Dust off the mouse and keyboard for these amazing games

Whether you needed a time-kill when waiting in line or during your commute, not too long ago, mobile games were perfect simple distractions. Most of these games required minimal inputs, providing stimulating primary gameplay loops. Today, we have innovative spins on existing genres as a result of constant refinement. Companies are even finding ways to optimize performance to create some of the best phones for mobile gaming.

Graphical fidelity for mobile games has risen to PC quality, and gameplay complexity has given us some amazing games you can play right now. In fact, it was only a matter of time before mobile games made the jump to PC. So if you’re a fan of great Android games, you are going to love mobile gaming on PC. The sky's the limit!

This 2D brawler follows an 80s Rocky-movie-style aspiring martial artist, except there are no training montages; you have to bulk the old-fashioned way. Punch Club's gameplay offers RPG life sim mechanics such as eating healthy and regular exercise to train your character as a martial artist. The brawls take place in various pixel art streets and arenas that look great on Android and even better on PC.

The combat presents a serviceable and punishing 2D brawler, utilizing your equipped special moves to gain an edge in combat. The RPG gameplay grants a unique mundanity to the idea of street fighting. The game converts the less exciting aspects of this kind of story, like money, diet, and employment, into engaging gameplay. If intense RPG gameplay is up your street, Punch Club (on Steam) is a solid contender to keep you happy, provided you never get tired of 80s pop culture references.

Downwell is an energetic rogue-lite that sports an Undertale-esque black and white pallet and immediately throws you down a well. Players are tasked with descending at all costs, blasting rocks and enemies to bits with unorthodox, but highly effective gun shoes. The gameplay is simple in the best way; your guns explode downwards with satisfying percussion and brutal efficiency. Plus, everything beneath you probably deserves it. As you descend, you'll find side caves containing random upgrades, from health improvements to increased firepower, after which it's back into the fray.

Downwell (on Steam) focuses on gameplay engagement rather than narrative, ensuring that moving down feels inherently satisfying, which enhances the game's destructive charm. The random upgrade system provides significant replay value, and the PC version allows for tighter controls for your runs. Put all this together, and you get an experience that definitely goes down well nicely.

Given the Hitman franchise’s reputation for punishing stealth gameplay and gun-toting action, the primary loop of Hitman GO Definitive Edition (on Steam) may surprise you. Players control an Agent 47 miniature on a game board, tasked with taking out every other person on the board. The Monopoly aesthetic is very disarming if one knows the series, but funnily enough, the core elements of classic Hitman gameplay remain unchanged.

Since you are supposed to kill without being spotted, you have to be strategic about who you kill first. Your targets are chess pieces that don't move unless prompted, so the task is to plan the best route around the board, picking off the targets one by one. This becomes bizarrely engaging and highlights how fun Hitman gameplay can be when brought back to basics.

This is a game that needed to be on PC. Riptide GP Renegade (on Steam) is a third-person jet skiing racer that takes place in an intriguing futuristic setting. The plot is less engaging than the gameplay, unsurprisingly. You'll be spending most of your time speeding around city environments and reliving that first time you played on a racing arcade machine. Races have you riding over water and performing tricks for a higher score, with part customization options for maximizing your vehicle's speed, maneuverability, and style.

Given the game's frequent sharp turns, the PC upgrade is a huge improvement for the larger screen. The game already looks fantastic on Android, and PC just enhances it. If racing games interest you, Riptide GP Renegade doesn't cut corners.

If you're in the mood for a funny, high-pace puzzle platformer, Levelhead (on Steam) fits the bill. Players must deliver packages as a testing exercise for a robot prototype designed for a galaxy-wide postal service. Movement and combat mechanics are appealingly smooth and elegant, bouncing on enemy heads Mario-style while exploring colorful alien worlds. The puzzle mechanics centralize around your package, using it to weigh down switches and as a platform, and even attack enemies. Hope there's nothing fragile in there.

The game also features an in-depth level creator and editor, allowing players to publish their own levels and play others, in addition to a tower mode that provides a greater challenge. If you're looking for something to fill the Super Meat Boy hole in your life, Levelhead delivers. Literally.

A fun, challenging Metroidvania that marries the genre's traditional explorative gameplay with a rogue-like twist. The player takes the role of the ScourgeBringer (on Steam), a hero investigating the interior of a relic that has fallen to earth. You'll be exploring the different biomes and cutting through enemies. Combat makes use of aggressive and stylish sword combos while making use of gunplay. The best of both worlds.

The rogue-like elements conflict slightly with the Metroidvania level design, encouraging the player to blast through to the end. Health is lost easily and recovering it is infrequent to discourage in-depth exploration. But if Blasphemous won you over with its punishing gameplay, ScourgeBringer will scratch that same itch.

If you’ve ever played FTL: Faster than Light, Out There: Omega (on Steam) will feel very familiar. The gameplay, end goal, and tone are more or less the same. You are lost in space and need to travel across the galaxy, mining fuel and other resources to survive. The biggest difference between the two is the graphic quality. Out There: Omega presents stunning backdrop art for the various planets you explore and the beauty of deep space.

The defining mechanic of Out There: Omega is the role-playing aspect. Every run is random, and events can play out differently every time. While this game is perfect for mobile, given its simplicity, the PC port allows a more laid-back experience. For a low-fi resource management experience and atmospheric test of judgment, Out There: Omega is a no-brainer.

Genshin Impact (on Steam) is an open-world fantasy JRPG with gameplay straight out of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The story of Genshin Impact is, once again, hugely important. The protagonist wakes up in the world and is tasked with saving their twin. But like Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the main quest is powerless in the face of screwing around in the over world.

The game world, Teyvat, is huge and stunning, packed to the brim with puzzles and collectibles to reward curiosity and exploration. Combat is a real-time system centralized on switching between four different characters, each with their own attack elements against a sumptuous buffet of enemies. These elements can interact with each other if used in conjunction, encouraging experimentation. If you want a beautiful and engaging world to explore, give Genshin Impact a try. You know what they say, you can never explore too many open worlds.

Those are only a few of the phenomenal mobile games now on PC. All you have to do is pick your genre and liven up your Steam library with some innovative mobile gaming flare. Both platforms court innovation not only in aesthetics, but in genre representation as well.

If you like anime, for example, there are a ton of great anime Android games playable on PC. All you have to do is pick your genre and liven up your Steam library with some innovative mobile gaming flare.