Chances are, most of the games on your phone need an internet connection to even fire up. It doesn’t affect you all that much because your phone is constantly connected. However, what about those times when you don’t have a signal? Sometimes, you just want to play games offline.
It can be frustrating trying to start games (ones as simple as jigsaw puzzles or RPGs, mind you) only to get the “Can’t connect to server” message when without a signal. Because of times like these, it’s important to have apps that can be played with or without a connection. Here’s a list of the best offline games you can play on Android.
Secret Cat Forest
- Download Cost: Free
- In-App Cost: $0.99 – $20.99
- Size: 104MB
- Google Play Rating: 4.7 stars out of 5
Secret Cat Forest is an adorable game that has you building a life in the eponymous forest. You start off in an empty house somewhere in the middle of the forest, so you’ll set out to gather resources from the forest. As you gather resources, you’ll add decorations to the house.
The overall aesthetics in this game are amazing. The graphics are beautiful, and the same thing goes for the music. You’ll love playing this game if you’re looking for relaxing and straightforward gameplay. It’s the kind of game you can decompress to.
There Is No Game: WD
- Download Cost: $4.99 (Free with Play Pass)
- In-App Cost: No
- Size: 332MB
- Google Play Rating: 4.8 stars out of 5
This game brings a certain humor to its gameplay. There Is No Game is a puzzler where you need to think outside of the box in order to progress. You’ll be given certain challenges to solve, and the answer won’t be evident at first.
The game has a narrator that will talk to you and interact with you. As you play the game, you’ll thwart whatever he’s doing. For example, you’ll constantly tear down the sign that he put up. You’ll need to think outside of the box to do so and progress.
This game is free to download if you have Google Play Pass. However, if you don’t want to bother with a subscription service, you’ll be able to just pay $4.99 once and be done with it. There are no in-app purchases.
Machinarium
- Download Cost: $5.99 (Free with Play Pass)
- In-App Cost: None
- Size: 244MB
- Google Play Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
Machinarium is a point-and-click (well, point-and-tap) puzzle game with a very interesting aesthetic. In the game, you play as a small and adorable robot named Joseph. He was just dumped in a landfill, and he’s on a journey to save his girlfriend.
In the game, you’ll be traveling to many different locations and solving a myriad of puzzles. As you can guess, the puzzles will range in variety and difficulty level. You will need to use the items in the environment (and sometimes, the environment itself) to solve these puzzles and progress forward. As you progress, you will collect different items that will help you solve these puzzles.
It’s a very fun and aesthetic game that has a very unique look to it. It’s not quite macabre, but it’s definitely not bright and cheerful.
Grim Tides
- Download Cost: Free
- In-App Cost: $0.99 – $24.99
- Size: 124MB
- Google Play Rating: 4.7 stars out of 5
Grim Tide is a unique dungeon crawler that focuses on simple graphics and interesting gameplay. When the game starts, you will have several in-depth methods to customize your character’s skills, attributes, Etc. Then, you are thrust into the game.
When it comes to graphics, Grim Tide doesn’t have much to offer, but that does not mean that the visuals aren’t interesting. Each dungeon is a grid of squares. Your character will be on one corner of the map. When you progress a square, you’ll run into an enemy or treasure. Also, during your journey, you will happen upon situations where you have to make a choice. The choice will have either positive or negative consequences.
This game is simple, but it’s very fun. It forces you to use strategy to make it out of the Dungeons.
Game Dev Tycoon
- Download Cost: $4.99 (Free with Play Pass)
- In-App Cost: None
- Size: 63MB
- Google Play Rating: 4.8 stars out of 5
This game gives you the experience of starting your own game company from scratch. That’s not an exaggeration, as your character will be starting their video game company from their garage. It’s to give you an authentic feeling of being a game developer typing out code in your parents’ basement while still in college.
When the game starts, you will customize your character, choose a name for them, and pick a name for your company. After you do that, you will get started working on your very first game. When you make a game, you will choose the name, the genre, and other attributes of it to make a great combination. Then, you will launch the game and wait for the reviews to roll in.
As you develop games, you’ll earn more money. You will use the money to launch more games, update your office, and further progress your company.
Samorost 3
- Download Cost: $5.99 (Free with Play Pass)
- In-App Cost: None
- Size: 1.014GB
- Google Play Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
This is a fun and challenging point-and-click puzzle game that has you playing as a young boy who discovers a mysterious instrument that fell from the sky. Since it’s a puzzle game, you’ll be going through different locations and solving different puzzles in order to progress.
The puzzles, as you can imagine, will range in variety, and difficulty. You may even find yourself getting stuck at some points, but the puzzles are not too hard. One of the greatest tools in your belt is the mysterious instrument that you use to solve some puzzles.
The graphics, animation, and music are all very high quality, and they have a nice semi-macabre aesthetic. This is for people who like really eccentric and interesting games.
Rogue Egg: Hatch Hero
- Download Cost: Free
- In-App Cost: $0.99 – $54.99
- Size: 423MB
- Google Play Rating: 4.2 stars out of 5
We all think of eggs as delicate objects, but this game is here to change that. Rogue Egg is a survivor RPG that has you playing as several different armor-clad eggs. This is a survivor game, so your survival will depend on the passive skills and attacks that you wrack up. Each time you level up, you’ll have the chance to gain a new attack that will help you fend off the hordes of enemies.
As you play, you’ll be able to use other types of warrior eggs. You start off with a sword fighter, but you’ll be able to use other characters like archers, mages, etc. Also, you’ll upgrade your character along with weapons and artifacts that you find on the way. They will all enhance your character so that you’ll be able to inflict more damage in battle.
Download Rogue Egg: Hatch Hero
Life in Adventure
- Download Cost: Free
- In-App Cost: $0.99 – $84.99
- Size: 90MB
- Google Play Rating: 4.3 stars out of 5
Life in Aventure is a text-based game that has you playing the role of an up-and-coming hero. You start off with a simple introduction and you’re on your way. As with text-based games, your decision affects where the story goes. You’ll need to make choices based on the actions that occur in the game.
The game has a nice pixelated aesthetic. The characters, backgrounds, and items are nicely made. This goes for the background music that you hear throughout your adventure.
Inbento
- Download Cost: Free
- In-App Cost: None
- Size: 58MB
- Google Play Rating: 4.7 stars out of 5
Here’s a game that’s equally relaxing and challenging. Inbento is a puzzle game that has you making sushi and putting them in small bento boxes. However, you need to make the sushi to order, and that’s where the challenge comes in.
At each level, you’ll be shown a bento box with squares of ingredients. The squares will be arranged in a certain way, and you’ll need to replicate it. On the bottom of the screen, you’ll see groups of ingredient squares, and you’ll need to place them in the bento box in the right order and orientation so you can replicate the order. You can place the groups in different spots and rotate them. Some groups can’t be rotated, however.
As you play, you’ll see more types of ingredients and larger bento boxes. It’s fun, relaxing, and challenging.
Download Bloons Adventure Time
Lost Lands 8
- Download Cost: Free
- In-App Cost: None
- Size: 1GB
- Google Play Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Lost Lands is the 8th installment in a long series of story-based puzzle games. In order to progress through the level, you’ll need to search for clues, tools, and other items to solve puzzles.
This is a story-based game, so you’ll be on a journey. It starts off with a cutscene where the character’s son is turned to stone. You’ll need to journey to find a way to restore him. It’s a fun game if you’re familiar with the Enigmatis series of games.