Discovering great mobile games is difficult. With over 300 thousand games on the Play Store — not including the hundreds more available by sideloading — finding the right one to invest your time and money in can be hard. The Play Store’s rating system is helpful, but ratings are often skewed by external factors.
MiniReview attempts to solve this problem. Instead of relying on the community to rate games, their team of reviewers does it. Not only are they avid mobile gamers, but don’t give low scores simply because the game fails to load on their device. MiniReview acts like the mobile gaming version of IGN and Destructoid, helping you get a real review of the actual gameplay. And thanks to their growing database, you can sift through their ratings to find the perfect game for you.
Step 1: Install MiniReview
MiniReview is free and can be found on the Play Store. Install the app by opening the link below on your Android smartphone.
- Play Store Link: MiniReview (free)
Step 2: Browse Game Listings
Open the app, and on the main page is a list of all the recently review games added to their database. You will see the app icon, name of the app, the developer, the genre, and a numerical score of the game between 0 and 10.0 (ratings are given to the nearest tenth place) for each listing.
There are two views available, which you can adjust using the icons in the upper-right corner of the app, below the image slide. The second view lets you see screenshots of the games above their listings.
Select a game to see additional details. The Review tab includes the actual review and a star rating (between 1 and 5, including half a star) for specific categories of the games, including controls and monetization.
The phone they used is listed below that so you have an idea of your experience by comparing your device’s specs to theirs. Further down is basic information such as how many players are supported, what orientation of the phone is supported, and much more. Finally, at the bottom is a “Download” button to install the game from the Play Store.
The Rating tab is where you can submit your own rating to the app. Details gives the same information as found on the Play Store, including its Play Store Score (and its breakdown), the developer-submitted photos and videos, and the developer’s contact information.
Step 3: Search for New Games
One of the best features of MiniReview is the ability to sort and filter their database to find games. You can open the side menu (by selecting the three horizontal lines in the upper-left corner) and select a genre or select the drop-down menu in the menu bar below the photo slide at the top of the page.
The latter lets you narrow down your choice with specific categories to filter through the database. You can choose the number of players, whether you need to be online, the type of monetization, the orientation, and much more. This list can then be sorted based on score, release date, and more to help you find your next game.
Found your next game but don’t have the storage space to install it right now? Make an account with MiniReview by opening the side menu and choosing “Sign up” to be able to favorite games to come back to later.
Step 4: Get Notified of New Games
In addition to discovering the games listed, MiniReview helps you discover new games. Open the side menu and choose “Notifications.” Choose “Select game genre” and select the checkbox next to genres of games you are interested in. Return to the previous screen and enable the “Receive notifications of new reviews” toggle. Now, whenever a game of that genre is reviewed, you will get an alert.
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