With the Easter holidays literally on our doorstep and a couple of South African public holidays thrown into the mix over the next few weeks, many of us will be drafting up our out-of-office email replies and setting our Steam status’ to AFK.
But that doesn’t mean we still can’t get our game on. With a mobile device in our pocket, there are a plethora of titles we can still play while sitting in the passenger seat of the car or squished between two massive gentlemen on a plane.
We’ve narrowed it down to five must-play titles that you can download before you leave for your holiday, and the best part is they’re all offline playable, so that shoddy internet connection in the middle of the Karoo won’t even be a thought as you tackle those high scores.
Balatro
iOS and Android
Price: R199
Yes, yes, we’ve spoken about Balatro more times than we can count on every single one of our staff members’ fingers, but I just recently picked the game up while on a movieless flight, and I completely get the hype.
This Poker meets Yahtzee-style rogue-lite is addictive and satisfying. It will keep you entertained not only throughout the entire trip to your holiday destination but also all night, as you’ll find yourself staying up to the early hours of the morning trying to beat every deck you can.
Slay the Spire
iOS and Android
Price: R199/R179
Much like Balatro, Slay the Spire is a deck-building rogue-lite that challenges you to get as far up the spire as possible by creating the best deck synergy with what you’re given. Unlike Balatro, however, the game features more RPG mechanics in a fantasy setting where you battle monsters and bosses, and pick up chests along the way to boost your run. Each playthrough is randomly generated, forcing you to adapt on the fly.
The game has a satisfying gameplay loop, multiple different decks and thousands of routes to take, keeping you occupied for hours, no matter what music the driver has put on the radio.
Jetpack Joyride
iOS and Android
Price: Free
Jetpack Joyride is the original Flappy Bird. A platformer game where the objective is simple: get as far as you can in one run.
With a variety of different jetpacks, powerups, obstacles and surprises on the way, the game has an addictive gameplay loop that will keep you fueling up your jetpack for more.
If there are more people in the car, you can pass the phone around to see who can achieve the top score, as each run is relatively short because of how exponentially hard the game gets the further into the run you go.
Death Road to Canada
iOS and Android
Price: R299/R189
If you’re looking to add a couple of zombies to your road trip, then Death Road to Canada is the game for you. A beat-em-up style survival game where you attempt to make it to Canada, which is somehow zombie-free.
The game can often be brutal with its extreme randomness, but always exciting with different in-game events, places to explore and various characters to play with, each with their own pros and cons. Plus, its pixel art graphics and RPG-like mechanics are perfect for handheld gameplay.
Can you make it to Canada this holiday season? There’s only one way to find out.
World Conqueror 4
iOS and Android
Price: Free
If turn-based war simulators are more up your alley, World Conqueror 4 will keep you occupied for hours.
A World War 2 simulator where you play as one of fifty countries, all with different generals, provides certain pros and cons for your army. Battle your way through a Risk-like board and become the world’s leader in this high-strategy war game, while the rest of the car plays eye spy for the umpteenth time.
