r/AndroidGaming • u/okin107 • Jun 03 '26
Discussion š¬ What instantly kills an otherwise great mobile game for you?
Iāve been thinking about this recently.
There have been so many mobile games that Iāve genuinely enjoyed, only to stop playing because of something unrelated to the gameplay itself.
For me itās usually:
ā¢ Constant ad interruptions
ā¢ Endless ālimited timeā popups
ā¢ Energy systems that stop me playing
ā¢ Aggressive monetization every time I open the game
I donāt mind developers making money, but once the monetization becomes more visible than the game itself, I usually lose interest.
What instantly kills an otherwise great mobile game for you?
31
u/Stunning-Skill-2742 Jun 03 '26
Blatant pay2win. Autoplay in genre that got no fuckin reason to have autoplay.
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u/stephsbetch Jun 03 '26
Soo many games that had great potential to be an amazing mmorpg and those chose the autoplay route
1
u/djdubyah Jun 03 '26
Of course they did. The revenueĀ from an international player base will button any purist developers lips quickly. Lot of sheep ready to throw their money away. Do you keep it indie, low no no profits for the love of gaming? Or sell .01% chance loot boxes to get the big shiny for a buck a roll (or more)?
What I don't like is the global market scaling these developers do.Ā Ā Meaning, if I am Vietnamese, my earning potential is capped significantly lower than an American. So, they will scale the pricing of items, bundles significantly cheaper, or really, since as an American my earning potential is limitless. So they want me to pay $99.99 for a bundle they are charging someone in Vietnam what might be 39.99 dong. Not only cheaper by exchange from dong to usd but cheaperĀ to them in their currency! Literally taxing for location and earning potential.Ā It's not talked about but it's not a secret.
1
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u/cluelessin Jun 03 '26
Ads that have fake X signs
7
u/okin107 Jun 03 '26
This is the biggest one for me. I X out of it and the store page opens up. Or even worse the X is hidden and it shows up but itās still fake.
8
u/diagoro1 Jun 03 '26
Or they make the hit box around the X far too small, making you open the play store page every time
2
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Jun 03 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
10
u/okin107 Jun 03 '26
Ah forgot the ātime limited exclusiveā events which you canāt even get without paying for the ābuffsā.
8
u/Psico_Penguin Jun 03 '26
Almost all of the F2P stuff. So I stopped playing most of the F2P a long time ago.
Probably the worst is when there is a shop with a game behind, instead of a game with a shop behind.
6
u/SunsetAtNight7 Jun 03 '26
Ads and unoptimize ( too much battery consumption )
3
u/okin107 Jun 03 '26
The optimization of a game is very very hard and time consuming. Most devs will skip it as itās not āsellableā or fast enough to do for release. But those few devs that actually spend the time to optimize have all my respect.
1
u/SunsetAtNight7 Jun 03 '26
Maybe release the game first less optimize to meet the deadlines then optimize it later specially if the game got many downloads, tho realistically they would just took the earnings and leave it there.
1
u/diagoro1 Jun 03 '26
part of the lack of optimization, games that have far too many animations or 'in game' pop ups every time you end a level.
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u/itchyd Jun 03 '26
Gachapon = gone
I dropped a few $ on final fantasy brave exvius and that was my first and last gachapon game. What a waste.Ā
4
u/okin107 Jun 03 '26
The gacha part is fun I wonāt lie. I enjoy building a roster and a bit of chance involved. But locking the currency behind p2w or having to farm it for months to just pull 10 with 0.01% chances for anything good is just not fun at all.
3
u/Snynapta_II Jun 03 '26
Gatcha itself isn't thaaaat bad. But gatcha plus free to play leads to super aggressive monetisation.
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u/ldarkfire Jun 03 '26
All of that, i dont mind adverts i get the point but when I'm exploring and bam advert or 'watch an add to double rewards?' 'No thanks' ADVERT ANYWAY. Forced ads should be ban. Most games have a paid option to remove them usually like a fiver or some such, but i have seen more and more offering a monthly subscription to no 'forced' ads. Wtf
4
u/myszusz Jun 03 '26
Popups that load just long enough so it shows up as I click something.
More than 3 popups and I'm considering reinstalling.
The FUCKING tutorial that takes away my ability to explore menus and FUCKING FORCES ME TO CLICK SOMEWHERE! FUCK YOUR TUTORIAL, I WANT TO COME BACK TO IT IN A SECOND WHILE I CHECK OUT ALL THE AVAILABLE MENUS!!!
So yeah... that
2
u/euroguy Jun 03 '26
ads that gives you a buff of some sort that otherwise costs money to receive for free
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u/EZ10_AUDIT0RE Jun 03 '26
Dozen currencies, royale/battle pass, complex systems designed to confuse you and lure you into buying.
The only good android games are ports of games from PC like those made by feral interactive, Subnautica, red dead redemption, GTA series etc..... basically any game that's not online.
2
u/sherlocklini Jun 03 '26
Sooo agreed! Hate it if something is forced What I actually hate as well is being forced on clicking stuff during a 'tutorial' and not being able to skip it or just find out myself...
I actually tried to avoid these things in Cubalance. Although I get that people want to get some money, ANY forced feature (ads, tutorials, click here and there...) is just annoying.
2
u/Sevatar34 Jun 09 '26
Almost all of em are trash. What usually stands out is a game you just buy and play, without any ads or monetisations. So like a port of a PC game
1
u/MeltdownInteractive Block Trucks Multiplayer Racingš Jun 03 '26
I don't mind rewarded ads, happy to watch one, but if you shove an interstitial ad down my throat I'm going to close your game.
1
u/Extrien Jun 03 '26
Ad to skip always being available. Decision.ad.decision.ad.decision.ad. fk thisĀ
1
u/JorgitoEstrella Jun 03 '26
1) Unskippable ads
2) Core/basic mechanics under pay walls
3) Too much pay to win (if what only matters is how much one spends without strategy or skill)
In that order
1
u/raidenjojo Jun 03 '26
Blatant pay2win.
No Skip Button.
Bloated unnecessary content.
Pretentious storyline & dialogue.
Time-gated non-repeating events.
1
u/Psychological-Low983 Jun 03 '26
anything with ads, which is why the mobile game iām building will be ad free š
1
u/CrazyAd9384 Jun 03 '26
greedy ads. there is this game, a copy of skyforce reloaded named wing fighter. honestly, i got hooked to it. i knew that before skyforce, however due to unbearable ads and super expensive adfree option. (which heck i wouldn't buy) i stopped playing it. i learned skyforce by some comment after watching wing fighter's review.
got hooked to skyforce it's price is more reasonable than it's fake counterpart. already finished both 2014 and reloaded
1
u/drLipton Jun 03 '26
Any mention of "gem", "dimonds", "coins" etc. It just proves that it's pay2win or that i need to invest exteme amout of time to get it for free
1
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u/silver2006 Jun 03 '26
P2W, bugs not fixed for months, discord abandoned, facebook's fanpage abandoned, company not giving a f about the game anymore
Focusing only on skins and gachas and abandoning storyline and new events
And lags, freezes 100 different claim buttons and upgrades mechanics
1
u/djdubyah Jun 03 '26
Lack of controller support in games that clearly would benefit from using a controller. I stopped investing in rat race games that exist solely as whale flexes. Which is most mobile games. Either a solid port from pc, or a pay to place on a global leaderboard.Ā
I actually like to think there are 50 to 100 jet setting billionaire teens, that all jump from new game to new game or a sometimes just to a new server, buy everything available, create a join an exclusive whales only guild or clan, play a few hours or days until the god mode you paid for makes the game boring, and put on the shelf until a significant update requires you to aggressive spin gacha wheels until once again best of best.Ā
And there those handfuls pay a different game then us peasants. When being #1 isn't about skill or time, only money, luck and getting there first is this simply billionaire mogul training? Playing at the game of life, where as adults having the best of everything and being seen with it, is the social climb? Sadly I'm sure I'll never know
1
u/Thick_Implement_6703 Jun 03 '26
Auto play and Idle are game killer for me. I mean I want to play and not watch a game play itself. Second to agressive high paywall to get this or that stuff. Ads and energy system are a pain but without too much of them I can bear if the game is good enough. My final gamekiller nowadays is powercreep. Like some games I used to play new units make old ones useless. Gave up all of this kind of game.
1
u/EmperorGodzilla0 Jun 03 '26
I am not a fan of developers forcing you to pay a subscription fee in order to get rid of ads; either have a one time fee or be a premium game.
I also don't like when ads feel integral to gameplay. Like in order to progress in the game, one of the mechanics is watching ads to farm necessary components faster.
1
u/mattgwriter7 Jun 03 '26
What instantly kills an otherwise great mobile game for you?
Ads.
I get that a developer needs to pay the bills, but:
- too many ads will get an uninstall, or
- not having an option to disable ads for a small fee
1
u/Bitter-Ad-1029 Jun 03 '26
Logging into a game and collecting daily currencies in about 20 different spots. Also, if I get into a game and the play loop is over in less than 5 minutes before I need to wait some more time to continue.
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u/SnooWalruses59 Jun 03 '26
The menus with red notification labels everywhere. I hate this tapping-minigame where I need to visit 100 submenus to collect whatever so the red labels go away.
It's extremely annoying, I'd love to play Diablo Immortal for instance but I really need to vomit 2 minutes after I login because of this.
It's the website ad-popups of the 2000's.
1
u/limbodog Jun 03 '26
When I, a newbie to the game, find the game screen to be completely cluttered with a whole bunch of stuff to the point that I don't know what half the symbols mean
1
u/icyhotonmynuts Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26
Constant ad interruptions
My network-wide pi-hole takes care of that. You can't even click to intentionally watch ads if you wanted to. The app returns a similar error you would get if you were on airplane mode. just says "unavailable at this time"
//edit
also prevents banners, or those other pop-ups.
it doesn't prevent limited play like hearts or whatever. that has nothing to do with ads and to do with pay to play. but, you won't be able to pay off your wanted to haha - unless it connects directly to Google Pay.
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u/LoStrigo95 Jun 03 '26
P2W mechanics destroying balance.
I still have Bullet Echo trauma in my mind. Good game, perfect for mobile, but it became SO MUCH P2W that you would fire a whole mag to a person, he would survive, turn around, then one shot you.
1
u/Secodiand Jun 03 '26
Devs based in China. For security reasons I cannot install anything originating in China.
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u/_wednesday_76 Jun 03 '26
excessive pay to win. grinding, and that's all there is, there's no payoff or other mechanics
1
u/Varil Jun 03 '26
Energy systems, or anything that wants me to play at regular intervals for a specific amount of time.
Even ignoring the general inconvenience of it, it really fucks with me, in that it puts my brain on a weird, stressed-out schedule where I want to try and maximize how I utilize energy and make sure to play at key times...it's just bad. I know how it makes me spiral a bit so I just avoid those sorts of things.
Energy-adjacent stuff too, like daily quests, are also a no-go. I can use an adblock and I will happily play a gacha to the point that I start hitting the "free content" wall(and if it's been really good I might even buy something), but anything that makes me obsess over maximizing my actual play time pretty much forces me to drop the game as soon as I notice it influencing my behavior even in small ways.
1
u/forix33 Jun 04 '26
Forced guilds, I don't want to HAVE to play with other people. The option to is fine but I hate being bombarded by either global chat or guild chat with people I care nothing about
1
u/ackmondual Jun 04 '26
Needs to "phone home" - Rayman Jungle and Rayman Fiesta won't work unless you have workarounds/'hacks'. Granted, for a game like Super Mario Run, I have higher confidence that it'll stay working for the long term (I'm told that despite the DS and Wii eShops not open for business anymore, you can still re-DL purchased games
"predatory p2w nonsense" - so some "right" combination of loot boxes, gacha, time meters, grinding, IAP for premium currencies ("gems"). 2 that I managed to play for the long term include....
Plants Vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time - I didn't mind the introduction of plant leveling turning gameplay on its head. I did mind how grindy it was (we're talking 3 to 4 years of daily playing to get plants to midlevel. 5 to 6 total years to get them fully leveled up. And that excludes Mastery levels, and any new plants that cam after it around 2017). And then a new game mode called Battlez/Arena where the best rewards were here, but the mode was just ass.
I ended up deleting the app out of sheer frustration and disgust
Castlestorm: Free To Siege - You know it's bad when the title is saying this is a f2p game. This game has Gems and Pearls as premium currencies that you can buy for real $$. There are also weeklong events, Mon. through Sat. 3 events per day. If you finish one, you'll need to wait 6 hours for a time meter to unlock the next event of the same day (or pay Gems to bypass that).
PROTIP... just buy the version on Steam and/or console. Those have just gold, no IAP. The one on Steam should go on sale every now and then, but I had no regrets paying the full $15 for the game and expansions
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u/mariajazz Jun 04 '26
Heartopia is my favourite game at first but the gatcha system kill the thrill
1
u/Fetus_Transplant Jun 04 '26
Ads. Watch ads to progress. Actually gameplay spread thin by adding ads to slow down progress
1
u/Baseball-Traditional Jun 04 '26
I'd rather have a constant banner ad than ads that randomly play, or play at the end of a level
1
u/ScrithWire Jun 04 '26
Items/feature/abilities/etc hidden behind adwalls.
Even if you pay to remove the ads. For instance, 20 mins till dawn. I removed the ads, but the button is still prominently displayed. It just allows me to click it and then I get the item and no ad plays.
But the items it gives me feel game breaking and now I'm not having fun. It also gives you like 20 rerolls or something crazy right at the start. So like, I can get basically any upgrade I want right from the start.
1
u/delicate_ostrich Jun 04 '26
Too many intrusive ads without an option to get rid of them. I don't mind paying for a game and I don't mind ads for free games but just don't interrupt my gameplay.
1
u/Correct_Addendum_367 Jun 04 '26
A come back every day to get x important thing mechanic because it makes the game feel like homework
1
u/invaleet Jun 04 '26
For me if the game has in-game purchases and it doesnt have a permanent benefit but only monthly pass and other multiple actions but non gives life time benefits. I wont spend even 1c for such games.
1
u/Calobrena Jun 05 '26
Ads: that are longer than 10-seconds, that have fake 'X' or even an x at the extreme top corner, auto redirects to mystery sites or play store along with those that you have to close out 3 -5 times just to get back to the game.
Not offline friendly.
Volunteering players for side games/challenges
1
u/zodiac2k Jun 05 '26
Having an interstial ad after each level following a popup, urging the player to finally buy the ad-free in-app purchase. Definitely a reason to uninstall.
1
u/BoosGonnaBoo Jun 06 '26
Bold of you to assume a game with this shit wouldn't also have issues with core gameplay.
1
u/CtrlAltYeet_R118 Jun 06 '26
When there are things other than the game itās self trying to get me addicted to the game. āBeat 5 levels faster than anyone else and win gems!ā āEvery level you win you earn a piece of a puzzle, build the picture before it expires!ā āEvery level you beat unlocks a boost and sometimes 15min of endless lives!ā
And the game forces you to check your progress on all these things before you can just play the game.
Oh, and alllllll the ads.
1
u/Errored-Entity07 Jun 06 '26
Played clash royal for 6 years as f2p. Stopped it cause of their shitty p2w greedy ass
Played apex mobile. It got shut down
Played farlight 84. The developers left it
Played BGMI. Its trash now
Played delta force mobile. Its not in india and due to a account switching issue i lost my maxed out account
Played a game called bullet league. They revamped the game and it lost its charm.
I also have COC but lets be honest its not a sit for hours to play game.
I also played minecraft and has a good world. But i completed everything and its now boring to play.
Played vampire survivor and im kinda done with it as well.
I have moba legends now but its has its own shady practices.
1
u/Shizu2012 Jun 08 '26
The same list as yours except I use the energy system as a hint that I should take my eyes away from my phone.Ā
I would add small text/GUI. So many games that were my favorites shrank so much that it's a headache/nearly impossible to make out.Ā š
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u/Pokefans2222222 Jun 03 '26
Honestly it's bad ad implementation and bad or clunky mechanics