1. Battle Camp — FREE
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Unlike any of the other Pokemon Go alternatives I've played, Battle Camp gives an immediate air of quality in all respects. From elegant UI to gorgeous models, it is clear that the team behind Battle Camp spared no details. The actual gameplay, however, is mind blowing to say the least. For the hardcore, the battling dynamic is completely unfamiliar, but the change is welcome. While numerous other Pokemon knock-offs shamelessly try to (poorly) emulate Pokemon's combat system, Battle Camp opts for something refreshingly different. Loosely implementing the beloved bejeweled interface that made Candy Crush so popular, Battle Camp elevates the game beyond spamming your favorite attack. In battles, skilled players can chain up combos to multiply the strength of their attacks. There are hundreds of monsters with unique stats and attributes to build your own complex and worthy team. Indeed, Battle Camp tops this exclusive list as the best Pokemon Go alternative available on Android. In fact, Battle Camp is turning out to be one of my favorite mobile games of all time, and it's free.
2. Dragon City — FREE
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If you like collecting dragons, this game is the one for you. It's like Pokemon, but exclusively with dragons. Collect, breed, train all in the magical world of Dragon City! Just like pokemon, you can engage in combat with other players to see who is the real Dragon Master. Available on android devices as well as Facebook, you can play this game nearly anywhere. Being able to catch over 100 different kinds of dragons and build your own unique city makes this game any Dragon lover's fantasy. With hundreds of hours of content, this game will keep you entertained and busy!
3. Haypi Monster — FREE
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After sifting through countless Pokemon substitutes, Haypi Monster was one of only two games to actually feel complete. All the art and animation fits well together and makes for a congruous and distraction free experience. The battle sequences emulate Pokemon perfectly (they didn't even bother to change some attack names). What stands out most to me, however, is the player movement in the overworld. Unlike any Pokemon alternative I have ever played before, Haypi monster plays like a board game. There are spaces and with each 'turn' you roll a die to see which space you land determining the pace of which you move through the game. Some spaces have battles, and others have a variety of prizes. There is an element of luck in the game beyond just stumbling upon a rare monster in the brush, and it is thrilling.
4. Beastie Bay — FREE
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The monsters and combat in this game are sub-par. While obviously inspired by Pokemon, Beastie Bay dumbs down everything — abilities, monsters, and attacks — and leaves in features that worked well in one-on-one Pokemon battles, but not three-on-three Beastie Bay battles. For example, monster switching and item usage use up an entire turn. It's really annoying. Luckily, the combat is not the focus of the game; rather, it is a tool for taming allies to work your hotel. Beastie Bay's actually more of a SimCity type game than a monster catcher. That's not to say that as a monster catcher, Beastie Bay is a bad game. Actually, all the microsystems depend on the monsters you've tamed, and their importance and weight in the game is enormous. While the combat and monster depth is disappointing at best, monster catching is still a blast exactly because of how crucial it is. In taking monster catching out of the spotlight and making it a hyper-necessary tool, monster catching actually feels more valuable than in actual true monster catchers.
5. Bulu Monster — FREE
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What I find most frustrating about many of the Pokemon copy-cats in the app store is that so many choose to use either a joystick or D-pad in classic GameBoy fashion, but it just
doesn't translate to Android. Bulu Monster makes movement simple and elegant by setting tappable destinations on the map for the player to head towards. In battle, the graphics and animation in battle are on par with the most recent Pokemon releases, but in the overworld, Bulu Monster could try a little harder. To be sure, this game actually spends significantly more time in battle than Pokemon. Yes, battling is the core of Pokemon games, and they ought to be the most enjoyable part, but the feel is all wrong here.The whole game feels like walking in tall grass in Pokemon, where each move you make results in another battle.
