A pastel cat sits atop a festive strawberry cake in the snowy world of Cats & Soup
Image credit: HIDEA

Felines and fireballs: 5 best games like Cookie Run Kingdom

Cookie Run Kingdom is a unique game in the gacha and idler world, offering a blend of auto-battling, gacha, and kingdom building. Finding games that scratch the same itch can be tricky, but it’s not impossible.

Table of Contents
  1. The Escapist recaps
  2. AFK Arena
  3. Cats & Soup: Cute Cat Game
  4. AFK Journey 
  5. Trickcal: Chibi Go
  6. Dislyte 
  7. Ask The Escapist

Below, you’ll find 5 of the best gacha games like Cookie Run Kingdom to download and play today, focusing on cute aesthetics, low-stress gameplay, and gacha mechanics in particular. The games in this list aren’t quite as build-heavy as CRK, but they tick the other boxes with ease. 


The Escapist recaps

  • Cookie Run Kingdom is a cute, casual gacha game that combines auto-battling RPG mechanics with base-building, letting players build an army of cookies to help take down all manner of fiendish foes.
  • Folks looking for a close experience in style and tone should check out Cats & Soup: Cute Cat Game. It’s an adorable gacha that focuses predominantly on base-building over any sort of RPG mechanics. 
  • Fans of auto-battlers and RPGs should investigate AFK Arena and Dislyte. While they might not have base-building, they do have a comprehensive gacha system and enjoyable battling systems. 
  • AFK Journey and Trickcal: Chibi Go are also worth playing as a CRK fan. The former is more of a classic mobile RPG with some gacha elements, while the latter is a cute, pastel gacha with an auto-battling system.
  • The best thing about the games in this list is that most of them are enjoyable as a free-to-play fan. This author is an exclusively F2P gacha fan and plays all of these games on the regular, bar AFK Journey, without ever spending a dime. 

AFK Arena

A group of vibrant heroes gathers around the radiant AFK Arena logo
AFK Arena’s art style is recognizable. Image credit: Lillith Games

If your favorite thing about Cookie Run Kingdom is its snappy style of combat, you’ll love AFK Arena. This fantastical mobile RPG was developed and published by Lillith Games, and it’s best thought of as a hero collector. 

Alongside the main campaign – where you’ll lob fireballs and summon skeletal pals via your team of heroes – you can also battle other players and take on extra challenges, summoning new heroes and making your team even stronger in the process. It’s an approachable game to pick up as a new player, and it’s easy to dip in and out of. 

Cats & Soup: Cute Cat Game

Cute woodland characters relax, play music, and cook together in Cats & Soup
Cats & Soup is arguably the cutest game in this list. Image credit: HIDEA

Cats & Soup: Cute Cat Game is an adorable idle game that will appeal to CRK fans who enjoy collecting cute cookies. Instead of building an army of battle-ready cookies, however, this game tasks you with hiring cute kittens to help out in a forest kitchen.

It’s less of a gameplay-intensive title, but it does have an element of base-building to it, with plenty of adorable customization options, too. If your favorite things about Cookie Run Kingdom are the cute characters on offer and the creative freedom that the kingdom-building aspect presents, you’ll likely lose many an hour to Cats & Soup.  

AFK Journey 

A graceful fairy guides players as they decorate a vibrant garden in AFK Journey
AFK Journey is a neat mobile RPG experience. Image credit: FARLIGHT/Lillith Games

AFK Journey is a worthwhile pick if you like the RPG elements of Cookie Run Kingdom – particularly if you’re a fan of AFK Arena as well and want to expand your time within the wider AFK world.

Just like AFK Arena, AFK Journey features a fantastical RPG format, complete with a diverse selection of interesting heroes to collect. It’s arguably not as F2P-friendly as AFK Arena, but if you’re looking to pad out your mobile game collection with another hero-centric title, it’s still worth checking it out. 

Trickcal: Chibi Go

Chibi heroes line up for a quick strategic fight in Trickcal: Chibi Go
Trickcal: Chibi Go’s aesthetic is adorable. Image credit: BILIBILI

Trickcal: Chibi Go is one of the cutest auto-battler RPGs on the market right now, making it a perfect pick for Cookie Run Kingdom fans. It has a light-hearted, quirky story, an interesting roster of characters, and a chill style of play. 

One of the best things about Trickcal: Chibi Go is that it’s been specifically designed with short bursts of play in mind. There’s no immediate pressure to pick it up and get stuck in for hours at a time; it’s just as enjoyable in short sessions, meaning it’s a nice game to destress with after an intense day or before bed. 

It doesn’t have the same base-building options as CRK – although this would be a lovely addition in the future – but the style of combat feels incredibly similar.

Dislyte 

Stylish espers strike dynamic poses as they unleash their powers in Dislyte
Dislyte has a huge roster of characters. Image credit: FARLIGHT

Dislyte is a visually striking mobile RPG that’ll go down well with fans of CRK who want something a little darker. Instead of cartoonish cookies, each character that can be pulled via Dislyte’s gacha is based on a mythological figure, like Zeus or Hades, represented through a unique character and set of abilities.

Dislyte is a fantasy RPG at its core, but it has a pop of modern sci-fi that makes it stand out from similar games in the niche. While it may not have CRK’s base-building features, it has a style of combat and progression that’ll resonate with fans. It’s incredibly satisfying to rip through the story and learn more about the characters.

Cookie Run Kingdom is a fairly unique game in the world of free-to-play gacha titles, but games like Dislyte, AFK Arena, and Trickcal: Chibi Go should be a great match for fans who are on the hunt for something new to download. 

Ask The Escapist

When did Cookie Run Kingdom come out?

Cookie Run Kingdom came out on January 19, 2021.

Does Cookie Run Kingdom have gacha?

Yes, Cookie Run Kingdom is a mobile gacha game. New cookies are unlocked – or baked – through the gacha system, as are treasures. 

Is Cookie Run Kingdom’s gacha fair?

While it does depend on your personal experiences with the game, CRK gacha certainly isn’t the toughest out there in terms of pull rates. This author is a F2P fan and has found it easy to get top-tier cookies without spending any money or excessive amounts of time.

What are the best free-to-play gacha games?

The best F2P gacha games include Infinity Nikki, Cookie Run Kingdom, Pokémon TCG Pocket, and AFK Arena.


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Author
Image of Em Stonham
Em Stonham
Senior Features Writer
Em Stonham is a Senior Gaming Features Writer at The Escapist, and they've got more unfinished Steam games in their library than they know what to do with. With a love for both cozy games and grotesque horror, Em specializes in reviews, features, and event coverage - and they'll take any opportunity to yell about the latest rare mount drop they've gotten in World of Warcraft, so, please, don't get them started.
Author
Image of Sam Smith
Sam Smith
Features Editor
Sam is Escapist's Features Editor and has been obsessed with gaming since he first discovered Sonic the Hedgehog in the mid-1990s. Since then, he’s collected nearly every console and adores all things Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox equally. After completing his journalism degree, Sam steered his career towards writing about games and has never looked back, with bylines at Dexerto, GamesRadar, Insider Gaming, Soundsphere, and more. He’s also fully NCTJ accredited. He’s also likely to be that annoying person who keeps beating you in Elden Ring’s Colosseum.