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Top 10 best Android games of July 2014

Roguelikes, pyramids, battleships, and emotional rectangles

Top 10 best Android games of July 2014
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The days didn't appear to get any cooler in July. And nor did the Android game release schedule.

We've had some more top efforts, both fresh releases and iOS conversions, to help keep our minds off the oppressive heat.

So if you haven't taken a look at the Google Play Store recently, work up a sweat with a Platinum Award-winning action-RPG, one of the finest mobile Metroidvania platformers yet, or a couple of artsy critical darlings.

And that doesn't even cover the half of this July's offerings.

Wayward Souls
By RocketCat Games - buy on Android

We awarded Wayward Souls full marks when it launched on iOS earlier in the year, and nothing's happened to change our mind during the conversion to Android.

This is a stunning action-RPG that boasts roguelike random dungeons and permadeath, formdable bosses, bags of loot to collect, and a gorgeous graphics engine that combines a retro art style with advanced lighting and physics.

Just buy it, okay?

Traps n' Gemstones
By Donut Games - buy on Android

While we had more than an inkling that Wayward Souls was going to be a bit special, Traps n' Gemstones has come out of nowhere and whipped us round the chops with its excellence.

It's a sprawling platform adventure that's also dead easy to pick up and play, with a sedate pace and simple virtual controls offsetting its dauntingly intricate construction.

The sophistication of the game's puzzles and the ways in which its relic-strewn levels interconnect is a continuous delight.

Thomas Was Alone
By Bossa Studios Ltd - buy on Android

Indie darling Thomas Was Alone has been making games critics go all gooey for the past four years. Now it's available on Android, so you can see what all the fuss is about.

Thomas Was Alone is a deceptively simple platform puzzler with lots of clever spatial puzzles. But that's not the main talking point here.

That would be the tightly interwoven and surprisingly moving story that runs at the game's heart, beautifully narrated by Danny Wallace.

Lionheart Tactics
By Kongregate - download on Android

Here's a game that's completely in love with Japanese strategy RPGs like Final Fantasy Tactics and Fire Emblem. Which is cool, because so are we.

Lionheart Tactics succeeds because it translates the typically arcane rulesets and steep learning curves of such games into an approachable, mobile-friendly format.

It even manages to get the whole freemium thing right, which is worthy of praise in itself.

Blek
By Kunabi Brother - buy on Android

Blek is special because it's completely original, and because it simply wouldn't work on anything other than a multi-touch-capable mobile device.

This stylish puzzler has you drawing out the initial route for recurring bubble-popping lines. The skill is to predict this path and weave your way around any obstructions.

If that sounds a little weird, well, that's because we haven't seen it before. Best to just download it and see.

Magic 2015
By Wizards of the Coast - download on Android

Okay, so the Magic series is starting to lose a little of its appeal after a series of barely improved annual updates. It's even starting to feel a little bloated.

But it's still the premier card battling experience out there.

This 2015 edition is as deep and polished as ever, with a fresh single player campaign and lots of bonus cards from external developers.

Eliss Infinity
By Steph Thirion - buy on Android

Here's another game that, like Blek, defies easy categorisation.

Eliss Infinity is all about resizing, splitting, and dragging odd abstract shapes onto their allocated slot, making sure to avoid anything of a different colour.

It's frantic stuff, enhanced no end by the game's deeply unusual cosmic 8-bit art style.

Modern Combat 5: Blackout
By Gameloft - buy on Android

If all this artfully constructed indie gaming is proving a little rich for your palette, boot up Modern Combat 5 and shoot the crud out of some generic bad guys.

Gameloft's latest "tribute" to Call of Duty isn't smart or fresh, but it is big and loud and visually impressive.

Whether you want to blast through one of its mobile-friendly compact single player missions or indulge in some multiplayer one-upmanship, it's a fine example of console-style mobile gaming.

Battle Fleet 2: WW2 in the Pacific
By Capital j Media LLC - buy on Android

The Worms series has been running for years now, but its distinctive zany style means that some will never warm to it.

Battle Fleet 2: WW2 takes the same ebb and flow of turn-based combat and applies it to a sober real-conflict naval setting.

You also get a strategic overview of the Pacific theatre, plenty of weapon customisation options, and a natty (if curiously real-time) multiplayer mode.

99 Bricks: Wizard Academy
By WeirdBeard - download on Android

Quite possibly the least assuming game on this list, 99 Bricks: Wizard Academy is nonetheless a bit of a delight.

It plays a bit like Tetris, with familiar falling shapes needing to be slotted into place. But there's also an appealing knock-about physics element to it.

You're required to form these shapes into a precariously teetering tower, fending off the attentions of rival wizards.


Want more? Then check out our scientifically accurate and automatically updated list of the best Android games.


Top 10 best Android games: June 2014
Top 10 best Android games: May 2014
Top 10 best Android games: April 2014
Top 10 best Android games: March 2014
Top 10 best Android games: February 2014
Top 10 best Android games: January 2014
Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.