I am, and will always be a mobile gaming fan…For the most part. I get grossed out by the basic pay to win method that most games have, and some games are just shameless, soulless copies of others. However, I’ve played some really good mobile games over the years.
But when I sat down to rank my most played mobile games from last year, I was kind of confused. Did I really not play any better games than this? Apparently not. Anyway, here’s my five most played mobile games of 2023. The TLDR: Play Usagi Shima. Don’t play Last Fortress: Underground, unless you have a lot of money to spare.
Covet Fashion
2023 marked the 10 year anniversary of me playing this fashion dress-up game. It’s kind of insane. I’ve played this game for longer than I’ve known my husband…
If you don’t know the game, the very basics of it is: You get challenges, scenarios, and you need to dress up a person fitting the theme.
I got addicted to it when I started playing it, but I honestly can’t put my finger on why I’ve played for so long. It might have to do with the ability of being creative, and that it’s quite a relaxing game. You can get far without paying anything at all, there’s no annoying ads and there’s a nice community aspect to it.
Last Fortress: Underground
I was obsessed with this game for quite a while last year. At first glance it looks like some sort of Fallout Shelter copy, but it’s not. It’s a survival game heavily focused on PvP. They have seasons of sorts, where newer players were supposed to be able to catch up with others.
However, this is one of the games where you could pay insane amounts of money to get far ahead of others, which a lot of people did. Therefore, you would always be a bit behind the top players and guilds, getting ganked and raided constantly. It was not a fun experience and after a while I just gave up. But I have to say, people were overall really friendly and talkative in this game, so the alliance aspect of it became one of the key points to keep playing.
Whiteout Survival
After Last Fortress I went onto this other survival game. It has the same elements: You build up your base, collect resources and fight versus other players. However, it had the same issue as Last Fortress. You were left behind if you didn’t pay, and you needed a strong alliance/guild otherwise it felt pointless. It also started taking eons to update your buildings in the base after playing for a while, and that’s when I gave up. I had good fun for a while though.
Hay Day
Yes, I admit to it. I got sucked back into Hay Day last year. When I first discovered the game many years ago, I was completely obsessed and played hours daily. After a while the grind became a bit tedious though, and I quit. Only to be back half a year later or so, and kept going from where I left off. It’s overall such a nice, calm and cosy game, but I keep getting into the same cycle with Hay Day. Starts playing > gets obsessed > plays a boatload for a month or two > quit playing > doesn’t touch the game for another six months. If you haven’t tried Hay Day yet and need a cosy mobile game, I highly recommend to give it a go.
Usagi Shima
This idle bunny collecting game with adorable graphics I discovered via Wholesome Games. You have a little plot of land where you place buildings such as cafés, small restaurants etc, along with toys and decorations. These items will then attract the cutest little bunnies, all with their own appearance. I genuinely loved this game, with its calming music, adorable art style and perrrfect, fluffy bunnies! It also has a good pacing, plus there’s no annoying pop-up ads or microtransactions. You can choose to support the developer by buying extra items, but that’s all.
