Keeping It Mobile — Kinda Geeky

Keeping It Mobile: GamerGeek Edition

Stuck at home? Not in the mood to turn on the television and that console? Don’t feel like turning on the monitor and clicking that mouse? Running out of things to look at on social media or the internet but don’t feel like putting down that phone…Well, don’t put down that phone! In light of recent events, most gamers are suddenly finding free time on their hands. For those looking for handheld games to enjoy the time passing, here are some that are definitely worth checking out.

First on the list is a personal favorite: TeamFight Tactics Mobile, a game developed by Riot Games. Avid Egamers will know that Riot is behind one of the world’s top played and most famous MOBA games League of Legends (also a personal favorite) and the team has expanded their branches, giving strategy a fun, new direction in the form of auto chess. While TFT was first introduced in the League of Legends PC client as a separate game mode, Riot released this game as an independent app on mobile in March. The game starts off with a total of 8 players on their own board. On each round, players build economy (gold) and spend their earnings on units to play on their board with the hopes to build the unbeatable team. The cool thing about this autochess game is that the player can move all of their units in every round, changing the dynamic every time, which means that setting all of their characters on one side of the board will have them direct focus more on the units standing on the same side when faced against opponents or if they have a team that excels in spreading out, they can strategically sprinkle their units on different parts of the board and watch mayhem unfold. Honestly, watching a sword-wielding character slash at huge juggernaut units aimlessly like a washing machine and somehow winning is oddly satisfying. The player will have to think on their toes on the kind of team they want to build as well as the equipment they want to give them as they are picked up along the rounds. Want to make it to the top 4 in a game of TFT? Riot’s TeamFight Tactics Mobile is free-to-play and available for download now on the App Store and Google Play.

This is not the only game Riot has released for the LoL universe either. Legends of Runeterra, their brand new take on the card game-genre made its debut to the mobile world on April 30th. This is another form of strategy that provides more in-depth character dynamic and abilities through card effects and special interactions players would have otherwise only seen on Summoners’ Rift. Fans of League will surely appreciate the ability to intricately and intimately strategize around their favorite champions while dueling on the boards to be the best. The strategy is simple: each turn a sort of mana/economy system increases for both players allowing them to play cards according to their cost. The player with the best execution and is able to reduce their opponents nexus points (also known as HP) to zero first wins the game. Sounds easy, but the road to get to that endgame will be hard as the opponent will be reacting to everything the player dishes out, keeping both parties on their toes (or the edge of their seats). Personally, there is just something so gratifying about building a deck from the ground up and watching the combo animations for each card that lays down go off for a sweet play and claim the victory. Interested in playing? Legends of Runeterra is available to download on the AppStore and Googleplay for mobile Apple iPhone and Android IOS as well as PC. And while enjoying these games, keep an eye out for more League of Legends content, they will be looking to release the rift onto mobile with the upcoming staple Wild Rift (screams of excitement from beyond the LCD screen).

With all of the hype for Square Enix's Final Fantasy 7 Remake, gamers ask, “Where else is there a riveting storyline, compelling gameplay with rpg elements, and eyecandy character designs on top of it all?”. Well, if they’re looking for a challenging strategy game that is all about positioning, dealing out devastating spells and combos with characters both pleasing to the eye and with have great backstories, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius: War of the Visions is the way to go. Piggybacking off the success of the original mobile game, War of the Visions is the next installment of the next epic adventure where the players control several protagonists integral to the story. There are new faces, of course; however, the nostalgia that Square Enix has been famous for as of late brings back some popular and familiar characters throughout the Final Fantasy universe. For example, not too long after the launch, Y’shtola, the badass mage Miqo’te from Final Fantasy XIV makes an appearance as Mega card (nope, not epic, but better!!) where she is able to deal tons of powerful area of effect spells that can almost sweep an entire map when placed on the field.

The game itself plays a lot like Fire Emblem, especially Three Houses, where characters are placed on a map and movement is locked onto a grid system. When two enemies are in range for battle, they pose off a storm like an episode of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure until one person outflexes the other. It is exactly as memetastic as it sounds. The battle ends when one side clears the board of enemies and the victor claims the spoils in forms of currency that can be used to summon more characters to their ever-growing arsenal.

Speaking of memetic, this next game is an absolutely fan-favorite classic. The critically acclaimed platformer Castlevania makes its gothic way to mobile with installments Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood available in one bloody vampire-slaying, badass package. If anyone recognizes the Netflix series, this is one of the countless games in the series that kicked off the franchises’ popularity and serves as the inspiration behind seasons 1 and 2. The player has the option of controlling the popular anti-hero Alucard who goes on a quest to vanquish his genocidal father Dracula in a castle that for some reason is impossibly and deceptively larger on the inside than it appears out.

The traversal between areas are side-scrolling maps which means that movement is two-dimensional, offering that old-school gameplay that relies on reaction time and good prediction of pixel space when crossing against enemies or those hero-hating moving platforms (why they exist in the castle, no one knows except Dracula’s interior designer). While trying to survive the already difficult maps, the players will be pitted against hundreds of demon enemies with insane hit boxes that will almost always land know matter how far down Alucard crouches. But worry not, Alucard has his own tricks up his sleeve with his trusty saber, the ability to turn in various animals, super speed, and the ever important plot-armor. Reaching the end of the map makes the grueling and bloody journey worthwhile and the end-result satisfying. There are other characters that the players can control as well, and they must download the game to find out (mwahaha). Castlevania: SotN is available for download now on the App Store and Google Play for $2.99.

For more information on all of these games, check out the links below. Appreciate all the readers taking the time for this latest installment and remember these words: stay safe, stay healthy, and always stay KindaGeeky.

SOURCES:

Mobalytics for TFT Mobile - includes best comps, guides and tips

● https://app.mobalytics.gg/en_us/tft/set3/team-comps

Runeterra Fire - the best place to look for deck builds in Legends of Runeterra

● https://www.runeterrafire.com