Do you have a Netflix subscription, a smartphone, and a taste for video games? Netflix offers more than 100 games as part of its regular subscription. Many of these games are proper PC titles ported for mobile devices, most of which should play great on the majority of iPhones and Android smartphones.
15
Dead Cells
I’ve spent about 40 hours in Dead Cells, a rare roguelite I’ve beaten multiple times. While I usually stop after a successful run, I persevered and had a lot of fun playing this one. It’s mostly because of the insane number of weapons to unlock (some of which are so overpowered you’ll be praying that you score one during each run), addictive fast-paced combat, Metroidvania elements that lock some areas behind obtainable skills, and a ton of stuff to discover.
Add fantastic pixel-art graphics, piles of content, brilliant art design that makes every level unique, and cool collaborations with other games, like the brilliant Castlevania collab, and you’ve got yourself one of the best roguelites ever.
14
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – The Definitive Edition
Now, GTA: San Andreas is pretty demanding on mobile platforms, so if you don’t have a high-end phone that eats demanding 3D mobile games for breakfast, you should skip this one. But if you’ve got the power to run the game on your phone, you’re in for a treat.
This is arguably the best Grand Theft Auto game ever, and for good reason. Fantastic story, some of the best humor in the series, a massive map made of three cities, one of the best soundtracks ever, and voice acting on the level of Hollywood blockbusters. The mobile port is 1:1 compared to the PC version, so I strongly recommend getting a mobile-friendly controller to enjoy the game to its fullest.
13
Hades
Hades is yet another roguelite I’ve beaten more than once (five times, in fact), and wouldn’t you know it, both Hades and Dead Cells are available on Netflix. Unlike Dead Cells, Hades is played from an isometric perspective. And instead of Metroidvania elements and tons of weapons to unlock, it hooks players with a fantastic story, cool power-ups bestowed upon you by the Greek gods, and probably the best combat in a roguelite ever.
The game offers just a handful of weapons, which is fine because once you find your favorites, you’ll spend dozens of hours mastering them. The bosses are brilliantly designed and challenging, but with relatively easy-to-learn mechanics, and the game’s generous upgrade system allows even casual gamers to become powerful enough to push through the underworld and escape their destiny. Oh, and the soundtrack slaps.
12
Katana Zero
Katana Zero is an ultra-stylish, side-scrolling take on Hotline Miami. You can kill every enemy with a single hit, but they’re powerful, too, and can end your journey with a single blow. Unlike Hotline Miami, Katana Zero includes lots of different ways to avoid being hit, ultimately creating a fast-paced action platforming experience like no other game did.
The story is another strong part of Katana Zero, along with brilliant pixel-art visuals and clever level design that lets players find creative ways to beat levels by thinking outside the box. The game’s quite challenging and fast-paced, so I recommend playing it with a controller.
11
Sonic Mania Plus
Sonic Mania Plus is the best Sonic game since the series’ glory days that took place during the ’90s. This retro-themed 2D platformer combines the best parts of classic Sonic games into a cocktail that tastes like the past but has a tinge of modernity. The perfect combination of the two makes Sonic Mania Plus one of the best platformers you can play at the moment and one of the gems of the Netflix game library.
10
Bloons TD 6
Is Bloons TD 6 the best tower defense game ever? I can’t answer that question, but I can confirm that the game is one of the best titles of its kind available on Netflix Games. It’s perfect for phones due to its control scheme and relatively short missions. Don’t worry, though; while you can finish a good chunk of missions during lunch break, there are so many of them you’ll be hooked for weeks.
Not only that, but you can also unlock tons of abilities and power-ups, use mighty heroes to give you the edge during critical moments, finish quests that reward you with bonus prizes, team up with other players to invade and defend territories, and so much more. So, yeah, Bloons TD 6 might actually be the best tower defense game ever.
9
Kentucky Route Zero
There are some games you can’t get out of your head years after finishing them, and Kentucky Route Zero is one of them. A surreal amalgamation of Americana, folk tales, Twin Peaks, and magical realism, Kentucky Route Zero is an interactive movie that will take you to strange places located at the fringe of our world that will make you question reality itself. A definite recommendation.
8
OXENFREE and OXENFREE II: Lost Signals
OXENFREE and its sequel are lightweight adventures with great stories and brilliant art styles. The first game follows a band of teenagers who try to solve an old mystery after being part of an incident that unlocks otherworldly dimensions and sets the stage for an adventure taking place across Edwards Island.
The sequel takes place on the same island but with a different set of characters. The story is as good as the first game, and while the second game doesn’t feature as good “choices matter” mechanics as the first, OXENFREE II: Lost Signals is a worthy sequel that includes a number of subtle nods for the fans of the original.
7
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Shredder’s Revenge is a perfect game to play on your phone. The beat-em-up gameplay featured brief missions teeming with action, the game isn’t too long, and while it’s meant to be played in co-op, I finished it on my own and liked it very much.
The gameplay is great; each character plays differently and has a unique set of moves. The story’s good enough to keep you going, and the game can be finished in around three to four hours, making it a perfect game for a lazy weekend afternoon.
6
World of Goo Remastered
I remember playing World of Goo when it originally came out in 2008. I loved the game, but my engineering skills weren’t that good, as I often created monstrosities that would collapse under their own weight. But, sometimes, I’d manage to combine living, breathing globs of goo, which emit cute sounds and react to your moves, into something that would stand the test of time and be stable enough to accomplish the objective and advance to the next level.
This is the beauty of World of Goo. You most likely won’t know what you’re doing at the beginning. But through experimentation and testing different combinations, you can build a Goo tower that’s stable enough to solve various puzzles waiting for you in the game. Once you start unlocking new types of globs the challenge will increase, but never that much to transform the game from a fun physics sandbox into a frustrating puzzle with unrewarding challenges.
5
Braid, Anniversary Edition
Ah, Braid, one of the gems of the Xbox Live Arcade era, which arrived on PC about a year after debuting on the Xbox 360. Now, you can play it on your phone. I’ve beaten the original a couple of times and can say that, while puzzles can be a bit frustrating at times, that feeling when you finally “get it” and then finish the level in ten seconds is priceless; a few other games can match Braid’s “aha!” moments.
The Anniversary Edition includes new artwork and an in-depth developer commentary. The unique time-manipulation-based gameplay is back, as is the game’s ambiguous (in a good way) story that everyone interprets differently.
4
The Case of the Golden Idol and The Rise of the Golden Idol
The Case of the Golden Idol and The Rise of the Golden Idol are an adventure duo, with both games being detective adventure masterpieces. While the story is arguably the best part of both games, the puzzles and free-form investigation are as good, if not better.
You’re going to solve many mysteries, and the way the game allows you to create your own whodunnit theories is brilliantly designed. Another great thing is that, since you’re going to play these on your phone, you can use your favorite notes app to track the suspects and the overarching story, which I recommend unless you like when your head explodes from having to store too much information at once.
3
Spiritfarer
An emotional, heart-wrenching journey taking place between our world and the afterlife, Spiritfarer might be a cozy game where you play as the ferrymaster to the deceased who’s got all the time in the world to complete various objectives, but its emotional stories are anything but cozy.
You will befriend different spirits on your journey, take care of them, and become friends before releasing them into the afterlife, with you always staying in Limbo, unable to follow your new friends to the next part of their journey.
2
Into the Breach
Developers of Into the Breach know a thing or two about roguelikes. Subset Games are behind FTL: Faster Than Light, one of the pioneers of the roguelike/roguelite revival that’s in full force these days. FTL is a brilliant game you also ought to try if you own a PC, Mac, or an iOS device.
Into the Breach is a mixture of turn-based mech tactics and puzzle gameplay. Your goal is freeing the future Earth from otherworldly monsters with your band of mechs, each being unique in its own way. Each battle takes place on an 8×8 map where you’ve got to eliminate enemies while trying to survive and not damage the infrastructure and residential buildings.
The catch is that each hit moves monsters and your mechs around the map, and while you can see when the enemies will attack, you don’t know what their attacks will be. This creates a tense atmosphere where each turn matters.
Once you beat the game for the first time, you can unlock a new team of mechs with their own unique abilities, and you unlock new pilots by fulfilling certain objectives. Different pilots work best with specific mechs. You can combine the two and get certain bonuses as well as develop different approaches during each run, allowing the game to stay fresh for dozens of hours.
1
Terra Nil
I like Terra Nil so much. While I cannot call this game cozy because it’s got a regular single-player campaign with missions and goals, I can call it one of the most relaxing games I’ve ever played. Missions don’t have a time limit; your goal is to clean and rebuild, not to fight against anyone, and the music and gradual transformation of the maps from barren wasteland into lush, verdant, unfettered wilderness has a therapeutic effect like all those super-chill cozy games.
You start each mission in a wasteland and then work your way to restore nature to its former glory by purifying bodies of water and restoring forests and other natural habitats that ultimately lead to wildlife returning. Once you restore nature to its former glory, you and your equipment are gone, embarking on another adventure, and life can continue thriving like before we destroyed everything.
Looking for more mobile game recommendations? Did you know there’s a number of classic Android and old school iPhone games you can still play today? Alternatively, you can check out some other console and PC games that have mobile versions. If you’re after eye candy, you can test your Android phone’s gaming prowess with some of the most demanding (and prettiest) Android games.
