Produced alongside our friends at PocketGamer.fun- THE place to discover your next favourite mobile games - here's our pick of the best fresh-this-week titles.
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So here are the most exciting new mobile games right now, the developers and publishers behind them, and why, exactly, they've made the cut.
Bunny Haven
Well-timed with Easter, Bunny Haven is a new game not about chocolate rabbits but digital ones. Runaway Play has infused this title with important ethical messages around pet ownership and supporting homeless bunnies while providing a cozy, cute aesthetic and gameplay revolving around pampering these loveable pets.
As the owner of a rabbit rescue sanctuary, players are tasked with collecting rabbits in need, giving them attention, and pairing them up with the perfect human match. Each rabbit has its own design and personality, adding a level of complexity to finding the right partner, and Runaway Play is currently holding an event to turn one fan’s pet into a digital in-game bunny.
While falling in line with Runaway Play’s well-established niche of animal-centric games like Furistas Cat Café, Bird Bed & Breakfast, and Bird Kind, Bunny Haven also offers something for fans of customisation with interiors to decorate, a sanctuary to develop, and a café to run.
Strange Horticulture
British indie dev Bad Viking’s puzzler RPG Strange Horticulture has finally made its way onto mobile, giving Android and iOS gamers the chance to join the small town of Undemere and influence the fates of everyone there. This influence comes, of course, from the strange, fictional plant specimens, which players can give the townsfolk to helpful or hindering effect.
A map provides clues as to where to go around the region, but moving the story forward isn’t always explicit. Gameplay also involves classifying unidentified and dangerous species of plants and completing puzzles depending on customer requests, leading each player down one of many branching timelines varying by the results.
Bad Viking released Strange Horticulture on Nintendo Switch and Steam in 2022 to critical acclaim - its tone and immersive setting among its strongpoints - and the title expanded to Xbox One since. Now at last there’s a firmly handheld alternative, published by Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion’s mobile publisher Plug In Digital.
AFK Journey
The top free game on the Google Play Store right now, Farlight’s AFK Journey offers a return to the fantasy world of Esperia and a second chance to explore its magic. Races in Espoeria were born of the "lone seed of life" in a sea of stars, offering players six factions of characters to collect as they help protagonist Merlin - the legendary mage - through tactical battles.
The sequel to Farlight’s popular idle title AFK Arena, AFK Journey maintains its magical side while shifting into the third dimension, giving players a new perspective while going about battling, finding resources, upgrading gear and more. And, as the title suggests, there are even more rewards to be gained while away from keyboard (or phone), making this title overtly aimed at players lacking the time to grind.
As well as AFK Arena, Farlight has published mobile games Call of Dragons, Dislyte and Farlight 84. The company represents Lilith Games’ global publishing arm and the pair worked together to develop AFK Journey.
Ragnarok Origin
Korean developer Gravity has finally released its popular Norse-inspired RPG Ragnarok Origin in China, thanks to a publishing deal with Beijing Ruyi Jingxiu Network Technology. This gives Chinese gamers the chance to play via the Apple App Store and other local app markets, and clearly this launch has been a highly awaited one: ranking at the top of the Apple App Store’s free downloads list in the region.
Launching in China is a huge boon to many mobile games given the high revenue potential - China being one of only two territories to break a billion dollars in consumer spending last year. Ragnarok Origin’s release there, and the attention it’s received so far from players, points towards a more than worthwhile move from Gravity and Beijing Ruyi Jingxiu Network Technology.
The title is based on Ragnarok Online and first launched in Korea in 2020. It has since expanded to the US and elsewhere in the West ahead of this new release in China. As for the gameplay itself there are cities to explore, gardening, fishing and mining to maintain, and classic classes to progress through. Whether players choose a swordsman, mage, merchant, archer, thief or acolyte, there are plenty of branching progression options to differentiate each character.
Monster Never Cry
An idle RPG for iOS and Android, Monster Never Cry puts players in the villain’s shoes for a change. A villain who conquered the world. The twist is, that villain has just been bested by warriors and is turned into a bug.
Determined to conquer the world again, this tiny Demon Lord is at the mercy of the player’s skill, needing gamers to undertake city management to claim AFK rewards. There are more than 100 monster to summon and plenty of warriors to fight, all in the name of reclaiming the Demon Lord’s prior body.
Monster Never Cry has been developed by Boltray Games - the studio behind similarly cartoony romps like Funny Fighters: Battle Royale and Dragon Pow!
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