Playing mobile games on the go is what they are designed for, and yet many of the best Android games don’t support offline play. This makes choosing titles to play during your commute or when off the grid fairly challenging. So AP has rounded up some of the most intriguing offline Android games, from classic RPGs like Final Fantasy VI to brutal auto runners like Super Meat Boy, all to ensure everyone’s tastes are covered. So if you need a game or two to play on your next camping trip, you’ve come to the right place; just remember to bring your favorite gaming phone along for the ride.

1 Final Fantasy VI

Why not start off with a bang? The sixth entry in the Final Fantasy series is often regarded as one of the best JRPGs ever made, and while Square Enix may not have the best reputation when it comes to its Android releases, thanks to years of allowing many games to languish without updates, the new releases for the original six games are actually quality ports. While missing controller support is a giant bummer, the touch controls work well, and the turn-based RPG gameplay is just as great as you remember, with cleaned sprite work for the graphics that look great in HD.

So if you’re a fan of the Final Fantasy series, especially if you’re a fan of the sixth game, do yourself a favor and snag the new remaster from the Play Store; the adventure is well worth it.

2 Dead Cells

Dead Cells is one of the best roguelike platformers available on the Play Store. The Android port is fantastic. You can select from 30FPS, 60FPS, and unlimited FPS in the game’s settings, and there’s also an HD graphics option for everyone with a beefy device. We’ve spent a lot of time playing this roguelike on Android and can confidently say the game runs like butter at max settings on high-end hardware. While this title demands precision controls, it’s fully playable with the touchscreen as well as a physical controller.

Dead Cells is the cream of the crop when it comes to platformers. If you’ve yet to play, don’t miss out because this is a game you can play anywhere.

3 Super Meat Boy

Sure, auto runners are a dime a dozen on the Play Store, and yet somehow Super Meat Boy manages to trounce them all with an incredibly addictive game that’s just as tough as the title that proceeded Forever. Tough as nails is putting it nicely, but this is what ensures so much fun, not to mention a sense of pride when beating a level. You’ll have to earn your advancement in the game, which is broken up into short stages, but thankfully the touch controls are on point, making for a game that is not only fun to play but feels great while doing so.

4 My Friend Pedro: Ripe for Revenge

My Friend Pedro first made waves on the PC and Nintendo Switch, where you utilize a slick slowdown mechanic to take down your enemies. Seeing that the console/PC game was based on a popular Flash game, it makes sense that the game would come to mobile, thanks to simple controls. We didn’t get a direct port of the console game, but we did get a mobile offshoot that plays on a 2D plane, and it’s just as great. Plus it can be played offline, which makes it a perfect title for this roundup.

My Friend Pedro: Ripe for Revenge is free to try. If you like what you see, unlock the full title in its entirety for $3, making this a premium release.

5 Grand Mountain Adventure

Winter sports games used to be highly popular back in the PS1/PS2 days. The genre has fallen by the wayside, with only Ubisoft carrying the AAA mantle. Since then, Toppluva AB created one of the best winter sports games in recent memory. Even though it’s a mobile game, it’s jampacked with content that can all be played offline.

There’s a total of seven open-world mountains to explore, adding up to more than 100 challenges spread across these maps. You can ski, you can snowboard, and controller support is included. There’s even a free-play zen mode for those who want to hit the slopes. All around, it’s a great game that shouldn’t be missed, especially if you’re a huge Coolboarders/SSX fan.

6 Monument Valley

An oldie but a goodie, Monument Valley is a slick puzzle game where you interact with each level, bending it to your will to ensure your character moves to their desired position to solve the puzzle. The graphics are slick, the controls are responsive, and the game is challenging. It’s everything a game should be, and it’s also perfect for mobile, thanks to its bite-sized gameplay.

While there is a license check after installing the game, after connecting on your first boot up, you’re good to play without an internet connection, which is precisely why Monument Valley is in today’s roundup. It’s a great game to play offline. If you haven’t experienced this masterpiece, take it for a spin.

7 Super Hexagon

If you enjoy challenging arcade-style games, you’re in luck. Super Hexagon fits that description perfectly. And it’s been updated with high framerate support along with controller support, so it’s a standout release that’s pretty old but still supported. Plus, the entire game can be played offline, making it a perfect title for commuters, thanks to its bite-sized play.

Sessions tend to be quick and failure is a constant, but there is surely something incredibly fun about trying again and again to conquer the game’s simple rules and fast motion. For $3, you can’t go wrong.

8 Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is a farming and life simulator, a niche genre with a dedicated fanbase. If you remember having fun with titles like Harvest Moon, this has similar (but more wide-ranging) gameplay. No spoilers. You can easily spend hundreds of hours playing, with lots of replayability.

Sure, things start simple enough by planting a few crops and maybe raising a chicken or two. That’s great if you prefer to play at a casual pace. Then again, if you’re looking for a game with some depth, not to mention an endless campaign, Stardew Valley is easily a top choice in today’s roundup, especially since the game supports gamepads.

This a fun game to play with touch controls on a phone, and you can really dig in on tablets and Chromebooks while out and about thanks to the included controller support and no requirement for an internet connection.

9 Love is in small things

For those times you’re looking to relax rather than get into a serious round of gaming, Love is in small things is the perfect title to dip into. At its core, this is a hidden object game, but the art is incredibly inviting, and the gameplay is super chill. Where the journey is the point, enjoying fantastic art, music, and puzzle-based gameplay. The challenge grows as you progress, but things are never truly out of reach, keeping the game as accessible as possible for any style of gamer.

10 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Konami’s classic Metroidvania title Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was released on the Play Store to everyone’s surprise in 2020, and it’s available for $2.99, which is a bargain. If you haven’t played SotN, it’s a beautiful 2D platformer that offers non-linear gameplay, which encourages exploration.

The primary campaign should take about eight or nine hours to finish, so it will take more than one sitting to work your way through this release. Since you can play offline, you won’t have to worry about an internet connection once the game is installed.

11 GRID Autosport

GRID Autosport is a console-quality racer that landed on Android in 2019. The full game can be had for $10, and there are no IAPs or ads, which makes this a premium release. If you’ve yet to play this racer, it mixes many racing styles, from dirt tracks to city streets, and there are numerous cars to race. In comparison, most racers on Android are free-to-play, so they contain many questionable monetization systems and a requirement for a constant internet connection.

If you’ve been searching for a premium mobile racer that won’t break the bank, can be played offline anytime you want, and offers controller support out of the box, GRID Autosport is the best racer available on the Play Store that fits these requirements.

12 Grimvalor

Grimvalor is an awesome hack-and-slash platformer that includes excellent graphics and a premium price point that can be unlocked through a single $7 in-app purchase. The game supports physical controllers, and you can test the gameplay without going out of pocket since the first act is available for free.

Reviews have remained positive following the game’s original release on the Apple App Store in 2018, and the Android port looks and plays as well as it does on iOS. Controllers are supported out of the box, and there’s no internet requirement once it’s installed. Grimvalor plays well on tablets and phones alike. It’s basically a perfect portable hack-and-slash game.

13 Rush Rally Origins

Top-down racers seem to be a dying breed, but Brownmonster Limited decided to continue its Rush Rally series with a top-down entry, and it’s a delight. Things start out challenging, but gameplay evens out once you win a few races, unlocking a few upgrades and better wrapping your head around the controls.

What’s particularly nice is that controllers are supported, along with offline functionality. Better yet, the racer is monetized fairly, with enough content to keep any racing fan busy for a good long while. Rush Rally Origins is easily one of the best premium racing games on the platform, and it excels if you dig classic-style top-down racing games.

14 LIMBO

Indie developers flocked to creating puzzle platformers after games like Braid took off. The spark of inspiration led to many other great puzzle platformers, one of which is Limbo, a game that started as an Xbox exclusive. In the following years, this stylish black-and-white platformer made its way to about every platform, including mobile, and the Android port is excellent.

You can play offline, and controller support is included. This is an odd game with a slight horror theme, but that’s part of the appeal—the off-the-wall nature of the story. And, get this: There’s no text and no voicework. The entire game tells its story through gameplay. If you’ve yet to play Limbo, or it’s been a while, this one is worth a playthrough or multiple. It’s an experience and then some.

15 Battle Chasers: Nightwar

Battle Chasers: Nightwar is an excellent turn-based RPG that plays similarly to the classic Square Enix JRPGs from the 1990s. You can expect great graphics that suit the current crop of RPGs available on consoles and PC, which is why the Android port for Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a fantastic release.

It looks excellent, the touch controls are worthwhile, and there are hours of turn-based gameplay to enjoy. If you’re looking for a console-quality RPG experience on mobile that offers, at minimum, a 30-hour campaign that can be played in its entirety offline, Battle Chasers: Nightwar is easily one of the best RPGs currently available on Android. This is a demanding game, so more recent high-end hardware is recommended. There’s also no controller support, but the touch UI works well on tablets and phones.

16 Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Anniversary Edition

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Anniversary Edition is an absolute mouthful, but the game is fantastic, and it’s pretty gruesome to boot if you’re into that kind of thing. Sure, it’s a niche visual novel that contains familiar tropes, such as students stuck in a school tasked with avoiding a murderer. Still, the story is worth the asking price, with twists and turns all over the place.

This is an engrossing game, and best of all, since it’s an anniversary edition, it offers all-new graphics and touchscreen support, not to mention a few gallery extras for the hardcore fans, along with offline play. You can also find the sequel on the Play Store, should you want to continue your adventure after finishing Trigger Happy Havoc Anniversary Edition.

17 Thumper: Pocket Edition

Thumper is a slick auto-running rhythm game that made its way to Android in 2019. At its core, it’s a psychedelic auto-runner that heavily relies on rhythm-based mechanics for progression. Simple taps and swipes on the screen are your controls, and you must time these interactions to the beat of the music if you want to succeed. If you prefer, the game supports physical controllers, which offer more precisely timed input. A controller is more tactile than a glass screen.

There are nine levels that take about seven and a half hours to beat, and the game can be fully played offline. For the asking price, there’s a good bit of content included that should easily entertain for hours.

18 Streets of Rage 4

This one is for all of you brawler fans. Streets of Rage 4 is a 20-year followup to the third game released in the 1990s, offering some of the best beat ’em up gameplay around, hands down. Since the game has made its way to Android, it’s one of the platform’s best releases, thanks to enjoyable gameplay, not to mention a kicking soundtrack, controller support, and optional DLC that adds a new survival mode that makes the game endless.

You can pick up Streets of Rage 4 for $8, and the optional DLC that adds two new characters and the survival mode will run you $3.99. If you want to pick up the full game and its DLC, that adds up to $12, which is cheaper than the game is on every other platform.

19 Mini Metro

A game described as a subway simulator, Mini Metro is more of a puzzle game where perfect planning is the key to success. You start with a few lines in a smallish town, and as that city grows, so will the subway lines. It’s up to you to properly place and run them to ensure continued growth.

The game is presented with minimal graphics that are appealing and easy to run, which means this is a fairly accessible game that should run on about any Android device. Plus, it works offline, perfect for playing on the subway, which is about as meta as it gets.

20 9th Dawn III RPG

9th Dawn III is the culmination of the last two titles in this action-RPG series, and it offers a boatload of polish, not to mention tons of loot to collect as you explore the game’s vast open world. Think “2D Skyrim,” and you’re getting close.

While the second game in the series had no controller support and an odd jump mechanic, both issues are fixed in this release. So whether you want to play using the touchscreen or a physical controller, both options are available. Plus, you can play the entire game offline, making for a great RPG to play portably on a phone or tablet. This fantastic port should provide hundreds of hours of dungeon-exploring fun, so don’t miss out. There’s also a free demo for those who want to see how the game plays before plunking down hard-earned cash.

No Wi-Fi? No problem!

As our roundup of the best offline Android games grows with each update, we hope everyone has been able to find a game or two to whittle away the hours while offline. Whether you’re into casual games like Stardew Valley or prefer the deep RPG gameplay of a title like 9th Dawn III, you’re absolutely covered, especially if you have an Android controller to bring along for the ride. So until the next update that brings even more games to the list, enjoy, and have fun gaming away from the constant nagging of an internet connection!