I know most of us here are probably considering themselves as "core gamers" with our consoles, PCs n' stuff.

Now I know the stigma that goes around with mobile gaming since most of it is comprised of predatory monetizations, Gachas and the likes of trash click bait worthy stuff we could ever imagine.

But amongst the sea of endless "mid" content, it's probable to find at least a couple of games that are more than worth the time of even a core gamer like us.

I'm making this thread in relation to the fact that I've spent a lot of time during the last few months into the mobile spin-off of  the Octopath Traveler series, Champions of the Continent.

It's systems are based on the usual gacha game mechanics you'll find in a lot of Square Enix mobile games but since the chore tenant of it's gameplay are actually unique to the game while expanding upon the concept of the core console game (Playing with 8 travelers, 4 front/ 4 back row) and the game being mostly a single player RPG, you technically do feel like you're playing a legit core experience, despite the few caviats with the cash shop and the gacha elements.

In turn, have you ever played or are currently playing a game on phones that have made you feel this way as well ?

Do emulators count? lol jk

If you're talking about purely mobile-only games, I played a good amount of Unciv (Civilization clone) and Fallout Shelter. Other than that, I played Pokémon Go for a good while till Gen 3.

I tried Age of Empires Mobile, but it just didn't click for me.

As far as games that are also available on Mobile, I played quite a bit of Hearthstone when it first released as well as Stardew Valley.

Thanks, and yes, speaking of only-mobile experiences. Console ports of full fledged games isn't what I'd be looking for since it can be played better there

Was really into The Simpsons Tapped Out for many years on and off since it came out in 2012, the game was killed off just a few weeks ago, which still bothers me. For a city builder with Simpsons characters, it had some great mechanics and gameplay. But the issue with nearly all mobile gaming, companies encourage people to spend money in game, then the game is pulled after a while because it relied on servers for some reason. It's so wrong and makes gaming feel so disposable.

Handheld gaming on Game Boy, DS and PSP really got me into gaming as a whole and the early days of iOS and Android were so much fun too. Was mainly flash games but they used what were unique features like gyro and touch in those days. I remember games like Infinity Blade and NOVA, Tap Tap Revenge, the early Gameloft stuff, it felt like there used to be so much variety in mobile gaming and those games didn't have microtransactions. They were all one off purchases of between 59p and £5.99 each. Nothing in 2010 to 2013. Bite sized versions of what you'd find on consoles/PC. Sadly many of these older games were either delisted or support was dropped as the OS got updated. Goes back to mobile gaming feeling very disposable, I can still play my Super Nintendo all these years later but not a far more recent mobile game!

As I prefer the traditional experience of gaming where you pay once and get a complete experience (so rare now!), I bought Animal Crossing Pocket Camp Complete on the ipad. To answer your question, yes this game at least made me feel the way you describe. This game very much feels like a smaller version of a game in the main series, the core experience is very much there and would serve as a great introduction to the series for anyone who has never played Animal Crossing. Also I supported this game because like Tapped Out it was online only and relied on microtransactions but instead of closing the game down for good, Nintendo decided to keep the game available and make it work offline. This is what all publishers should do, preservation of games is so important.

I'm not opposed to mobile gaming, but I don't really have enough opportunities to do that. I don't really care for live service games and such though, so it would be mostly 'traditional' games anyway.

Never had desire to play games on a telephone. The lack of physical controls and the monetization practices completely turn me off. And no, I'm not going to put some clunky controller attachment on my phone to play games I have no interest in. I have a Switch for those times when I want to play games on the go, such as when I'm waiting for work to be done on my car.

I use my phone purely for work, not gaming... If I am ever requested to go in front of a coroners after an incident, they will confiscate my phone and everything on it.
It's a professional thing. - Plus games drain the battery.

I tend not to have the time to game while I am away from home... Unless I am on a plane, where I'll have my tablet or laptop anyway.

Genshin Impact, I don't like playing much on mobile but I've played that game on PC and now PS5 for years now, and you can play in on there too.

Still Jet pack joyride and DOTS. Never found anything else that stuck in the last ten years.

Most of my playtime is done on my smartphone when traveling by train to and from work. Mostly turn based strategy games. Magic the gathering Arena and Teamfight Tactics gets most of my playtime. But adventure games and visual novels also get a significant playtime on the go. Phoenix Wright and The walking Dead being prime examples.

I have tried a few action games but they do not work well for the format. I did like Diablo Immortal (everything pre-endgame is actually good) and I like several rough-like kill everything until you die type of games.

I have also played a few more artsy or philosophical games like Papers please and Paperclips. Not big experience but thoughtful experiences.

It is not the best platform for any game, but the convenience of it still rack up gaming hours.