Time was, adventure games all looked pretty much alike. There were text adventures, and then a new generation of text adventures with better graphics, and then point-and-click adventures like Monkey Island and Broken Sword. But the genre has exploded since the invention of the smartphone, shooting off in so many different directions that we’re not even sure what an adventure game is anymore. This list of the best Android adventure games covers all the bases, from cutting-edge narrative experiments to chilling political allegories.
The Best Android Adventure Games
Let’s kick off the adventures.
Layton: Unwound Future
One of the absolutely beloved series of puzzlers, Unwound Future is the third installment. It follows the plucky Professor as he receives a letter, apparently from his assistant Luke ten years into the future! This leads into a time-hopping adventure, filled with puzzles.
Oxenfree
Oxenfree is a spooky and atmospheric adventure game that takes place on a crumbling island once host to a military base. A strange rift causes even stranger entities to bleed into the fabric of the island, and how you react, and treat those around you will make a big impact on how events play out.
Unfortunately, Oxenfree and its sequel are currently exclusive to Netflix subscribers, but this might change up in the near future, we’ll keep you posted on that one.
Underground Blossom
An eerie trip through surreal metro stations, Underground Blossom is an entry from the acclaimed Rusty Lake series, and sets you to work piecing together a character’s past through an unsettling train ride. Explore the different locations and use your wits and skills of observation to advance.
Machinarium
A gorgeous tale of lonely robots in a weird, wordless future.
You play as a robot who’s been exiled to the scrap-heap, and you must solve puzzles, collect items, and build yourself up in order to find your way back to the city. Your robot-girlfriend awaits your rescue.
You’ve probably already played Machinarium by now, but if you haven’t then you should definitely pick it up. Alternatively, try out any of Amanita Design’s other games.
Thimbleweed Park
If you’re looking for your next murder investigation while pretending you’re in an episode of the X-Files, then you’ve arrived at your destination. Thimbleweed Park is a graphic adventure game set in a small town full of characterful locals.
Each one has their own unique personality, and the game will reveal this to you as you investigate them, one by one. On top of this classic graphic adventure format sits a dark-humoured tone – what’s not to love?
Overboard!
An interesting premise for a game – can you get away with murdering your husband? Overboard! puts you in the shoes of a woman who has just pushed her other half off a boat, and now has to interact with the passengers and pass off as innocent.
As the game is quite difficult, you probably won’t be able to at first. However, with more playthroughs of the game, you’ll soon be acquainted with how best to deceive your fellow passengers.
The White Door
The White Door is a psychological mystery adventure game that follows a man who wakes up in a mental health institution. His main problem: he can’t remember anything about how he got there or how long he’s been there.
As you progress further into the game you’ll figure out why you’re there. A point-and-click style mechanic is how you play the game, and you’ll move the game forward by figuring out and sticking to your daily routine.
GRIS
There are some games that are just a light-hearted romp through another world. Others are something that may stick with you for a while. GRIS is an adventure through beautiful, melancholy worlds that resemble the different stages of grief.
GRIS might not leave you how it found you.
Brok The InvestiGator
Want something that looks like TaleSpin with a gritty dystopian edge? There’s Brok The InvestiGator, an adventure game that brings puzzles, interactions, and even optional brawling to the table as you step into the boots of the reptilian PI… if he wore boots.
The Girl In The Window
This spooky escape room puts you in a difficult situation. You’re exploring an abandoned house where a grisly murder took place. Now, something in the house is stopping you from leaving. It’s up to you to solve puzzles and piece the mystery together while something supernatural and unfriendly is far too close for comfort.
Reventure
Want to choose your own adventure? Well, you’ll certainly get that here. With Reventure, there are over 100 different endings to your journey. Keep trying, take different paths, find new solutions, and see where the story goes.
Samorost 3
Another lovely little trip from Amanita Design. Take on the role of a teeny little spaceman in a pointy hat and travel across different worlds. Explore the worlds, make friends, and use your logical thinking to solve puzzles.
Kathy Rain
Take a trip back to the 90’s, in all respects, with Kathy Rain. The setting, the pixel graphics, and the point-and-click mechanics are very 1995. Take control of the titular Kathy as you explore the dark secret of a small town, and what they have to do with the strange death of your grandfather.
Lumino City
A stunning work of art as well as an adventure game, Lumino City’s colorful world is make up of intricately paper-crafted sets. It’s no surprise this game has a boatload of rewards attached to its name by this point. It deserves them!
Return To Monkey Island
The latest addition to the absolutely iconic point and click adventure game series sees you pick up again with Guybrush Threepwood, years after his previous adventures, and just as an all new one ramps up. It has a number of the big names from the original Monkey Island back, so it’s not just the franchise in name.
Beholder
There are no easy choices in this dystopian game. Play the manager of an apartment block in a corrupt, totalitarian state. Do you help your tenants and their troubles? Do you report their indiscretions to the state? Will doing either make your life worse? Don’t go in expecting a relaxing time.
Broken Sword Reforged
A visually gorgeous rework of the classic point-and-click that lovingly recreates each scene from the original in a new art style, with full voice acting and an HD remaster of the game’s original soundtrack. No online requirements, no IAPs, just a great game.
ScummVM
Having been talking about adventure games on here for a while, and updating the list regularly, it seems remiss that we never got around to talking about ScummVM before now. This little app serves as a gateway to having a ton of the old classics of the genre freely available on your phone.
Old Broken Sword and Monkey Island, King’s Quest, 7th Guest, the list goes on. (Though you will have to acquire the Steam or GOG releases if you haven’t already.)
You will need to keep in mind that this is an emulator, so some assembly is required to get everything up and working, but the documentation is very thorough and a lot of the older titles are freely available, so fill your boots.
Want something a little more fast-paced than the best Android adventure games? Check out our best Android action games feature.
