5 new mobile games to try this week – January 2nd, 2025

While some might say that there are far too many Ragnarok games on mobile these days, others might argue that you can never have enough Porings. Ragnarok V: Returns is a new mobile iteration of the beloved PC classic, bringing with it all the fan-fave classes and end-of-the-world lore from the OG MMORPG.

Fight for the survival of Midgard as a Swordman, Archer, Mage, Thief, Acolyte, or Merchant, and hire 60 different kinds of Mercenaries to battle right by your side. There are also 26 types of Pets you can tag along with you to make journeying through the end times a more adorable affair.

Reconnaissance missions are never easy, even more so when you’re the leader of the Planet Keron Special Tactics Platoon. As the valiant Sergeant Keroro, you’ll need to gather all the intel you can get to conquer Pekopon once and for all – the only problem is that the other players you’re up against are definitely not going down without a fight.

Thankfully, you can choose from more than a hundred different weapons to help you win all those real-time PvP battles, with adorable characters from the franchise that you can customise to your liking. There are ranked matches and raids to help you hone those combat skills – you can even go fishing if you’re looking to take a breather.

There’s no shortage of sci-fi films where you play the role of a lone survivor desperately trying to navigate through the helplessness in space. This narrative adventure turns the tables by having you play as an AI this time around, tasked with guiding a hapless human across the unknown territories of Mars.

It’s bad enough that the mission is in jeopardy at the moment – add the fact that the technician that’s been assigned to you is completely underqualified and it’s a recipe for disaster. You’ll need to choose wisely across the non-linear story if you want your mission to succeed, with multiple endings you can unlock throughout 100,000 words.

Craft tools, gather resources, and try to live long enough to make it through the night – these are the basic elements that make up a survival game, but when you add riding a T-Rex to the mix, then it’s a completely different story.

ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition invites you to journey through dino-infested lands as you tame primeval creatures in an attempt to muzzle the savagery around you. This time around, the Ultimate edition includes access to the Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, and Genesis Parts 1 & 2 expansion packs, so you can truly experience what it’s like to dominate the prehistoric era.

This colourful free-to-play sim is exactly what it says on the tin – you’re tasked with renovating a dusty old mansion and running your own supermarket to keep the money flowing. Left to pick up the pieces after a devastating natural calamity, you’ll rebuild your town by restoring run-down properties to their original glory. Then, test your management skills in your supermarket, serving customers and making sure to keep the economy alive.

It’s an interesting blend of tycoon shenanigans with decorative city-building elements, with lively mini-games you can dive into to relieve stress on the side.