I do not like mobile games, nor do I really play many of them. I've got nothing inherently against the platform; I know from experience that some mobile games play great elsewhere, especially on PC. But if I'm in a game-playing mood, I'm sure to have access to more powerful devices with bigger screens, so I generally just don't play games on my phone. It also doesn't help that my stupid defective eyeballs get all starburst-y and migraine-y if I look at small screens for too long, which is frankly the bigger reason I avoid mobile gaming.
I say all of this not just because I love to complain, but to put into perspective just how good Ex Astris, a new mobile-only RPG, had to be in order to get me on board. And to be clear up front, I am very on board. I'm on board like a skateboarding sailor. It's a new turn-based game from Arknights studio and gacha powerhouse Hypergryph, and in what can only be described as a miracle, it's completely microtransaction-free, billed as the first "premium 3D RPG" from the publisher. (I now hope it's the first of many.) Not only that, it's just $10 on Android and iOS, no strings attached. Hypergryph chiseled a hunk out of its mountain of gacha money and spent it on an honest-to-goodness, no-nonsense RPG, and it absolutely whips.
