5 new mobile games to try this week – May 23rd, 2024

Hack, slash, and cyberpunk your way through this neo-noir pixel-art title as a samurai assassin in Katana Zero, now accessible right from your smartphone courtesy of Netflix. The dystopian world around you is filled with hostile forces just lurking around every corner, and while you’ve got a plethora of weapons in your arsenal, one wrong move can sentence you to instant death.

Thankfully, you’ve got the power to slow down time to gain the upper hand – a perk you’ll need to uncover hidden secrets across cinematic cut scenes and gorgeously animated combat. If you’re curious to see what the fuss is about, check out our glowing review to get an idea!

Sure, living the idyllic life has its charm, but is it really living if you don’t get to choose your own adventure, so to speak? In Halfling Dale, you’ll step into the happity-tippy toes of a Halfling in The Shire, er, The Dale across a Lord of the Rings-inspired narrative journey coupled with text-based stories and hand-drawn visuals. You’ll set off on a quest to clear your family name after your brother’s shenanigans, meeting new friends (and enemies?) along the way.

The game features customisation options for your characters as well, along with lasting consequences to your actions and 28 different endings to aim for. You can even build a relationship with five possible partners, because love is always in the cards when you’re making merry at the Spring Fair.

Deliver packages, dodge road hazards, and then come home to your cat. That’s all in a day’s work for a postal employee in Japan in this newly launched sim, where you’ll explore a gorgeously designed 1:1 recreation of Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown including its postman-related perils.

The game features realistically rendered faces for the characters as well, along with an AI-powered traffic system that will put your street navigation to the test. Be mindful of the time while avoiding reckless motorists, then care for your cuddly kitty at the end of your shift to relax and unwind after a hard day’s work.

Eager for more arcade goodness on your mobile device? Omega Knockout promises to bring on all the nostalgia of knocking pixelated punchers senseless but with super-powered special attacks.

This retro-inspired title features ten different opponents you can challenge with varying techniques you need to counter to come out on top. There are ten tournaments you can try your hand at as well, all presented with an old-school 16-bit art style to take you back to the golden age of arcades.

With the overnight success of Palworld comes a new mobile twist in the form of Amikin Survival, a new survival-crafting game where you build your settlements and train creature companions to survive. You’ll not only get to build your base from scratch, but you’ll also get to catch and train mystical creatures called Amikins then send them off to battle. You can also breed them and merge them to create new creatures with supercharged traits.

The vast world around you is just waiting to be discovered as well, whether you’re uncovering secrets in ancient ruins or marvelling at the wonders of the dense forests with your Amikins.