Noyb

Android Games

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I got GoT, thanks SAM! Is there an easy way to play this (and other Android stuff) on my PC? A quick google turns up Andyroid and Bluestack, anyone used those? I'm wondering if they'll work for stuff from Amazon or if they only sync with apps from Google Play...

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Loop is very simple and relaxing game with a nice minimalist aesthetic, you rotate lines to join them all together and create a loop. It reminds me of Desert Golf in how there's not a lot of depth but it's strangely satisfying (although I don't think there's any weird meta stuff going on). It's pretty much the perfect mobile game for me, a nice time killer that you can play while listening to podcasts and such.

 

Also it's free, actually free, not free to play, no ads, nothing. It doesn't require permissions for your entire life either, just photos because you can save screens of the lovely finished loops.

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Lara Croft GO came out a few days ago and I've been playing it.  It doesn't have exactly the same look as Hitman GO (Lara and all the creatures have actual models with animation rather than sliding boardgame pieces) but it looks good.  The basic gameplay in both games is identical.  They're both puzzle games with turn based movement laid out on a grid.  The differences between them are mostly aesthetic.  There are creatures that have similar patterns to the enemies in Hitman such as facing one direction, moving along a set path, or chasing after you once spotted. 

 

There are some new things.  There are traps such as saw blades and floor/wall tiles that will break if you use them a second time.  There are levers and buttons that can change the configuration of the board and a few of the puzzles involve pushing columns around.  Lara can also climb along certain walls.  Certain levels have a spear that Lara can pick up and carry with her.  It allows her to kill a single enemy from a distance.  You can still kill them by coming at them from behind or the sides.  That part is a little weird to me.  She uses her twin pistols to kill when you move into their space but she can't shoot from a distance and instead has to use a spear.  Gameplay wise I get it but it's still kinda goofy.  One other difference is that LCGO lacks the puzzle objectives that Hitman has.  The only goal in each board is to get to the exit.  There are collectables hidden along the way, but they're all located inside jars placed in the background that you simply tap on to break.  They unlock additional costumes for Lara.

 

TL;DR if you liked Hitman GO, you'll probably like Lara Croft GO as well.

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Against my better judgment, I started playing Clash Royale after hearing Brad from Giant Bomb talk about it a bunch. I only just started, but I can see why people get hooked on these things. The matches are nice and short, but there's way more strategy to it than I would have thought. The progression and deckbuliding mechanics are pretty well done. I haven't gotten in deep enough to really feel the pressure to spend any money on it, but I'm sure that will happen eventually.

 

Has anyone else made this horrible life choice? 

 

EDIT: I will say that the way the game handles rewards after each match is both brilliant and evil. You get a chest for every win that takes 3-24 hours to open, or you can use premium currency to speed it up. If you refuse to pay, it makes you open the app consistently throughout the day, which I'm sure is meant to lead to some habit forming behavior.

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I've finally fallen into the pit of Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes. After years of avoiding free to play phone games, there's just been so much press on them recently that I had to try it out. It's pleasant enough to play when listening to podcasts.

 

I also was thinking about trying Clash Royale after that GB conversation, so I'll be joining you in that horrible choice soon.

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The closest I came to that sort of thing was I played gems of war for a bit. I actually really dug it but the way all the women were presented really turned me off of it.

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I've been playing Clash Royale for maybe two weeks?  Still puttering around in Zone 3; I think if I really concentrated and didn't just futz around with silly deck combinations I could move up to the fourth zone, but I'm in no rush.

 

Haven't spent any money so far.  Planning on doing it in April when my budget resets as a "thank you" but I don't feel like it really gives that much of an advantage.

 

The game is starting to feel a little stale, but I'm sure once I get up to the next zone the new cards will give it some more life.

 

I don't mind the Free to Play mechanics, since I enjoy the battle mechanics.  I don't want to play the game for more than 5 minutes at any moment, so I'm happy to the have time gating.

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I don't mind the Free to Play mechanics, since I enjoy the battle mechanics.  I don't want to play the game for more than 5 minutes at any moment, so I'm happy to the have time gating.

 

When I think the best of myself, I think that playing the game for 5 minutes at a time throughout the day is a nice way to take a break from whatever I should be doing.

 

When I think the worst of myself, I think that a game that reminds you to play it every 3 hours (even if only for five minutes) is probably not a smart thing for me to get into.

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When I think the best of myself, I think that playing the game for 5 minutes at a time throughout the day is a nice way to take a break from whatever I should be doing.

 

When I think the worst of myself, I think that a game that reminds you to play it every 3 hours (even if only for five minutes) is probably not a smart thing for me to get into.

 

LOL, sounds a lot like the self-trust issues I'm working through with my therapist atm....

 

I'm trying to keep an eye on the chore-feeling creeping in.  I quit playing tons of games for "what's the point of seeing it all the way through" reasons, so I'm doing my best to trust the fact that it's enjoyable and engaging.

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When I think the best of myself, I think that playing the game for 5 minutes at a time throughout the day is a nice way to take a break from whatever I should be doing.

 

When I think the worst of myself, I think that a game that reminds you to play it every 3 hours (even if only for five minutes) is probably not a smart thing for me to get into.

 

Turn off notifications? I don't let any games remind me of anything.

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Downwell is now available on Google Play

This has been the best mobile release of the year for me. Phone games are mostly dumb, but Downwell is so damn good that I paid the devs twice by buying on Steam as well.

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I've been playing Clash Royale for a couple weeks as well. Hovering around 800 trophies (low zone 3).

Do you guys have a clan going? It's a nice way to get gems and profile XP.

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I've been f2ping it up in Summoners War which I find very entertaining. The battle system is deep enough what with upgrading and equipping your monsters that there's always plenty of little decisions to make. Haven't felt the urge to spend money yet, they're pretty generous with all the currency.

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I wish I could find a game along the lines of a Puzzle And Dragons/Gems Of War whose primary way of advertising wasn't cleavage. I actually don't mind the mechanics of them but they all make me feel various degrees of skeevy.

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I was actually getting a bit hooked on Pokémon Shuffle Mobile... until I realized it was draining my batteries faster than I could charge it.

 

I also found out that the most obscure adventure game from my country is now on Droid and it's now called "Dreamtripper". Which was a really big surprise since I was having a hard time proving the game even existed!

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There's a really good native mobile roguelike called "Pixel Dungeon." There's lots of roguelikes available on phones, but most of them are absolutely terrible, emulating an entire keyboard on a phone for control. Pixel Dungeon is fully made with touch in mind for its options, menus, controls, etc. It works incredibly well, sort of like a spiritual successor to Powder. It's also open source, and there are lots of forks: The specific version I like the most that I want to recommend is Sprouted Pixel Dungeon. It adds a bunch of endgame content, based off of another fork, Shattered Pixel Dungeon, but also a system of upgrading equipment to reduce the random drops of scrolls making builds more or less feasible, and new potions/plants/etc that allow for changing items into random different versions and generally manipulating things in really satisfying ways. 

Plus, as an open source project it's free and ad-free, so there's nothing to bug you while you play. :)

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I couldn't get into pixel dungeon, i think i splatted like twenty characters on the slime boss, tried some guides to get past it, didn't work and never went back. I think there's just something about the combination of apparent simplicty with actual hidden complexity in this case that doesn't work for me. I prefer things the other way around if anything.

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I couldn't get into pixel dungeon, i think i splatted like twenty characters on the slime boss, tried some guides to get past it, didn't work and never went back. I think there's just something about the combination of apparent simplicty with actual hidden complexity in this case that doesn't work for me. I prefer things the other way around if anything.

I think Sprouted really helps with this. It's very feasible to have your weapon and armor +6/7 by the time you fight the slime, and it's got lots of options to help with the fight, like freeze plants to throw in its path in the water.

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I've actually been getting back into pixel dungeon a bit lately, I found it to be pretty tedious and lacking in the mechanical insanity of other more "hardcore" roguelikes. I've been trying out some of the new variants though and i'm definitely interested in trying Sprouted. Also, Downwell is the best Android game ever ever ever.

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