UPDATE: Marvel Snap won Best Mobile Game at The Game Awards 2022!
Mobile gaming is as popular as ever in 2022 and the Game Awards recognizes the large portion of the gaming community represented by this category. This year saw some big releases for the mobile platform including some big franchises making their way to the mobile space. What makes mobile games great are their ability to be played on the go within the palm of your hand. It's often tough for developers to strike a balance between a console-level experience and the constraints of developing on a portable, less powerful platform. With some high-quality titles hitting mobile devices this year, it may end up that this category will be more competitive at The Game Awards than initially thought.
Not every console experience translates well to mobile devices. Sacrifices have to be made in order to reduce the power necessary to run many games and designing a game around touch controls can be difficult. The nominees this year were able to overcome these challenges and create some of the best mobile gaming experiences out there. This year's nominees include Apex Legends Mobile, Diablo Immortal, Genshin Impact, Marvel Snap, and Tower of Fantasy.
Apex Legends Mobile
Fans of Respawn's hit FPS game were excited to finally see it come to mobile with the release of Apex Legends Mobile earlier this year. Prior to release, many were skeptical of how and where Respawn would have to strip down the base game in order for it to run on the less powerful mobile platform. Fears of another situation like with the very rough Switch port of the game had fans ready to skip this release. However, those fears were shown to be unnecessary as Apex Legends Mobile received quite a lot of praise for its ability to translate the competitive gameplay and tight controls of Apex Legends while being a well-optimized experience for both Android and iOS.
Despite limiting players to only 10 Legends at launch, players had the chance to play as the mobile-exclusive Legend Fade. This was the first instance of Respawn creating a platform-exclusive Legend, but this decision seemed to help entice new players wanting to check out Fade to give the game a chance. The pleasant surprise players were greeted with when Apex Legends Mobile launched makes it a worthy contender for Best Mobile Game.
Diablo Immortal
With fans eagerly awaiting the release of Diablo 4, Blizzard attempted to tide them over by debuting the series on mobile with the launch of Diablo Immortal. Among the numerous controversies surrounding the company was the decision to release this title prior to Diablo 4—despite fan desire for a new mainline entry. Even with this lingering controversy, Diablo Immortal found an audience due to its solid core gameplay and intuitive touch controls. Fans who took the plunge with this title found an experience perfect for scratching that Diablo itch while waiting for Diablo 4.
Unsurprisingly, its launch was not without additional controversy as many players were disappointed with Blizzard's monetization structure for the game. The high cost of obtaining the best gear in the game turned many players off from Diablo Immortal. Players who could look past the microtransactions were treated to the fined-tuned ARPG combat the Diablo series is known for.
Genshin Impact
Since its release in 2020, Genshin Impact has garnered a massive fan base thanks to its engaging exploration, charming characters, and constant flow of new content. In 2022, Genshin Impact released its 3.0 update which added the new region of Sumeru along with a roster of new characters and new challenges to complete. This update was praised by many as the best Genshin Impact has ever been with Sumeru being one of the best open worlds in recent years. Such high praise welcomed many new players to the ongoing MMO and help solidify it as one of the best gaming experiences on mobile.
Genshin Impact is an impressive mobile feat to be sure. Despite being released over two years ago, Hoyoverse has created one of the most consistently popular mobile games to date. The technical quality of the game combined with the praiseworthy new content makes it no wonder why The Game Awards included Genshin Impact among the nominees for best mobile game of 2022.
Marvel Snap
One of the biggest surprises of the year was Marvel Snap from Second Dinner Studios. With the pedigree of the game's chief development officer Ben Brode—one of the original minds behind Blizzard's Hearthstone—Marvel Snap had high expectations to set for it. The resulting game met those high expectations with its easy to pick up, hard to master gameplay that had card game fans hooked. The unique snap mechanic added an interesting twist to the gameplay and the coat of Marvel paint was an easy sell for many players.
While great gameplay was an important factor for many players' enjoyment of the game, Marvel Snap's non-intrusive monetization strategy was breath of fresh air for all. Among the crowd of pay-to-win games in the mobile space, fans were relieved by Marvel Snap's cosmetic-only approach to monetization. With this game checking all the boxes for a great mobile game, Marvel Snap is an easy choice for Best Mobile Game nominee.
Tower of Fantasy
Tower of Fantasy developer Hotta Studio sought to capitalize on the popularity of other games in the fantasy MMO genre like Genshin Impact when they released this title earlier in the year. Despite comparisons to the aforementioned Genshin Impact, Tower of Fantasy looked to carve its own niche in the genre with its sci-fi-inspired story and world. With Genshin Impact nearing the end of its second year, Tower of Fantasy was set up to be a fresh new experience for players burnt out on Genshin. The mixed reviews show that Tower of Fantasy fell short of that goal and left players hoping for more, but still finding enjoyment in some aspects of the game.
Although the game attempted to reach the heights of Genshin Impact, it was held back by its lackluster story, awkward voice acting, and subpar gameplay. The general consensus determined it to be an overall decent game and worth the experience for fans of the genre, but it doesn't do anything particularly better than Genshin Impact to make it stand out as a noteworthy competitor.
Final Prediction
Despite the strong competition from ongoing titles like Apex Legends and Genshin Impact, the game most likely to take home the award for Best Mobile Game is Marvel Snap. The quick matches and depth of complexity offer a range of skill levels the opportunity to enjoy this game. With how simple it is to pick up for a match or two and put back down, Marvel Snap fits perfectly on the platform. It also fills the card battler niche with a sorely-needed, strong new entry on mobile devices and is a more than worthy spiritual successor to Hearthstone.
With the current state of mobile gaming being dominated by pay-to-win and gacha games, Marvel Snap also offers a free-to-play model that emphasizes optional cosmetic purchases and a battle pass that entices players to buy it rather than making them feel like they need to in order to stay competitive with others. It's clear a lot of passion went into this game and its solid game design and popularity among fans should help it come out on top at the Game Awards.