Pixel art games are what dominated the scene during the golden age of video gaming. But even as we’ve developed the technology to render ultra-realistic graphics, there’s still quite a demand for 8bit- and 16bit-style games from all around the globe. If you’re feeling nostalgic for games of the NES/SNES eras, or are simply fond of the cute pixel art style, then you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, we give you a rundown of the 20 best pixel art games you can play on mobile.
Also read: 15 Best Restaurant Games for Android and iOS
Inside This Article
- Best Pixel Art Games
- Terraria
- Stardew Valley
- Minecraft
- Sonic the Hedgehog Classic
- Final Fantasy 2D Pixel Remaster Series
- To the Moon
- Baba Is You
- Dead Cells
- Dungeon Village 2
- Moonlighter
- Soul Chase
- Hyper Light Drifter
- Cat Bird
- Mortal Crusade
- 7 Years from Now
- Mazeman
- Knightin’+
- Knights of Pen and Paper
- The Sandbox
- Pocket Harvest
Best Pixel Art Games
Our list of the best pixel art games includes titles from all sorts of genres, ranging from sandbox games to RPGs. Everything on this list is playable on mobile, but some of them also have versions for PC and consoles.
1. Terraria
Platforms:
- Android
- iOS
- Google Stadia
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
- Xbox One, Xbox 360
- Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch
- Wii U
Terraria kicks off our list of the best pixel art games to play on mobile. This game has been around since 2011, but it shows no sign of ever going out of style. Since it’s a sandbox game, it doesn’t really have an official end goal, meaning you’re pretty much free to play the game however you want.
In this pixel art game, you do three main things: dig, build, and fight. You get to explore the seemingly boundless side-scrolling environment, where you can discover unique biomes and dig out various raw materials. These raw materials are what you use to build just about anything, be it a modest home, an elaborate manor, a fortress, or even an alchemy station—the possibilities are endless!
As you progress in the game, you’ll also encounter all sorts of enemies and bosses, which you can fight off with the weapons that you’ve collected. You can get weapons by buying them from NPCs, digging out Chests, or defeating enemies. You can also craft them at a Workbench or an Anvil.
Also read: Terraria NPCs: How to Meet and Make Them Move In
2. Stardew Valley
Platforms:
- Android
- iOS
- macOS
- Windows
- Linux
- PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
- Xbox One
- Nintendo Switch
If you want to get into pixel art games, you’ll definitely want to try out Stardew Valley, which is also a favorite among fans of RPGs. In this game, you play the role of a character who just inherited the run-down farm of their grandfather (referred to as “Grandpa” in the game). Your main goal in the game is to rehabilitate this farm, but how you do so is totally up to you.
In the game, you get to grow Stardew Valley crops, craft tools, mine for ores, raise livestock, sell produce, and build relationships with the townspeople. You can also explore caves and discover monsters and treasures. However, try not to engage in too many activities since doing so will tire your character out, which translates to fewer earnings.
You can play the game alone or invite up to three other friends to share resources with or to help you grow your farm.
Also read: How to Grow Ancient Fruit in Stardew Valley
Download Stardew Valley on Android
Download Stardew Valley on iOS
3. Minecraft
Platforms:
- Android
- iOS
- Fire OS
- Apple TV
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
- Xbox One
- Xbox 360
- Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS
- Wii U
Any list of the best pixel art games wouldn’t be complete without Minecraft. Just like Terraria, Minecraft is a sandbox game, so it doesn’t really have a single official end goal. Essentially, all you have to do is explore the game’s 3D world, break apart blocks, and build all sorts of stuff.
The game has two main modes: Survival and Creative. In Survival mode, you’ll need to look for building materials and forage for your own food. To add to the thrill of the game, you’ll also need to fend off creepers, zombies, and other moving creatures. Creative mode doesn’t require as much foraging and fighting; all the building supplies you need are already available to you, and you don’t need food to survive. Unlike in Survival mode, playing in Creative mode allows you to immediately break blocks and use them however you like. For fun exploration, you can join a cross-platform play on Minecraft with your friends.
Also read: 10 Best Minecraft Sword Enchantments to Gain an Edge
4. Sonic the Hedgehog Classic
Platforms:
- Android
- iOS
- Fire TV
- Apple TV
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- Sega Genesis, Sega Mark III, Sega Saturn, Sega Nomad
- Game Boy Advance
- Game Gear
- Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS
- Game Cube
- Dreamcast
- Wii
Another fan favorite makes it to our list of the best pixel art games you can play on mobile. Sonic the Hedgehog follows the iconic blue hedgehog as he tries to trample Dr. Robotnik’s evil plans. In this 2D side-scrolling adventure, you control Sonic. Your main goal is to free the animals that Robotnik has stolen and collect the Chaos Emeralds before he does.
In the game, you’ll need to help Sonic run through slopes, vertical loops, and springs. Along the way, you’ll also encounter a few obstacles, like spikes, bottomless pits, moving walls, and Dr. Robotnik’s robots, which are where the trapped animals are. You don’t need to fight off these robots, but if you do, you’ll be able to free the animals inside them. Besides running, Sonic can also attack. The main way he does so is through the Spin Attack, which lets Sonic destroy obstacles and foes upon collision.
Download Sonic the Hedgehog Classic on Android
Download Sonic the Hedgehog on iOS
5. Final Fantasy 2D Pixel Remaster Series
Platform:
- Android
- iOS
- Windows
Square Enix has finally released the remastered versions of the classic Final Fantasy games. As of writing, though, only the first five installations are out, and they’re only playable on mobile and Windows PCs. The goal and the gameplay of the remakes are the same as the original, but they’ve completely changed and improved the graphics and the audio.
The story of this video game series centers on the Light Warriors, a group of four youths who each carry an elemental crystal from their worlds. However, these crystals have been dimmed by the Elemental Fiends. Your goal now is to defeat them, bring light back to these crystals, and help the Light Warriors save their worlds.
You move around field sections and battle sections in the Final Fantasy series. In these sections, your character gets to visit dungeons, towns, and other places on the world map. Here, you can interact with townspeople, find and collect treasure, and buy items and weapons from shops. However, you’ll also need to be on your guard since enemies also lurk in these places. To fight them, you’ll need to issue combat orders (e.g., “Fight,” “Magic,” “Item”) to your character.
Download the Final Fantasy Remasters on Android
Download the Final Fantasy Remasters on iOS
6. To the Moon
Platforms:
- Android
- iOS
- Windows
- macOS
- Nintendo Switch
If you’re looking for pixel art games that are more story-driven, then you should check out To the Moon. It’s a psychological drama adventure that centers on two doctors, Dr. Rosalene and Dr. Watts, who fulfill people’s dying wishes through artificial memories. In the game, you control these two doctors as they grant an old man’s final wish to go to the moon. Throughout the journey, you unveil pieces of this man’s life and find out why he wishes to go to the moon.
To the Moon doesn’t really involve much gameplay mechanics; there are no battles, inventories, or even a party system, and you can pretty much complete it in just a few hours. The game mostly focuses on puzzle solving and interpreting information from the old man’s life. You’ll have to explore his memories (and, occasionally, his house), find significant items and clues, and collect energy to piece his memories together.
Download To the Moon on Android
7. Baba Is You
Platforms
- Android
- iOS
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- Nintendo Switch
Baba Is You is a puzzle-solving game in the form of pixel art. In this game, your goal is to help Baba (or whichever player character you choose) reach the goal of a certain level. Each level’s goal varies, but it usually involves getting your character to the objective flag while surmounting hurdles.
Essentially, all you need to do in this game is to push and manipulate blocks to get to your goal—while keeping in mind, of course, that you only have limited space to move around these blocks. If you make the wrong moves, you can easily obstruct your own path to the goal. There’s also the added complication of the rules of each level being pushable blocks themselves. That means you can change (hopefully to your advantage) how each level is played.
Download Baba Is You on Android
8. Dead Cells
Platforms:
- Android
- iOS
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- PlayStation 4
- Nintendo Switch
- Xbox One
Dead Cells is the perfect game for those who are into Metroidvania-style pixel art games. The game focuses on a prisoner who is stuck in a dungeon of a once-mighty kingdom that’s now plagued by zombies and monsters. In it, you play as a formless creature that controls the prisoner, and the main goal is to find a way out of the dungeon.
Progressing in the game involves exploring dungeons and battling the creatures that lurk within them. As you move along in your journey, you collect power-ups, weapons, new skills, and coins. Sometimes, when you defeat an enemy, you get to collect cells that are left in its wake. With these cells, you can unlock items and obtain extra health potions and other permanent power-ups. The game follows a permadeath system, so you’ll lose everything you’ve collected in the game each time you die.
Download Dead Cells on Android
9. Dungeon Village 2
Platforms:
- Android
- iOS
Dungeon Village 2 is the perfect pixel art game for you if you want to flex your management skills as well as your fighting abilities. In this RPG town management simulation, your main task is to build a town, expand it, and help it prosper by attracting as many adventurers to your town as possible. Along the way, you’ll also fight off (or befriend) monsters who want to destroy the town you built.
The game mostly involves sending out your adventurers to fend off foes. To help them gain more EXP and valuable items, you can sign them up to explore dungeons and battle large parties of monsters. Doing so increases your town’s popularity and attracts more adventurers to move into your town and defend your outposts. Plus, battling in dungeons also allows you to gain more town points, which you can use to buy more structures.
Besides battling, your adventurers will also need to come home every once in a while to refuel. As they regain their stamina, they also use the gold they gained in battle to buy supplies, which then allow you to build new facilities and improve the town.
Download Dungeon Village 2 on Android
Download Dungeon Village 2 on iOS
10. Moonlighter
Platforms:
- Android
- iOS
- Google Stadia
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- PlayStation 4
- Xbox One
- Nintendo Switch
Help fulfill the dreams of an ordinary man in Moonlighter, a roguelike action role-playing game. In this pixel art game, you play as Will, a venturesome shopkeeper who lives in Rynoka and dreams of one day becoming a hero in his small village. Your main objective is to help him make his dream come true.
The game has two parts: daytime and nighttime. During the day, you help Will fulfill his job as a shopkeeper. You assist him as he manages the shop, grants villagers’ special requests, and makes new items for the shop. You can also set the items’ prices and interact with those who come into the shop. But during the night is when you get to help Will showcase his heroic skills. The town has portals leading to different realms, where he encounters different enemies and fights them for handy loot. With the money you’ve collected, you can upgrade your shop, hire store assistants, and upgrade your weapons.
Download Moonlighter on Android
11. Soul Chase
Platform:
- Android
Pixel art games from the NES era were truly something else. They were some of the toughest video games but still were very charming and satisfying. If you’re nostalgic for games like that, you should check out Soul Chase. The game takes place in a medieval village that’s been overrun by ghouls. True to its name, your primary goal in the game is to chase your soul when it escapes your body every night when you fall asleep.
You only have limited time to get hold of your soul. If it gets to the portal at the end of a level before you do, the witch, who is the main antagonist of the game, will have it forever. Then, you’ll have to restart the level. The game has six chapters, with each chapter having ten levels. Each chapter ends with a boss battle, and winning it is the only way you can upgrade your gear and weapons.
Download Soul Chase on Android
12. Hyper Light Drifter
Platforms:
- iOS
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- PlayStation 4
- Nintendo Switch
Hyper Light Drifter features aesthetically pleasing, 16-bit style graphics as well as a captivating storyline, making it one of the best pixel art games you can play on mobile. The game focuses on the story of the Drifter, who suffers from an insatiable illness. To win the game, you’ll have to help the Drifter as he explores the lands of Buried Time, which he hopes will calm his suffering.
Unlike most games of this style, Hyper Light Drifter doesn’t make use of narrations at all. Still, the game does a good job of showing you where you’re at in the game through the changes in the environment. As you progress in the game, you get to unveil secrets and different paths and fight tough-to-beat enemies. That said, you’ll also meet friends who will help you along the way, but these remain rare.
Download Hyper Light Drifter on iOS
13. Cat Bird
Platforms:
- Android
- iOS
If you’re looking for pixel art games that are similar to Crossy Road Castle, then Cat Bird is perfect for you. Much like the beloved Apple-exclusive game, Cat Bird takes you on an adorable platform adventure. In this game, you control Cat Bird, a white and winged cat that has gotten lost. The game has a very simple objective, which is to lead Cat Bird home. However, doing so will be tough. You’ll encounter various enemies and obstacles, including saw blades, traps, and bottomless pits.
The game isn’t just about jumping from one platform to another. If you’re lucky, you’ll also be able to collect crowns, which you’ll find in the most hard-to-reach places. You don’t have lives at all in this game, so every time you die, you’ll have to redo the level. Sounds pretty harsh, right? Luckily, some levels have checkpoints, so if you’ve reached them, you can respawn at that spot when you die. The game has over 40 difficult levels and three bosses to take on.
14. Mortal Crusade
Platform:
- Android
Mortal Crusade is kind of like Cat Bird in that it’s also a platform adventure game. However, thematically, these two pixel art games are opposites. While Cat Bird has vibrant colors and an adorable winged cat, Mortal Crusade features dark colors, knights, and evil creatures. It’s a very straightforward game, and pretty much all you have to do is to overcome obstacles and complete the tasks of each level.
Mortal Crusade lets you explore all sorts of locations, so you won’t ever be bored. In the game, you’ll be able to travel through dark dungeons, castles, caves, and forests. Within each of these locations lurk various dark creatures, like zombies, monsters, skeletons, and evil spirits. Winning against these creatures and completing your tasks means you gain rewards, which you can use to upgrade your armor and buy new weapons.
Download Mortal Crusade on Android
15. 7 Years from Now
Platforms:
- Android
- iOS
- Windows
7 Years from Now is more for those who are into pixel art games that are story-based and don’t have a lot of action. This game follows the story of Haruto Soraki, a man who suffers from amnesia. The sole memory he has left is of a young girl whom he promised to meet again in seven years. In an attempt to recover his memories, he goes back to his childhood home, and there he uncovers secrets, conspiracy theories, and lost relationships. The main objective, basically, is to help Haruto piece his life back together.
7 Years from Now involves very little gameplay and feels more like a visual novel than an RPG. All you need to do in the game is move around the map, read dialogues, and watch as the protagonist unveils secrets from his past.
Download 7 Years from Now on Android
Download 7 Years from Now on iOS
16. Mazeman
Platforms:
- Android
- iOS
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
Most people like pixel art games for their visual appeal, and you’ll get that and more with Crescent Moon Games’s Mazeman, an action arcade game that’s a lot like the classic Bomberman games. Besides the captivating design, Mazeman also offers thrilling gameplay and smooth controls. Your main goal for each level is to look for the key that will take you through to the next maze. However, doing so will not be a breeze.
Each maze has its unique sets of hurdles, which can include lasers, fire glaciers, and an assortment of horrible monsters. You’ll have to avoid these monsters or attack them with the weapons you’ve collected in previous mazes. Besides weapons, you can also unlock various characters, power-ups, and collectibles.
17. Knightin’+
Platforms:
- Android
- iOS
- Windows
- Linux
Knightin’+ is another pixel art masterpiece from Crescent Moon Games. In this 90s-inspired adventure, you follow the journey of Sir Lootalot as he battles his way out of treacherous dungeons. You’ll have to overcome all sorts of hostile obstacles in these dungeons, including enormous wolf traps, swinging blades, and evil creatures. Besides battling these creatures, some levels also require you to solve puzzles to be able to get through them.
Each dungeon also has magical artifacts and valuable loot hidden within them. Collect these bonuses, and you’ll be able to unlock new items and abilities much faster.
Download Knightin’+ on Android
18. Knights of Pen and Paper
Platform:
- Android
- iOS
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
Fans of Dungeons & Dragons are in for a treat with Knights of Pen and Paper. This game is much like D&D, except you get to see the events unfold through your screen, and you’re only playing by yourself.
You get to play the role of dungeon master plus a hero (or heroes) of your choice. This hero is the one who saves the damsel in distress from all the monsters you conjure throughout the game. Other than the hero, you can also pick another virtual player. Be careful when you choose another role-player, though, since this determines which extra bonuses you’ll be receiving as the game progresses.
Download Knights of Pen and Paper on Android
Download Knights of Pen and Paper on iOS
19. The Sandbox
Platforms:
- Android
- iOS
- Windows
If you want to experience playing God (even if it’s just through your mobile phone), then consider downloading The Sandbox. In this game, you can create your own world pixel by pixel and manipulate elements to build all sorts of structures. Since it’s a sandbox game, it doesn’t really have a single objective. The world of The Sandbox is your oyster, and you’re free to build (and destroy) anything you want.
The game features a multiplayer mode as well, which lets you share the world you’ve created with your friends. Once you’ve shared it, your friends share creator responsibilities with you. In this mode, you’ll be given story missions, which you can complete using the elements you’ve unlocked in the single-player mode.
Download The Sandbox on Android
20. Pocket Harvest
Platforms:
- Android
- iOS
Last on our list of the best pixel art games is Pocket Harvest, which is like Farmville but dressed in 8-bit graphics. In this game, you can grow your own farm and turn it into a booming business that sells all sorts of crops. However, note that Pocket Harvest has its very own agricultural cycle, so you’ll only be able to grow and harvest certain crops during specific seasons.
Besides growing and selling crops, you can also expand your land and raise livestock to get wool, eggs, milk, and more. You can also venture into the world of ecotourism by building facilities and attractions, which will help you lure in more customers and earn more virtual cash.
Download Pocket Harvest on Android
Download Pocket Harvest on iOS
Play the Best Pixel Art Games Now!
If you’re feeling nostalgic for retro games of the NES/SNES eras, pixel art games can help you get your fix. These games are somewhat an ode to the golden age of video gaming. Although none of the pixel art games on this list are from that era (apart from Sonic the Hedgehog and Final Fantasy), we hope you enjoy playing them all the same.
Which of these pixel art games have you tried playing? Feel free to share your thoughts with us!
