Sky Force Reloaded

Sky Force Reloaded is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up in which the player navigates a fighter jet with a finger across the screen, dodges floods of enemy projectiles, and collects coins for permanent ship upgrades between missions that can be replayed endlessly for high scores and rescuing all survivors. Infinite Dreams built on the earlier free Sky Force and perfected the upgrade system – every completed level, even a failed one, yields gold, so the player gradually grows stronger and returns to the same levels with better gear to collect all the survivors, destroy hidden targets, and meet increasingly demanding conditions for three stars. Unlockable ships have their own special weapons and upgrade tree, so there's still plenty to try and optimize even after finishing the campaign.

It's precisely this fair and honest progression that makes Reloaded one of the best-rated shmups on mobile ever: the game is free-to-play, but ads are unobtrusive and optional, while purchases only speed up progress without being necessary to finish the campaign or unlock stronger ships. Graphics with detailed 3D fighter models, impressive explosions, and varied bosses are clearly top-tier for mobile standards, and restrained electronic music nicely supports the rising pace of later missions and final battles against giant enemy vessels. It's precisely this combination of depth, fairness, and graphical quality that made it one of the most-cited examples of what fair free-to-play on mobile should look like.

Why play it: For fans of classic shmups who want a mobile title with a fair free-to-play model, meaningful long-term progression, and nice graphics even without spending money.