Greetings ghouls and gals and welcome to a spooky Halloween edition of the Super Game Droid Friday Night Indie Game Round-Up, your weekly guide to the latest and greatest indie games available on the Android platform.
Each week our dedicated editorial team spends countless hours scouring the depths of the internet in order to bring you the best new indie Android games we can find. We then take our absolute favorites for the week and compile them all together in this handy dandy round-up so you’ll always have an easy way of discovering some awesome new indie games to play on Android!
Whether you’re looking for a challenging new RPG, an action packed shooter, or even just a good old fashioned puzzler SGD has got you covered so check out all 25 of the awesome new indie games below and make sure to vote for your favorite on the poll at the bottom of the page. As always, the game with the most votes as of Monday morning will be declared our indie game of the week and will be featured on our front page!
AntiMata – Blocks Evolved from John Jepson
If you were to combine the falling blocks of Tetris, the chain based explosions of Bust-A-Move, and the psychedelic imagery of Lumines you’d likely end up with indie developer John Jepson’s awesome new arcade puzzler AntiMata – Blocks Evolved. Like a bizarre acid inspired spin on Tetris, AntiMata keeps with the general falling block motif but amps things up a bit by allowing for complex combination chain explosions rather than just filling in a line. Whoever said puzzlers were boring must have never played AntiMata.
AntiMata – Blocks Evolved (Playboard) | AntiMata – Blocks Evolved (Play Store)
Awakener from Daniel Alexander
For those old enough to remember adventure game developer LucasArts in its hey day, Awakener will no doubt induce tons of nostalgia with its retro look and feel. Originally created by Ben Chandler for the AGS(Adventure Game Studio) platform and newly ported to Android using the XAGE(XNA Adventure Game Engine) by Daniel Alexander, Awakener is a completely free adventure game that draws inspirations from such classics as Full Throttle and The Secret Of Monkey Island with its charming old school vibe. It’s a little on the short side, but considering it’s available for free without ads or anything else getting in the way you cant really go wrong with this digital trip down memory lane.
Awakener (Playboard) | Awakener (Play Store)
Black Tower Enigma from Ogre Pixel
Indie developer Ogre Pixel’s charming new puzzle rpg Black Tower Enigma is an addicting retro throwback that would have been right at home on the SNES. In a bit of a departure from your typical fantasy rpg setting, players take on the role of a hapless young orc fighting his way to the top of an evil tower where his wife has been imprisoned. Black Tower Enigma feels very much like what would happen if all of the dungeon puzzles from The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past were expanded into their own awesome new game.
Black Tower Enigma (Playboard) | Black Tower Enigma (Play Store)
Box Invaders from RM Apps
From Belly Bird 3D developer RM Apps comes a terrific new endless runner called Box Invaders that looks great and plays even better. While at first glance you might think Box Invaders was just a generic run ‘n jump runner with a pretty face, just a few moments playing the game will quickly prove otherwise. True, players still run straight forward jumping over obstacles, but the catch here is that they’re running on a 4-sided platform that can be rotated by swiping on the screen to either escape from danger or pick up extra points. Throw in insane robot enemies and some truly inventive traps and you’ve got one heck of an addicting endless runner that bucks the trend without completely throwing it away.
Box Invaders (Playboard) | Box Invaders (Play Store)
Deep Loot from Monster And Monster
An awesome new rogue-like RPG called Deep Loot has arrived on Android and i’ve never had this much fun scuba diving. Not that i’ve ever been scuba diving, but that’s besides the point. The latest game from Winter Walk creator Monster And Monster, Deep Loot is an absolutely fantastic new mobile RPG that exudes an extremely high level of polish complemented by uber addicting gameplay design.
In this pixelated underwater adventure players will don one of many unlockable(and quite stylish) scuba suits as they plunge down deep into the ocean’s depths in search of hidden booty and lost treasure. There’s lots of gold to be found and tons of collectible artifacts lying around but it won’t be easy to get to them due to all the hostile creatures protecting their territory deep beneath the water’s surface.
Deep Loot (Playboard) | Deep Loot (Play Store)
Don’t Tap The Police Car from Webbly
A simple but very addicting arcade game, studio Webbly’s Don’t Tap The Police Car comes close to delivering Flappy Bird levels of enchantingly infuriating twitch action. In order to keep the game going in this crazy endless tapfest players must rapidly tap on oncoming cars in traffic to proceed without accidentally tapping on a police car. It’s straightforward mindless fun, and that’s a good thing.
com.webbly.brut (Playboard) | com.webbly.brut (Play Store)
Don’t Trust Henry from Alexander Bodemer
Most folks would say that making a game about a psychotic but lovable giant worm that lives in the clouds and likes to eat peoples fingers would be too strange, but most folks aren’t indie developer Alexander Bodemer. His newest title Don’t Trust Henry is an absurdly entertaining old school arcade game that sees players trying to tame the aforementioned giant worms’ hunger by convincing him to go vegetarian and eat flying fruit instead of people. In order to do that though you’ll first have to tempt him by dragging your finger around the screen towards healthy fruit snacks, but be careful Henry doesn’t munch on your appendages instead!
com.LewnaticInteractive.DTrustHenry (Playboard) | com.LewnaticInteractive.DTrustHenry (Play Store)
Dr. Sweet Tooth from ZebraFox Games
Felipe Femur developer ZebraFox Games is back with an intriguing new puzzler called Dr. Sweet Tooth that presents a dark spin on Candy Crush. In this atmospheric sugar rush of a puzzle game players must unleash a horde of hungry dudes on a mad scientists’ stock of evil candy without allowing any of it to spoil and take the bro’s out. Dr. Sweet Tooth has an interesting story, inventive gameplay, and a humorous tone so be sure to give it a look.
Dr. Sweet Tooth (Playboard) | Dr. Sweet Tooth (Play Store)
Dr. Sweet Tooth Premium (Playboard) | Dr. Sweet Tooth Premium (Play Store)
Electronic Super Joy: Groove City from Michael Todd
After unleashing its pixelated madness on Steam users indie developer Michael Todd’s raunchy new retro platformer sequel Electronic Super Joy: Groove City has finally arrived on Android, bringing with it tons of sweet sidescrolling goodness. This hyperactive new platformer runs and jumps with the best of its genre as it features tight Super Meat Boy esque gameplay, mesmerizing graphics, and a hilarious tone that may or may not be appropriate for little ones what with its references to such major plot elements as “Laser Nipples”. It’s this irreverent style coupled with highly polished level design that earned the original Electronic Super Joy critical praise and it looks like the same will be true of Electronic Super Joy: Groove City.
ESJ: Groove City (Playboard) | ESJ: Groove City (Play Store)
Gnomies from Focus Lab Studios
An addicting hybrid of the platforming and physics puzzler genres, Gnomies at times can feel like a one-gnome Lemmings……on gnome steroids! It’s up to players to help Alan the gnome traverse 75 challenging levels full of deadly traps that can only be subverted through clever gadget placement. Whether you’re a Lemmings fan and are interested in something vaguely similar but fun in its own right or are just in the mood for a different kind of platformer be sure to give Gnomies a go.
Gnomies (Playboard) | Gnomies (Play Store)
Groove Lines from Bee Games
From Rabbit Dash! developer Bee Games comes a funky new music based match puzzler that’s sure to put a smile on your face with it’s puuuurfect moves. An awesome new mashup of Guitar Hero and Bejeweled, Groove Lines challenges players with solving puzzles in time with head bobbing tunes to score some stylin’ combos. It takes a moment or two to get yourself acclimated to the gameplay style but once you get the hang of it you’ll be having a blast.
Groove Lines (Playboard) | Groove Lines (Play Store)
Little Death Trouble Unlimited from Cribys
Skate Bearding developer Cribys Manufactory has a spooky new sidescrolling puzzler out called Little Death Trouble Unlimited and it’s almost scary how fun it is. As the mini-sized daughter of Death himself it’s up to players to search 24 surreal worlds for the missing pieces of a mystical totem that will restore her lost multi-dimensional powers that allow her to exist everywhere in reality at once. It’s heady stuff, but just know that Little Death Trouble Unlimited is a charming puzzle platformer that allows players to rearrange the very level itself which leads to some really interesting gameplay.
Little Death Trouble Unlimited (Playboard) | Little Death Trouble Unlimited (Play Store)
Madow | Sheep Happens from The Red One
Indie developer The Red One’s eloquently simple yet profoundly addicting new physics infused arcade game Madow | Sheep Happens can at times feel like a Game & Watch game that had grown up into the 21st century and was now much more regal. As an ethereal shepard of sorts it’s up to players to lead a never ending procession of sheep home using ultra simple one touch controls that simultaneously raise and lower opposing bridges that prevent the sheep from falling to their doom. It’s a basic concept to be sure, but there is a lot of fun to be found here along with a surprising amount of strategy.
MADOW | Sheep Happens (Playboard) | MADOW | Sheep Happens (Play Store)
Miika from Noxus Ltd
When you see camera controls listed as a big part of any review it’s usually a bad sign, but in the case of indie studio Noxus Ltd’s drop dead gorgeous new puzzler camera controls are actually the best part of the whole experience. While Miika is indeed a 3D puzzler, you won’t find yourself messing about with crafting a million different trinkets and instead must rely on completing each level solely by changing your perspective in a very literal sense. In order to get their character to the goal of each stage players must join together the disjointed floating platforms by rotating the camera around until they appear to line up which leads to absolutely brilliant gameplay.
Miika (Playboard) | Miika (Play Store)
Mines Ahoy! from Jolly Games
Indie developer Jolly Games’ old school arcade puzzler Mines Ahoy! will make you wish for the days when games still came on catridges or cds that could be thrown against the wall, and you’re going to love it. An intriguing puzzle oriented riff on all those classic sub avoidance games, Mines Ahoy! challenges players memory and reflexes with twitch gameplay that can only be surmounted with lightning fast strategy. As the commander of a yellow submarine braving mine infested territory players must guide their ship to safety as depth charges explode all around them by correctly gauging their trajectory with deadly accuracy.
com.Jolly.DeadAhead (Playboard) | com.Jolly.DeadAhead (Play Store)
Notebook Wars Saga from Panda Zone
Little Red Riding Hood developer Panda Zone has returned with a great new retro shooter done up in the ever popular doodle style called Notebook Wars Saga. Old school shooter fans who enjoyed such classics as Raptor and Tyrian will really appreciate Notebook Wars Saga’s traditional approach to game design as it eschews the usual freemium implementation that gimps so many other mobile shoot ‘em ups in favor of a tried and true one time purchase of a dollar. It’s just like old times sitting in front of a CRT TV smashing up alien spaceships in this blast from the past that’s all about blowing stuff up, collecting power ups, and unlocking awesome new weapons.
Notebook Wars Saga (Playboard) | Notebook Wars Saga (Play Store)
Obslashin’ from Hashbang Games
Fresh off their hit puzzle platformer Gravi indie developer Hashbang Games has jumped back into the frey with an action packed new rpg slash ‘em up called Obslashin’ that melds together Diablo, The Binding Of Isaac, and Fruit Ninja all together into one devilishly tasty package. As a foxy warrior doing his civic duty to clear the local dungeon players will tap every enemy they see with abandon lest the lecherous hordes of monsters that prowl these halls remain steadfast in their odoriferous offensiveness. The gameplay is highly intuitive and very satisfying with the extra rpg elements being the icing on top of this rogue-like cake.
com.hashbanggames.obslashin (Playboard) | com.hashbanggames.obslashin (Play Store)
Raining Coins from Crazysoft
From the folks that brought us The Odyssey HD comes a charming new classic style arcade game called Raining Coins patterned after retro catch ‘em all games but with a neat physics based twist and a high level of polish. To be sure, catch ‘em all style games aren’t exactly new but that’s why indie studio Crazysoft made sure to introduce plenty of unique gameplay mechanics that will keep players glued to their screen in anticipation of what Raining Coins will throw at them next. Collecting coins is the name of the game here, literally, and it wont exactly be easy as you’ll have to deal with moody stormclouds, mischievous birds, and boisterous cannons doing their best to stop you.
Raining coins? (Playboard) | Raining coins? (Play Store)
Rime Berta from Next-Soft+
Tactical rpg fans will be glad to know that a brand new strategy centric jrpg from independent developer Next-Soft+ called Rime Berta has arrived and it carries all the trappings of a proper Final Fantasy Tactics homage. In this fantastical srpg players will lead an army of misfits and rogues on an epic adventure filled with fraught and peril that can only be countered with intelligent turn based strategy. With its gorgeously nostalgic 3D battlefields and attention to detail Rime Berta is a great new rpg every strategy nut should take a look at.
Rime Berta Lite (Playboard) | Rime Berta Lite (Play Store)
Rime Berta (Playboard) | Rime Berta (Play Store)
Specular from Tint Games
I always like a good twin stick shooter. I also like getting things for free. So it’s needless to say that I am obsessed with indie developer Tint Games’ absolutely fantastic new free shoot ‘em up Specular. Rather than being monetized like most mobile games Specular is 100 percent free and completely devoid of any ads, iaps, or permissions which is amazing when you consider its level of quality rivals that of professional developers. You see, Specular was created by a small group of talented indie devs still in high school as a learning exercise on the ins and outs of making a video game. Well if I was their teacher i’d give them an A+ because for their first ever game you couldn’t tell which bodes well for these guys’ future in game development.
Specular (Playboard) | Specular (Play Store)
Spin Hawk: Wings Of Fury from Monster Robot Studios
Having already made such great games as Super Heavy Sword and Steam Punks the fine folks over at indie developer Monster Robot Studios decided to take a stab at a riff on endless flappy style games and what they’ve come up with brings the genre full circle, literally. Like any dev worth their salt Monster Robot Studios didn’t just set out to make a clone though they wanted to make something special and thus they began work researching the most common movement patterns of birds in mobile games in order to ensure their fine feathered protagonist would have his very own style of movement. And then it hit them, the answer was obvious. With all the flapping and sliding about in bird based games these days why not just do a full 360 degree movement instead? This marked the genesis of Monster Robot Studios’ stupendously addicting new endless runner/flier Spin Hawk: Wings Of Fury.
Spin Hawk : Wings of Fury (Playboard) | Spin Hawk : Wings of Fury (Play Store)
Tilt Golf from Secret Ingredient Games
Despite its name indie studio Secret Ingredient Games’ new sports themed game Tilt Golf isn’t your typical mobile golf sim, no it’s much more than that. It’s more like a highly addicting and relaxing game of mini golf as if it were being played by Super Monkey Ball characters. In Tilt Golf the object of each level is for players to take control of the ball and attempt to roll it past hazards and to the hole by tilting their phone. Tilt Golf also comes in a really neat Google Cardboard edition too so if you’d like a little virtual reality to go with your physics based golfing be sure to check that version out as well.
Tilt Golf: Free Tournament (Playboard) | Tilt Golf: Free Tournament (Play Store)
Tilt Golf: Online Tournament (Playboard) | Tilt Golf: Online Tournament (Play Store)
Tilt Golf: Cardboard Edition (Playboard) | Tilt Golf: Cardboard Edition (Play Store)
Tiny Prison from Two-Bit Titans
One game in particular i’ve been really looking forward to and am happy to say is now available is the terrific new correctional facility sim Tiny Prison from indie developer Two-Bit Titans. This addicting spin on games like Tiny Tower puts players in charge of a prison that holds actual monsters, like the kind that star in b-level horror movies, which is where all these kooky creatures must come from by the looks of things as they present quite a different challenge than games that focus on human problems. As the warden it’s up to players to build new prison sections, train the guards, and pretend to intently listen to all the life problems of the monsters while doodling in your notebook or playing a certain tiny sim game on your smartphone.
Tiny Prison (Playboard) | Tiny Prison (Play Store)
Tiny Stomp from Patrik Liljecrantz
Simple, silly, twisted, fun, each word a very apt description of the absurdly hilarious new literal endless runner Tiny Stomp that sees players acting out a scene from Godzilla on a horde of bothersome creatures that have invaded your house. They’re vicious buggers though so when you’re stomping into oblivion just be sure that you don’t accidentally ram your foot down onto one of the tacks the bigger ones carry, that will cost you time and we can’t have that. Maintaining a steady left foot right foot rhythm and planning ahead in order to avoid any spikes are the keys to success in this eccentric new arcade game.
Tiny Stomp (Playboard) | Tiny Stomp (Play Store)
Whip Swing from Pixel Envision
It may not be based around the most original concept, but perhaps no game has occupied more of my spare time lately than indie studio Pixel Envision’s uber addicting new twitch physics arcade game Whip Swing. The idea behind it is fairly simple, as an intrepid Indiana Jones wanna be players must swing through the vines of a cave for as long as possible without falling into the spikes below, but the execution here is solid and the whole experience feels very polished which makes Whip Swing conducive to multiple play throughs. The physics based swinging feels great and looks very fluid too due to the graphics engine running at an ultra smooth 60 frames per second, making Whip Swing a winner in my book.
Whip Swing (Playboard) | Whip Swing (Play Store)
Tune in every Friday for your regularly scheduled Friday Night Indie Game Round-Up brought to you by SGD editors Craig Forshey and James Maxwell!