The mobile platform is known for having few exclusive games.
Many fans who arrived after 2017 will find that cell phones live on the basis of ports and versions of PC games.
This is even true, especially if you only have an Android phone or tablet.
Unlike other video game platforms, mobile doesn't have a big company behind it that will sponsor the whole thing.
Recently, Apple has been doing an excellent job with its game service, Apple Arcade, but that's from 2019 onwards.
However, the contract that the companies make with the apple, gives temporary exclusivity on iOS, and it seems that it prevents the games from coming out on Android.
It works like this, after two to three years, games can be released on PC and consoles like PlayStation 4, 5, Xbox and Switch, but not on an Android system. Slutty right?
So those who arrive after 2016 or 2017, have the impression that mobile lives on the basis of free games and console ports.
But this article is exactly to show you the exclusives that cell phones have produced over the years. And it won't just stop there, it will become a series for the channel.
Of course exclusive is a technical term used here quite broadly, because if even Sony is taking its exclusives to the PC, let alone Apple and indie developers.
So for all intents and purposes, exclusives here are the games that came out first on mobile, and had a temporary exclusivity, is it closed?
Without further ado, let's go to the list.
The Best “Exclusive” Mobile Games
Video content:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEanAbTXZIg
oceanhorn 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLtFwvoV3u4
We start our list with one of the most searched games on Google Play, Oceanhorn 2.
Just type “Ocean” in the Play Store, which Google already completes with the name of the game, showing that this is one of the most searched terms in the app store.
You've probably seen some gameplay out there.
Impressive for the time, this game runs very well even on the already outdated iPhone 7 Plus.
When you catch your eye, you'll immediately think that this is a “Breath of The Wild Mobile”, but calm down with expectations, champion.
Far more modest, Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm puts us in charge of a young man looking to fulfill his destiny as a hero.
After being given up for adoption by the demon Mesmeroth, the villain of the first game, Oceanhorn 2 puts a knot in the franchise's narrative. You will wonder what the relationship between the two games is.
Oceanhorn 2 is actually a prequel to the first game. And I won't say anything else to avoid spoilers.
The third-person action-adventure game has many scenarios and bosses to face.
However, it is a shorter game than many expected it to be. But for a mobile game it's pretty good.
Unfortunately, for Android users, the game was released as an iOS exclusive on mobile in 2019. Until today, it only has a version for Nintendo Switch and a version for PC and other consoles is still in development.
The first game in the franchise also took forever to reach Android. So much so, that many thought it was a PC game that later went to Android.
Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas was released for iOS in 2013 and the PC version only arrived in 2015. The Android version of the first game only arrived in 2016. 3 years later.
Will we see Oceanhorn 2 on Android later this year, when the iOS version turns 3 years old?
Oh, and a warning: for this one not to become an iOS exclusive article, we're going to put only 2 Apple Arcade games. Then we will make a more complete video with the exclusives of this service. Wait.
OceanHorn 2 na APP STORE (IOS)
Type: Apple Arcade | Language: English | offline
Pascal's Wager
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxJ6FUfx0I8
Maybe Pascal's Wager doesn't come close to games like Bloodborne and Elden Ring, but this game for Android and iOS shines through the darkness, and stands out as one of the best action RPGs we have on mobile.
In command of a messenger in a world immersed in shadows, you will fight to find out what happened to your wife. He is accompanied by a beautiful young woman and an enigmatic fellow who carries a coffin.
In addition to the very well-crafted combats and perfect world setting, the soundtrack also stands out. I don't even need to talk about the difficulty, do I?
If it's hard enough to beat a Dark Souls game on the controller, imagine on the touch screen? Fortunately this one has control support,
In addition to Pascal's Wager, there are several other games inspired by Dark Souls that first appeared on mobile, check them all out in this video here.
Pascal’s Wager na APP STORE (IOS)
Pascal’s Wager na GOOGLE PLAY (ANDROID)
Type: Paid | Language: Spanish | offline
horizon chase
https://youtu.be/sBOfm3z3Y-Q
There are a lot of people who think that Horizon Chase was first released for PC.
What a nice blunder huh guys
Released in 2015 for Android and iOS, the game was exclusive to mobile.
The turbo version would only come to consoles and PC in 2018.
The most successful title from Spanish studio Aquiris, Horizon Chase pays homage to classic racing games like Top Gear and Out Run.
Recently, the game received a major update called Senna Semper, which brings with it a new mode.
This new Formula 1-style mode also pays homage to another game from the past, Super Monaco GP, a Mega Drive classic.
Horizon Chase na APP STORE (IOS)
Horizon Chase na GOOGLE PLAY (ANDROID)
Type: Paid | Language: Spanish | offline
Implosion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGrqI09TuA0
Implosion is a hack'n slash game released in 2015 by the talented Rayark studio.
Humans decide to return to Earth after 20 years after leaving the planet. The world should be empty, but it is revealed that many poorer humans are left behind... and they are not alone.
Strange monsters and creatures now inhabit the Earth. A team that would be a research team finds itself involved in the conflict and needs to help people.
For this, robots are used and the protagonist connects to them in the best Matrix style, or in this case it's something like Detonator Orgun.
Combat immediately stands out with intense action lots of combos, pirouettes and flair, as well as Devil's May Cry.
Implosion has easy commands and is a fun game to beat.
At the time it was released it was a relatively heavy game, but nowadays it runs on any potato.
Implosion na APP STORE (IOS)
Implosion na GOOGLE PLAY (ANDROID)
Type: Paid | Language: Spanish | offline
Infinity blade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq0HyOry4UI
Yep, another ex-iPhone exclusive. But this time it's not from Apple Arcade.
Infinity Blade is a criminally forgotten franchise by Epic. The company nowadays only has eyes for Fortnite and its game store.
But I could also, right, after all the bullshit and all the beef I had between her and Apple, I don't think we ever see an Epic game on an iOS device anymore.
But in 2010, these two tech giants had a very close relationship.
Infinity Blade was released for iPhone and iPad around this time. Development was handled by Chair Entertainment, a subsidiary company of Epic Games.
Immediately, Apple wanted to put the game in one of its events to introduce new devices and technologies. Steve Jobs himself was there to introduce the news.
It was a game that for the time was a shock. Infinity Blade helped validate mobile as a serious gaming platform.
It was the first AAA visual game to be released on mobile phones. But AAA, something that surpassed even the productions of the Gameloft era.
At the time, many media outlets said that mobile games had already reached the visual level of the PlayStation 3.
Nowadays the command system might seem a bit obvious, but Infinity Blade literally created a genre back in the day.
Although the combat looks casual, it just looks like it. Infinity Blade had a very well balanced difficulty curve. An action RPG that would later unfold into a franchise with 3 brilliant games.
The game's story involves a knight, or rather generations of the same knight, trapped in a time loop.
Siris must defeat several bosses before facing the final villain, the God King, who has the so-called Infinity Blade, the only weapon that can kill him and break the loop.
There are three different endings and the game has a sinister plot twist in one of them. Upon defeating the God King, he says that "they will come after you now". On his throne is an iPhone-like device that leaves a huge hook for the second game.
The great triumph of Infinity Blade is precisely that it is not just graphics or just the gimmick of sliding from one side to the other. This was a game with a nice lore behind it and an above average difficulty.
Infinity Blade even got a Chinese version half translated into English for Android, however, it was a free version with a lot of montage, which made the gameplay confusing. Epic even released an Arcade version, which was basically a 46-inch touch monitor without a story mode.
But other than that, Infinity Blade never went to another platform, a true mobile exclusive, both in essence and in gameplay.
Sword & Sworcery EP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT6hIQkAHrM
Sword & Sworcery is an adventure game for Android and iOS that has one of the best soundtracks of all time.
This game is really an audiovisual journey that deserves to be played by anyone passionate about games.
But it was iOS users, and later Android and Windows Phone, who were the first to check out this classic.
Trapped in a pixel art world, a Scythian warrior will face deadly geometries and shadow beings in a strange, psychedelic game.
The Scythians were a nomadic people who lived there around 800 BC. Therefore, the game evokes a very different folklore than many are used to.
To interact with the game world, you have to go out touching things and solve some puzzles. The combats are a show apart with the right to a mortal battle against a … triangle.
Sword & Sworcery was originally released in 2011. It was a time of great innovation and cultural effervescence on mobile. Many indie developers have taken to the platform to create different and enigmatic games.
Sword & Sworcery na APP STORE (IOS)
Sword & Sworcery na GOOGLE PLAY (ANDROID)
Type: Paid | Language: Spanish | offline
Monument Valley 1 & 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmnZnpUCSgw
Sword & Sworcery and its obscure success helped to encourage many developers around the world, the folks at Ustwo Games studio being one of them.
With a minimalist proposal, the game was inspired by the arts of impossible or relative stairs by MC Escher.
By playing with perspective, the player takes the character to the exit of each level.
A very simple game design so to speak, but the secret lies in the puzzles and ingenuity to create well-crafted levels.
The sequel called just Monument Valley 2 adds more levels and a storyline involving a mother, daughter and a friendly toten.
The simplicity of Monument Valley, and at the same time the brilliance at the time of creating such ingenious puzzles, made the game receive several awards, including the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and BAFTA Video Game Awards for best mobile game.
The game also influenced pop culture artists such as singer Ariana Grande who revealed that the concept of the music video for “No Tears Left to Cry” was partially inspired by Monument Valley.
Every game has art to some degree, but games like Monument Valley take the concept to a whole new level. To know more games like this, watch a video where we separate the most artistic games released for Android and iOS.
Monument Valley na APP STORE (IOS)
Monument Valley na GOOGLE PLAY (ANDROID)
Type: Paid | Language: Spanish | offline
Chaos rings
https://youtu.be/7qqOENXAgSQ
Chaos Rings is a franchise of JRPG games released by Square Enix between the years 2010 and 2015. As usual, released first on mobile and then in versions for PSP and PS Vita.
The first Chaos Rings would arrive as an exclusive in 2010 on iOS, Android, Windows Phone. The game tells the story of an ark in which several humans are selected by an evil entity to "repopulate the planet" and be gifted with 10 years of life. But of course, everything is not a thousand wonders. The entity intends to “reset” the other peoples and kill the other competitors.
The game already impressed mobile players with 4 initial stories and 9 different endings. Each story is developed by two characters who must face various challenges in the ark, in the style of "Dungeon Select" and then face a deadly competition where they must eliminate the other human competitors.
The dialogues are very well written, with the characters questioning themselves all the time about why they are there. Something that is only revealed towards the end of the game.
The graphics were very beautiful for the time, and the game had a handheld console game feel. It really felt like a PSP or Nintendo DS game in the palm of your hand.
The music for Chaos Rings was by Noriyasu Agematsu, composer of the Wild Arms franchise, and the story is written by Yukinori Kitajima, who worked on games like Okamiden: Chiisaki Taiyo and Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright, for Nintendo DS and 3DS respectively. .
Chaos Rings would still receive two sequels and prequels: Omega, Chaos Rings 2 and 3.
Unfortunately, only Chaos Rings 3 remains on the app stores. Again, Android fans are out of luck as the game has a number of compatibility issues with Android 12.
on Google Play, but it's bugged on Android 12. I don't recommend buying it, test it first in the “apk of life”.
Sky: Children of the Light
https://youtu.be/g3r1KbzSiT8
The studio that created Sky is known for developing games that are different and unusual.
Thatgamecompany was born as an internal Sony studio, sponsored by the company to develop downloadable games for the then newcomer PlayStation Network.
And they made a “God of War Like” right? Anything!
The guys created a game with flower petals in the wind called Flower. The game was a remake of the Flash version with new graphics and multiplayer elements.
After that came the first big hit, Journey, another “travel” game in which multiplayer is done only through gameplay, without any interaction between the two players. This one is out for iOS too.
Sky: Children of the Light is only the fourth game from this studio that excels in design and unchallenging gameplay.
Sky is a game to relax and literally a Journey that instead of running in the desert, you will fly to the stars.
Players must unite to share wing gauges and thus be able to fly higher, completing the challenges of each scenario.
A game to relax and admire the beautiful graphics and explore the vast environments it provides. Don't be surprised to find yourself having an epiphany while playing this mobile exclusive.
The most bizarre of all is that Sky is a completely playable free game that is monetized through cosmetic purchases.
Sky na APP STORE (IOS)
Sky na GOOGLE PLAY (ANDROID)
Type: Free | Language: Spanish | online
Fantasian
https://youtu.be/n06yWw2Tgss
Now yes, a true mobile exclusive that has not been released to any other platform so far.
Fantasian is a JRPG created by none other than the director of the first Final Fantasy, Hironobu Sakaguchi.
He and his team at Mistwalker developed a game with a curious level design.
The game's music is signed by another JRPG monster, Nobuo Uematsu.
Fantasian's backdrops are actually dioramas that have been photographed in 3D and give the game a unique look.
But overall, Fantasian is your typical traditional JRPG.
You control Leo, a hero who has lost his memory and is quickly pulled into a quest to save the world. (I said it was traditional).
It's hard to say too much about story details since for most of the game Leo doesn't even know what's going on. And this is part of the magic of the gameplay, because telling everything would spoil the experience. Even more so because it is a kind of recent game, from 2021.
The story itself is… good. Fantasian certainly does not measure up to its spiritual predecessors in this respect.
Despite trying, she doesn't convey that sense of urgency to save the world and the secondary characters aren't as memorable as Chaos Rings, for example.
The real attraction is the design of the stages that harkens back to the time of pre-rendered PlayStation-era backgrounds, except that here they move in three dimensions lightly, with a really cool effect.
Maybe Fantasian isn't a game suitable for every type of player, but if you played a lot of JRPGs in your childhood, you certainly deserve to give this title a chance.
Fantasia na APP STORE (IOS)
Type: Paid | Language: English | offline
Asphalt 8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT6n9dc3jgY
And to end our list, how about a classic that ended up on almost every platform out there? Seriously, if you play, Asphalt 8 even has a Samsung fridge.
Released in 2013 for Android and iOS, Asphalt 8 was developed by Gameloft's Barcelona studio.
For the time it was an amazing game that used a lot of visual effects like various shaders, HDR filters and so on. The game started out as a paid title, but later Gameloft converted it to free to play.
Asphalt 8 is an incremental title in the series. A natural evolution from Asphalt 1 to 7. The game doesn't really add many new features compared to the last two games in the franchise. Just better graphics and more speed.
Maybe Asphalt 8 is no longer the game it was in 2013, it is even offline. But we will always remember him as one of the best in the franchise.
Sky na APP STORE (IOS)
Sky na GOOGLE PLAY (ANDROID)
Type: Paid | Language: Spanish | offline
Closing
And here ends another post, as we said, this one will become a series, showing the main mobile exclusives.
Did you know the games on the list? Look, there's a lot of classics there that the haters don't know, people have the habit of wanting to download only the game that's on the cover of Google Play, you'll really suffer, you'll download only what Google says, and it's usually just casual game.
A big thank you to those who read the article so far, a big hug and see you next time.
