The Best Classic PC Games You Can Play on a Smartphone

The 2000s were a defining era in the history of game development. During this time, the foundations of modern video game genres were established, and groundbreaking titles that would later become universally loved were released almost every year. The classic games of that era, including the best slots on Cookie Casino and more versatile titles, remain popular today, not just due to nostalgia, but also because they can be played on virtually any hardware, including mobile devices. Here, we discuss the best PC games optimized for smartphones.

GTA Series

The re-release of the iconic trilogy by Rockstar (GTA III, GTA: Vice City, and GTA: San Andreas) for Android and iOS came out in December 2023 as part of the Definitive Edition series. The developers fixed several old bugs, improved controls, and optimized the graphics to suit the capabilities of modern smartphones, all while avoiding the conspicuous character redesigns seen in the PC and console versions.

The mobile versions of these games remain as close to the original as possible, even retaining the classic “warm” lighting from the first editions. The gameplay in the series is simple and user-friendly, so there’s no need for a long adjustment period. And if you run into difficulties, the quick screen for entering cheat codes is always there to help.

Max Payne

The first part of the trilogy, centered around the adventures of the famous New York cop, was released back in 2001 and quickly captured the hearts of fans worldwide. The mobile version of the game appeared 11 years later. It was a direct port with no design changes or removed content, but with improved graphics (which still look decent today) and controls adapted for mobile devices.

The controls are intuitive: the left side of the screen is for movement, while the right side has buttons for shooting, jumping, and slowing down time. The biggest challenge in the gameplay is the shooting: to hit moving enemies without auto-aim, you’ll need quick reflexes and solid gaming experience.

Titan Quest

Titan Quest is a benchmark hack-and-slash game set in ancient Greece, released in 2006. In it, the player must battle hordes of mythical creatures and save humanity from the onslaught of powerful Titans. The game’s action unfolds not only across the lands of Hellas but also in Egypt, Babylon, China, and even on Mount Olympus, where the final boss battle takes place.Titan Quest is remembered for its deep role-playing system, varied combat, a vast number of builds, and incredible dynamics that could challenge even experienced gamers. To the delight of fans, the game was ported to mobile platforms in 2016, retaining all the strengths of the original.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

In 2003, developers from BioWare created one of the best games in the Star Wars universe, combining a deep and engaging story, a balanced role-playing system, and spectacular battles with a vast arsenal of abilities and skills. The events in Star Wars: KOTOR take place four thousand years before the original film trilogy, showing the familiar universe from a new and unusual perspective. The game’s Android port was released in 2014: the interface remained unchanged, but the character controls became less convenient compared to the PC version. However, for a full-fledged RPG with turn-based combat, this drawback is a minor issue.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted

NFS: Most Wanted is a game familiar to every fan of racing simulators. The original version was released back in 2005, and in 2012, it received a major reboot and ports to consoles and mobile devices. The gameplay remained the same: the player needs to participate in races, evade the police, earn points, and buy more powerful cars. However, to ensure that smartphones of that time could handle the game, the open world implemented in the PC version was replaced with separate tracks, and the graphics were downgraded. Still, the developers kept the most important elements — dynamic chases, drifting, and adrenaline from start to finish.

Bully

This provocative game, released by Rockstar in 2006, tells the story of a fifteen-year-old troublemaker named Jimmy Hopkins, who is sent to a boarding school. The main character can freely roam the open world, follow the storyline campaign, and engage in numerous side activities — from attending school classes to participating in a boxing tournament. Bully made its way to mobile platforms only in 2016, featuring decent graphics, few bugs, and the original content fully preserved.

Syberia

Anyone who has ever played Benoît Sokal’s adventure games will recognize their mysterious, melancholic atmosphere on the edge of fantasy and reality, meditative gameplay, and intricate puzzles. All these qualities are fully present in the famous Syberia duology — a detective story set in a steampunk world where the main character embarks on a quest to find a genius inventor and the sole heir to a mechanical toy factory. The series was ported to iOS and Android in 2014, with some secondary animations removed but with the addition of a gameplay guide.