Top Hack and Slash Games For Android

Blackmoor 2: The Traitor King
Brawlhalla
The Mighty Quest For Epic Loot
Eternium
Dungeon Hunter 5
Exiled Kingdoms
Genshin Impact
Dead Cells

Hack and Slash games, also known as HnS, H&S, or Slash ‘em Up games, have grown in popularity ever since consoles and PCs started to evolve in their technology and became capable of handling higher graphics, more complex gameplay, and longer games with more elements in them. The shift from 2D to 3D graphics also made a large impact, not just on Hack and Slash games, but on the gaming industry in general, with what you see on screen beginning to seem increasingly real. Hack and Slash games, however, have been around for a long time, and the term was in fact first used to describe a more aggressive playstyle in table-top games such as Dungeons and Dragons. This usage carried over to video games – mostly MMORPGs and RPGs – and has stuck around ever since then.

Hack and Slash refers to a game genre that puts heavy emphasis on melee weapon-based combat, such as knives, swords, axes, etc., while also often including projectile weapons such as guns and bows and arrows as secondary weapons. Hack and Slash games evolved from Beat ‘em Up games, which involved close quarters, hand-to-hand combat, and the first examples we see of Hack and Slash video games come from the 1980s, with 2D side-scrolling games such as Rastan, and The Legend of Kage paving the way for the Hack and Slash games we see today, such as the immensely popular God of War and Devil May Cry series. Hack and Slash gaming now is not limited to just consoles and PC, however, with many incredibly innovative and exciting H&S games being released for mobile every year. In this article, we will be looking at eight such games available for Android that any Hack and Slash or RPG enthusiast should play.

1. Blackmoor 2: The Traitor King (Free)

Released by Four Fats Limited, previously known as Mooff Games, Blackmoor 2: The Traitor King is the first game on our list of the best hack and slash games for Android. As the name gives away, Blackmoor 2 is the sequel to the original Blackmoor, and the former continues on the story of the latter. Blackmoor 2 sees the user playing the role of a scruffy warrior whose attire makes it seem like he was taken straight out of a movie about the Greeks or the Romans. Wielding a sword and a cape, and not much else, the user must fight their way through tons of enemies in the multitude of levels that the game provides using easy-to-learn controls and a tiny bit of strategy.

The game has a few different modes. The story mode continues the plot of the original Blackmoor, as mentioned, and there are thirteen different characters that you get to use within this mode. The storyline is well thought out, with an undercurrent of the story always showing up as you play the game, slicing through tons of enemies, including monsters, ghouls, and other dungeon crawling creatures. Never in the story mode do you feel like the plotline was put there simply for the sake of it, and the twists and turns in the story make for an exceptional playing experience that harkens back to old, story-based hack and slash games such as The Legend of Zelda. Now, this is not to say that Blackmoor 2 is as fun to play or entertaining as Zelda – that is for you to decide – but the gameplay, along with the storyline definitely makes you nostalgic for a long past era of gaming.

Apart from the story mode, Blackmoor 2 also offers a multiplayer mode that allows up to 4 players to team up and go hackin’ and slashin’ together, with real-time co-op and exceptionally fluid gameplay that keeps you hooked for hours on end. There are several different levels for you to explore, and the list of monsters and creatures you can fight is massive. Weaker opponents such as Gothmeg, Bollerk, Rowario, and bosses such as Ned Betty, Bruticus, Sindara, and Elzar are all available for you to hack and slash. In case you’d rather play against your friends than with them, the game also has a PvP mode allowing you to do just that. You can challenge your friends or other players online to see who is more skilled in combat and technique and reigns supreme over the other. You can also improve your combat skills by challenging the CPU in PvP matches.

Interestingly, Blackmoor 2 also has a sandbox aspect to it, with users having the ability to create their own dungeons with different layouts and challenges and sharing these levels with other players. In this way, you never run out of levels to play in Blackmoor 2, even after you’ve finished the story mode and mastered the PvP mode against the CPU or other users.

The character models in Blackmoor 2 are exceptionally well-made. There isn’t anything jaw-dropping about the game’s graphics, since most of it is a 2D side-scroller with occasional 3D-esque levels, but the way the game and its characters have been designed brings you immense joy when playing Blackmoor 2 purely because of how simple, yet well made they are. The colors pop, the background is unique and detailed, every level feels like its own space, and not once does the game feel repetitive in the way it looks and plays.

With over one million downloads, Blackmoor 2: The Traitor King is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars on Google Play Store.

2. Brawlhalla (Free)

Another 2D platformer, Brawlhalla by Ubisoft is next on our list of best hack and slash games for Android. Originally released in 2017 for PC, Mac, and Playstation 4, the Android and iOS version of Brawlhalla was released very recently, in August of 2020. Since then, however, the game has seen an incredible rise in popularity, with many critics calling the game an alternative to Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. because of the similar game mechanics and also because of how well made Brawlhalla is. The game is in essence a fighting game, which means it’s not a traditional hack and slash style game, but the use of melee weapons and button mashing is abundant in Brawlhalla, hence earning it a spot on our list.

Any good fighting game (one that also doubles as a hack and slash in Brawlhalla’s case) needs to have a good roster of characters that users will love and remember for a long time. Case in point, the immensely popular characters of both Tekken and Super Smash Bros., which have found life outside of the game as well, embedding and entwining themselves into pop culture in such a way that even people who may have never played either game still know about its characters. While only time will tell whether Brawlhalla’s characters are as memorable and beloved as the games mentioned above, Brawlhalla’s character roster, or Legends, as they are called in-game, is certainly impressive. There are as many as 54 playable characters in the game, each with its unique and immersive backstory, move set, combat style, and weapons of choice, not to mention the fact that the character models are all different and have been inspired by and pay homage to various other game characters as well. Although each Legend can wield up to two weapons, matches in Brawlhalla begin with hand-to-hand combat. It is only when the weapons begin falling from the sky that the match becomes interesting and competitive, and allows you to use your Legend of choice to their fullest potential. There is, for instance, the Legend known as Orion, who has been described by the game as “A riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in Ivaldic battle armor. Here he is called Orion.” Orion’s weapons of choice are the Rocket Lance and Spear. On the other hand, there is the Legend known as Mirage, who has been described as “Death whispers from the hot winds of the desert.” Her weapons of choice are the scythe and the spear. Both Legends have different playstyles. Mirage is known for her strength and dexterity, while Orion is known for his speed and defense. In this way, there are tons of different Legends for users to fight with and learn about, all with different weapons, skill sets, and abilities, and each as fun to play with as the next.

Brawlhalla has several different game modes for you to play in. Single-player modes include a single-player tournament as well as a training mode, both of which are great if you want to spruce up your fighting skills. Offline multiplayer mode allows up to four users to play together. Online modes include ranked 1v1s and 2v2s, as well as a free-for-all mode. In short, Brawlhalla has a ton of different game modes for you to try out, and that coupled with the wide variety of Legends, weapons, and skins ensures that you will never tire of this game.

With over five million downloads, Brawlhalla is rated 4.2 out of 5 stars on Google Play Store.

3. The Mighty Quest For Epic Loot (Free)

Another Ubisoft offering, The Mighty Quest For Epic Loot is a very traditional hack and slash game, with very little venturing into unknown or experimental territories. The game developers have chosen to stick to the basics, and fortunately for them and for their users, it has worked out extremely well, since the game is now very popular amongst hack and slash enthusiasts.

The game is divided into ten acts, and each act contains ten castles for you to play through. As can be expected, each castle will pit you against a horde of enemies and monsters whom you need to slay in order to progress. This might seem simplistic, and even more so with the autoplay feature that Ubisoft has provided for users to turn on when they do not want full control over the game and would rather just make the occasional dodge against a projectile or use a skill, but, the simplicity of the game is one of the reasons why it is so popular. Combined with easy-to-learn on-screen controls, The Mighty Quest For Epic Loot is a versatile game that you can play enthusiastically, spending several hours hacking and slashing, or idly, with the auto-play mode on and not too many controls to worry about. To give you a glance into just how easy it is to play this game, users can play this game with one hand if they so choose. Moving your character requires you to simply drag your finger in the direction you want to go, and fighting an enemy requires that you only click on them, your character will do the rest.

The game was originally released in 2015 for PC and also contained a castle-building aspect, but was shut down in late 2016. The mobile port, released in 2019, lacked the castle-building aspect of the original game, most likely due to the physical limitations of the mobile platform. As one may expect, loot plays a very important role in The Mighty Quest For Epic Loot. Earning and scavenging loot is perhaps the most interesting and fun part of the game, since it entails combat and a little bit of strategy, and users must upgrade the loot they have gathered in order to progress further into the game and match up against stronger monsters and enemies. Another important aspect when it comes to combat and which has been briefly mentioned before is the use of Skills. Skills are special attacks that can be used to deal extra damage to your enemy. Users can employ three skills at one time, and there is a cooldown period after each use of a skill. Upgrading these skills is also necessary to progress in the game, but, unlike Loot, you can use Talent to upgrade your Skills in specific ways. Each Talent works specifically with particular skills and changes the nature of the Skill in some way, so it is necessary that the user decide which Talent to use to buff up a Skill and how particular combinations fit with their style of play.

Overall, The Mighty Quest For Epic Loot is a simplistic dungeon crawler, hack-and-slash that accomplishes everything it sets out to do. Not only is the game a treat visually, the gameplay and controls all make for a very enjoyable gaming experience that is sure to entice hack and slash enthusiasts around the world.

With over five million downloads, The Mighty Quest For Epic Loot is rated 4.1 out of 5 stars on Google Play Store.

4. Eternium (Free)

No list of mobile hack and slash games is complete without Making Fun, Inc.’s Eternium, released in 2014 and still one of the best action RPG/hack and slash games available for Android. Although it functions more like an action RPG, as mentioned, Eternium has a lot of hack and slash elements and this dual nature of the game makes it dynamic and very addictive. The game begins with the user choosing between three different classes: Mage, Warrior, and Bounty Hunter. All three classes have different pros and cons, and choosing a class should depend entirely upon one’s playstyle. If you have a more aggressive playstyle, the Warrior class may be the one for you, while if you have a more laid-back style of play, Mage may be the right choice instead. Your class also affects the loot you can gather, your basic attacks, and also your abilities.

While the game draws a lot of comparisons to classic RPGs such as Diablo and Torchlight, Eternium has definitely fleshed out its own lane and deserves to be talked of as more than just another Diablo clone. Not only is Eternium’s gameplay fluid and easy to use, but its story also keeps you engaged throughout the game; there is not a dull moment to be found in all of Eternium. In this way, the game functions as more than just a mindless hack and slash, but also keeps the user invested in the game’s storyline and characters. That being said, the combat in Eternium is still top-tier, and if you couldn’t care less about the storyline the game has to offer, Eternium still has a lot in store for you in terms of action and combat. The enemies and monsters you face are varied, have different skills, come in different shapes and sizes, and can range from very easy to kill to extremely difficult. The game’s weapons arsenal is also large and varied, with different weapons available for different classes. Moving around in-game and using both basic attacks and abilities is very simple and doesn’t require much effort. Killing hordes of enemies does require some skill and tactical understanding of the area in which you are playing, but that will become easier as you progress. Every character is modeled differently and one can see the amount of work and time put into making each character, location, and weapon as unique as possible. The landscape of Eternium is reminiscent of old dungeon crawlers, and the soundtrack goes perfectly with the overall aesthetic of the game.

The story is divided into three acts, and each act takes place on a different planet. The story is vast and complex and the game contains several hours of gameplay for you to enjoy. Another important aspect of Eternium, and one that has been emphasized by the makers of the game themselves, is that Eternium is, and will remain, a free-to-play game that does not encourage Pay-To-Win tendencies. If you are to progress in Eternium you must do it on the basis of your strength and skill alone, which is something the fanbase of the game lauds and appreciates.

With over twenty five million downloads, Eternium is rated 4.8 out of 5 stars on Google Play Store.

5. Dungeon Hunter 5 (Free)

Gameloft’s Dungeon Hunter 5 is a 2015 release that continues the plotline where its predecessor, Dungeon Hunter 4, left off, with the city-state of Valenthia in ruins, the place where the previous games in the series were set. Along with a change in the setting of the game come a lot of changes in the game’s format and gameplay. While the Dungeon Hunter series is free to play, previous iterations of the game have ventured into freemium and pay-to-play territory. With Dungeon Hunter 5, however, Gameloft improves significantly on this front, making the game a lot more fair for its users. You no longer need to or have the ability to spend a bunch of real money to make your way through the game easier than other players; instead, one must now learn how to play the game with skill and earn their way up the ranks in that way. Missions for single player are also quite a bit smaller now, and replaying the missions earn you the same rewards each time, maintaining consistency within the game and allowing players to upgrade their characters as they please.

As with other hack and slash games, loot plays an important part in Dungeon Hunter 5. Loot is upgraded steadily by earning cards which will upgrade your loot in different ways. These cards themselves can also be upgraded if you have the proper tools for it – known as evolution tools – turning them into even stronger cards that will upgrade your loot further. While Dungeon Hunter 5 is an online game, there is a good reason for it. Not only does the game provide you with single-player missions, but you can also play the ‘Stronghold’ mode, which sees players going against one another online and earning loot by defeating opposing players. Playing the single-player mode earns you minion cards which can be placed in your ‘Stronghold’, an area that contains all your loot and equipment. When playing the ‘Stronghold’ mode, the player you match up against will try to slay your minion cards as well as an AI-controlled version of your character, in an attempt to take all your loot, and vice versa. The user with the better strategy and the stronger Stronghold wins the round.

In terms of combat, Dungeon Hunter 5 will not disappoint any hack and slash enthusiast. In fact, Dungeon Hunter 5 is more of a move towards a traditional hack and slash game than its predecessors were, since DH5 scraps the open-world idea, cuts short on the exploration aspect of the game, and instead chooses to make the game a level-based dungeon crawler that gets harder as you move forward. The weapons arsenal for the game has also been expanded significantly, along with a fusion system that lets you fuse an unequipped weapon with one that you are currently using in order to make the latter stronger and more powerful. The gameplay is fluid and the controls are easy, making Dungeon Hunter 5 an excellent hack and slash experience for both casual fans of the genre and hardcore enthusiasts.

With over ten million downloads, Dungeon Hunter 5 is rated 3.8 out of 5 stars on Google Play Store.

6. Exiled Kingdoms (Free)

If you are looking for a game that is ruthless and unforgiving, Exiled Kingdoms might be the right choice. Released by 4 Dimension Games, Exiled Kingdoms is a serious throwback to early hack and slash games and action RPGs. The game does this, however, without ripping off the games it is inspired from, bringing to the fore fresh aspects, while keeping the old-school vibe intact. Exiled Kingdoms’ environment is harsh and unsympathetic to your character’s needs, and this is reflected very well in the way the game looks as well. Dusty and dry, the landscapes in Exiled Kingdoms look like they’ve been taken straight out of a post-apocalyptic movie of some sort. There is not much vegetation, and the entire thing is very bare-bones, giving you the idea that you will need to try very hard to fend for yourself, which would be a very accurate assumption.

Exiled Kingdoms is not an easy game. The story revolves around the main character who receives a letter of inheritance, explaining to them that they must deliver this letter at a particular location in order to receive their inheritance. It is on this journey that things go awry, and your character is forced to fight monsters and go on quests to help people they meet on their way. Exiled Kingdoms is flexible in terms of character design, providing users the ability to choose between a male and female character, and from between three different classes, all with different strengths and weaknesses. The three classes are Warrior, Cleric, and Rogue, and they excel at combat, laying traps, and doing magic respectively. So, if you are someone who likes to head straight into combat, Warrior might be the best option for you, but if you are more into strategy, you should likely go with Cleric. However, the game currently has two versions, a paid and a free version, with the latter including only the Warrior and Rogue classes. The free version of the game also lets you play through only 30 areas, and 29 different quests, with a total of over 30 hours of gameplay, while the paid version includes 146 areas, 97 quests, and over 120 hours of gameplay. Apart from the initial payment in the paid version, there are no other microtransactions to be found in either version of the game. Exiled Kingdoms expect you to grind it out through all of the levels and areas present in the game and become adept at hacking and slashing through enemies without the help of paid items that may make your quest easier.

The game’s combat is enjoyable, albeit a little stiff, but there is a lot of variety in terms of weapons, monsters, and items to collect, which equals out the slightly awkward gameplay. The story is an integral part of Exiled Kingdoms, with interesting dialogue that keeps you hooked to the game; so while it may seem like a barebones project that doesn’t have much to offer, Exiled Kingdoms is a treasure trove of excellent storytelling and great gameplay that any RPG or hack and slash fan will enjoy.

With over one million downloads, Exiled Kingdoms is rated 4.6 out of 5 stars on Google Play Store.

7. Genshin Impact (Free)

Released in September of 2020, miHoYo’s Genshin Impact has quickly climbed the charts and is becoming more popular each day, garnering over $2 billion within the first year of release. The game is set in the fictional world of Teyvat which houses seven nations that are all ruled over by different Gods and are tied to different elements. The story follows a traveler that has been separated from their twin and is now looking for them all over Teyvat. On this quest of theirs, they travel through the various nations of Teyvat, meeting new characters, and going on separate mini-quests with them or for them.

The game functions primarily as an Action Role-Playing Game but has various hack and slash elements integrated into the game mechanics. Users can switch between four different characters at any point in the game, allowing them access to a large variety of combat skills and attacks. Each character in the game can also be enhanced and made stronger in various ways. One can increase the character’s game level, enhance the weapon they’ve equipped or give them better artifacts, all of which will lead to a stronger character. An open-world game, users have the ability to explore the vast world of Genshin Impact; one can run around, swim, climb, and glide around the map, although all of these movements are limited by stamina, whose capacity slowly increases over time.

Combat in the game is clean and fluid, with movements that aren’t jerky or hard to get used to. Characters possess two unique skills, known as elemental skill and elemental burst. The former can be used at any time, but it requires a cool-down period after which it can be used again. The latter can be used only when the user has collected a particular amount of elemental energy, and it leads to an attack that is based on the element which that particular character controls. In total there are seven different elements in the game that users can control, namely, Cryo (Ice), Dendro (Nature), Pyro (Fire), Hydro (Water), Anemo (Air), Electro (Electricity), and Geo (Earth). Users can also play the game in multiplayer mode using co-op, in which up to four players can come together and play the game.

With over ten million downloads, Genshin Impact is rated 4 out of 5 stars on Google Play Store.

8. Dead Cells ($8.99)

The final game on our list, Dead Cells is a 2018 release whose Android port was released in 2020, developed by Motion Twin. Not your usual dungeon-crawling hack and slash, Dead Cells instead takes inspiration from Metroidvania-style games, and in which you must control a strange, shapeless creature that takes control over a dead body in a dungeon and must now fight its way out.

Having been compared to the Souls series for its combat, any potential player of the game should know that Dead Cells is by no means a cakewalk. The game challenges you in many different ways, one of them being the employment of the permadeath system, which means that you lose all your currencies in the game once you die, so you essentially have to begin from scratch if your character kicks the bucket, which it will several times. The game uses “Cells” as its main currency. Cells can be obtained by fighting enemies since they leave behind Cells once they have been killed or defeated, and these Cells can be collected and used to buy various power-ups including health potions, etc. One must be careful to spend their Cells frequently though, since, as mentioned, you lose all of them when you die in the game. Fighting through the dungeons of the games also means you get to collect various weapons, skins, abilities, etc.

Combat in Dead Cells is perhaps the part where the game shines brightest. Fast-paced, full of momentum, with no time to rest, combat in Dead Cells is a hail storm of jumping, running, attacking, dodging, and, inevitably, dying. Although you could play the game with a little more patience and caution, measuring out each move before you press a button, the way Dead Cells is designed, including the game’s environment and architecture, compels you to move at breakneck speed, disregarding the fact that one false move could kill you and send you back to the beginning of the level, robbed of all your hard-earned Cells. With a vast number of enemies, all diverse in the way they move and attack, playing through the various levels of Dead Cells never gets boring. It may be disheartening every time you die, but it also fills you with a renewed passion to jump back into the level and show your enemies who’s boss.