You’re not the target demographic.
Someone working minimum wage wants to get the most of their refurbished PS4. They might try spending $60 on an unforgettable 12-hour singleplayer adventure, but then they’d run it a second time for achievements and have nothing else to play the rest of the year, having an old hospital and car bill to pay off. Instead, they either play F2P to stretch their dollar, or buy a 100-hour Ubisoft game padded with content. When they do get a bonus from work, they feel invested in that F2P and buy the skin they always envied.
I’m of course not suggesting these games are masterpieces, but it’s not so hard to imagine the appeals they cater to.
Thank the gods for games like Warframe. F2P, fun, lots of content, reasonable grind, the devs are actually trying to make a fun game and not just milk you for money. It’s the only F2P game I’ve put money into and I would do it again
This seems like a good place to collect some notable F2P alternatives. I’ve struggled to find good mobile content… help me out! What are some good paid games or rare F2P gems you would recommend?
Battlecruisers is excellent. It’s primarily single player with a pvp arena and the story is a bit short but it’s a very enjoyable few hours.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Bluebottle.Battlecruisers
In the same vein but a bit longer gameplay is Interstellar Pilot.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pixelfactor.interstellarpilot
And Interstellar Pilot 2
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pixelfactor.interstellarpilot2
I felt this in my soul. lol This has basically been my state of mind for the least couple of years. I used to game on mobile a fair amount, but these days, I just can’t handle mobile gaming anymore. I can’t deal with F2P games on PC, either, despite having loved some of them in the past (Apex Legends, Warframe, etc.).
Between F2P games, paid games with egregious F2P-style monetization, and soooo many AAA games coming out broken or just bad, I have been playing a lot of retro games, older JRPGs, and indies the last couple of years. I’m just so burnt out on the modern game industry.
There are some great paid mobile games too though.
I’ve played nothing on my phone but bloons td6 for a year or so now, cost £6 and I’m nowhere close to maximising the content available.
Then you have shorter (but brilliant) games like the room series, monument valley, machinarium.
Not all are F2P microtransaction excuses with an ad every 30seconds. But I totally sympathise with the frustration and don’t play F2P mobile any more either.
You are right, I’m a pretty big fan of Bloons TD 6 myself. I’ve also played a lot of Osu!Lazer and some of the Netflix indies. It just kind of feels like the overwhelming majority of mobile games are predatory and obnoxious, but there are definitely some really well-done games between the premium options, console ports, and a handful of open source games.
There is room for both.