😳 / chromerot
😳 / discord
Mobile Games like Hero Wars and Homescapes are notorious for their misleading, and, some would say CRINGE ads, but this only goes to highlight deeper problems with the Mobile Gaming industry. Mobile Games make more money than PC and Console games combined, but the mobile games themselves are often just lazy ripoffs and clones of other games with predatory monetization and misleading ads. In this video I explore how Mobile Games manipulate you into spending your money on microtransactions and pay to win upgrades, as well as the current state of mobile gaming and how it could have evolved differently had we as consumers had better standards.
Timestamps:
0:00 - don't skip my intro
0:56 - old phones
1:41 - old mobile games
3:35 - let's go whaling
5:07 - manipulation
7:10 - mobile game ads
8:59 - mobile games & publishers
11:02 - how phones could have evolved
13:33 - conclusion
14:11 - i got hooked on a game while making this video lol
16:12 - outro
hey old video blowing up for no reason gang, join my discord 😈 discord.com/invite/rcnCRYB7BJ
Just got this video on my feed. Saw this comment was literally one minute ago. Congrats on being favored by the algorithm.
@@chaoticsilver8442 same
algorithm blesseth thou
the algorithic gods have giveth thy blessings to one named chromerot
😮
This video got me thinking about how mobile games were like back in the day. Fruit ninja, cut the rope, angry birds, doodle jump, and Plants vs Zombies were such addicting classics without all the BS that are in mobile games nowadays. Such a shame that mobile gaming headed the direction it did. Edit: Ofc there’s still good mobile games coming out, at the time I was just referring to the industry as a whole and the games that the general population plays.
right! they were great games but they unwittingly started the shift towards hypercasual
Actually, I wanna go further before. I mean real football was actually awesome and had terrific bluetooth multiplayer. Prince of Persia games were some of the best platformers on mobile with great combos and gorgeous sprites. Basically it was the time where gameloft was a mark of quality and not whatever it is today
Don't worry it will get much worse considering like the guy in the video said it makes more money then console and pc games combined. I am baffled that it can earn that much and I though that there is a lot of people spending a tone money on stupid stuff on pc or consoles ,but mobile come on how can it be a billion dollar thing
I remember when Plants vs Zombies 2 came out, and was ripped several new assholes by reviewers for obscene monetization. One reviewer said, "Congratulations Devs! You earned 1 star! Additional stars can be purchased for $4.99!"
The worst part is that those amazing games all eventually got sequels that were full off the same garbage their competitors were peddling. Shit's depressing, yo.
"Who the f*** puts ads in ga- *advertisement plays*"
Same happened to me lol
Pretty sure he put it there x'D
An actual mobile game ad plays
I thought I was the only one
I thought I was the only one
The worst thing is that there aren’t any legal consequences for these ridiculous ads. When they’re a small mobile game company, they have nothing to worry about “It’s probably immoral and unethical, but I can get away with bc no lawsuit”
There should be an advertisement regulatory board that checks ads for clickbait, misinformation or NSFW content. But with the state of the world today, that's very unlikely to happen 😕
@@deviantjam7428 happened on KZhead though.
@@itsyvonblitz6819 some of the shit ads get through though
@@deviantjam7428 I think my brain wasn't working when I commented that because I can't find a single day in my memories when I didn't see a shit ad. I may have been trying say something else but it has escaped me now
@@deviantjam7428 Many are based in China. They literally got away with cloning League of Legends by paying a few thousand dollars.
Holy crap. I can't believe I completely forgot about how I liked gaming on phones before the smartphone era. It's crazy that tou could have full arcade games on a tiny phone that had buttons on it. I remember having some LG phone that had metal slug in it. Literally a full metal slug game and I loved it.
I had metal slug too! Holy shit, I forgot about that for sometime now. I remember how stoked I was to have that back in the day. That game is so fun in the arcade and even tho our old phones were dog crap, it was still amazing feeling to have the ability to play a mobile version of the game.
Those old Gameloft games from the 2000's were the shit, thanks for the nostalgia trip man.
I loved Miami nights games and new york night games
modern combat, nova, gangstar, asphalts,... :((
If only they still make those games
N.O.V.A brothers in arms (besides 3) and dungeon hunter 4 solos the entire modern mobile gaming catalogue catalogue (maybe mc5 pre marauder asphalt 8 and gangstar vegas to some extent)
Sixguns !
2011: the PSP phone is awful. 2021: okay maybe it wasn't that bad considering
S T A D I A
B E R R O
@RAYHAN REHEMA PUTRA Dude...he said PSP Phone...you know, the Sony XPeria Play? Turns out I was the only one who ever respected that device...
@RAYHAN REHEMA PUTRA PSP and PS Vita were groundbreaking comparing to mobile games. They are barely stronger than PS2, but they were *portable* and that's the thing. Kinda sad that PSV failed - it was powerful enough for some great games on hand in a bus and had everything better than it's predecessor.
@@calluxdoaron1903 I mean, it depends. The Vita lacked a lot of third party support and I swear I had more fun playing Dead Space on a deadbeat Samsung device (shit by even then standards when I first got it sometime in early 2010) than trying to play Call of Duty : Declassified. (How the turntables, homebrew for the win) And by the time the Vita released, phones could already run PSP games. Something the Vita didn't get officially until The FloW made Adrenaline, despite the fact that just like the Wii U, it had the hardware of its predecessor. Outside of some PSP releases on the PS Store on Vita. Thank fuck for the homebrew community, because Sony just went and blamed the Mobile market for its downfall...fools. But in general, yes, both really were groundbreaking. But comparing them to the mobile market is a bit of a stretch : handhelds were already flashed out by that point, companies knew (or should have already known) what to expect and create. Meanwhile the Mobile market was still heavily experimenting between deciding whether asking for a few bucks to play fun and casual games, oooor choose the (at the time fairly new) "Freemium" model that ended up evolving into what we know today as the micro-transaction heavy psychological torture. Part of the reason we are doomed with the Fremium model is that Apple couldn't sit on their ass and went after TapJoy to shut down their "per-download-payment" that they offered for ads. So yeah, comparing handhelds to phones isn't so simple.
One thing that annoys me to no end is how good mobile games will not get promoted on the app store because they make less money, wich is really sad. PS: Interstellar Pilot 2 is a good game that you can play on mobile.
Any Supercell game is also worth checking out
Slandered Huntress is also another play to win type of phone game
hell nah, they're literally in the same tier as Candy Crush, if not worse.
Data wings is the best mobile game
@@BLET_55artem55 with the exception of CR.
I think the absolute worst problem with gaming in general is that the big companies are greedy asf and demand a lot of money and more or less use you instead of the good days of gaming which devs were more about making games for people to enjoy.
Games have always been about making money. They’re not going to be able to live on thin air either
@@yellow125 it is, but at least back then those games were made with effort and passion from the Devs and team themselves that actually love video games, not purely corporate.
@@yellow125 You're missing the point. Back then games were foremost made to be good, which in turn created a lot of money. Now the games are made to be as bad and agonizing as possible to lure and scam the most money out of people. The entire industry has shifted into that direction
@@yellow125 But at least back then games were made with effort and passion from the people who are working on these games.
@@unstrungbeauty7208 Mostly true. But I'm pointing out that the money aspect itself is nothing new. There's a reason shovelware existed back as well after all. It's simply an extension of the same point. More pertinently, it's an oversimplification to say 'good old days' of caring about quality.
funny enough, my dad asked me yesterday if i had any recommendations because all the games he had tried for the past week were making him "wait" and he was tired of being limited. The only games that went through my mind at that moment were some games i played 10 or more years ago (Kingdom Rush 2011) and that terrified me
Just pirate an emulator for him. That's the best way to play something actually good on a phone.
Just seeing someone remember kingdom rush makes me happy the goat franchise
Back in the days where heroes, shops and gems didn't exist. Less can be more.
tell him to play dandara
How bout bloons td 6?
If only we can have an app store that filters this shit and encourages developers to not have ads in their games and present solid games that make you pay only once and make people consider mobile gaming seriously. Unfortunately Apple and Google won't allow it
There is exactly this thing that you described and even better all the games have zero ads and zero monetisation. All you need to pay is a low monthly subs for access to all the premium games library… Yes, that’s Apple Arcade but sadly it’s relative unpopularity has sent a clear signal to the market that this is not the right thing to do and not the smart way to go into mobile gaming industry. Just plain sad reality
@@cozmic0 because it's subscription based. if you coukf pay for each game it'd be a different ball game
@@BusinessWolf1 $5 a month is so much cheaper than what people would’ve spent monthly on a premium games, let alone predatory microtransactions that exploit their wallet to the max
@@cozmic0 i know, i know. but people avoid subscriptions like the plague. also, most users are on android
@@BusinessWolf1 yeah unfortunate on the apple only part, but statistically apple users tend to spend more on games and this is not happening with apple arcade. Sadly the truth is simply that premium games is not what the market want, just ask any premium release on mobile.
The worst part about the super sexualized ads is that it's target audience which would fall for it are kids... this shouldn't even be legal
If you want mobile games that aren't shit, look at the rhythm game scene. Just be sure to go past the piano tiles and tap tap revolutions, and go for stuff like Cytus or Rotaeno or Deemo or Project Sekai or Arcaea or OverRapid or RAVON. The amount of effort in them is infinitely more than basically all of the games on the platform. You also get incredible music.
Bangdream too
@@thearmyofiron thats an idol game
@@kwobuk but is it not a rythm game?
Can't wait to see the massive amount of mobile users flocking to osu!lazer when peppy finishes it. I absolutely love arcaea too, used to be the main game I played until I discovered osu! (standard gamemode). Both games are so unique in their own way.
^^^this
Tbf I've played supercell games without spending money my whole childhood and it was honestly such a blast
Supercell games are great, no ads and you don't have to spend money. Have some self control, I haven't spent a penny on them and the game is just as if not more fun
@@OmniversalInsect Yeah they are very good at walking the line of keeping free to play players actually having lots of fun and really happy while still making an insane amount of money.
Same. I feel like clash of clans is a fame i always come back to
same
I can personally vouch that my days pleating early brawl stars and clash royale were hella skill based. I didn't care if you were 3 character levels above me in brawl stars because the young fan base could be played with mind games for days.
Would have loved a take on Apple Arcade in this - removing the need to monetise mobile games creates cool stuff.
never owned an iphone so i'm not familiar with it at all unfortunately
@@NintendoDude888 yeah, everyone who has it attests to it, but they don't realise the price of that quality because it's us who have to deal with it.
Apple Arcade has some really great games such as Bloons TD6+ and Cut The Rope Remastered but most of them already exits in Google Play Store. I don't think it worth the price.
@@REPLA_ACE sneaky sasquatch is a must play
@@chromerot it has quality games without ads or microtransactions
I seriously suggest playing the game "Death Palette" for those trying finding a mobile, story-based game. You try to complete a cursed painting without dying. It can be frustrating, but I swear, there's something about the game that makes you want to complete it. It deserved all the 5 stars that it got.
I really liked it, also they should make more games like this but with more replayability
Had no clue about that presentation, genuinely some really interesting material. Love the vibe, the entire presentation viewing experience is joyful - will be here for more!
Man, that last segment hits so hard. We all think shit like "I'm special, these stupid tricks won't work on me!" But later you are launching this one game, every morning, every day, to get a pittance of summoning resources. When you start to want to brag about your lucky pulls - it's game over - they got you. I learned this from personal experience.
Or maybe you don't and you're right and these tricks actually don't work on you.
@@atlas_19 Well it could be, but if the comment doesn't apply to you then it isn't for you.
a n i m e n i m e
Just delete it lol
it just fun lol, I wouldn't play it if it wasn't fun
A curated mobile game store is actually a neat idea! I'll have to mull that over.
I got the ad from the thumbnail
Well there is Apple Arcade...
@@keonh.2679 I heard of that. Not an apple user, though, so I can neither confirm nor deny that rumor.
Apple user here, Apple Arcade is indeed real.
@@madao7865 there's also Google play pass or something
Thank you for calling out the irrelevant ads on mobile games at 07:30 mins in. Like you said, the mobile game industry will only change if enough users complain about the ads. I’m glad you’re spreading awareness on this topic.
4:19 it pains me to admit that you’re COMPLETELY right. I used to think I was immune to shitty mobile games because I’m so different and smart and cool and not like other people but ive had two games over the past years prove me otherwise, and they were as shitty, overloaded with ads and microtransactions and poor actual gameplay as they can get. And i got addicted anyways… at least it was a humbling experience
I like the distinction of "games you can play in your phone" vs "mobile games".
Im actually glad you showcased Sky: Children of Light It’s one of the few mobile games that’s incredibly fun and even got ported to Switch
I think it's also getting ported to other consoles now
is it really that good ive been debating for a while now whether i should start playing it or not.
@@jeffjeffjeff69 It's kind of like a mobile, free to play Journey. Actually, made by That Game Company, the developers of Journey. Moment to moment exploration is fun, and non-cosmetic character upgrades seem to be gameplay only, but it has battle passes and "friendship" systems you can pay into to get cosmetic stuff. To be honest, I do seem to remember something not quite cosmetic being behind friendship system, but I might be wrong, and I stopped playing before the first battle pass appeared, but, hey, it's certainly more honest even with that than an average game or even Genshin Impact.
@@TymofiiLisovychenko it's less of a battle pass and more of a "season" pass. And I agree with you, I've been playing it for almost 3 years now on April 14. The Aurora Concert even happened in the game
It actually is ported
I remember a mobile game I played once a couple years back, Implosion: Never Lose Hope, it was a genuinely great game, all about the story, high fidelity graphics, gameplay, and most importantly, it has no ads, it just prompts you to buy the game after chapter 1 which for me lasted about half an hour, more than enough to see if I like the game or not. It has since been removed from Google Play Store, but I still occasionally think and reminisce about those times where games like those were the norm and studios genuinely bunkered down to make art.
It was made by Rayark Inc. so it's probably why you enjoyed it. They make some very heart-wrenching lore.
Rayark makes top quality games, no regrets ngl especially with their work on the rhythm game genre.
2:25 Prince of Persia 3:38 Whaling 6:11 Slot machine 6:50 Ads 11:50 Diablo 7:20 Most earning 7:40 Brain tumour
Brain tumor 😂🎉🎉😂
"You're not immune to this just because you're a kid that didn't have to study and thus didn't develop any work ethic and now you're paying the price as an adult" I have been directly and critically attacked.
Hm
I felt the same 💀
KILL ME BABY!!!
Lmao, so fucked in life now
@@adityajackson5938 good news! Your personality and ability aren't rigid and you can still develop a good work ethic.
The developers are so scummy. I remember having a chat online with one who tried to justify why they had to use predatory monetization and I just lost hope for games getting better. Are people really that entitled to make money for the least amount of effort? They are borderline criminal. And shame on people who think paying for any mobile game is unfathomable. Consumers really enabled this practice and they continue to.
Artificial scarcity be like! I love when games gaslight people into trading and grinding to get their useless, abstract, worthless items! And it's even better when the game's community itself manipulates the playerbase. "You wouldn't get a fridge for free!"
You can't put stuff online on mobile for free, like on PC, they have to have a kind of monetization
@@joaovmlsilva3509 why? Just dont use gaygle play store lol
Nah devs are talented. More so that youtubers
@sadman Sad That's okay! I'm glad you have stuff to play.
The problem with manipulation is that even if you're (short term) rational, you can still be affected by manipulation. The difference is that some manipulation causes you to feel worse off if you don't do the thing (click on the sexy add or buy an item or log in to the game), which is much more unethical than a product that makes you feel better by playing the game. With the first type, even if you optimize for happiness, you end up worse off than if you never learned about the game.
THANK YOU SOO MUCH! I’ve been preaching this for years, I hate the app store soo much. There are a few good games out there but they become so hard to find in this sea of hyper casual games.
That small section at the end, where u revealed that u were sucked into one of the lusty anime games, had me dying 😭💀
I even cried 😢😞
I related to him since I play that damn game
Me playing azur lane....
Gacha & idle anime games 💚 keeps me playing the damn game
@@tennessee3156 boat waifus
Funny enough, I completely agree with all the points in the video, and I also have Idle angels installed as one of the very few games on my phone. In the case of that game, it's so ridiculously over the top in all it's predatory cash grabs, fiat currencies and constant "quests" to keep you invested, that's it's just too confusing to figure out anything else and you can just focus on the core "game play loop". This isn't a defense of it, just a funny observation, it's basically so terrible it keeps everything else in check. *Play clip from the Simpsons where Mr. Burns is explained he's kept alive by all the diseases balancing each other out*
exactly!
@@chromerot would love if you make a video on good mobile games recommendation Like Gta sa Stardew valley Old man's journey Battle prime Arena breakout Lone wolf 17+ a sniper story Children of the light Shadow fight 2 special edition Shadow fight shades CarX street Oceanhorn Farlight 84 The wolf among us(no it isn't among us related) My friend Pedro :ripe for revenge T3 arena Desceneders Again Would love if you made videos on these hidden gems :))
Snakebird
@@chromerot sorry this is unrelated but I think it would be interesting for you to do a video about gacha games as a whole and your thoughts about them
A mobile game was actually what scared me of addiction for the rest of my life. It was one of the better ones with rpg elements and after creating my own guild I became hopelessly addicted. I had to always be online doing all the important stuff to not lose the high ranking members of my guild to the point where I neglected a lot of stuff like family and responsibilities and spend a whole bunch of money (at least for that time, I was a kid) until it finally cumulated in the top member of my guild leaving because I was a week on vacation. I had a mental breakdown after that and never touched anything highly addicting ever again, not even alcohol or any other drugs
Props to the chad that scared you out of that garbage.
If you like anime tiddies check out Girls Frontline, with the last couple of years updates it's so much easier and less time consuming, plus you don't need to drop a dime and you can get strong as fuck units even if you don't take part on seasonal event, hell, you unlock some of the most (annoyingly) op characters after a few chapters of playing the story mode (I scrapped them tho, they suck ballz imo)
Why the fuck are y'all recommending games to this person?? They shared an experience about how bad their addiction was and your first thought was to recommend something else to get addicted to? "Hi, my name's John, and I'm an alcoholic" "Hi john, have you tried meth?"
Thanks! you brought in light so many concerns It's very helpful
A few years ago i downloaded a game called idle skilling, i started playing it because it had a ton of unique content, but one of the main reasons i kept it was that it had no ads, a few in-app purchases that were tucked away nicely in one corner of one shop, and an 8-bit figure representing the creator saying random stuff to me. Its different to play a game someone made that a product an organisation provided you with.
there's so many good mobile games that are like this, but sadly it's hard to find them because of how the app stores algorithm works.
Is there a specific name to it. I’ve found multiple with similar names so can you tell me something like the rating or exact name?
lavaflame (the little 8bit figure an creator you were mentioning) made another game that blends idleskilling content, while building a mmo ontop of it but still being a idle game at its core, its called legend of idleon mmo, if you liked what you had seen back then you maybe wanna give it a glimpse
@@kittyoverlooord1300 idle skilling
@@CryDeathwing i started played idleon when it was released but quit after a few months
Mobile games back then : have an actual gameplay and short but really makes you like playing a game. Mobile games now : daily chores > get more currency > get more rolls in gacha > get more boobas or things > get more dopamine. It's like trying to make me a wage slave.
Neo liberalism needs to be stopped. I swear we're going to je living under feudalism soon
Funny you say that when the gacha games are probably the only guaranteed decent quality ad-free experience on mobile. Nothing wrong with gacha unless they go all out predatory monetization, nor the daily login thing. The problem is when every game on the market does it, even single player games.
@@freshlymemed5680 ye
@@freshlymemed5680 The weeb is defending Gacha games what a surprise. Doesn't really matter when a majority of gacha games are predatory
@@freshlymemed5680if you dedicated the same time you spend on your gacha games to working an actual job you would be much happier
As a game development enthusiast, I will strive to make good mobile games, probably stuff that can run on both pc and mobile with cloud save, if I can manage it! That's the goal.
A game I've recently started playing is Limbus Company, which takes place in the same universe as it's prior predecessors: Library of Ruina and Lobotomy Corporation (Lobotomy Corporation had fallen to ruin by the time of Limbus Company's story). Its surprisingly F2P friendly and the gameplay, despite being turn-based, is actually really tough the more you progress, which means you'll have to level up your characters to stand a chance
Ishmael love
Holy shit i found a pm fan
Project Moon mentioned
The best mobile game I could find is one called "Soul Knight". It's a retro roguelike where the gameplay strongly resembles "the binding of Isac", so you can already imagine why it's good :^V I by playing It you will noticed that the team behind It made It with a lot of passion and heart, since It is a game that has a Nice sense of humor, challenging dificulty and a great ost (the final boss theme is too epic for it's own good), and that's why It is a ABSOLUTE GEM and I definitely recomend It. It's basicly the only game I have and need in my phone, because why botter digging If I already found the treasure? Please, check out this gem, you will not regret It.
Not really sure why KZhead keep deleting my comment though :^/
youtube does that when you say a word they don't like. will check out soul knight!
@@chromerot i think it's because I mentioned the a*p St*re :^V
@@chromerot try guardian tales
10/10 can also recommend soul knight, very much a classic for me as well.
Almost guaranteed those ads are designed purposely to trigger any emotional response, whether it be anger, sadness, disgust. Anything to get you either talking about it or downloading it to see if its what it says it is. I think handheld gaming consoles like the Switch, Steam Deck, and others are the saving grace for the hardcore console players wanting to take something on the go with them.
I grew up with Mobile games. No console, no handhelds and no PC. Holy Wars, Gangstar2, Asphalt 4 and Alpha Zone. It was good. They inspired me to be a game dev. I do it as a hobby and released my first game on mobile. My policy is no ads, no data collection and demo available. The game is only a demo, and its called Astro Impact! De_Make
Great video! Spoke from my heart
1:42 damn man so much nostalgia, I remember staying up til 3am as a kid playing prince of persia, assassins creed on my phone, it was THE SHIT, bouncy ball slapped hard too. Thanks for taking me back
feels like a past life
I remember almost a decade ago when I discovered Shadow Fight 2 and Vector. Man it felt like the universe was revealed before my eyes and I've just never seen anything like it at the tip of my fingertips no less. How far it has fallen from grace. Also Sky is honestly a miracle to me. The optimization of that game must be ahead of its time because it ran on my obsolete af phone with those beautiful graphics
I loved Shadow Fight 2! I downloaded Shadow Fight 3 recently and got hooked. Haven't spent anything on it and it's been a lot of fun. Play sessions are limited (softly, through not being able to upgrade your gear against tougher enemies) if you don't pay, and there are a few ads, but it's light compared to the majority of mobile games. I was disappointed to see it in here. For the Legion!
Man vector was the bomb
vector is so fye😭 i 100% that game one time, like all 3 stars every level including hunter mode and i completed the main levels from the beginning countless times as well
shadow fight was also so cool, its like 2d dark souls, you had to learn the enemy skillset and adapt to anticipate the attacks based on animations, and it was also really fucking difficult, some of the bosses required perfection even with best f2p gear possible, it was a blast finally beating the level, felt so proud
shadow fight 2 is amazing because battles marked with “impossible” were actually possible if you study the enemy well, without upgrading your gear
OMG you actually talked about everything I feel about mobile games, I always go to the play store in hopes of finding a decent game that's ACTUALLY FUN and I always fail at that, I seriously gave up on mobile gaming at this point.
so sad , ilove the game gunz and find it sad ill have to go to your patreon to check it :o bless up , good video
The only mobile gaming I do is emulate classic Gameboy or NDS games. Great video, it certainly got me thinking and re-evaluating my thoughts on mobile gaming.
And emulate J2me games
Max Payne's port is pretty fun too
based
Now i'm emulated PS2 and PSP games on my phone though i'm still played Jetpack Joyride, Fishing Hooks and Stumble Guys in frequent plays
@@garibaldibritann1240 ye ps2 emulation on mobiles actually pretty good
Ironically the line "You're not immune to this just because you're a kid that didn't have to study and thus didn't develop any work ethic and now you're paying the price as an adult" could have been me if not for games that encourages you to play daily with the scummy daily system because a huge chunk of my teenage life was spent on basically what amounts to a part time job so in the end I became a workaholic who has a hard time idling Still very predatory tho and has ruined me permanently
That line scares me so much right now, as I slowly become that person, lol
@@Daniel-jn6zj i am. it sucks. coupled with ADHD and i have no clue how to get out of this hole i am in.
I studied and have to pay the price.
@@noahwesterberg8566real
@@Daniel-jn6zj just make sure you keep up socially and youll be fine.
7:03 Omg how dare they I love Yeti sports. Such a childhood classic. It has a special place in my heart, they can't do this.
After their recent releases, I realized that Apple Arcade actually kinda tackles this issue. It’s a separate menu where you know you’ll find games ranging from decent to great while paying a subscription. I still feel the influence of mobile game design, like the extremely simplistic gameplay loops or assists up the wazoo, but there are definitely gems in there.
Yes Yes Yes this man is a correct.
Holy shit the assassin's creed game at 2:12 sent me on a whole different type of nostalgia. Back when the only internet I ever knew was a weird looking flash drive that had like 200 megabytes and I downloaded those old Java games and played on Nokia phone (even before touch phones where a thing where i grew up). I thought those old games where forgotten by everyone but you just unlocked a whole ass memory for me. Thank you for this video man!
I remember download games on 2g internet was such a pain. I had a samsung phone where I couldn't do anything else on the phone while downloading games. But all of it was worth it. I miss those good old days man
I remember first time discovering a corn video in a web that i usually download those java games
Doom rpg, Orcs& Elves, Wolfenstein rpg... Those were the days
@MSergei98 doom rpg made think that the entire doom franchise is turn based strategy. I only learned of how wrong I was like 2 years ago or something lol
Man for reaaallll i was like hold up i know that shit
A list of some cool mobile games I found over the past years: Free Games: - Sky: Children of Light (Yeah, it's on the video, but it's really great, free and you only get cosmetics with money, kinda like Journey, really fun) - That Level Again (I think I played the 1 and 2, it was pretty cool, don't know about 3 or 4) - Cat Bird (Kinda if a plataformer about a flying cat) - Super Cat Bros (Another plataformer with some main characters, pretty cool too) - I Am a Brave Knight (A history game, not much gameplay, you literally just write on the screen, but it is interesting) - Bad Land (There is tha 1 and 2, kinda like flappy bird but if it was more advanced, like, there is a really greater ambience, sounds, some powers too, even multiplayer) Games to Buy: - The Room ("Escape Room" type of game, really great quality, there is 3 games that I played and liked) - Dark Echo (A game seen from above where you "see the sound", every sound, step, claps, rocks, becomes some "rays of lights" that you use to see the wall, pits, enemies and more, really good game) - Agent A (A cool point and click game about some spys, I think it was fun) - Monument Valley (It's good, didn't remember it very well, but it's kinda a puzzle history-oriented game I think) Cash Grab (but kinda good) games: - Zooba (Battle royale with some fun gameplay) - RoyalRevolt 2 (Clash of Clans but you are a king that actually goes in battle, it's a cool mechanic) - Last Day On Earth (Survival game where you construct a base, get resources, kinda fun) - PostKnight (I liked it, you kinda just walks foward, pass some levels, get some ranks, better equipment, some relationships, cute and fun game) - Tentacle Wars (You are a cell that extends it's tentacles to dominate other cells, a bunch of other made game like this, but was the first of the kind that I played and I fink it's a cool mechanic) Edit: Now a list of all the games recommend in this thread (I didn't played most of then, just putting together so it's easier to see the list) Also, I am surprise with this list, it's really longer than I expected lol Sky: Children of Light That Level Again 1 & 2 Cat Bird Super Cat Bros I Am a Brave Knight Bad Land 1 & 2 The Room Series Dark Echo Agent A Monument Valley Zooba RoyalRevolt 2 Last Day on Earth PostKnight Tentacle Wars Botworld Adventure Postknight 2 Kitty death Room Soul Knight Hang Line Pocket Trains Day R Survival Candies and Curses Election Year Knockout Otherworld Legends PVZ2 Dead Cells Data Wing Space Expedition Alto's Odyssey Color Splash Fastar Baiko Hue 2 Green the Planet 1 & 2 Atti Land Colour Pixel Neko Atsume Kitty Collector Space Fractal Color Switch Patience Atomas Cosmic Challenge Racing Mandora Lucky Luna ProgressBar95 Seedship SuperCell games in general Mini Metro Stardew Valley Fly Corp Combat Master Labyrinth Legend 1 & 2 Train Conductor World Theo Town Epic Conquest 1 & 2 Guardian Takes Mindustry Rocket League Sideswipe Nobodies: Murder Cleaner Nobodies: After Death Exiled Kingdoms Simulacra 1 & 2 Pascal's Wager Leo's Fortune Vampire Survivors Shadow Fight 2 World Flipper Stickman Project Dan The Man Swordigo Space Marshals 2 Azur Lane Cats Are Liquid Marvel Snap ReversEstory Geometry Dash Asphalt Nitro Transformers Forged To Fight Castlevania Downwell Nameless Cat Fancade The Battle Cats
SKY PLAYER
Some games i found were cool: Botworld Adventure Postknight 2 (i finished the game without paying a cent) Kitty death room (made by the same devs as cat bird) Soul knight Hang Line Pocket trains Some of these are cash grabs but i finished all of these without paying anything lol
Last Day on Earth is pretty good but its one of the grindiest games i've ever played, DAY R Survival is really good too
The Room series is GOATED. Absolute must-play. Also Sky is *chef's kiss*
I'm practically only a mobile gamer so here are actually fun games Candies and Curses: a game where you move up and down to slay ghosts. And it's a lot harder than you might think. And games' cute too Election Year Knockout: punch-out but on phone. Sure there are paid DLC, but those give you 6 fights (contender and ex) if you buy them Soul Knight: my enter the gungeon game. Otherworld Legends: Isaac but on mobile Does PvZ2 mods count? If the do, I recommend Reflourished as a starting mod And the Dead Cells mobile port.
Glad you showed Botworld! The gameplay is awesome, the fighting mechanic is designed with unique functions. Plus, the graphics quality is very vivid and actually beautiful! It was one of my favorite mobile games, but the IAP are practically inevitable since you can't loot games and just buy them at the store, forcing you to make a purchase. I never paid a single cent, but I can say that I've come so far into the game and get actual lore
YES! What starter? I chose the big boy brick
In my experience, as I was younger I played many mobile games and most of them I started playing because of wanting to compare with my friends. As I grew older and played mostly on Pc, I learned to appreciate games more and didn't just play them for that reason. When I was 16 I was able to spend money digitally and started to appreciate the premium category on the Playstore because most games on there don't try to scam you and are made to be played occasionally. So I guess the only games that have any chance to be popular with younger audiences and therefore the main players of mobile games need to be for free to play, with all that entails, to remain profitable.
I must know if anyone here remembers infinity blade. PLEASE tell me someone does, that game and its sequels were insanely high quality games only available on the app store and they got removed a while ago, it's so sad.
I remember playing them on ipad, and waiting to get them for free when i was kid, they were really good.
They were amazing! Me and my brother played it all the time! The multiplayer was really cool because one person played as the monster while the other as a player. Why would they remove them? :(
I remember that coming out and being a huge deal! It was kind of groundbreaking how good the game looked. I remember buying an iPod Touch (remember those?) just to play it.
Despite majority says it’s gone i and minority still know it still exist to this day u can still download all three of them using two methods only and joining there discord to also read the in between lore of the games I played IB1 like somwhere 1 or 2 years ago plan to play IB2 and IB3 but i past the rickpactor’s effectiveness of the IOS software so i didn’t gotten the chance just Yet
I used to play that that game, I loved it
I remember when I first got my iPod touch as a kid there was still a lot of fun stuff back then, but it had all the predatory crap still even on some of the fun games. Luckily I was never given access to mommy's credit card so I had no way to pay for anything, I actually had a lot of fun seeing how far I could get on the worst ones without paying a cent and so have grown very resistant to microtransactions as a result
My parents hardly ever paid for video games, because they knew there was a way to get me games for free on their phones. I played through the same few levels of lite games that were essentially just demos again and again. I got PE Lite Minecraft, found it boring, and then was picked on for not knowing the difference. Funny thing is, they'd splurge on simple toy apps they were told were educational.
4:28 why you dissing me like that?!
that line is exactly me, I got goosebumps as he slowly. word. by. word. described every thing "You're not immune to this just because you're a kid that didn't have to study and thus didn't develop any work ethic and now you're paying the price as an adult"
The peak of mobile gaming was when they were just starting to play round with the tilt mechanics on the iPhone and iPod touch. My favorite mobile game is still Bounce On, which I doubt you can even find on the app store now! Other ones I loved were Doodle Jump and this one Ninjago game where you could tilt the screen to move your character's spinjitsu tornado around an arena and smack into an enemy as hard as possible. Honestly, I miss that experimentation and I wish any mobile games would bring back that control feature.
pafp
Apple kind of played into it with its utter disregard for backwards compatibility too. When you can't keep playing the old stuff, it gives a massive advantage to these cloners, and makes it untenable to long-term support a game like a decent company :D
This is one of the channels where I can wait for months until the next video comes. I really appreciate your high quality videos.
big compliment, thanks a lot
Mobile games back then: gameplays Mobile games nowadays: in-app purchases, unskippable tutorials, complicating UI
I remember the infinity blade series. I played all of the games and absolutely loved it. Damn shame it’s not up there anymore.
As a main mobile gamer....I approve these messages haha luckily I don't play mobile games with ads. I hate them. keep it up.
This was informative and so was the let's go whaling talk. Another point worth emphasizing is that anger toward something offers no protection against it. I know this first hand. It seems like a core piece of being human.
12:35 Ayyy Im SOO HAPPY you talked about that, i wanted one ever since the ROG 2 and now i have the 6 and im Very Happy with it!
I think the epitome of mobile gaming was Vainglory. However that game was ahead of its time 😔. The sad thing is, the reason the game died was because they were too generous in giving the players free stuff and not being hella monetized.
Old mobile moba games were giving me the closest feeling of playing something on a phone that has PC game quality and isn't a port of a console/PC one. I also remember enjoying Fates Forever, but that one sadly has been abandoned by devs to make Discord.
Thank you for saying everything that you said in this video. Simply knowing that there are people that are able to see and point out the mutated parasite that has grown into these games... changes my world. It truly changes it, thank you for changing the world.
This is very intelligent and you seem to have a good wrap on how the gaming industry comes off as. I have been trying to find a place where someone sees what I see. There was a great philosophical post I read on how people are not putting their soul into it art, they aren't toiling away and suffering for their it, so we the people suffer as we consume this perspective of life. This keys into the industry that I am most interested in, gaming.
glad you enjoy my stuff :) been on a bit of a hiatus recently but I should be back soon
i see you've played tiny dino world? i really loved the pixel artstyle of that game
6:19 cheeky little ad when u said about ads in games kekw
This video speaks to my soul I also got hooked on idle angels, very relatable xd
Well I’ve been playing clash of clans for the past 4 or 5 years without ever spending a single penny an it’s more fun this way, I guess sometimes I’m tempted to buy a little thing here and there but it just feels like cheating to me, I think it’s actually pretty satisfying to reach high level playing the normal way lmao
Man your video is 10/10, from the script to the editing, and you spoke facts. Reminded me of colossatron, a halfbrick classic, that has been removed from the app store for whatever reason. It was so different from so many mobile games ~~minus the microtransactions for some upgrades (which you can still get through just playing)~~ and when i looked it up on the app store recently, it was gone. Really good video!
Very chill vid, will sub
omg stop 12:20 sky is actually so good, I was thinking abt it in the back of my mind during the video~
I feel you in the ad shit definitely. it's rare to see an add for a mobile game ,that actually works like the game does. it's so baffling that it's even allowed ,but I'm sure the market is too large for anyone to actually hold people accountable. I do play certain games tho ,that I enjoy very much but ,the market as a whole is fked up .
8:34 The second you said the company was based in Cypress I was like "ah, so it's a Russian shell company for money laundering" Glad to know you're also not immune to thicc anime girls. I'm not alone!
we are men of culture
No one is immune
@@AeonsAlex. blind people are immune
@@Riadurrohman until they hear "senpai"
You lot are #downbad
Great video btw i was expecting sponser from raid shadow legends
now im imagining how it would be put in the video
First 25 seconds and I subscribed 10/10 editing
Not specific to the video but just in general; your editing in combination with your sense of humor is fucking hilarious and great to watch; and it really does build upon your commentary. It never feels overwhelming to the point you're trying to get across, and I find myself rewinding your videos a lot because a joke made me laugh so much. I look forward to more of your work!
very nice comment, thanks a lot! :)
This video seems so relevant, almost prophetic even when you consider all the news about Diablo Immortal over the last few days.
Aw man I got excited when you mentioned GunZ The Duel, played it as a kid, what a game man..
Bro i just discovered your channel and it somehow feels you are repeating my own thoughts to me in a better way with great editing
love to hear it, thanks my man 🖤
Mondstadt theme at 11:54 I’ve played Genshin too much 🥲 Awesome video! Glad I stumbled upon your channel!
Surprised you used a Genshin song at 11:53 without mentioning the game! Despite all the exaggerated or outright untrue "mobile Chinese gacha weeb game for p3d0s" stereotypes, it really is a quality game and you can see the sheer amount of effort gone into the overworld, lore, music, and characters, especially with the newer update of Sumeru that kicked it up a notch. I've played it F2P for one and a half year now.
yeah hes a weeb (i mean he made a video about it and got addicted to another gacha mobile game even though it literally copies the same things he hates)
Yeah, despite how it has predatory practices, the game still allows for complete F2P and never makes you miss out in terms of powercreep and other aspects that can make it P2W
Yeah, despite how it has predatory practices, the game still allows for complete F2P and never makes you miss out in terms of powercreep and other aspects that can make it P2W
What makes me even sadder is that many of the old mobile games that were legitimately good aren't even playable anymore. Games like Cartoon Wars 2 and the Infinity Blade trilogy are completely gone from the app store, while other good games like Head Soccer and Pixel Gun drank the scummy mobile game kool aid and are virtually unrecognizable now
There are defs a couple gems, especially if you like Idle games: Exponential Idle, Antimatter Dimensions, Melvor Idle, Achikaps is a fun RTS, obviously Dead Cells, Stardew Valley etc. There are some incredible puzzle games too, check out "Monument Valley", and Golf Peaks works even better on mobile than PC imo. Great video!
Yoooooo antimatter dimensions
yooooooo achikaps
If you like Dead Cells you could give Otherworld Legends a try, it's a fun beat em up game with a lot of character
Exponential idlie is the shit It's for anyone who likes science and shit
Idle skilling
6:14 was actually genius
Some pretty good mobile games I played: Free to play: 1. Sky, children of the light (it was in the video as well) 2. Life in adventure 3. Ninja Arashi (both games) 4. Tiny rails 5. Alto's Odyssey 6. Shadow fight 2 (sadly, it's become more money-hungry from what I saw recently) 7. Shadow Fight 3 (also in the video) (didn't play this one too much) 8. Lapse: a forgotten future 9. Earn to die 2 Paid games: 1. Gris 2. Limbo 3. The house of Da Vinci 4. Earn to die 1 Old mobile games that were fun (but idk if they are still now): 1. Zombie tsunami 2. Jetpack joyride 3. Dragon hills 4. Temple run 5. Swamp attack Some old games for keyboard phones (they can work on touchscreen with emulators): 1. Prince of Persia (2008 version, remade by gameloft I think) 2. Alien Quarantine (by Gran) 3. A good day to die hard 4. Diamond Rush 5. Lost planet 2 You could still download old, like really old games for phones (Java games, Gameloft games etc.), either for touchscreen or for keyboard phones. They are super fun. I may update this list if I rember something more.
Great video 🔝👍
Dont forget, back in the days (pre iPhone) the mobile games might not have been predatory, but the distribution. Often by bundling games into a subscription service, forced onto phone users without them asking for it.
Just found out your channel via recs and got "wow this guy is literally me but from different part of the globe (and more productive)" feeling. Great content bruh!
i wouldn't say I'm that productive judging by my upload schedule 😭
I still remember vividly when back in the time of Java and Symbian phones, there was an Age of Empires like game called The Prehistoric Tribe. It was about a prehistoric tribe and played very very very similar to Age of Empires 2. That game ran on both keypads and touch screen and I kid you not, that game was a really great alternative to Age of Empires2 on the phone!! But fast-forward to the present time, we still haven't got a proper Age of Empires like game on our top of the line, super fast, super costly, smartphones. Such a sad and pathetic generation we have today.
Best mobile games in my experience are based on flash games, either being rereleases or new titles (cursed treasure 2, epic battle fantasy 5, infectonator 3 apocalypse, burrito bison launcha libre)
This is why i love geometry dash. You pay 2$ to get the game and thats it. No ads, everything in the game is obtained fully through gameplay and experience, it’s always super rewarding, and is just something that has so much love put into it by the developer and the community.
Theres always GD somewhere + you can also play the free ones and turn wifi of and voila ad-free
@ Man nowadays mobile games have gotten so predatory they would ask you to connect to the internet or you can't play em eg- Happy Wheels
yo i was just watching a few of your videos and i refreshed youtube and see this being uploaded 9min ago :D
You've got to try Battle of Polytopia. That boi SLAPS.
13:20 I hear you, mondstat city music
This was such an amazing write up, nice job!
thank you very much
this conversation could've been more interesting: -why was mobile the platform where monetization was focused on and became dominant? You displayed a siminar where a developer was talking about aggressive monetization and psychological methods to get whales to spend money. Why was this effective on mobile vs console/pc? -evaluating the transition from indie-styled game development to AAA development in console/PC games and seeing how it compares and contrasts in Mobile. A lot of KZheadrs and content creators do the whole "unironically games back in my day were better, why are games so similar + DLC + uncreative + etc" not realizing their favorite games were basically indie titles. The gaming industry was small and reckless back then, but as companies grow they get more conservative and want guaranteeds for the ballooning development costs they're suffering from. Everything gets more expensive and so companies with AAA budgets can't afford risks. Mobile is incredibly new, and yet, is developing incredibly fast as people look to it like a gold rush for the revenue potential out of monetization. What's gonna have to be learned by gamers of all platforms is digging. We're so used to major titles being great from back in the day, that digging for good games isn't a skill we've built up. We didn't need to look for indie games as much because everything was practically indie. Successful or not, games had to be daring. Games today are being made faster, and we're getting much more games than we can ever play in a lifetime. -Talk about the premium games section. Quite literally, you spoke about your lack of will to dig for games and the need for a curated list for full price games that cuts out the F2P cesspool. So, there's this neat little section called "Premium." Premium games are games with an actual sticker price that you must pay to play. The market that will choose to pay for a game upfront will probably be not keen to further payments, and the companies know this, so they are far less aggressive on those standpoints. I think people need education on how to navigate these spaces. You, and millions of other people, don't really curate your own searches and just choose whatever is on the front page, which isn't the best way to find what you want. Games on the front page are the most successful, not the best and it's not as hand-in-hand as the games in the past. If you want innovation, creativity, something new, and etc then you MUST put more time into indie games. That style of development is how every franchise became beloved, successful, and cultural icons (FNAF being made by a single guy is a good modern example. Undertale by a very small team is another). Look for small teams, try put different games, pay for premium games, and you'll figure out how to get what you want.
Great point
"Who tf puts ads on games" And an ad plays😭
6:15 excellent ad placing 🤣🤣