Tag: Free to play »

It's hard to find good racing games on mobile. Most of them are free-to-play, and free-to-play racers generally suck. Even Nintendo couldn't put together a competent Mario Kart game, opting instead for a weird score chaser that resembles--but feels nothing like--actual Mario Kart.

So, when Nexon released KartRider Rush+ earlier this week, I had low expectations, but I decided to boot it up and try it out anyway. I played a few races, and then I played some more. Then I joined a racing club, found myself friending people, and racing even more. Before I knew it, my week was consumed with playing KartRider Rush+ because--somehow--it has managed to create a free-to-play racing experience that actually feels good.

Last week’s release of Call of Duty: Warzone on PC and consoles renewed a lot of people’s interest in the battle royale genre. Once a red-hot game mode a couple years ago, battle royales have maintained their prominence despite finding more competition with other popular genres like autochess and more traditional multiplayer shooters, particularly on mobile.

Although you can’t play Warzone on touch screens (although maybe someday that will change), there are plenty of battle royale games you can jump into right now. Check out our five favorites below. Oh, and click here to check out all of the great lists we’ve been making recently.

Flappy Royale (Free)

Flappy Royale is probably the purest, most mobile-friendly battle royale game there is. Yes, it lifts the gameplay from the viral and divisive Flappy Bird, but then throws in a bus for 100 birds to launch out of so they can all compete to see who can fly through the most pipes.

What makes the game so satisfying is how imminently replayable it is. There is practically zero wait time between matches, and the rounds themselves are just a minute or two at the longest. It may not be as shooty as other battle royale games, but that’s what makes it so perfect for mobile.

surviv.io (Free)

If you still want a mobile-friendly pick but need guns and opponents to shoot them at, surviv.io is your best bet. It may look a little crude, but the top-down action of this battle royale is fast and surprisingly deep.

This pick behaves almost exactly like other battle royales out there. You spawn on a big battle map, run around looting buildings for weapons and gear, and then run into other players that you get into firefights with. The great thing about surviv.io is that—like Flappy Royale—there is almost no time spent waiting for matches to start.

PUBG MOBILE - 2nd Anniversary (Free)

This list would not be complete without a mention of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG). The PC release of PUBG in 2017 is what catapulted battle royale games into gaming prominence, and PUBG Mobile takes the original game’s winning formula and tunes it for touch.

As far as conventional battle royales on mobile go, PUBG Mobile is probably the most accessible. The shooting model is tweaked to make shots hit more quickly and initial matches are populated with bots so you can feel good about your performance as you get your bearings in the game.

Call of Duty®: Mobile (Free)

Although not strictly a battle royale game, Call of Duty Mobile has its own gameplay mode dedicated to the genre, and it’s a pretty darn good one at that. In lieu of having a mobile version of Apex Legends (and it’s only a matter of time before we have one of those), Call of Duty Mobile’s battle royale mode delivers more mobility options and unique character customization than other titles on this list.

My only word of warning about Call of Duty Mobile as a battle royale game is that you can’t just play that mode immediately. There are a lot of multiplayer modes in this game, and you have to play quite a few matches of more traditional shooter match types before you can unlock the ability to play its battle royale mode.

Fortnite (Free)

All of the other games on this list make some compromise in bringing the battle royale genre to mobile. If you want a truly console or PC-style experience though—whether it’s because you think your touch screen skills are up to the task or you have a bluetooth controller handy—Fortnite is basically your only option.

The version of Fortnite you download off the App Store is the practically exact same game as the PC and console versions, to the point that you even play against players using these different platforms. Fortnite also features its unique crafting/building mechanic that allows players to construct cover and other structures as they run-and-gun to be the last person standing.