We reviewed a diverse selection of Android games that arrived on the Play Store throughout 2024. We also saw many exciting new Android consoles, like the Ayaneo Pocket Micro, which married retro aesthetics with modern features. Games from familiar franchises like Pokémon TCG Pocket to indie gems like Paper Trail caught our attention equally, so choosing the best games of the year was a tough challenge.

Nevertheless, we picked the top 10 games everyone should try. Balatro won as our number one pick thanks to its mobile-friendly, addictive gameplay, which is full of unexpected twists and original ideas. From Zenless Zone Zero to Art of Rally, you’ll find many new games from all genres to enjoy.

10 Balatro

More than just another poker game

Balatro starts with a simple premise. You must make poker hands from a hand of eight cards drawn from a standard deck of 52 playing cards. The better your hand, the more points you’ll earn. You’ll need to earn enough points to progress to the next round, which is where the roguelike element comes into play. However, boss rounds that add complications, tarot cards, and the pivotal joker cards turn this game into an unexpectedly addicting experience that’ll lock you in for hours.

Balatro’s addictiveness is its randomness and challenge. With 150 joker cards impacting your gameplay and ramping up the difficulty curve, it’s hard to stop returning for more. You’ll quickly realize that the basic goal of making poker hands is a small element of the game’s challenge. You must deal with the unexpected to clear a run.

Balatro on Android is an astonishingly good game, but it’s a port of the PC version. It’s best to play it on a Chromebook or a tablet, as it’s easy to make game-ending mistakes on a small screen. Still, if there’s one new game you should try from 2024, it’s Balatro.

9 Pokémon TCG Pocket

The best virtual trading card game

There’s been an online version of the Pokémon TCG since 2011, but Pokémon Trading Card Game Online and Pokémon Trading Card Game Live focused on building the best decks for competitive battles. Pokémon TCG Pocket bucks the trend by returning the focus to what drew kids to the cards in the first place, building the best collection, and finding the rarest cards to impress your friends.

Pokémon TCG Pocket includes a stripped-down version of TCG battles for online and offline play, regular missions and challenges, and a changing set of booster packs, of which you can open two a day. It’s a casual game through and through, designed to evoke the thrill of ripping open a new booster pack.

Pokémon TCG Pocket launched to phenomenal success, raking in $120.8 million less than a month after its launch. However, like the best free-to-play games, you won’t miss out by not splashing out on in-game microtransactions. Every Pokémon fan should give it a go, and we recommend introducing it to your friends. It’s the most accessible Pokémon game we’ve seen.

8 Monument Valley 3

Stunning visuals meet clever animations

The Monument Valley series proved that there’s a space on our phones and tablets for award-winning games that blur the boundary between game and art. The first entry in the isometric puzzle game series took the world by storm with its M.C. Escher puzzles. Monument Valley 3 keeps the spark alive with new puzzles, brilliant aesthetics, and a stronger real-world message.

Monument Valley 3 draws you in with methodical, beautiful animations that unfold slowly before your eyes. It’s impossible not to feel a sense of peace as you maneuver through each level. The puzzles, while visually impressive, aren’t designed to frustrate you. You’re only there for the experience.

The lack of challenge means you won’t feel accomplished for completing every level in Monument Valley 3. However, it’s hard not to be impressed by how each level fits together in ways you wouldn’t believe possible.

Generic but addicting settlement management

The Elder Scrolls: Castles’ biggest fault is that the Elder Scrolls’ influence is a touch too subtle. While you see plenty of evidence that you’re in the world of Tamriel, it wouldn’t take much work to turn the game into a generic fantasy adventure. With that minor fault out of the way, we can say that The Elder Scrolls: Castles is one of the best settlement builders we’ve ever played. It builds on the gameplay mechanics established by Fallout Shelter but with a few new tricks to set it apart.

While the size of the area you manage in The Elder Scrolls: Castles is small compared to other settlement-building games, you have a lot of freedom in how you put your castle together. However, the real focus is on managing the lives of your inhabitants, which has a distinct Sims-like feel.

The Elder Scrolls: Castles runs in the background, so there’s always something new to catch up on when you open the game. It’s the perfect settlement builder. It balances the freedom of construction with the randomness of citizens who don’t always make logical decisions.

6 Zenless Zone Zero

The best gacha action game you can play now

If you’ve played a HoYoverse game, you have a good idea of what Zenless Zone Zero is about. Gacha mechanics, stunning graphics, mechs, and a blinding array of special effects are all present here. However, Zenless Zone Zero stands apart with a unique traveling mechanic and outstanding comic book-inspired cutscenes.

The voice acting is also stellar. Even static shots of two characters talking are impressive to listen to. It adds up to an engaging RPG where no expense has been spared.

There is a catch. Zenless Zone Zero is filled with microtransactions. If you’re willing to ignore this and put up with the resultant grind, you’ll find that Zenless Zone Zero will stick in your mind long after you stop playing.

5 Potion Permit

Lose yourself for hours in this fantasy RPG

The success of Stardew Valley sparked a renewed interest in life-simulation RPGs, and it didn’t take long for similar games to start popping up. Most of these were forgettable, but Potion Permit shows there’s room for a new entry in the genre years later.

Potion Permit follows a familiar premise. As the newest member of a town, your attempt to start a regular life quickly gets disrupted as the townspeople regard you as the solution to their problems. The fun minigames, charming graphics, and deep worldbuilding mean Potion Permit is a must-play for fans of the genre.

The most memorable part of Potion Permit is its minigames. Nearly every area and task has a related minigame. They are engaging without being frustratingly difficult. If you enjoyed Stardew Valley, you’ll love Potion Permit.

4 Paper Trail

A unique puzzle game with plenty of character

In many ways, Paper Trail uses design concepts similar to Monument Valley. While it’s a puzzle game at its core, it impressed us with its clever level design and stunning visuals. However, where Paper Trail differs is its stronger emphasis on a narrative.

In Paper Trail, you’ll follow the story of Paige, who runs away from home to study astrophysics in the city. To help her reach her goal, you’ll fold the levels like sheets of paper to reveal new paths, move obstructions, and dispatch bad guys. It’s remarkably intuitive. It’s best experienced on a touch screen for that tactile feel.

Paper Trail emphasizes narrative and clever level design rather than challenging puzzles. However, the puzzles are rewarding to solve and are so visually impressive that you’ll want to uncover every secret within a level before moving on.

3 Please, Touch The Artwork 2

A bizarre and memorable point-and-click adventure

Please, Touch the Artwork 2 might seem like an odd game to include in a roundup of the best games of the year. With a runtime of two hours and designed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the death of Belgian painter James Ensor, it might seem like a quirky historical game designed to educate, not entertain.

What makes Please, Touch the Artwork 2 special is that, as a hidden-object game, you must look closer at the artwork than you would if you saw it in a museum or gallery. The more you play, the more you’ll fall in love with the artwork on display.

Please, Touch the Artwork 2 is free, and we can’t think of any reason not to play it. Take a break from the big, headline-grabbing games of the year and enjoy this small slice of perfection.

2 Art of Rally

Simple but addicting rally racing

Art of Rally captures your attention with cell-shaded graphics and sweeping landscapes. It holds you with its remarkably realistic driving mechanics. Each car feels unique to drive, and the higher difficulties offer plenty of challenges for budding racers.

In Art of Rally, you’ll drive iconic cards from the 1960s to the 1980s across tracks inspired by real-life locations. Each car has a unique feel, but adjust the controls, as the default settings lead to more crashes than you’d like.

Art of Rally is one of the most atmospheric racing games on the Play Store. While casual racing game players will appreciate it the most, those who like a challenge will appreciate the variety of cars and the challenging time trials at higher difficulties.

1 Wildfrost

Roguelike deck-building with plenty of challenge

Wildfrost is another deck-building roguelike, but its combination of brutal challenges and deep narrative help it stand out from the crowd. Careful management of the turn order and your team’s synergies will catapult you to success. However, the game’s randomness means you can’t rely on a single strategy each run.

Randomness is a bigger component in Wildfrost than in most roguelikes. While this can lead to frustrating scenarios where you’re doomed from the beginning, the promise of a different start in the next run is enough to keep you playing.

Wildfrost is also visually splendid. The graphics are bright and bold, with chunky text and easily distinguishable icons. It isn’t an original look, but Wildfrost pulls it off with aplomb.

Enjoy the holidays with the best Android games of the year

We’re spoiled for choice when it comes to fantastic new Android games. However, there’s a strong showing of casual games this year. They’re best enjoyed with a cup of tea, a warm blanket, and an Android tablet perfect for gaming.