With yet another MCO declared complete with the added stress of a National Emergency, day-to-day lifecan be pretty demotivating if you don’t have an outlet. Worse still, if you’ve not the time to get one of the big console releases, chances are you’re going to be stuck with no avenue for escapism.

Thankfully, your good buddy GamerBraves is here with some recommendations for Mobile Games to play in these confusing times. Because if there’s one thing we’ve learned from End of Evangelion, it’s that escapism totally works and should be indulged in as frequently as possible*.

Genshin Impact – The Most Triple-A Game On Mobile Right Now

It’s nigh-impossible to talk about mobile games without bringing up one of the highest budget ones on the market right now. Genshin Impact is actually a pretty free-to-play friendly mobile RPG, with a combat system that’s equal parts Warframe and Zelda.

It’s got a big open world, some fun bossfights and a roster of hot anime characters that pose an imminent threat to your wallet if you’re at risk.

Still, unlike many Gacha games, the combat is quite involved. You can even cross-progression between your phone and PC, so if you decide your phone screen isn’t cutting it you can always pick back up on your fancier laptop.

It’s great for those who need their console-level RPG fix, but also need a game to play on the go. It’s also pretty frequently updated, so you won’t have to worry about running out of content even if you’re stuck playing it all day.

And the best part? It has cross-play, letting you play with your friends even if they’re on the PC or PS4 versions of the game.

Skullgirls Mobile – Fulfill Your Combothirst

Skullgirls made our previous list as well, and the point still stands- its an upstanding example of a mobile fighting game. For those of us who need the serotonin hit of watching a good air combo land but aren’t at liberty to be whipping out our fight stick, Skullgirls Mobile is a great Fighting Game equivalent of a nicotine patch.

Combat is simplistic and snappy, and builds on the already excellent Skullgirls 2nd Encore, though with more RPG elements to support its gacha nature. You can buy upgrades such as passive abilities, and equip different special moves so that even teams with the same characters might play differently.

On top of that, the traditional 2D sprites scale very well on mobile, making the game almost indistinguishable from 2nd Encore if you were to ignore the game’s HUDs.

That being said, as a gacha game Skullgirls Mobile leaves much to be desired. The droprate is pretty abysmal, and if you’re not constantly rolling in extras of cards you’re going to find yourself hitting a wall as you try to level your character up.

Still, the combos are good, and this is the closest you’re going to get to a true Hyper Fighter experience on mobile, although games like WWE Undefeated are starting to edge in closer.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links – For Those Who Who Need A Competitive Fix

Now, I’ll be honest- for those of us traditional gamers, this Covid-19 pandemic has been pretty terrible. You just can’t go down to your local games shop for Friday Night Magic or Warhammer games anymore, and if you don’t have any alternate hobbies that can wear you down.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links is the mobile version of the TCG phenomenon Yu-Gi-Oh!, featuring streamlined rules for faster matches as well as a host of cards from the game’s decades-long history.

It’s not a perfect recreation of the game, as you can use various anime characters to have different effects, and the streamlined systems make it so you have less Life Points as well as space for summoning your monsters.

Still, as a Yu-Gi-Oh! fan, it’s a great quick dopamine hit, especially since you can use it to play online against people, building your competitive rank until you become the King of Games.

It also has a lot of experiences you just can’t get playing physically, such as a fancy CG animation of your Blue Eyes White Dragon laying waste on to your enemies.

It’s also got one of the most satisfying gacha mechanics, simply because Booster packs were gacha before gacha existed. The fact the animation even shows you cutting open the pack shows someone who really gets TCGs got to make decisions on this game.

Pokemon Go – Look Some Of Us Are Just Lonely And Pikachu With A Hat Makes Us Smile

Now I know what you’re thinking. How the hell do you play Pokemon Go when to go outside is to put your life at risk? The answer is that Pokemon Go is on this list not for the Go part of the game, but the Pokemon part.

One of the best features Pokemon Go added was its AR tool, letting you view life-scaled models of your Pokemon through your phone camera. These can even be interacted with, with petting and treats similar to Pokemon Amie.

While it’s never going to replace the warmth of a cat, it’s a pretty great substitute for those of us who might be feeling lonely due to the criminalization of the outside world. It’s also incredibly fun to take silly photos of your Pokemon just hanging out in your house, even if their actual pose options are limited.

Still, Pokemon GO suffers because a lot of its features are inherently community based- things like raids are kind of dependent on big groups of people congregating. They’ve since fixed this with Remote Raid Passes, but they’re locked behind a paywall and I’m pretty sure those who received free ones have long since spent them.

With the MCO not looking like its ending any time soon, we all need to do what we have to do to stay safe. While that often conjures images of overly selfless acts, there’s nothing wrong with taking a few minutes out of your day to just play a few games to cool off.

Remember, taking care of yourself is the best way to make sure you’re ready for the next challenge, though also bear in mind that this isn’t free reign to start blowing money on Gacha games.

*Yes, this was sarcasm. No, I don’t need you to explain to me the real message of End of Evangelion.