If you enjoyed Counter:Side with its strategic gameplay and wonderful waifus and mechas, here are some others mobile games that have some similarities to Counter:Side.
Azur Lane
This game is a bullet hell style game with tons of fan service, and I love it. But don’t get me wrong, it’s not just about the scantily clad anime girls. There’s a lot more to this game than that.
So, what is Azur Lane? It’s not just a dating simulator or an AFK gacha game. It’s a bullet hell game with a side of turn-based Battleship-esque mechanics. The game is based on the naval battles of World War II, and the real-life ships are the anime girls in the game. You gotta build a fleet, and micromanage the right equipment for the right ships. It’s all about strategic thinking.
Once you’ve got your fleet together, you gotta go into the game world and set foot in enemy territory. Every chapter features multiple maps, and you gotta destroy the enemy fleets until the boss shows up. Defeating the boss and the fleets earns you up to 3 stars to advance to the next map. The more you advance, the more challenging the game becomes. Your enemies spawn more, bosses become more unpredictable, and the later chapters will require you to think properly on the right equipment.
Another great thing about this game is the music. It’s so good that it can rival full-priced AAA games. The sound effects are also top-notch, and the voice acting is done by some big names in the industry like Yui Ishikawa, Ayane Sakura, Sora Amamiya, and Rie Kugumiya.
So, if you’re into bullet hell games, anime girls, and strategic thinking, Azur Lane is the game for you. However, I think some of you might not like the chibi style compared to Counter:Side.
Epic Seven
While it has some mecha elements like Counter:Side, it is more of a fantasy setting. So, let’s start with the graphics. This game is 2D all the way, with some sweet anime cutscenes and smooth transitions between gameplay and cutscenes. The backgrounds are static 2D but still look lit af. The best part? The inn. Damn, they put so much detail into that place. You’ll be staring at all the little animations, like characters hanging out or the bartender cleaning a glass, for a while.
The characters in this game are straight fire. They got everything from elves to nuns to demons to school students to knights to idols and more. Plus, they have these “Moonlight” versions of characters that are basically a light and dark version, and they look even more awesome. And, if you’re really into it, there’s a “Specialty Change” feature where certain characters can change in appearance and get stronger after you complete certain tasks.
The story and cutscenes in Epic Seven are top notch. It’s all dialogue based, so you can pause or skip any part of it. Plus, you can always replay it in the journal. The animation in these cutscenes is on par with good anime movies. The transitions between character movement and animation are especially smooth, especially when they’re using their skills.
Controls-wise, this game is pretty basic. It’s a side-scroller, so you’re just moving your character left and right and selecting a direction in labyrinth mode. The only part where you need to pay attention is when you’re using the “Burn” on the soul bar before using a skill. Some heroes need manual gameplay, especially in PVP.
The sound and music in Epic Seven are straight bangers. The music is on point and you won’t regret leaving it on while you play. Voice acting is in different languages for all characters and they got voice lines for when they’re using skills and grunts for when they’re getting hit. The sound effects are also fire, like a sword hit sounding like a sword slash.
Finally, the game length. This game is a time sink, no doubt about it. But, the more time you put into it, the more it rewards you. It’s an objective game, so you need certain characters or gear to progress. You can’t just do the daily and call it a day, or you’ll fall behind. And falling behind is not good, ’cause you’ll miss out on a lot of weekly rewards in PVP. Honestly, sometimes I get so into this game that I don’t even realize how much time has passed. All in all, Epic Seven is a game that will keep you hooked for hours.
KOF: All Star
This game is more of a beat ’em up than a fighting game. It’s all about taking down hordes of enemies before you get to the real boss battles. But don’t get it twisted, there’s some PvP action in there too.
First things first, the graphics in this game are on point. It’s a feast for the eyes with fluid animations, detailed characters, and bright colors. It’s even better when you’re in the middle of a fight and everything is moving. Trust me, it’s a pleasure to watch and play.
Now, onto the gameplay. At first, you only got a few buttons to learn, but as you progress, you’ll be doing some serious button mashing with a little bit of strategy thrown in. And I gotta say, it’s a good thing in a free game where you can upgrade and level up your characters. The fights are fast-paced and there’s a good variety of characters to choose from.
But the real meat of the game is the content. There’s a ton of unique fighters to unlock, upgrade, equip, and combine in different ways. And trust me, it’s worth it because each fighter has their own powers that really shine when you put them in the right team. The downside is that it takes a lot of time or money to unlock and upgrade all the characters you want. But that’s just how these types of games roll.
There’s a ton of game modes, events, rewards, progress bars, and a long linear story. And while the story is a bit bland and cryptic, I’m sure some people will enjoy it. But the real letdown in this game is the PvP and Cooperative play. It’s all a bit laggy and the connection issues are real. But, there’s a fair real-time PvP mode where all characters are upgraded to the max.
Artery Gear: Fusion
In this game, you’re thrown into a world where the last of humanity is fighting for survival against these beings called Puppet Masters. These Puppet Masters have taken over the planet and turned people into ragdolls to do their bidding.
To fight back, humans have formed armies of cybernetically enhanced female warriors called Artery Gears, or AGs for short. But even in this dire situation, dirty politics still reigns supreme and you’ll uncover all sorts of complicated backstories from different factions with their own agendas. The AGs themselves also have their own complex pasts, which remind me of the character histories from Punishing Gray Raven.
The visuals in this game are absolutely stunning. The character designs are gorgeous and the way the mech parts are integrated into the waifus is just beautiful. The UI is also really sleek and polished, with some dope Live 2D effects for the AGs that you can switch around in your main lobby. You can even change the background music to suit your tastes.
When it comes to gameplay, the AGs are presented in adorable chibi form, with sick skill animations that you can toggle on or off in the Settings. And if you’re in a hurry, you can even set the battles to run on Auto and turn on A.I. Combat to use up all your energy and log off. What’s dope about this feature is that you can actually set your preferences for the auto battles in terms of how much energy you want to use, whether or not you want to stop when someone hits their max level, and even how you want to continue upon defeat.
In the actual battles themselves, you can also set the A.I. to follow a certain strategy, which is a Quality-Of-Life feature reminiscent of the Gambit system in Final Fantasy XII. You can set each character’s game plan on what they want to prioritize, whether you want them on crowd control or not, plus an option for them to use their skills as soon as they’re available. You can even set skills to only be used during a boss round. All these options really make for compelling gameplay even when you’re idling and not paying attention.
Typical of the genre, there are also different raid dungeons where you can farm specific materials, along with a special Mothership feature where you can set your AGs to lounge around during their off-time. You can spruce up the place with decor from the shop, increase their comfort levels, and even bond with them by giving them gifts for special perks. Overall, I highly recommend checking out Artery Gear: Fusion if you’re into post-apocalyptic JRPGs with kickass waifus and cool gameplay features.
Path To Nowhere
Let’s be real, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve seen a gacha game come this close to copying another, but still having its own unique spin on the formula. If you’re a huge fan of Arknights and want more of the same, or you liked Arknights but couldn’t get into the chibi and furry designs, then you should already be playing this game, no question.
Gameplay wise, it differs in the following ways; Characters cannot be rotated and there is no air/ground attacks and you can move your characters around after deployment. Almost all units can block an enemy. Moving things into strategic areas is key in this game. In terms of story, it is dark and fantastic, which doesn’t do its silly outsourced ads justice that you see online.
Highly recommended for the high quality waifus and story voiceovers.
Eversoul
The art design in this game is on point. They went for a more anime-style look, both in 2D and 3D, and it’s honestly gorgeous. The animations are smooth and don’t feel janky at all. Plus, seeing your favorite character hanging out in the lobby is always a nice touch.
The story in Eversoul is like a visual novel, but instead of 2D sprites, they use the 3D models and even throw in some cinematic cutscenes. The only downside is that there’s no skip button for the cutscenes, so that’s a bummer.
Now, let’s talk gacha. You know the deal, it’s all about luck. The standard for the highest rarity is around 4%, which isn’t too bad. But what I was really impressed with is that they offer a reduced price for multi-pulls. One pull costs 240 Everstones, but if you do a 10-pull, it only costs 2100 Everstones, which is a steal.
Overall, Eversoul is a solid side game if you’re into the auto-battling and idle resource gathering. But, if you’re thinking about making it your main game, I’d advise against it unless you’re willing to spend some cash. The number of dupes you need to max out your characters is crazy. It’s a shame because I really enjoyed the game, but the gap between whales and casuals is going to be huge once the gacha currencies become rare.
Also check out our Eversoul tier list here.
There you have it folks. These are the games that I recommend that are like Counter:Side. Give some of them a go will ya?
