We're rounding up the best console games with ports you can pick up in the Google Play Store. Nowadays, there are so many options, but we've compiled a list that includes the best across all genres. Platformers? We got 'em. RPGs? Are you kidding me? Of course, we've got those. So no matter what kind of mood you're in, you're bound to find something here that will wow you.
Keep in mind that this is a list of best ports, so the quality of the port itself is a defining factor in whether or not a game makes the list. Not every game translates well into the mobile space, and some developers succeed where others fail. These have passed the test and have earned their place in the victor's circle. You'll find many of these titles on our list of favorite Android games overall, too. Ready? Let's jump into some of the best console ports for Android!
Call of Duty: Mobile
Over 14 million ratings don't lie: Call of Duty, the titan of first-person shooters, has managed to make the transition to mobile beautifully. Redesigned for mobile device optimization, all of the action you expect from Call of Duty is now easily accessible in the palm of your hand. With battle royale, 5v5 deathmatch, sniper versus sniper modes, and much more, COD mobile is on its 10th season for a very good reason.
There are loads of unlockable gear like weapons, outfits, and characters, along with maps from other beloved games in the CODiverse. The virtual controls are decent, but most players will likely want to connect a Bluetooth controller for the best experience. You can even customize which parts of the game you want to install, making the file size smaller or larger to suit your device and preferences.
COD mobile is free-to-play, monetized through in-app purchases and ads.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania is such a cornerstone of gaming at this point that it transcended the concept of mere platforming and ascended to its own sub-genre, the hallowed Metroidvania. This is my favorite way to game, so I am fiercely biased, but most players agree that the mobile port of Symphony of the Night is pretty darn good.
Jordan Palmer pointed out in his review that the touch screen controls aren't ideal, but they are at least serviceable. If you have small hands and a huge phone, you might not even notice that the controls' placement is slightly cramped. However, if you have a controller to pair with your phone, you'll be able to have a better mechanical experience thanks to controller support provided by Konami.
For just $3, you get the entire game without any microtransactions, options for English or Japanese voice acting, multiple languages supported for the captions, more replayability thanks to the addition of achievements, controller support, and a steady framerate. I'd say that's a pretty incredible deal for one of the best-regarded Castlevania titles of all time.
Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger is exactly the kind of game I turn to when I want to remind myself what makes this turn-based JRPG so fun. It has larger-than-life storytelling, charming and memorable characters, fantastic world-building, killer art design, and of course, strategic and engaging gameplay that will keep you coming back for years to come.
Chrono Trigger has held up well to the test of time, and the mobile port brings this legendary game into the hands of players who may otherwise have never been able to access it. The port has been optimized for mobile devices, so don't expect a straight one-for-one comparison between the original and the port. The graphics were smoothed out, and the audio was cleaned up for modern eyes and ears. There's even an autosave feature and a couple of totally new dungeons for good measure! The touch-screen controls are decent, but controller support is there for those that prefer it.
Chrono Trigger stands among the greats of the JRPG genre for good reason. If you haven't been able to experience it before, now's your chance. For a measly FIVE BUCKS, do yourself a favor and pick this one up.
Dead Cells
We're starting to catch up to modern times now, and boy howdy, have we just got to talk about Dead Cells. If you've been living under a rock and missed the hype, Dead Cells is a side-scrolling roguelike that follows in the footsteps of the Soulsborne tradition with its notoriously high difficulty.
This one isn't for those of us that are easily frustrated rage-quitters. Patience and learning from your mistakes will get you much farther in Dead Cells, so maybe do a few minutes of deep breathing before you fire this one up.
There are many different playstyles that you can explore in Dead Cells, but you can't afford to be lazy here, even with the little baddies. You'll need to use all of your skills, which you can tweak with each new run following your inevitable death, like parries, dodges, and learning enemy behaviors to succeed. And the bosses? You know what, don't even ask about those right now. You'll find out when you get there.
Dead Cells' port has been fully optimized for mobile and is notable for having solid touchscreen controls. Slap a great soundtrack and some truly gorgeous graphics on top of that and you've got yourself one hell of a good game. It'll cost you $8.99, but I promise it's worth it.
Gorogoa
You didn't think it was going to be all action-packed, wild rides over here, did you? Good, because Gorogoa is here to slake the thirst of puzzle junkies the world over! You may have missed it, but Annapurna Interactive has been quietly putting out some of the best indies on the market in recent years.
Florence, Donut County, Sayonara Wildhearts, Maquette, and even the grandmother of all walking-sims, Gone Home — you name it, and if it's a legendary indie, then I bet you five bucks that Annapurna backed it.
A fair number of Annapurna's games are originally created for mobile, but Gorogoa counts among the ports. A fascinating puzzle game comprised of breathtakingly illustrated panels, Gorogoa asks you to rearrange and combine these panels in unique ways to solve puzzles. The more nuanced appeal of Gorogoa, beyond its stellar visual presentation, is that it tells a deeper narrative through its thousands of hand-drawn illustrations.
Just about the only bad thing that I can say about this game is that it's one of the shorter entries on this list, but Gorogoa earns its place among the stars with its exceptional creativity and vibrant flare. The hyper-visual focus makes it a no-brainer for Android, as the controls transfer very easily to the mobile space. So, if you're searching for that next puzzler, then search no more. Here it is, the glorious Gorogoa!
GRID Autosport
Can AAA console gaming be ported to mobile and work well? Yes, and GRID Autosport is the proof. GRID has held its title as one of the best mobile racing games out there for years, and its consistently high ratings are further evidence of how well-received this port has been by racing game enthusiasts.
At a whopping $10, the cost of entry is pretty high with this one, but you get a lot of game for that price. GRID Autosport on mobile includes all of the original game's DLC, 100 maps, 100 cars, killer gameplay, and multiple options for control schemes and difficulty settings. Plus, the graphics here are pretty simply jaw-dropping, ensuring that every race and, of course, all of your lovingly souped-up vehicles look incredible.
This is also among the few games listed here that really push the limits on the technical side of mobile gaming, so there's a chance your phone may not even be able to run this behemoth.
The Google Play Store will let you know if your phone isn't up to the task of handling this too fast, too furious monster. In short, there's a reason GRID Autosport is still one of the top mobile racing games out there, and we should all consider ourselves lucky that the port is as high quality as it is. Feral Interactive knocked it out of the park with GRID Autosport on mobile.
Gris
Gris is a no-brainer port for Android. This casual adventure platformer made quite a splash when it launched for consoles in 2018, largely thanks to its incredible art style. I've never taken more screengrabs of a game in my life, believe me. You play as the title character herself, Gris, as she traverses an evolving watercolor world on a journey of self-healing.
Having lost her voice after an unknown trauma, Gris's world becomes washed out, empty, and gray. As you progress through the levels, though, you help Gris work toward an emotional reckoning, and the world begins to change in beautiful new ways. The journey is the whole point of this short but sweet indie, so that's all I'll say about that. You'll have to discover the rest for yourself.
In contrast to its ambiguous yet impactful themes of overcoming internal conflict, Gris is free of danger or death. There are no enemies in the traditional sense, no creatures you have to fight to surpass. Instead, the gameplay consists of some interesting, smooth platforming and exploring your 2D side-scrolling world, which has some appreciated secrets built-in for you to find.
The already simple controls transfer to mobile very well, so this is one where you may find that you don't even want a controller. Gris could take as little as three or as much as 6 hours to finish if you're a completionist, and those will be hours well-spent.
This indie is genuinely an accomplishment of art in motion, and I would recommend it to absolutely every gamer, no matter who you are or what you usually like to play. Gris is an experience and for only $4.99, it's one worth having.
Limbo
Let's be real for a second; Limbo is just a give-in when it comes to the best mobile ports. Similar to the straightforward, no-frills gameplay featured in Gris, Limbo's side-scrolling platforming combined with its stark black, white, and grey art direction allow it to transition seamlessly to mobile.
If you somehow don't know about this award-winning indie game yet, Limbo has you play as a young boy searching for his sister through, you guessed it, limbo. The haunting atmosphere encapsulates the even more haunting narrative with laser-like precision. The puzzles are inventive and engaging. The sound design adds an immersive depth that makes you feel every last creepy crawly right down to your very bones.
I don't want to tell you anything else about Limbo so that you can experience the game for yourself if you haven't had the privilege yet. It has a free demo available on the Play Store and Play Pass holders can even pick up the game for free. Without Play Pass, though, you'll still only pay a reasonable $4.99. Limbo is, and probably always will be, worth it.
My Time at Portia
It's been a little over two years since My Time at Portia launched on consoles. During that time, it carved out its niche in the increasingly flooded realm of life sims. I don't love the comparison (because it's not truly accurate), but MTaP is most adjacent to games like Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, and even the old Harvest Moon games.
Taking a little bit from several genres, Portia rolls hack-n-slash combat, collecting/gathering, crafting, farming, and relationship-building mechanics all into one giant game. Completely redesigned for mobile in terms of its controls and UI, Portia has done a surprisingly decent job of making the jump to Android.
The virtual controls are perfectly acceptable, and the UI is okay, if a bit small at times. You can potentially put over 60 hours into this massive title, and it's a great world to sink a few minutes into every day, or even a few hours if you get into a groove.
Portia isn't without its faults, though. It's known for having severe performance issues on the Switch, and some of those issues have made their way to mobile as well. Thankfully, the loading times aren't horrendous, but the lag and frame drops can be pretty bad sometimes.
There are also a few minor bugs here and there, but nothing truly game-breaking. All told, Portia performs perhaps better than the Switch version, so the port has done a good job of learning and improving on past mistakes. My Time at Portia is premium priced at $7.99, but considering how much time this game is worth, that's a deserved price point.
Slay the Spire
Slay the Spire is a more recent game than most others on this list and is, by extension, one of the most recent ports featured here, having just made its way to mobile in February 2021. A rogue-lite with deck-building at the core of its battle system, Slay the Spire skips the slog that some roguelikes fall prey to by throwing you straight into the action.
You start each run by choosing from a handful of playable characters with their own base deck and specialties. You then build out your deck as you progress by defeating procedurally-generated enemies and replacing weaker cards in your deck with better ones when you win.
This is where Slay the Spire can get so addictive, as the combos you can craft with decks are impressively expansive. Cards have various effects, such as buffs for you, debuffs for your opponents, or regular ol' offensive/defensive maneuvers. There are also multiple relics you can pick up along the way that help give you a greater edge over your competition.
The biggest issue with Slay the Spire on mobile is its UI feels cramped at times, particularly when it comes to visually smaller items, like the relics. However, swiping your cards at enemies has a nice tactile feel that helps save the UI from being a dealbreaker. All the same, those with larger phones or tablets (or smaller hands) may have an easier go of it.
At $9.99, Slay the Spire will cost you more than your average mobile game, but considering that many players wind up logging hundreds of hours of playtime, you're likely to be getting your money's worth.
Sparklite
Ported to mobile in late 2021 by the same team that handled Dead Cells' port (Playdigious), Sparklite is an excellent action-adventure RPG. Inspired by The Legend of Zelda, Sparklite will whisk you away to the magical world of Geodia where some nasty shenanigans are a-brewin' in the mining industry.
Featuring top-down gameplay and an impressive arsenal of weapons and gear to suit your play style, you'll guide protagonist Ada on her quest to defeat the evil Baron and his army of Titans. Who doesn't love taking down a gross mining corporation, right?
As you would expect from Playdigious, the transition to mobile has been handled gracefully. However, with a game of this duration, you may find that you want to use a Bluetooth controller to extend the life of your sessions.
One of the biggest advantages of playing the game on mobile is that Sparklite will only run you $6.99 versus its Steam and console prices of $24.99. For seven dollars, this 10-12 hour experience is a superb value.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
One of the best things about ports is that they can often save older games that are hard to access with modern technology. Not everyone knows how emulators work or still has their old console kicking around that they can dust back off to replay some beloved titles, so ports can bring classics more easily back into the hands of those who love them.
Case in point, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (aka KOTOR). One of the most beloved games bearing the Star Wars name, KOTOR, is an immersive role-playing game where you are the last hope of the Jedi Order. Packed with nuance and choices for you to make, destiny isn't set with KOTOR. Instead, you can choose your alignment and affect your outcome by joining the light or dark side of the force.
Jam-packed with all the light-saber action you could want, there are over 40 moves that you can learn throughout KOTOR, eight planets to visit, and nine possible NPCs that you can recruit to your party. So if Jedi: Fallen Order got you interested in Star Wars games, then consider giving good ol' KOTOR a try. Normally $9.99, it's available free to Play Pass subscribers.
Streets of Rage 4
Streets of Rage is a classic arcade side-scrolling beat 'em up that's been kicking and punching around since the early 90s. The series seemed fated to die off after Streets of Rage 3's release in 1994, but thankfully got a new lease on life decades later when Streets of Rage 4 dropped in 2021. A massive hit with new and old fans alike, a mobile port from Playdigious quickly followed in 2022.
Taking place ten years after the series left off in '94, Streets of Rage 4 picks back up with our heroes Axel, Blaze, Adam, and a host of brand-new playable characters as they take on their crime-riddled city and take out the trash. Supporting 4-player local co-op and 2-player online co-op, SoR4 offers a nearly endless stream of action for solo players and friend groups alike.
The virtual controls are perfectly serviceable, but hardcore players will probably want to connect a good Bluetooth controller to really get the most out of Streets of Rage 4. You can fight your way through story mode, challenge yourself with the game's boss rush mode, practice your moves in training, or see how far you can get in one go with good ol' fashioned arcade mode.
Along with the Mr. X DLC, there's a lot of content to work your way through in this surprisingly expansive game, making the $8.99 price tag easier to stomach. It may be a premium cost, but you'll be getting a premium game experience in return.
Terraria
Dig! Fight! Explore! Build! Terraria promises all of this and more to gamers, and most would agree it heartily delivers. Often likened to Minecraft for the vast control and options available to players, Terraria is an open 2D sandbox full of adventure. With single and multi-player modes, Terraria's main draws are indeed its building, crafting, exploration, and combat, which are all expertly pulled off.
Adventuring around will often yield new resources to gather, new NPCs to rescue or attract to your city, all manner of enemies to squash, and even bosses to take down. Progression typically happens via boss battles or obtaining specific items. The mobile version of Terraria was re-built from the ground up to optimize playability, and the game also supports Bluetooth controllers for those that don't enjoy the customizable on-screen virtual controls.
It can be difficult to summarize a game as expansive as Terraria, but if adventure, exploration, and building are your jam, then you really need to give it a try. Terraria is free for Google Play Pass subscribers or $4.99 for non-subscribers.
World of Goo
World of Goo feels like one of the OGs of the physics-based puzzlers by now. Originally a Wii game, World of Goo made its way to Android nearly 10 years ago, which is a feat in and of itself. The premise of World of Goo is simple: drag and drop living globs of goo to build structurally sound pathways that the goo folks can then traverse to get from point A to point B.
Naturally, the infusion of physics leads to some silly fun and shenanigans, but keep in mind that you'll need to be fairly strategic with your goo-building since you'll need to get a certain amount of goos into the proverbial goal to succeed at each level.
World of Goo is an oldie but goodie and held up well over the years, maintaining its fun and charm with aplomb. Be warned, though, some folks have more recently reported game-breaking issues like lost progress and crashes, but this doesn't seem to be a consistent problem for everyone. So, for $4.99, you too can join the World of Goo!
Taking stock
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Ports can be a little polarizing at times, and not all games make the jump with grace. But as phones continue to make technological advancements and gain the ability to handle bigger and better games, you'll find some truly stellar games accessible without the need for a console now. This list is not exhaustive yet, so expect to see some future additions as more and more ports make their way to Android devices.
Updated April 2022: Added Sparklite to our list!
