While I’ve never necessarily been into mobile gaming, I’ve certainly kept an eye on it from a distance. It’s not that I don’t like mobile gaming, so much as it is having consoles and PCs to also play on, platforms which are more powerful and achieve more. That being said, there’s tons of value to games that you can load up on a mobile platform and play wherever you are, as is proven by the Switch.
As you might expect, MMOs and specifically MMORPGs have taken the mobile game sphere by storm, just as it has on the PC. This has lead to a ton of different games in this genre out there and quite frankly, it can be overwhelming, especially if you don’t know where to start. That’s why I hope you find something fun that piques your interest in the list below.
Granted, it’s not an exhaustive list of MMORPGs, but it should be enough to give you some great choices to pick from. But first, make sure you have an amazing Android phone or a high-quality iPhone.
Alternatively, if some games run slow, try speeding up your phone.
#1 AdventureQuest 3D
Platform: App Store/Google Play
AdventureQuest is a new kid on the black, only coming out at the start of the year, but it’s already starting to make quite a bit of headway in the MMORPG scene. It has a bunch of content to go through, thankfully, and it gets weekly updates, so there’s always something to do. There’s also multi-classing for your characters, as well as a full suite chat and social stuff.
Where AdventureQuest really shines though is in its cross-platform play, not only on the iOS and Android but also on the PC. I’m not really sure how many friends you’re likely to find on the PC to play, especially with so many other AAA MMOs to compete with, but at least you’ll be able to play with any friend who has a smartphone.
The only real downside here is that the graphics aren’t really that great, although, for a mobile game, it isn’t too much of a problem as high-quality budget phones (even though they are cheap) can run most games.
It also has some other problems that are familiar to this type of game, such as a pretty big grind, whether you’re talking about leveling or crafting. It’s also somewhat barebones in terms of what you’d expect of a modern MMO. That’s not to say it’s a bad game, and with so much development effort put into it, it’s likely AdventureQuest is going to go far, so definitely check it out.
#2 Old School RuneScape
Platform: App Store/Google Play
If you’ve ever played the original RuneScape, then you’ll definitely be familiar with this game as it’s a mobile version of that. Don’t let that fool you though, with years of development behind it, the mobile version has changed drastically from the desktop version, with it being its own distinct game.
In fact, what makes the whole thing interesting is that they allow players to vote on any new content or changes, and anything with a 75% vote and above gets added to the game.
As for what to expect, well basically pretty much everything from the original game and then some. There’s hundreds of quests, an in-game economy, mining, fishing, crafting, pretty much everything you’d expect from a modern MMO. It’s actually one of the most popular MMOs on mobile.
I should also mention that you can actually play it for free without the freemium model, although if you subscribe you do get more content, which comes in the form of an extra map to explore and play in. Oh, and the game is cross-platform, so you have the freedom to play with pretty much anybody who has a smartphone.
#3 Dungeon Hunter 5
Platform: App Store/Google Play/Windows
As you might expect from a game with a lineage this long, Dungeon Hunter 5 improves a lot on the previous games and has managed to join the ranks of one of the most popular MMOs. Being a hack and slash with an RPG system, it more resembles Diablo than something like Runescape for example.
It’s even got some really great production value, with graphics looking absolutely mint, with the PC version being close behind (just the realities of hardware specs really).
Dungeon Hunter 5 has a whopping big campaign, a co-op mode for you to play with up to three friends, and a thousand or so items for you to collect and play with. Also, there’s also something to do in Valenthia, with daily and weekly quests to keep things interesting. Unfortunately, they do come on a bit strong with their in-app purchases, so the freemium model is a bit severe.
The game also adds a new mode called “Stronghold” which acts a sort of asynchronous PvP mode where other players can try and attack your Stronghold. Of course, you do have your own defenses in the form of minions that you collect as you play the campaign. Completing a Stronghold successful gives you loot stored in the Stronghold, so you better watch out what you store there.
#4 HIT (Heroes of Incredible Tale)
Platform: App Store/Google Play
Another hack and slash MMORPG that has managed to rise in the Rankings, HIT actually has quite a lot of awesomeness backing it. You see, HIT is made using Unreal Engine 4, which means that you’re getting some really awesome graphics as well as really smooth gameplay. That being said, I’m sort of surprised they didn’t go for a Windows release considering the extra market they could have captured.
Regardless, HIT has tons of content for you to play through, with hundreds of bosses and a hundred different stages. Thankfully, the campaign is also rather meaty, and pretty grand in its scale, something you don’t often see with MMORPGs on mobile. You can also get four other friends to join you in co-op mode or fight them in 1v1 duels.
The character creation is also quite detailed, which is a plus, and the gear system is pretty thick if I do say so myself. Thankfully, the devs keep the game constantly updated, which is probably the biggest plus. That being said, one of the biggest downsides is that the PvP isn’t very well balanced over the four unique classes. It’s not too terrible, but certainly, something to be aware of.
#5 Lineage 2: Revolution
Platform: App Store/Google Play
Lineage 2 is an interesting MMORPG that’s been making waves recently. While for the most part, it’s a pretty good game on its own, it has a lot of automation. What do I mean by that? Well, you can pretty much play the whole game on auto-pilot if you really want to. So while there are things like auto-equip and auto-fight, but there’s also auto-questing, which is pretty weird.
The way that it works is pretty simple though; you get a quest to do X thing, your character goes to that area, kills whatever it needs to with the auto-fight and then goes back to the quest giver, then you just tap to complete the quest and tap again to get a new one. In a way, it’s sort of like playing as a bot, although I will say that you can absolutely switch that auto-pilot aspect of the game off if you want.
Another unique and cool thing in Lineage 2 is the Siege mode, PvP that pits a group of dozens of people against another group of dozens of people. When it works, you can even get yourself a 50 vs. 50 situation that’s a complete and all-out brawl.
The only big downside to the game is that the freemium model is layered on pretty thick, so it is a bit P2W. But hey, if you’re down with dropping a bit of cash on the game and find autopilot mechanic interesting, you should absolutely check it out.
#6 Order & Chaos 2: Redemption
Platform: App Store/Google Play/Windows
Probably one of the most popular MMORPGs right now, Order & Chaos 2 is pretty much as close to a full-fledged MMO as you can get on a mobile experience. Set 600 years after the original where the world suffered a cataclysmic event, people are now starting to rebuild and heroes are starting to show up again, including yourself. Actually, this game is the second game made by Gameloft on this list (the first one being Dungeon Hunter 5).
Interestingly, there’s quite a bit of choice in terms of your character, being able to choose between five races and five different classes (although there’s no multi-classing as far as I’m aware). There’s also an absolute ton of quests in this game, sitting at a little over a whopping 1,000 so you have absolutely tons to do, although the quests can get a bit repetitive.
Thankfully, the graphics are gorgeous, so at least you’ll be trudging around in a beautiful environment. There is one slightly annoying issue though, in the ‘vigor’ system, which acts as a barrier to progress in the same way energy bars would. You see, there’s a certain amount of exp you can gain every day, although you can still quest and do stuff, you just won’t level up.
Any exp that you gain over that limit gets saved for the next day, and you can use it as a double exp buff. So it’s not completely terrible, but it is something that might be annoying for some. Unfortunately, you will have to drop some money to stay competitive, especially since the microtransactions can give you some pretty powerful gear from the get-go. Of course, you can absolutely not spend a dime and still do everything, but it might very well take ages.
#7 Grow Stone Online
Platform: App Store/Google Play/Windows
What really sets Grow Stone online apart from other games of its type is the 2D pixelated art it’s chosen to go far, rather than the 3D style in other popular games. Adding to that is the vertical play rather than a horizontal player for a wider field of view. So really, it already stands out from other MMOs just by existing.
That’s not the only peculiar thing about it, as the gameplay most revolves around collecting different types of stones and upgrading them. You do this because you use those stones as weapons, whether you’re fighting mobs in the world or other players. There’s a full progression system for the stones and a bunch of other things, although it’s relatively slow-paced so it might get tiring if you don’t pace yourself.
Most of the combat takes place in instanced dungeons, where you can find a variety of mobs and bosses from the lowly slime to massive ogres. There’s also co-op play to take out the bigger bosses that you might not be able to handle on your own. As mentioned, there’s also a PvP area that gets changed every week, where you can go on combat people on an open field.
Incidentally, much like Lineage 2, Grow Stone Online also has an auto-play function, making it somewhat of an idle game as well if you want it to be. There doesn’t seem to be much difference between auto-play and normal play, except that if you’re actively controlling you can choose to avoid things if you want to.
Unfortunately, the freemium does play heavily in this game as well, so you’re likely going to have to drop some cash on this game in the long run.
Conclusion
While mobile gaming still has a ways to go to compare to things such as PC and consoles, the actual games themselves have started to slowly catch up in terms of production value and mechanics. Yes, the freemium model is rife in the mobile market, but really you should be expecting to spend even a little bit of cash on a game that can give you hours of fun. Of course, I don’t support pay to win models, but to each their own.
If MMORPG games aren’t your thing, maybe some of the cool word game apps are just right for you. Regardless, I hope you’ve found something you want to try out, and I hope you all the best on your mobile gaming!