The Best Games for the Galaxy Note 9
If you have a Galaxy Note 9 and want to put its water-cooled Snapdragon 845 processor and gorgeous 6.4-inch, 2960 x 4000 display to the test, these are the games to try out. Whether graphically or computationally intensive, the apps on this list all push the ceiling of what's achievable for a mobile game.All game genres are represented here, from shooters and platformers to fighting and racing games. So, no matter what your mobile gaming preference, there's a title here that'll enable you to have a blast on your Note 9 while also seeing just what Samsung's latest and greatest is capable of.
Credit: Telltale
Asphalt 9: Legends
As (arguably) the prettiest mobile game on the market, Asphalt 9: Legends just might be the definitive way to test the graphical mettle of your Galaxy Note 9. Featuring epic car destruction, insane courses and ludicrous speeds, this game is more than just eye candy, though — it's a fun time-killer in its own right. And it even has a special "touch-drive" control scheme, so young players who aren't equipped for the responsibilities of driving can take the wheel without difficulty.
Credit: Gameloft
Sonic Forces: Speed Battle
As an online-only multiplayer racing title with some very pretty graphics, Sonic Forces: Speed Battle demands a decent amount of horsepower just to run — unless, of course, you've got an ultra-powerful Note 9 lying around. With the Note 9, you can effortlessly enjoy the crispest visuals at an equally desirable frame rate, meaning you can see Sonic the Hedgehog, Jet the Hawk, Chaos (the water monster) and Big the Cat race each other to the finish lines of Sky Sanctuary and Green Hill in unprecedented visual fidelity.
Credit: Sega
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
If you like your coffee hot and open-world games filled with planes, trains and gangs, no mobile experience will give it to you like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Featuring the usual crime-fueled, high-octane shenanigans of Grand Theft Auto, San Andreas brings the lawless experience to Android with no pulled punches. However, if you want to experience the game as closely to its console counterpart as the original developers intended, the Note 9's large screen and horsepower will get you one step closer than most other mobile devices.
Credit: Rockstar
Fortnite
Considering this is a port of Fortnite's console and PC release, expect it to tear lesser phones apart. If you have a Galaxy Note 9, though, odds are you'll be able to maintain decent frame rates while enjoying 100-person matches on a large map with all graphical settings at the max. Plus, if you're playing it on a Note 9, you'll get this super-sick, hyper-deluxe cosmic Galaxy skin to show off exactly what special breed of gamer you are.
Credit: Epic Games
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is a demanding game, and given its highly competitive nature, every extra frame per second your phone's hardware can squeeze out will help give you the edge in combat. You'll need extra horsepower to keep this app running at a serviceable pace, especially if you want all the additional graphical bells and whistles turned on when facing off against 99 opponents across a massive map in a battle to the death.
Credit: Tencent Games
Minecraft
Minecraft's not much of a looker, but it's not the graphics that make this virtual Lego pit technologically demanding. It's the game's emphasis on infinite worlds limited only by your imagination… as well as your phone's hardware. In the case of the Galaxy Note 9, expect the phone to improve just about every facet of the game, keeping your frame rate silky smooth as you enjoy incredible draw distances across vast, CPU-taxing maps while cross-playing with friends on Xbox.
Credit: Mojang
The Wolf Among Us
Mild stuttering and frame drops are to be expected no matter what platform you play a Telltale game on, but without strong hardware those little tech hiccups can turn into deal-breakers. Thanks to the Note 9, however, you can enjoy Telltale's adventures largely as the developer intended. When picking a Telltale game for your Note 9, I recommend The Wolf Among Us, as it remains the publisher's most original, thematically bold game to date. Shoving characters like The Big Bad Wolf, Snow White and The Little Mermaid into a Christopher Nolan-esque universe, TWAU is a just-dark-enough, intriguing take on everyone's favorite childhood fables.
Credit: Telltale
Xcom: Enemy Unknown
Xcom: Enemy Unknown is an isometric turn-based strategy game involving guns, aliens, random number generators and a lot of cursing — though that last item isn't in the game itself; it's what you bring to the table every time the RNG screws you over and makes you miss an easy, point-blank shotgun kill. Digressions aside, Xcom: EU is a fun, addictive sampling of tactical, Firaxis-developed strategy gaming on the go, and the Galaxy Note 9's massive screen helps make controlling the board-game-like experience that much easier.
Credit: 2K Games
Rayman Adventures
If you liked the excellent Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends, prepare to get more of the same with Rayman Adventures, which takes the aforementioned two games' art style and core platforming gameplay and warps it into an auto-runner à la Super Mario Run. You'll need the Galaxy Note 9's impressive display size and brightness to eke out every bit of enjoyment from Rayman Adventures' richly colored, vibrant art style, which is loaded with details lesser phones won't be able to show.
Credit: Ubisoft
Tekken
If you enjoy smartphone fighting games, Tekken's more of the same. Controls are relegated to a few simple taps that handle all the punching and blocking action, which makes it great for mindless fun whether you're on the toilet or the train. But what makes the game noteworthy (I know you see what I did there) are its graphics, which feature surprisingly detailed textures and effects that mimic Tekken's console installments. The Note 9 enables players to see the full extent of Tekken's technical prowess.
Credit: Bandai Namco
Warhammer 40K Freeblade
For fans of the Warhammer 40K universe, this game's a no-brainer, if only because it's the sole app that allows you to control an Imperial Knight and weigh down on enemies of the empire with third-person shooting and slashing. Although the game itself isn't all that engaging or exhilarating, it's a fun romp for fans of the series that benefits immensely from the Note 9's graphical capabilities. Freeblade gets within range of the graphics of the last great third-person Warhammer 40K experience, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine (released on the Xbox 360 in 2011).
Credit: Pixel Toys
Dead Trigger 2
Though there's no shortage of zombie-themed games for mobile devices, graphically impressive first-person shooters featuring zombies are quite hard to come by. Dead Trigger 2 fills this niche, providing gamers with blades, rifles, grenade launchers and more ways to take down your undead foes than ever before. All of the first-person shooting and slashing action looks especially sharp on the Note 9's high-resolution, ultra-big screen, meaning it's as close as you can get to Call of Duty: Black Ops' zombie mode on mobile.
Credit: MADFINGER Games
Modern Combat 5: Blackout
Modern Combat 5, as its name implies, isn't brimming with creativity or revolutionary gameplay. What it brings to the table is serviceable first-person-shooter action and stellar graphics. If you want to be the talk of the subway car as everyone looks over your shoulder to see "that game with the really shiny graphics," MC5 is the app to download. The game features enough varied environments that it should be fun enough to play through once, if only to see what the game's exotic visuals look like on the Note 9.
Credit: Gameloft