The best Android games from May 2015
Ghosts, dungeons, yetis, and islands
At the end of every month we round up the best Android games to have hit the Google Play Store over the previous 30 days, or so.
This often surprisingly tricky to whittle down, as Android gaming is experiencing a bit of a surge at the moment. The stream of fresh releases, iOS conversions, and unique oddities is pretty constant these days.
This month is no different, with a wide range of tastes catered for. Check 'em out. Check 'em ALL out.
Desktop DungeonsBy Finji - buy on Android
There have been plenty of roguelikes on mobile of late, but few have as much depth or scope as Desktop Dungeons.
The clue is in the title - this is a conversion of a PC game. At heart it's a dungeon crawler, as you move through randomly generated dungeons, engaging in turn-based battles and gathering loot.
However, underpinning it all is an engrossing kingdom-building element that gives everything added flavour.
Skiing Yeti MountainBy Featherweight Games - download on Android
Perhaps improbably given its simple retro-looks and straight-forward swipe-to-steer gameplay, Skiing Yeti Mountain manages to nail the feeling of hurtling down a mountain for real.
It's all in that analogue control system, where a subtle lateral movement allows you to pick up speed, while a sudden movement allows you to carve into the snow and take tight corners.
Plus there's the whimsical story filled with bizarre and amusing characters. That's always a plus.
Sunburn!By Secret Crush - buy on Android
This surprisingly moving platform-puzzler has you gathering up your stranded crew before setting course for the sun so that you can all die together. It's heavy, man.
By contrast, Sunburn's gameplay is a delicate physics-based delight, as you scoot about your grim task by putting gravity and inertia to good use.
You've probably played games with similar jetpack-powered space mechanics before, but probably not one with such an odd tone.
Knights of Pen and Paper 2By Paradox - buy on Android
This second slice of affectionate tabletop RPG noddage has all the strengths and flaws of the original game.
It's a grindy turn-based experience with quests and fights and monsters, all executed with a knowing nod and a wink.
You're not just playing as mystical warriors here - you're playing the nerdy types who themselves crowd around tables pretending to be those mystical warriors. And that's pretty cool.
SeabeardBy HandCircus - buy on Android
Remember Rolando? Possibly not, if you're a committed Android gamer. It was arguably the first big signature game to appear on the iPhone back in the day.
Seabeard is by the same team, and it shows. It's got a beautiful cartoony art style and lovely, gentle gameplay that makes you think of Nintendo - even though it's not quite as accomplished as that makes it sound.
It's all about collecting and resource gathering and pottering around pretty islands. Basically, it's as close to a relaxing holiday as gaming gets.
Breath of LightBy Many Monkeys - buy on Android
Let's stick with the laid-back mood for our next recommendation. Breath of Light is a beautiful, tranquil puzzler set in a dreamy abstract universe.
It's all about redirecting a stream of energy to make flowers bloom, which is achieved by moving around rocks to deflect the beams.
Breath of Light isn't going to tax your brain particularly, or set your pulse racing, but that rather seems to be the point.
Beast QuestBy Miniclip - download on Android
Beast Quest is a third person action adventure that focuses on making the experience feel native to touchscreen devices. No awkwardly crammed-in virtual controls here.
Rather, moving about its colourful fantasy world is a matter of touching a button to move forward and swiping left and right to steer.
When you engage in a battle with one of the game's many monsters, the game switches to an Infinity Blade-like swipe fest. It's very nicely handled.
NihilumbraBy BeautiFun Games - buy on Android
This moody platform-puzzler tells the tale of a black blob of goo escaping from its own colourless world and exploring our own.
It's up to you to help our blob unlock various colours and use them to paint the world. Different colours have different status effects (so blue makes things icy, for example).
This is a gently beguiling game with a strong core mechanic and bags of atmosphere.
Til Morning's LightBy Wayforward - buy on Amazon
Til Morning's Light is a product of Amazon's own game studio, which means that it's not available on the Google Play Store. You'll need to use Amazon's own Appstore to get it.
It's more than worth it, though. This is a bit of a My First Survival Horror game that sees you guiding the young protagonist around a spooky (in a PG-13 kind of way) mansion, solving puzzles and tackling ghosts in swipey combat.
There's nothing overly taxing or thrilling to it, but there's an uncommon level of polish on display that lifts the game above the ordinary.
Grim Fandango RemasteredBy Double Fine - buy on Android
First released on PC in 1998, Grim Fandango is widely held to be one of the best point and click adventure games ever made. This remastered version subtly spruces up the graphics, but retains the game's unique charm.
Nothing quite looks like Grim Fandango, with its brilliant depiction of the afterlife as a stylistic mix of 1930s film noir and Mexican Day of the Dead ghoulishness.
The dialogue is razor sharp, and its peculiar story is truly memorable. This is like a sporting legend coming out of retirement - they might look a little less spritely than in their pomp, but there's still that unmistakable sense of class.
Top 10 best Android games: April 2015
Top 10 best Android games: March 2015
Top 10 best Android games: February 2015
Top 10 best Android games: January 2015
Top 10 best Android games: November 2014
Top 10 best Android games: October 2014
Top 10 best Android games: September 2014
