It can be a tough old life, that of the dedicated Android gamer. Watching all of your smug, iOS device-owning pals swanning around playing the latest and greatest exclusive releases whilst you’re stuck with idle thumbs.
Whilst it doesn’t look like a shift in platform release bias is going to occur any time soon, we do have some extremely good news for the meantime: both Wayward Souls and Leo’s Fortune are now available on Android via the Google Play Store.
You better free up some space in your diary, or at least make sure that next time you get on the bus you’ve got a full charge, because these are two of the best games on mobile right now, now available after a period of iOS exclusivity.
Wayward Souls is a true, once-in-a-generation gem. We’ve seen so many rogue-likes popping up on mobile of late that we were beginning to grow apathetic with one of our favourite genres. Wayward Souls both breathes new life into the medium, and also renders all of its rivals obsolete. It has a fantastic 16-bit visual style, true in spirit to some of its most revered ancestors, but its real strength lies in its gameplay.
Wayward Souls is hard. If the immediately reminds you of a certain other ‘Souls’ series (found on home console) then you’re not far off. You will die, a lot, but that’s the point. Every time you die you lose all of your progress, bar coins earned. You spend those coins on upgrades which will take effect permanently thereafter, regardless of how often you die. As you progress you’ll come across forges and shrines to buff your weapons and abilities for that run-through only, meaning every game is different. The levels are procedurally-generated, too, so you never crawl the same dungeon twice.
Oh, and it’s also completely free from the scourge of in-app-purchases. You pay your fee up-front, and then enjoy a rich, full game without hindrance. That’s possibly Wayward Souls’ most retro feature of all.
Leo’s Fortune has a similar old-school vibe to it, although you wouldn’t know that at a glance. The visuals are simply stunning, undoubtedly some of the best iOS has to offer. They’ve transitioned just as well to Android – particularly if your device has a display to get the most out of them, like the LG G3.
The gameplay itself is of the brain-teasing platformer variety, with a sprinkling of physics-puzzler to mix things up. As the titular Leo, you roll around a varied array of stunningly rendered landscapes trying to retrieve your gold. You explore the levels around you, dodge traps, and all-in-all have a bloody magical time doing so.
Wayward Souls is available at a special launch price of £2.73 – and if you wanted further incentive, the developers have promised a series of major updates to come with the price increasing by £1 every time one is released.
Leo’s Fortune is £2.99 all-in.
