One of the biggest mobile game launches of 2023 is Reverse: 1999, a fantasy turn-based RPG, with a card-centric combat mechanic. With memorable characters and an expansive world, Reverse: 1999 has millions of players worldwide.
For those looking for similar games, especially those that offer an optimized mobile experience, there are plenty of games available with their own memorable features, characters, and premises. From tactical titles that have players strategically carry out battles against waves of enemies to other card-driven combat games, there is plenty of variety with games that present their own unique turn-based fantasy and action flair. Here are the best games like Reverse: 1999.
Honkai: Star Rail
Another major turn-based fantasy mobile game to come out of China this year is Honkai: Star Rail, with players assembling parties of four characters to explore this expansive universe. Blending high fantasy and science fiction, Honkai: Star Rail has a faction devoted to a demigod embodying destruction threatening all of civilization. Players and classes are linked to different elemental forces in the game, with its own extensive balancing system crucial to forming effective parties.
Despite the obvious differences in setting and core gameplay mechanics, Honkai: Star Rail feels like the spiritual successor to Genshin Impact, sharing a lot of the same aesthetic sensibilities — unsurprisingly, as both were developed by miHoYo. Exploration plays a major factor in Honkai: Star Rail, giving the game a more immersively sweeping scope with hours of exciting gameplay for players to enjoy. For Reverse: 1999 fans looking for something stylistically similar with an enormous breadth, Honkai: Star Rail is as good as it gets.
Marvel Snap
The iconic heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe collide in the mobile game Marvel Snap, which brings together a vast library of characters and environments for players to battle each other. In either ranked or casual matches, players draw from their customized decks to try to dominate across three distinct settings per game, each with their own unique properties. Whoever controls the majority of the settings at the end of six turns wins, using their winnings to unlock more cards and collectibles as they progress up the rankings each season.
Marvel Snap is just a joy to play; intuitive and accessible, yet with plenty of strategic depth that takes skill and practice to fully master. There is a true and steady sense of reward as players upgrade cards and add to their collection, building the deck that works best for them as they set out to leave their own mark on the Marvel Universe. With fast-paced matches perfect to play on the go, Marvel Snap is the best mobile game Marvel has put out to date, regardless of gameplay format.
Fire Emblem Heroes
Nintendo’s definitive tactical RPG franchise is Fire Emblem, which has been a staple for the company ever since 1990 on the original Famicom. The series received its own mobile title in 2017, Fire Emblem Heroes, released for iOS and Android devices worldwide and quickly becoming Nintendo’s highest-earning mobile game. The game revolves around two warring kingdoms in a medieval fantasy realm, with the factions summoning warriors from other worlds to assist in their cause.
If there was ever a classic Nintendo property perfectly suited for mobile platforms, it’s Fire Emblem, with its turn-based gameplay and natural ability to keep-up-and-play. Fire Emblem Heroes functions as a sort of crossover title for the franchise, bringing in fan-favorite characters from across its history to team up in a new adventure. Compared to many mobile games, the microtransaction system isn’t overly intrusive, and Fire Emblem Heroes is among the more widely available titles in the series.Â
Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle
Dragon Ball Z is one of the most iconic anime series of all-time and it’s received its fair share of turn-based card RPGs over its long history, including the popular mobile game Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle. Launched in 2015, Dokkan Battle blends card-based combat, puzzle gameplay, and board game-like sensibilities to create an ambitious and deep game. Rather than battling opponents conventionally, players compete in a puzzle-style minigame to inflict damage on their enemies, informed by the card combinations they have.
Dokkan Battle has steadily been adding new content for the past eight years, drawing from the entire history of the Dragon Ball franchise to keep the experience fresh and exciting. With over 350 million downloads worldwide, there are plenty of users to go up against and test one’s mettle as they settle on their right combination. An easy, breezy way to enjoy Dragon Ball Z on the go, Dokkan Battle is a solid game that goes light on the traditional combat as it finds new, enriching depths to take its core gameplay.
Hearthstone
Blizzard has given its Warcraft franchise a card game twist ever since 2013 with its enormously popular mobile game Hearthstone. Featuring familiar faces, creatures, and settings from Warcraft, Hearthstone revolves around turn-based gameplay as players deploy monsters and spells to take down their opponent. Players can select a myriad of classes, each with their own special abilities, as they face enemies in a number of modes.
The breadth of different game modes and content available in Hearthstone is mind-boggling, from ranked and casual play, to king-of-the-hill-style campaigns, randomized conditions, and even a variety of single player modes. This is coupled with regularly updated and added cards to keep the experience fresh and exciting each month, along with seasonal perks and extras. A decade on and Hearthstone is still going strong, refining and adding to its gameplay in new and diverse ways.
Those are five games like Reverse: 1999 which you can play right now to scratch that mobile game itch.
