Children of Morta is a special action RPG where you do not just control one primary character, but an entire family of heroes instead. Think the Incredibles in a different time and you’ve got the picture. Codenames is a beloved word association game now available on your mobile device, letting you put on your thinking cap to decipher clues and solve puzzles.
Trippr is another travel companion app that will hopefully make your travels easier by helping you organize your journey. MindFi is an app that helps train your mind to be more resilient. Last but not least, AInput wants to help you be a better writer when sending messages, hence providing you with options to enrich your vocabulary.
Our editorial team has evaluated each app featured in this roundup, ensuring they are devoid of frustrating microtransactions and disruptive advertisements. If you’re keen on exploring truly free applications and games, be sure to check out our “Free Apps of the Week” article, which we update twice each week!
Children of Morta (Android & iOS)
Don’t want to drop some serious coin for the latest Diablo IV expansion pack, Vessel of Hatred? Good news then, as there is Children of Morta. This action RPG comes with a decent story to boot. I love the old-school pixelized graphics that are buttery smooth. Best of all, I do not have to play with just a single character but have the entire family to deal with.
It really offers plenty of back for the buck, considering the inclusion of a DLC, Ancient Spirits, and the Paws and Claws. I am also looking forward to how an update will arrive in the future that will introduce online co-op gameplay. That should be a hoot, enjoying the title with other friends.
Needless to say, with 7 different characters to switch between, you will have to use your creativity and skill to maximize their respective abilities to help you get out of difficult spots from time to time. All of them have unique personalities that are worth exploring.
- Price: $9.99 / Advertising: None / In-app purchases: None / Account required: Yes
While the controls have been revamped to offer a mobile-friendly experience, I personally prefer playing with a connected physical controller. Nothing beats that when it comes to gaming, as tactile feedback is very important to me. Call me old-school, but I am OK with that.
Codenames (Android & iOS)
Do you love clandestine jobs that require you to think hard and fast? If so, Codenames is the ideal game for you. It is a word association game, where you are presented with one-word clues from your spymaster. From there, it is all up to you to decipher what the message is, for you to contact all your agents in a race against time before the opposing team beats you to it.
This is an asynchronous multiplayer experience, requiring you to outsmart the opposing team to emerge victorious. It is always nice to have an equally skillful enemy for maximum fun because the game will always be hanging on a knife’s edge. The fact that this game has now gone digital provides thousands of new thematic words.
I like how the global matchmaking system works as it provides a healthy sense of competition. Basically, this is a game that rewards the player. In other words, the more you play by completing tasks, you will gain access to various aspects of the game.
- Price: $4.99 / Advertising: None / In-app purchases: None / Account required: Yes
In other words, there is a very high degree of replayability in this game. Virtually infinite, if you will. I also like how the jury system helps keep things on an even keel, assuming a word that does not exist in a dictionary can be voted to be accepted. The best part? Once you’re high enough a level, you can help vote on the jury!
Trippr (Android & iOS)
Love traveling? If so, you might want to get a trip-planning app. Trippr, simple as it sounds, is one such app that will hopefully make your travels more organized. You begin by keying in a location that you want to go to, and from there, you can choose from various categories such as local experiences, food, drinks, and shopping, hidden gems, sports, arts, and culture, the list goes on. Each segment will be further subdivided into various subcategories.
Selecting any of the subcategories will see the app work on recommendations with their respective description. You can choose to bookmark some of these places for future reference in a wishlist or head there directly. I found the app loads information rather slowly, but such optimization issues are most probably present because this is a work in progress.
The user interface is clean and simple, and there is an indication that future versions will incorporate in-app credits that will be used to perform tasks. I would have liked to see an itinerary planner included, but perhaps that will appear only in subsequent iterations.
- Price: Free / Advertising: None / In-app purchases: None / Account required: Yes
Do note that Trippr is still in its very early stages of development and while functional, it might not be as polished as you would expect from a paid app. Still, it is a very commendable effort, which is why I listed it here and the best of all is, Trippr is free! What else can you ask for? New features will be added on a weekly basis, so do check back on the app often and update it.
MindFi: Mind Fitness for All (Android & iOS)
Ah, another day, another wellness app. It goes without saying that many people are now under massive mental stress and duress due to the nature of their lifestyle and in large part, work. MindFi is one such wellness app that will require you to reply to all the relevant questions so the app will tailor its features and functions for you.
You can then take it day by day, updating the app with just how you are feeling today. From breathing exercises to focus timers, this app allows you to enjoy all the benefits. You can also assess your current state of mind by answering various questions. Of course, all of these will amount to nothing if you are not honest with the replies.
I also like the community aspect of this app, letting me get in touch with others who might be in the same headspace and emotional spectrum that I am at the moment. Life is, after all, a journey that should never be traveled alone and it is nice to see an app help me move along with other like-minded folk.
- Price: Free / Advertising: None / In-app purchases: Yes ($5.99 — $174.99) / Account required: Yes
The idea of charting my progress by growing a tree is also appealing since each session will add more growth as opposed to just charts or ticked boxes. This connection, albeit digital in nature, is always a lovely visual picture of my progress and personal growth.
AInput (Android)
Have you ever gotten yourself into a situation where the cat got your tongue? Well, AInput is here to help. Basically, whenever you want to reply to a message, craft it with this app under several guises, including Flirty, Funny, GenZ, Excited, Lyrical, and more. It really helps break down barriers when communicating with a Gen Z person on the other end.
Right now, this app can be enabled on several instant messaging apps, ranging from WhatsApp to WhatsApp Business, Instagram, Bumble, and Tinder. It is also experimental in Messenger.
- Price: Free / Advertising: Yes / In-app purchases: Yes / Account required: No
Note that there are tokens to use AInput, which makes perfect sense. After all, how else are the developers going to put food on the table? Each AI reply and rewrite makes use of a token system to manage requests. Apart from that, each tone selection for AI replies or rewrites also costs another token, so spend your tokens wisely. The free aspects of this app are AI Chat and Web Search.
For those who are worried about your privacy, fret not. AInput claims that messages and generated responses are never stored on its server, and only those messages visible on the screen will be used to generate creative responses on the fly.
That’s all, folks! We hope you will have a wonderful weekend before we share the next Top 5 Apps of the Week edition.