Latest entries - April 19th, 2025:

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Introduction

(scroll down for the actual list)

I recently realized there are still, to this day, some actual “hidden gems” in the Play Store. Not the fake ones everyone talks about which, in a way or another, often have a catch or aren’t very “hidden”. I mean free games with no ads or IAPs of any kind that are fun to play.

So I was thinking maybe it’s time to compile a list of them. Please suggest the ones you’ve found and enjoyed!

Edit: I'm now including free games (no piracy) from other sources beside the Play Store (which will be specified within brackets), such as github or F-droid. If they're also FOSS, like all F-droid games, they'll have this green checkmark ✅️. For the games that have both F-droid and Play Store versions, the green checkmark is for the F-droid version.

I won’t try them all as I did with my premium games list, because you could simply download and try them for yourself without spending a dime. I’ll simply list them.

‼️Also, please do checkout MiniReview - Game Reviews for more free games that match the following criteria (use the “Browse” tab and select the correct filters). The same app for iOS - App Store - is here.‼️

I’ve saved this post so to keep it updated over time, for my own reference and for your benefit. So feel free to save it and check out new entries every so often.

Entry Criteria

  1. FREE
  2. NO ADS
  3. STRICTLY NO IAPs (except donation buttons, but I’ll have to check first)
  4. NO PIRACY
  5. it has to be a legit, full game you’ve played and liked. No demos, no emulators (everyone knows RetroArch anyways)
  6. no entire repositories. You can recommend them in the comments if you really want, but this list is for games you’d like to recommend
  7. if it’s a Play Store game, it should be compatible with the latest Android version at the time of entry
  8. must include a link to the game, especially if from sources outside the Play Store. Not direct-download links, just links to the page
  9. sketchy sources won’t be considered. Play Store, GitHub, and F-droid are welcome

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

 

THE LIST

 

Legend

✅️ - FOSS (Free and Open-Source Software)

☕️ - includes option to donate, with or without minimal cosmetics only

[Game title] - delisted

 

Action Shooter/Shoot 'em up

 

Stealth

 

Platformer

 

Rhythm

 

Arcade

 

RPG

 

Roguelike dungeon crawler

 

Deck builder

 

Adventure

 

Puzzle

 

Tower defense

 

Strategy

 

Management

 

Racing

 

Simulation

 

Casual

 

Visual novel

 

Delisted or outdated

 

Happy gaming ;)

ps: please let me know if there’s any wrong information about the games included in this list (especially regarding the ones with free donations) so that I’ll fix the post, if necessary.

  • char_statsOPEnglish
    1•3 days ago

    Underhand seems to be outdated

    What does it say? It looks good on my end, with Android 14.

    Can I suggest Drill Down

    Yes, I’ll add this as it’s also FOSS. Thank you!

    If you have other suggestions, next time please also provide a link to the game. This one has been delisted fron the Play Store so I found it on itch.io

    • @[email protected]English
      1•3 days ago

      Says it’s made for an older version of android, and won’t let me download.

      Happy you liked the suggestion, I’ll make sure to provide a link in the future.

      • char_statsOPEnglish
        1•3 days ago

        Says it’s made for an older version of android, and won’t let me download

        That’s odd, but also it isn’t the first time someone tells me that a game is outdated while seeming to be fine on my end. May I ask what device and Android version you use?

        Thanks for reporting this by the way!

        • @[email protected]English
          1•2 days ago

          I’m on a Samsung S21FE, android 14, One UI 6.1.

          But if it works for you, feel free to keep it on the list until you get others’ reports to confirm?

          • char_statsOPEnglish
            2•2 days ago

            Thanks. It seems like the message you see might be due, while misleading, to the device hardware rather than it’s OS version. At least that’s what came up as one of the possible reasons after a web search.

            One more reason to keep “outdated” games still on the list, as they might work for someone!