The mythology of long-dead civilizations, such as the Greeks, remains fascinating to us in the modern era. Ancient religions and ideas aren’t just endlessly imaginative, they also demonstrate the fears, hopes, and understandings that our predecessors took to heart. Sure, we no longer subscribe to their systems of belief, but this doesn’t mean we don’t lean on them from time to time.
Of all the forms this inspiration takes, few are as engaging as those in interactive entertainment. Giving us a chance to explore these worlds in a way that ancient practitioners never could, games let us play the parts of both gods and humans, experiencing the whims of the notoriously capricious pantheon. Though these games are available on practically every platform, today we want to focus on the Android platform. Setting our sights as broad as Poseidon’s seas, here’s what we found to be the best.
First released on PC in 2006, Titan Quest found instant fame as a Greek take on the Diablo formula. Players of this action RPG would follow the eternal quest for gear upgrades, work on a specific build, and craft a skill tree to suit their style of play. Receiving positive reviews, Titan Quest was better than just a rip-off, it was a truly inspired version of a tried-and-true genre.
Ported to Android in 2016, this updated version of the title was heralded as extremely faithful, keeping the crucial elements while catering to the control limitations of mobile. On their way to fight for the freedom of humanity, the player hero must slay hundreds of monsters from Greek mythology, including harpies, gorgons, and manticores. Even taking on the likes of Hades and Cerberus, the fights in this game didn’t pull their punches.
When most of us think of modern mobile gaming, our minds jump to a very specific type of RPG title as typified by the famous Raid: Shadow Legends. More appropriate to Greek mythology, it’s Olympus Rising that accomplished this style within our setting.
Olympus Rising is split into two parts. The first is in base and team management, where you build Olympus and collect/upgrade troops and equipment to come to its defense. This means gacha-style collecting, where many different rarity units lead players to a customized army that they feel a real connection to.
The second part of the game takes place out on the battlefield. During this portion of the game, players’ hero-led forces work to protect their home and expand their territory, all while leaning on online friends to help share the burden.
Less traditionally, the worldwide hit Hades is also accessible on Android through Xbox Game Pass and various other streaming services. This roguelike game was released in 2020, receiving universal commercial and critical acclaim. Despite not being developed with mobile as a primary platform, Hades works amazingly well, and this goes doubly so if you have a Bluetooth controller to play from.
Players in Hades adopt the role of Zagreus, son of Hades. With each life, Zagreus fights to escape the underworld to reach Mount Olympus, uncovering the mysteries hidden from him along the way. Each run in Hades is heavily randomized, with skills, layouts, and even some bosses experiencing drastic changes per run. As the player upgrades some of their abilities and weapons along the way, this game is a constant battle of improving, trying out new load-outs, and proving the Gods aren’t as infallible as they like to think.
Outside of traditional video games, we also have to give props to another extremely popular form of interactive Android entertainment: online casino games. Online gambling titles like slots borrow from a huge range of themes and concepts, some of the most popular being heavily inspired by Greek mythology. With many of these websites like BetMGM and 888 Casino sharing titles, there’s also a lot of flexibility in where players can engage, depending on what they want from bonuses and website style.
Some of the more popular Greek mythology-inspired games on casino services include Hades Gigablox (not related to the Hades above), Medusa, The Golden Owl of Athena, and Achilles Deluxe. Each of these has lower requirements than any of the above titles, and each requires only browser access for players to get playing.
The big takeaway from these four options should be that, no matter how you like to play, the Android market will have something that appeals to you. Whether taking a couple of spins, or spending hours building a character to take down the lord of the underworld, classical Greek-inspired titles are diverse and only expanding. Just remember to take a power bank with you, as you can’t expect Zeus to step in should the worst come to term. Or, maybe you can.