Android Gaming Headlines and Updates: Pokemon GO, Moonlighter Mobile, Kingdom Hearts Dark Road, and More

It’s Sunday again. In the world of Droid Gamers, that can only mean one thing: a round-up of the weeks most interesting headlines and game updates.

It’s all go in Pokemon-ville this week, with announcements about Pokemon GO Fest, new and forthcoming additions to Pokemon GO, Covid-friendly gameplay tweaks, and a new Pokemon puzzler.

Some other games and franchise got a look in too, and all in all it was a solid week of Android gaming news.

For the latest new releases and sales, check out the companion piece to this article.

Headlines

Every since Covid-19 chased us all indoors, Niantic has been making changes to Pokemon GO enabling players to get the most out of the game without having to step outside. The latest of these measures, coming soon, are Free Boxes and Daily Encounters.

Death Come True springs from the same twisted mind that brought us high school murderfest Danganronpa, and it’s similarly dark. An FMV game, it sees you waking up with no memories, but compelling evidence that you’re a serial killer. It’s out next week, but you can pre-order now.

Among a rash of Pokemon-related announcements this week came the news that Pokemon Cafe Mix will be out in the next seven days. It’s a matching puzzler, but with a refreshingly freeform approach that sees you swirling little icons around to bring them together.

This is a nice thing that happened. It’s not happening any more, but we thought you’d like to know that if you’d been paying attention earlier this week you could have picked up Sentinels of the Multiverse for free. It normally costs $6.99 – which is to say that’s how much it costs right now. Better luck next time.

Pokemon GO Fest is going to be different this year, for obvious reasons. Previous events have taken place in Chicago, Dortmund, and Yokohama. This year it’s taking place in your house, with all sorts of quests and activities planned for the weekend of the 25th and 26th of July.

NetEase and Warner Bros., who have already collaborated on the Harry Potter franchise, and working together on a new Lord of the Rings game for mobile. It’s called The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War, and it’s set during the Third Age of Middle Earth. That’s the one with Gandalf et al, so you’ll be on familiar territory.

Moonlighter is often favorably compared to Stardew Valley, the universally acclaimed city-building RPG. It sees you playing as a shopkeeper who serves heroes by day and goes adventuring by night, picking up loot to advance your commercial interests and increase your adventuring powers in lockstep.

Kingdom Hearts Dark Road, which will be a standalone game accessible through Kingdom Hearts Union Cross, is coming tomorrow. To whet your appetite in the meantime Square Enix has revealed a new trailer.

Trivia Royale, from the developer behind popular quiz app QuizUp, came to iOS this week. It sees 1000 players going head to head in 1v1 trivia matches until only one remains. Unfortunately it didn’t come to Android, but the good news is that it’s definitely in the pipeline.

Updates

The latest editon of Pokemon Presents contained several juicy nuggets, and among them was the news that Galarian Farfetch’d is now available in the game. Also, while this one wasn’t totally confirmed, it looks highly likely that the victory Pokemon Victini is coming too.

SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off is one of the more satisfying game ideas of recent months. It sees you playing as SpongeBob, serving fast food in a variety of venues around Bikini Bottom. This week saw the release of the game’s first major update, adding a new Juice Bar.