View Full Version : Best Games for Android from Amazon's "Free App of the Day" Program (No Longer Updated)
I'm changing this thread. From now on, whenever there is a really good game listed as Amazon's "Free App of the Day," I'll be posting to this thread with info about it. Anyone can feel free to reply to this thread whenever there is some good game that is available as the Free App o' the Day for Android.
Original post
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Featured as the Free App of the Day on Amazon.com, Terraria (Android version) is available for free but only for today (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G6ZTM3Y/), Christmas (or for the non-Christian types, Dec. 25). Normally it costs $4.99.
Terraria is an excellent game: imagine a 2D version of Minecraft but with all the recipes for crafting things LISTED IN THE GAME ITSELF rather than having to search the Internet for the info; and instead of being, "Yeah, go wherever, you figure it out," Terraria is much more "game-orientated" with progression and lots of bosses and enemy types.
Let me know if you pick it up!
BHvrd
12-25-2014, 07:43 PM
Just picked it up thanks to this thread, thanks for the heads up!
No problem, BHvrd: I'm happy to be of service!
BHvrd
01-02-2015, 10:52 PM
To be honest I thought this game would suck on mobile but the way it zooms in when you do any crafting/building is very smart design. Much better than expected, would have actually bought it had I known the controls were actually so intuitive.
Tanooki
01-02-2015, 11:13 PM
It works well. I've got a few versions of it between those random dollar sales that pop up so I've got it on android, ios, and steam, also when gog had it for $2 I grabbed that too. I really do enjoy the game in a casual sense. I know it has bosses and junk but I guess I probably just play it wrong because I've never seen one. Perhaps I just don't go deep enough but I don't like going too far from the home I setup as it's a pain the butt climbing back out of places.
Today's free game: SONIC CD (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008K9UZY4/)! I really like this game, but over time I've ended up with so many copies of it! Let's see... early CD-based version for Windows; SEGA CD version; GameCube port; the recent "Christian 'Taxman' Whitehead" Windows enhanced remake version; and said same "Christian Whitehead" version, but for Android. I don't think I need five versions of SONIC CD... but then again, I don't mind having so many. ;)
Tanooki
01-04-2015, 12:52 PM
I'm surprised Google Play doesn't do this the way amazon does, but Google is android and Amazon is muscling in so looking at it that way probably explains it.
y9784
01-26-2015, 06:31 PM
Has anyone noticed that the Amazon App Store sucks up a lot of battery once installed. I like getting some of these apps but I eventually uninstall them because I find my tablet dead every time I want to use it.
Tanooki
01-26-2015, 09:31 PM
There are a few that do that and it's because they're persistent always running in the background, and ones even worse do that and while in game have like a 24/7 live chat or other style feed that rolls by that pulls even more when the main app is priority active.
I'm surprised Google Play doesn't do this the way amazon does, but Google is android and Amazon is muscling in so looking at it that way probably explains it.
I know what you mean. Google Play gives away a free song every day (or at least Mon. - Fri.) yet it has no free app of the day feature. How logical is that? Amazon gives away a free paid app every day, plus gives away a free song every day, plus has other freebies in the Amazon song library.
Has anyone noticed that the Amazon App Store sucks up a lot of battery once installed. I like getting some of these apps but I eventually uninstall them because I find my tablet dead every time I want to use it.
Unfortunately a lot of apps eat a lot of electricity. I have most notifications disabled in the options menu of the Amazon App Store app and I believe that makes a big difference in energy consumption. Usually if I'm not using my tablet it is on its charging cable though, so I'm not sure how big the difference is. I can say that with my settings as they are, I can get about 6-8 hours of usage (including Internet surfing and HD video watching) out of my tablet before it needs to be recharged, which is far more time than I get on a full charge from my PSP or 3DS.
By the way, one of the worst offenders regarding electrical usage for an app is the official Weather Underground app. OMG, it literally checks its data source 86,400 times per day - that's one time every single second of each minute of each hour of the day. I like my weather data for the current conditions to be reasonably up-to-date, but that is way too much! An update frequency something like once every ten minutes at the most, and once per hour at the least is reasonable. But every single second?! That's crazy. Weather usually doesn't change very much from minute to minute, so 86,400 updates per day is crazy high!
Tanooki
02-02-2015, 10:28 PM
I think it's still in effect, GooglePlay + Chromecast users -- Log into googleplay and you can get the original XMEN movie for free to keep (not just rent.)
Anyone want a free copy of Doodle Jump (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CTXBO9M/)?
Please excuse the lateness of this post, but many of you will probably like this one so I wanted to write about it even if there isn't much time left to snag it for free. Besides, if you miss the $0 time period, you can still pick up the app for $1, and the game is not bad for that price.
The name of the game is Whip Swing! (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QS2Q0S0/). Basically imagine the beginning phase of Jungle Hunt where you are swinging on vines to cross a deadly area below the character, and you have a pretty close idea of what to expect. The differences are in this game, that's also the only phase, and instead of jungle vines, it is a bullwhip which the character takes with him. You need to time your jumps so that the whip can grab onto the next hanging section, or the character will fall and die. There's no time limit, and you can hang from one area for as long as you like before swinging through the air to the next. It is basically a physics challenge. You are trying to just go for the max distance to set as high of a record as you can. There also are online leaderboards and achievements if you like those things.
Today's app is Super Stickman Golf (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0077SGMXM/). This is a really good one. It is from one of my favorite mobile developers (Noodlecake). It is a fun yet simple golfing game that doesn't take itself too seriously. It's challenging yet approachable. I hope you enjoy this fantastical game of golf. :)
Today for the Free App o' the Day we have Riptide GP2 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EEL0LGY/). This one is very graphically impressive for a mobile game. If you'd like a game all about racing on jet-skis, this one is for you!
Want an SNES-looking hack-n-slash game developed by renowned game company Noodlecake? Look no further than today's free app (game) of the day, Wayward Souls (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LNP9H0K). This one has a lot of replay value, excellent animation and visual style, and it is from one of my favorite game developers. Unfortunately for me, its mix of genres is not a combo I enjoy, but for anyone that likes rouge-likes and hack-n-slash games, this looks like a good choice. And it is free today, so there's nothing to lose, right? -> Wayward Souls (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LNP9H0K)
Today it's Prince of Persia Classic (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0096MM9GG). What's Prince of Persia Classic? It is the gameplay & levels of Prince of Persia mixed with new 2D visuals inspired by The Sands of Time and made for portable devices.
Ready for a scare? Today's free app is Five Nights at Freddy's 3 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UENHBAU).
This time around it is Continuity 2: The Continuation (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0087EACJK/). Don't let the name fool you: this is a great, innovative platformer where you rearrange the sections of the levels in order to progress. It really makes you think about things in a different way. I quite liked the first one, so I have no qualms about recommending the second.
A rather popular game from 2014 is today's free app: Monument Valley (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KA7JIII).
-Inspired by minimalist 3D design, optical illusions and palaces and temples from around the world, every monument is a unique, hand-crafted world to explore.
-Twist and drag to reshape the world and help Ida to explore. Designed to be easy for everyone to pick up, enjoy and complete.
-Audio reacts to your manipulation of the world to provide a surreal and beautiful soundscape. Best experienced with headphones.
Ready to be scared by the original? Today's free app is Five Nights at Freddy's (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N1HONIO).
"Welcome to your new summer job at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, where kids and parents alike come for entertainment and food as far as the eye can see! The main attraction is Freddy Fazbear, of course; and his two friends. They are animatronic robots, programmed to please the crowds! The robots' behavior has become somewhat unpredictable at night however, and it was much cheaper to hire you as a security guard than to find a repairman.
From your small office you must watch the security cameras carefully. You have a very limited amount of electricity that you're allowed to use per night (corporate budget cuts, you know). That means when you run out of power for the night- no more security doors and no more lights! If something isn't right- namely if Freddybear or his friends aren't in their proper places, you must find them on the monitors and protect yourself if needed!"
Want some sugar, Sugar? Well in the game "sugar, sugar" (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BMNM4H6/) your goal is to draw lines on the screen to guide grains of sugar down into awaiting cups to make sure the right amount of sugar gets into each cup.
I really like this one: Aces Gin Rummy Pro (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008QZ1LEU).
Did you miss getting Super Stickman Golf (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0077SGMXM/) for free the first time around? Well good news for you: Amazon.com loves to re-run apps as the freebie of the day, and today is the day for SSG. This is a really simple and fun golfing game. It is from Noodlecake, one of my favorite mobile developers. It is a "swinging" golfing game that doesn't take itself too seriously. It featured 2D courses with layouts which would be impossible in the real world. It's challenging yet approachable and has many courses and sets. I hope you enjoy this arcade-esque game of golf as much as I have.
Like the developer Double Fine and music games? Good news! Dropchord is the free app today.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E0OK2X2/
After existing for years, Amazon.com has decided to kill its "Free App of the Day" program. As a consequence, this thread can no longer be updated.
As a "replacement," Amazon has introduced "Amazon Underground," but as you can see, Amazon Underground is not a good replacement for the Free App of the Day program (https://developer.amazon.com/public/solutions/underground/docs/understanding-amazon-underground) unless you like full-screen advertisements showing most of the times you start up and/or resume your apps (A.K.A. interstitials (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstitial_webpage)). I do not.
I hate advertisements and saw the FAOTD program as a way of escaping them. To add insult to injury, Amazon.com has the gall to label its Underground versions of these apps as "Actually Free Apps" which I find to be insulting and misleading. These apps aren't freeware and they sure as heck aren't Free Software (https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html). You might not be paying for the Underground apps or their in-app purchases with money, but you are still paying for them anyway by having to be interrupted and annoyed by their ads and paying through their tracking of you and your usage of the apps and collection of information about you and your usage habits.
Sorry for the discontinuation of this thread and the FAOTD program, but there is nothing we can do. :-/
jb143
11-06-2015, 12:37 AM
I've been using Amazon Underground to play many of the games that I've been wanting to play for a while now but didn't want to pay more than 99 cents for. Duck Tales, Castle of Illusion, Monument Valley, etc, etc, etc... and I can say that I've never seen a single ad. I kind of figured that they are collecting analytics but guess what? Even apps you pay for are doing that. I haven't noticed any increase in targeted ads in general either(which Amazon is especially good at). It would be nice if they kept their free app of the day program as well, but this seems like a pretty good compromise if you ask me.
megasdkirby
11-06-2015, 08:43 AM
I see nothing wrong with Amazon Underground. I rarely see any apps, I get to play the games for free, purchase the "in game content" for free...so I don't mind. Sure, they get revenue by placing SOME adds (no where near the experience NZ17 has had), but they don't interrupt gameplay for me.
Sure, many of the free apps suck, but there are plenty that are good. Sadly, many of my devices are incompatible...however, I will try and extract the underground APK version and install on another, "incompatible" device to see if it works.
Oh I wasn't saying that was my experience with the ads in the Underground-modified apps. If anything, I wouldn't see any ads with all of my ad blocking. But I never installed the Underground app. I was just rewriting what Amazon.com had written on its own Web pages.