessels as mechanical contraptions. Basically, wheels, cogs, pipes conveyor belts and valves take the place of biological veins and organs. The developers at Darjeeling cite as inspiration the work of Fritz Kahn, a doctor, and scientist who described the workings of the human body using machines as metaphors. Playing through Homo Machina, it also reminded me of another famous figure: Rube Goldberg, the artist whose illustrations of complex mechanical contraptions are evoked in the game.

If the human body is a machine akin to a giant factory, the player is tasked with managing the staff: little people-within-a-person whose job it is to keep everything running smoothly. The game's story presents several situations to navigate as game puzzles, from as simple as eating a meal to more complex ones like a date. As with the real human body, everything is connected, so solving one problem requires you to make sure several puzzles in different parts of the body have been completed. Get it on the Play Store. Compatibility: Android 5.1 and up

Android 5.1 and up Price: $3 Can't get enough? Check out more great Android puzzle games. Love to "point and click"? Try these great adventure games Puzzle and story go hand in hand in the classic 'adventure' game format, which used to be synonymous with mouse and keyboard PC gaming back in the day. This style of gaming, where you take on the role of a character, navigate different levels, talk to NPCs and find items to advance to the next level of the story, are great for playing on your smartphone touchscreen. Sky: Children of the Light Sky: Children of the Light is an indie game from Thatgamecompany studio, the guys and girls behind Journey. It's just been out for Android for almost a year after first being released on iOS. The music and graphics are both beautiful and the overall atmosphere is delightful. You play as a tiny character, a Child of Light, who progresses through gigantic and magical landscapes. The object of the game is to collect spirits, but on the whole, this game is all about contemplative exploration.

Compatibility: Android 8.0 and up

Android 8.0 and up Price: Free Get in on the Play Store. Thimbleweed Park The latest adventure game from legendary Monkey Island series designer Ron Gilbert, perfectly blends nostalgia with modern convenience:

You control a pair of idiosyncratic FBI agents investigating a murder mystery in an equally idiosyncratic town, and in the mode of classic adventure games, you need to explore different environments, talk to quirky characters, and collect and use items in the right way to solve puzzles to progress. Being able to switch between different characters in different locations adds another layer of depth, but if the head-scratchers are too much, there's even an 'easy' mode if you'd rather just enjoy the story and retro-style graphics. Compatibility: Android 4.4 and up

Android 4.4 and up Price: $9.99 Get in on the Play Store. Life is Strange Mobile Life is Strange broke a lot of hearts back when it released for PC and consoles in 2015, but in a good way. This graphically beautiful game combines a supernatural mystery with emotional and compelling human drama.

Life is Strange puts you in the shoes of Max Caulfield, a high-school girl with a passion for photography who just recently moved back to her hometown of Arcadia Bay. After she witnesses a girl getting shot in her school, Max discovers that she can rewind time, allowing her to change what happens in the past, hopefully for the better. This is a story-focused game where your choices matter. You guide Max around the scenes, interact with objects and characters and make decisions that advance the story. The ‘rewind’ ability lets you play around with these decisions, and reverse your choices and check the consequences of different actions (at least in the short term...the far-reaching consequences will still come back surprise you). Get it on the Play Store. Compatibility: Android 6.0 and up

Android 6.0 and up Price: First episode free, $8.99 for the complete game Hold the line against enemy waves Tower defense is a huge genre with many Clash of Clans-style imitators. Often, however, these are blatant money-grabs or vehicles for ads. The ones below offer a better experience than that. Plants vs Zombies 2 This is one free-to-play game that gets most things right. PvZ2 is characterized both by its detailed and colorful graphic style, as well as by the many tactical possibilities. There are also many varied worlds in which the player is given many different tasks, and the title also offers various mini-game variants in tower defense style.

Here you can place various plants, from energy-giving sunflowers, to balling pea cannons, to carnivorous plants in your 5 x 9 tile backyard. It's besieged by a zombie herd of transformed football players, newspaper-reading grandfathers, and crazy gardeners in waves that you'll have to now down (how fitting). Compatibility: Android 4.1 and up

Android 4.1 and up Price: Free, in-app purchases Plants vs. Zombies 2 Defense Zone 3 HD Defense Zone 3 is a challenging tower defense title based on a more realistic look and futuristic weapons and vehicles war equipment than most other games in the genre. Instead of defending its base against cute animals or blobs, tanks and anti-aircraft guns are used.

Not only does it look really good, it also plays very well. The many tactical possibilities and attitudes might be a little overtaxing for beginners and beginners at the beginning, but connoisseurs of the material will find their way immediately and appreciate the playful variety. Compatibility: Android 4.1 and up

Android 4.1 and up Price: Free, in-app purchases Defense Zone 3 HD Fighter? Wizard? Rogue? Try these fantastic RPGs for Android Just like with tower defense and sports games, there's a good chance you have your favorite RPG that you've already invested a lot of time (and possibly money) in already. The following are more in-depth RPGs for those prepared to spend hours diving into fantasy worlds. Planescape: Torment Enhanced Edition Planescape: Torment is rightly remembered by gamers of a certain age as a masterpiece, but the Dungeons and Dragons based RPG that wowed so many in the year 2000 hasn't aged so well alongside modern AAA titles. Thankfully, Beamdog has given this classic title a modern facelift and tune-up that includes various convenience tweaks as well as beautification and a remastered soundtrack. Planescape: Torment Enhanced Edition's rich and immersive storytelling remains as compelling as ever, and you can expect to sink 30-40 hours into completing it. If you enjoy Planescape: Torment, then you might also want to check out Beamdog's similarly enhanced editions of classic RPGs such as Baldur's Gate.

Compatibility: Android 3.0 or higher

Android 3.0 or higher Price: $9.99 Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition The Quest Don't let the generic title put you off. The Quest from Redshift games is an old school first-person open-world RPG with hand-drawn graphics and a great story, that brings to mind the classic Elder Scrolls titles such as Daggerfall.

There's a complex plot at the heart of The Quest, but the game doesn't hold your hand down a set path. You're free to explore a vast fantasy world and handle the different side-quests and missions at your own pace, in your own style, and your choices can lead to many different story outcomes. To go on this quest, you'll have to pay eight bucks, but you'll get many hours of gameplay in return, with no annoying ads. And if that's not enough for you, there are five expansions with new quests and areas to add on. A tip: the main game goes on sale for half price quite often. Compatibility: Android 4.4 and up

Android 4.4 and up Price: $3.99 The Quest More fantastic RPGs for Android Ready? Go! Android endless runner games Endless runners are always one of the most popular Android games categories, and our suggestions below should keep you entertained for a long, long time. Alto's Odyssey The long-awaited sequel to Alto's Adventure delivers all the great elements of the original-lush levels, entrancing music, smooth flowing gameplay-but more. More variety in levels, more movement tricks, more worlds to discover, and secrets to find.

Its main appeal over other endless runner type games is the atmosphere. The levels are truly beautiful. Desert dunes, ancient temples, and rock canyons are painted with rich, evocative colors that give an impression of the vastness beyond the 2-dimensional plane that you're racing down. A day-night cycle and weather affect not only add variety to the palette but add a sense of life to the fantastic world. Music also plays a key part, with the relaxing yet driving rhythms absorbing you into the game. Alto's Odyssey is free to play, but you'll get ads in between levels that can be removed for a couple of bucks. If you're impatient, you can also outright purchase the coins that you normally collect in the different levels, which can then be used unlock special items and bonuses, like a wingsuit or compass that provide powerups. Get it on the Play Store. Compatibility: Android 4.1 and up

Android 4.1 and up Price: Free, ad-supported, in-app purchases Run Sausage Run! Run Sausage Run! is an endless runner with a culinary twist. As a plucky sausage attempting to escape your fate on the dinner table, you've got to dash through the kitchen dodging deathtraps like knives, tenderizers, searing hot grills, and various whirling blades.

The bloody but cartoony visuals and tongue-firmly-in-cheek humor make Run Sausage Run! stand out from the many endless runners out there by force of personality. The fantastic soundtrack and variety of power-ups help keep the high-score chasing gameplay interesting over time and there are various outfits and skins to unlock to personalize your sausage. Although free to play, the game is supported by ads, which, once you get engrossed in a particularly tricky section of traps, can feel quite frustrating. An in-app purchase exists to remove them. Run Sausage Run! Compatibility: Android 4.1 and up

Android 4.1 and up Price: In-app purchases Android action games to get your adrenaline pumping If you'd rather be handling weapons and slaying rivals than kickflipping your way to a high-score, these action games should keep you entertained. Android games with best graphics Immortal Rogue Immortal Rogue is a hack and slasher with a twist: you play an immortal vampire who wakes up every 100 years to feed, hunting down your pray across different timelines from prehistory to hi-tech sci-fi civilizations. Different timelines offer different enemies to defeat and unique items to discover. Your timeless protagonist can end up slaying enemies with a magic sword, dinosaur skull helmet, and robotic powerfist or any number of wacky combinations.

As a roguelike game, this game can be difficult, you'll die over and over again only to be revived in a new time, losing some resources but keeping others across all your lives, which makes you grow incrementally more powerful through play, even if you're on a losing streak. The story's timeline is affected by who you choose to kill, and who you choose to turn over to your vampiric minions. These allies can give you persistent bonuses so it not only changes the story, but your character's abilities. Get it on the Play Store. Compatibility: Android 4.0 and up

Android 4.0 and up Price: $4.99 Grimvalor Grimvalor isn't shy about its influences, being a 'Metroidvania' style side-scrolling action game with many mechanics borrowed from Fromsoftware's Souls series. Expect your fantasy hero to die a lot as you navigate the 2D platformer levels and slash, smash and dash through mobs of enemies and tricky bosses. Thanks to well-implemented touch controls, the action flows fast and rewards aggressive combos and timely dodging.

True to its inspirations, Grimvalor's environments contain many secrets that you can find to explore hidden areas, gaining new abilities and experiences to customize your hero is particularly satisfying, especially in the boss battles which provide the game's highlight, pushing you to use your abilities in novel ways. Leveling up your character allows you to build for more power, speed, and so on, and different weapons and trinkets help keep the game fresh as you battle through its dark fantasy world. Grimvalor offers the first chapter for free, with a one time $7 purchase for the whole game. It's well worth it, but the free version offers hours of play by itself, by which time you'll know whether you want to pay for the rest. Get it on the Play Store. Compatibility : Varies with device

: Varies with device Price: Free ($6.99) Start your engines! Racing games for speed freaks Got that need for speed? Longing for the engine's roar? Then strap yourselves in, because here we go! Asphalt 9: Legends The latest in the popular series from Gameloft, Asphalt 9: Legends is one for fans of high-end graphics and realistic vehicles. As always, it is available for free download but in-app purchases are there to tempt you. One of the main draws of Asphalt 9: Legends is the extensive roster of well-known cars (about 50) such as Ferrari, Porsche or Lamborghini. New circuits are present, as are new online features like the 7-player multiplayer. For the first time in the Asphalt series of games, you can also create your own online community of racers with the Club feature.

Gameloft has perfected racing with touch controls, and Asphalt 9 plays smoothly and responsively so that you can react in those split seconds crucial for winning in such a high-speed contest. Get it on the Play Store. Riptide GP: Renegade This racing game has been around for a few years but still receives regular updates and sees fierce competition on the leaderboards. You play a hydrojet racer, piloting a kind of hoverbike/hi-tech jet ski through a futuristic landscape. The controls are smooth and responsive and the graphics are excellent, with impressive water physics that give a real sense of physicality to the racetracks as you zoom through future cityscapes, underground ruins, and other locales.

The game has a career mode story campaign that has you follow the narrative of an illegal racer dodging the authorities, and of course, the multiplayer element is important, in which you compete in 8 player matches with racers from around the world. As you progress you can collect new vehicles and upgrade them, but this isn't a pay-to-win game. Real-world currency is only used for the initial purchase of the game, everything else is earned through play. Compatibility: Android 4.1 and up

Android 4.1 and up Price: $2.99 Riptide GP: Renegade Android fighting games: the way of the warrior Sometimes all you really want to do to release frustration with the real world is bash the hell out of someone in a video game. For those moments, we recommend these Android fighting games. Street Fighter Fighter IV: Champion Edition When it comes to fighting games, you can't go wrong with Street Fighter. Capcom's classic fighting series puts up a good fight on mobile, although you'll notice a graphical downgrade if you've played SFIV on console (come on Capcom, even Street Fighter 2 on the Sega Genesis had animated stage backgrounds).

But Street Fighter IV: Champion Edition doesn't skimp on gameplay. Unlike many fighting games on mobile, there's no login for daily rewards, no grinding for in-game currencies to level up your fighters punches, no gambling-style random unlocks of characters or features. Instead, you can try it out for free, playing Ryu against three classic characters, and one eminently in-app purchase of $5 unlocks all the other fighters. Then you can let rip with the full roster in a variety of game modes including online versus, with a full virtual gamepad (though you can add your own controller) to give Street Fighter veterans the deep gameplay they're used to. For new players or those who find the touch controls awkward, there are various convenience features make special moves easier to pull off. Compatibility: Android 4.4 and up

Android 4.4 and up Price: Free version, $5 in-app purchase for full version Street Fighter IV Champion Edition Shadow Fight 3 The classic beat 'em up, in which a pair of rock-hard warriors thrash each other within an inch of their lives, isn't one of the more popular types of mobile games but the Shadow Fight series has always stood out as one of the best examples of the genre on mobile devices.

Although previous titles in the series featured battles between almost featureless black figures, Shadow Fight 3 brings all the action into the light, with great graphics and a variety of fighting styles, armor, and weapons for your fighter to brutalize opponents with. "Shadow" powers are still available as special moves, however. You won't get far with button-mashing in this game either, beating Shadow Fight 3 requires proper form and timing to succeed, especially if you resist the in-app purchases. Shadow Fight 3 App compatibility: Android 4.1 and up

Android 4.1 and up Price: Free, in-app purchases Want to see the other challenges? Check out our list of the top fighting games for Android. Lock and load: the best Android FPS games First-person shooters have been a popular genre in the video game world ever since the days of Doom, and yes you can play Doom on Android. For our selection here, we've picked our favorite action-packed space shooter, as well as the best sniping game for those who like more careful, tactical action. Call of Duty: Mobile There are no bigger brands in the world of first-person shooters than Call of Duty. The mega-franchise is now available on mobile and thus can be downloaded and played on your Android smartphone. Call of Duty: Mobile is a mix two console experiences - Black Ops and Modern Warfare - and maps, characters, and weapons from both games can be found accordingly. The game uses a free-to-play model but you get a lot of game without paying at all. There is also the opportunity to create your own loadouts in the classic CoD way and compete against your friends online. Our man, Antoine is a huge fan of this mobile game and likens it the console experience.

Compatibility: Android 4.3 or higher

Android 4.3 or higher Price: In-app purchases Shadowgun Legends Shadowgun Legends is the latest offering from Madfinger Games, the same team behind the previously mentioned zombie shooter Dead Trigger 2. Shadowgun Legends is a more futuristic affair with lush graphics that will remind gamers of classic AAA PC/console titles such as Destiny and Halo. Shadowgun Legends in-depth review: could this be our Destiny? You play a futuristic mercenary, or "Shadowgun" that can be equipped which an impressive variety of weapons and armor for an edge in battle but also with an eye to cosmetics, as a high-scoring hero will strut their stuff in front of other players and will be honored with public statues of their avatar in the game world.

The emphasis given to visuals fits in with the game's economic model, which offers in-app purchases for cosmetic items. But the actual gameplay is solid, and offers a lot for free: an extensive single-player campaign, as well as multiplayer, versus and co-op team challenges, still offers a lot of fun, intense FPS action without any need for spending. Compatibility: Android 6.0 and up

Android 6.0 and up Price: Free, in-app purchases Shadowgun Legends Hitman Sniper There are plenty of fast-paced action shooters on the Play Store, but there's something to be said for the slow-paced satisfaction of picking the perfect shot and sniping your enemies from afar. For that experience, Hitman Sniper is king and a steal at less than a dollar.

The main challenge in the game is executing your targets in a discreet manner, leaving guards and bystanders none the wiser. The game contains over 150 missions, various sniper rifles to unlock, and leaderboards to check your rankings. Hitman Sniper Compatibility: Android 4.1 and up

Android 4.1 and up Price: $0.99, in-app purchases Expand and conquer with the best Android strategy games Want to plot the rise of an empire? Conquer new lands while developing technologies that catapult you through the ages? These Android strategy game suggestions have got you covered. The Battle of Polytopia The Battle of Polytopia is a wonderful mix of strategy and adventure that sees you exploring (and conquering new lands) and battling any AI tribes you come across on the way. It's also one of the better-looking options with cute, blocky graphics.

The tribe you choose for each game will dictate the type of adventurer you start with, but you can research new abilities along the way, so it really just dictates what you'll be doing at the start. Leveling up is easy enough to achieve to not be frustrating but the gameplay is tricky (and varied) enough to keep you coming back for more. This is also helped by the automatically generated maps and different tribes you can join. It's very simple in comparison to many strategy games, meaning there aren't too many in-game options and items, not that it doesn't present a challenge. It's a pleasingly small download and there's really no need to pay for any in-game purchases in order to progress or fight off the newest challenge. App compatibility: Android 4. 0 and up

Android 4. 0 and up Price: Free, in-app purchases The Battle of Polytopia Uciana Uciana is an indie space strategy game that came out of nowhere to impress us this year. The game delivers a fantastic amount of depth for just $0.99. There’s no IAP either. What you get is effectively a mobile game version of sci-fi Civilization descendants, such as Master of Orion 2.

There are several distinct spacefaring civilizations to play as, from humans to interstellar crabs. Through the graphics are basic, each comes with distinct bonuses and ship design to give them a different flavor. The goal is galactic conquest, which is accomplished via exploration, expansion, economic growth, technological research, and of course, diplomacy and war once you start bumping into your rivals. Nonetheless, once you've spent time getting the hang of it, Uciana stands out as one of the best strategy games out there on mobile that isn't tarnished by pay-to-win monetization or predatory IAP. Uciana Compatibility: Android 4.2 and up

Android 4.2 and up Price: $0.99 All against all: welcome to battle royale Despite the name, the now uber-popular battle royale format of shooting game doesn't just offer free-for-all battles, but various other game modes such as squad-based games are also possible. Nonetheless, the classic battle royale is still king: start with nothing, explore and scavenge on an island for the weapons and items you need to overcome your enemies and be the last left standing as the game area closes in on you. Battle royale is a hot trend right now, with two big names currently in competition for world domination: PUBG Mobile PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (popularly known as PUBG), is one of the most played video games on PC and Xbox, and enjoys great success as a free-to-play game on mobile, with over 20 million players active daily.