As someone who grew up with Nintendo Game Boys, I’m still amazed by the game consoles we all now carry in our pockets. Yet there are things, good and bad, that most people don’t know about what it’s like to play games on an Android phone.
1
Your Phone’s Screen Is Better Than a Gaming Handheld’s
If you’re carrying around a modern phone, even a modern budget phone, then there’s a good chance your phone has the highest quality screen in your house. It has a high pixel density. It may have an OLED panel with deep blacks and a gorgeous contrast ratio. As an Android user, chances are it has a high refresh rate of at least 90Hz. The resolution, at a minimum, is likely 1080p.
This dwarfs the 720P LCD panels in the original Nintendo Switch and the Steam Deck. When I tried using a Steam Deck for a few months, the beauty of my phone’s display is part of what made me prefer to game on the portable device that fits in my pocket instead.
2
The Play Store Isn’t the Only Source of Games
The Play Store is packed with games, and it’s likely where you will find most of what you want to play. Yet that doesn’t mean it’s your only option. You can find great deals on games in the mobile Epic Games Store. I’ve also found games that either are no longer in the Play Store or were never there in the first place.
There are various alternative app stores that you can search for additional games. For a genuine indie scene, you can even download APK files directly from Itch.io.
3
Foldable Phones Are Two Handhelds in One
I carry around a Galaxy Z Fold 6. It’s a book-style foldable phone that’s shaped similarly to a conventional phone on the outside and more like a small tablet on the inside.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a foldable smartphone that combines the functionality of a tablet with the convenience of a phone. It features a large, flexible internal screen that automatically picks up where you left off on the cover display.
Whenever I play a game, I have a choice of what size I want to view it in.
On the positive side, most games adjust to this quite well. I can play Monument Valley in either a one-handed tall and narrow orientation, or I can play with a larger canvas. On the negative side, neither aspect ratio on my phone is conventional, so sometimes I have to deal with letterboxing or pillarboxing either way.
4
The Play Store Is Filled With PC Ports
You may believe there aren’t any good games available for mobile and feel that it’s all free-to-play filler. This is part of the big problem with the Play Store—it doesn’t do a good job surfacing all the gems stored within.
Related
Here’s How I Find Great Android Games on the Play Store
There are so many excellent games out there, but good luck finding them.
This store is packed with great cross-platform games that you can also find on Steam. Dead Cells, Midnight Girl, The Wreck, Aarik and the Ruined Kingdom, Coromon, Stardew Valley—I could go on and on. There are far more where these came from, and each one is positively reviewed.
5
There Are Many Paid, Premium Games
Mobile gaming is known for being packed with ads and exploitative microtransactions. This is the dominant way many mobile games make money, but it’s not the only way. Despite being a mobile gamer, I refuse to play any games that are monetized in this way.
Instead, I only consider premium games that you buy upfront or unlock with a single in-app purchase. Even with this requirement, my Play Store wishlist still contains more games than I could hope to play.
Not only do premium games exist, but new options continue to come out each week. You can find a recent example in Follow the Meaning from indie studio Second Maze which has several such point-and-click adventure games under its belt.
If you want to really be impressed by what a premium title made exclusively for mobile can be, check out Gryphline’s Ex Astris, available exclusively for mobile for $10 without any in-app purchases.
6
There Are AAA Games, Just Not From Western Developers
Many of us long for game developers to take mobile gaming seriously. We want to see more of the grandiose games that ship to consoles and PC also come to mobile. Thing is, they already are. They’re just primarily coming from publishers in East Asia.
Hoyoverse is perhaps the most well-known, with the mobile version of Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero providing the same experience on phones as they do on consoles while looking stunning regardless of how you play. Square Enix has even released a full $50 port of SaGa Emerald Beyond and a $30 port of Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince.
InFold Games’ Infinity Nikki shows that mobile games can do open world without relying on cel-shaded graphics. Gryphline’s aforementioned Ex Astris changed the way I feel about mobile touch controls.
7
An Android Phone Can Dock to a TV or Monitor
If you think mobile games are limited to a 6-inch screen, think again. Many Android phones allow you to mirror their screen to an external display. When paired with a Bluetooth controller, this effectively turns your phone into a game console.
My Galaxy Z Fold 6 doesn’t merely transform from a phone to a tablet. Thanks to Samsung DeX, when used with a keyboard and mouse, it feels like I’m gaming on PC–especially when used in conjunction with NVIDIA GeForce NOW.
An Android desktop mode is a great way to play strategy games like Iron Marines. You’ll feel like you’re playing the Steam version once you watch the game seamlessly adapt to a 16:9 display.
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8
Controller Support Is Worse Than the iPhone’s
Many mobile games have controller support, but it’s not easy to find an exhaustive list. You can check Backbone’s list of games with controller support, but it’s not a comprehensive list of every game. I recently purchased Figment from the mobile Epic Games Store, and even though it’s not on Backbone’s list, it does work with my Bluetooth gamepad.
Related
3 Ways to Find Android Games with Controller Support
You might think Google Play would help, but it doesn’t.
I also learned from browsing Backbone’s list that some games which have controller support on iOS don’t have controller support on Android. I’ve encountered this with games like Genshin Impact, which has native controller support on iOS but requires button-mapping on Android. I’ve also faced this when playing Morphite, a charming indie take on Metroid Prime. So if you thought exclusive Apple Arcade games were the only reason to be jealous of iPhone and iPad gamers, think again.
Mobile gaming is the dominant form of gaming in terms of both userbase and the money it generates—but it’s also a viable option even for those who consider themselves serious gamers.
With foldables phones and features like Samsung DeX, there are strong reasons to pick Android over an iPhone, even with Apple’s exclusives and better controller support.
