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—REUPLOAD—My favorite PAID games on the Play Store (+ user recommendations 💬)

👉For my free games list, please go here.

 

New list entries - updated January 2026:

This is a list of all games, sorted by genre, that I've purchased, loved, and finished (or played extensively) over many years and I'd like to recommend as I found them excellent and without predatory monetization, gacha, or infinite microtransactions of any kind. I'm also including the most recommended premium titles by the community—which I haven't playtested yet or I'm not particularly interested in—marked with 💬. Please check the entry criteria below before recommending a game.

Some of the games may be free with IAP's, but EXCLUSIVELY to unlock the full game, DLCs, or remove ads (no gacha or energy/gambling mechanics, "diamonds", pay-to-win, or any recurrent cash-grab bullshit of sort).

[Disclaimer: chances are some items in this list will inevitably be delisted from the Play Store as time goes by, or will not be compatible with future Android versions. I'll do my best to always keep it updated, but feel free to PM me if you come across any unavailable title and I'll fix the entry]

I'm planning to keep this list updated for personal reference with the new games I'll play and like, or old games I've played that will come to mind later. So feel free to save it and check out new entries every so often.

My ultimate goal is to promote worthy content and honest/talented devs, hoping to see more quality games in the future, rather than the cancerous cash-grab machines the Play Store is regrettably riddled with. And, of course, to let everyone have a great time playing great titles ;)

  1. Paid Play Store games compatible with recent Android versions
  2. No ads or infinite microtransactions. Allowed: ad-removal, full-game unlock, proper DLCs
  3. You love the game and think it's worth the price
  4. Must include link and, possibly, genre

I will still use my discretion and judgment to filter the entries, in the attempt of keeping the list's quality high.

[If you want to play or recommend free games, without ads or microtransactions, here is the list for you.]

 

THE LIST

 

Legend

🌟 - top favorite  

👑 - masterpiece  

💬 - recommended by the community, but I haven't played it yet or not my jam  

🎮 - controllers are supported and, usually, strongly recommended  

🎮❗️ - controller recommended but not supported—you need a controller mapping app like Panda  

📱 - portrait orientation (either exclusively or optional)

👥 - includes multiplayer

120FPS - 120 FPS on supported devices

[Game title] - delisted, but you might still see it in the store if you've purchased it  

 

Action shooter

 

Action-adventure platformer/hack-n-slash

  • Hyper Light Drifter - S.E. 🌟 🎮 (only PS controllers supported; pixel art)
  • Grimvalor 🌟 🎮 120FPS (2.5D hack and slash medieval fantasy platform/RPG)
  • Shadow Blade 🌟 🎮 (2D hack and slash action platform)
  • Swordigo 🎮❗️ (2D RPG action-adventure platformer; requires controller remap app; free with 2 IAPs that add compass or coin doubler, and either of them remove ads too)
  • Oddmar 🎮 120FPS (2D action-adventure platformer)
  • Ninja Arashi 🎮 (2D hack and slash action platformer - free with IAPs to remove ads)
  • SAMURAI II: VENGEANCE 🎮 (top down/isometric hack and slash)
  • Dead Cells 💬 🎮 120FPS (roguelite action platformer)

 

Platformer

 

Metroidvania

 

Beat 'em up

 

Turn-based RPG

 

Tactical RPG

 

Strategy

 

Action RPG

  • Maneater 🎮 (shark simulator)
  • Undead Horde 2: Necropolis 🌟 🎮
  • Trials of Mana 🌟 🎮 (added controller support and achievements!)
  • The Bard's Tale (3D action RPG adventure - this game has some optional IAPs: they can easily be ignored but they're there. Also, some users experienced an auto-save bug that corrupts ALL save files, so I recommend disabling auto-save altogether. I'm keeping the game listed here for now as I still consider it a true premium game and I haven't personally experienced any bug)
  • Evoland 🎮 (action/adventure RPG with 2D and 3D graphics and a mix of genres. Touch controls work great)
  • Evoland 2 🌟 🎮 (action/adventure RPG with 2D and 3D graphics, mix of genres; controller recommended)
  • Pascal's Wager (soulslike) 💬 🎮
  • Star Wars: KOTOR 💬 🎮
  • Star Wars: KOTOR II 💬 🎮

 

CRPG

 

Text-based RPG

 

Fishing adventure

  • Dredge 🌟 🎮 120FPS (lovecraftian horror, RPG)

 

Roguelite (cards, dice, deck builder, action)

 

Action adventure/Zelda-like

  • Ogu and the Secret Forest 🌟 🎮 (IAPs to unlock the full game. I got it for free on Epic, but not sure if/when it's gonna happen again)
  • Anodyne 🌟 🎮❗️ 📱 (lanscape/portrait. Adding controller support through Panda is a must if you want to complete the game without losing your mind)
  • Legend of the Skyfish 2 🎮 (Zelda-like with a fishing rod for weapon)
  • Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion 🎮 (humorous, Zelda-like, pixel art adventure; Play achievements didn't work correctly, but they might have been fixed later on)
  • Oceanhorn 🌟 🎮 (3D Zelda-like action adventure)
  • Afterplace 💬 🎮 📱 120FPS (landscape/portrait)

 

Puzzle

 

Puzzle adventure

 

Puzzle-platformer adventure

 

Point-and-click adventure

 

Simulation/management

 

Worker placement survival

  • This War of Mine 💬 (DISCLAIMER: as of April 2025 multiple users still report crashes, but I'll keep the game here because it is otherwise worth it, and devs often donate part of the profits to victims of various wars)

 

Survival crafting

 

Survival horror

 

Racing

 

Sport

 

Tower defense

 

Idle

 

Netflix games

(require an active Netflix subscription)

 

Extras and emulators/engines

  • AppSales is an app that will make you save some money by notifying you when specific games (or apps) in the Play Store go on sale. Just add the games you wish to buy to the AppSales' watchlist and you'll get notified when the price gets cut.
  • Panda Gamepad Pro 🎮 is a tool that allows you to map your controller for touch inputs, practically adding controller support to those game that don't have it.
  • Gamedeck 🎮 (game launcher/front-end for controllers)
  • Beacon Game Launcher 🎮 (game launcher/front-end for controllers. Also optimized for emulators)
  • Retroarch 🎮 (emulator for almost all consoles) "jack of all trades" emulator, the only one that supports analog triggers for Xbox One S controller. It has a bit of a learning curve, and other individual emulators might offer better performance
  • Dolphin 🎮 best emulator for GameCube and Wii
  • DraStic DS Emulator 🎮
  • PPSSPP Gold - PSP Emulator 🎮
  • Delta Touch [9 x Doom engines] 💬 (engine for Doom games)
  • Quad Touch 💬 (engine for Quake games)

 

 

Happy gaming ;)

ps: please let me know if there's any wrong information about the games included in this list (especially regarding IAPs or availability) so that I'll fix the post if necessary.

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