It is frightening that were it not for this network of self-referential ads that a whole bunch of this stuff wouldn't be sustainable or even viable. It is a run for formulaic money making - without due care to the creative medium upon which it sits.
That means one thing - if the game was not viable without the advertising, micro-transaction or lock-progress behind payment mechanics that so many of these use - it is simple - it is not worth playing or entertaining.
I would love to see a version of app store where such games were excluded from the rankings and we could let gems rise to the top, but sadly, this isn't in the interest of the curators of app stores, because they get a cut on every sale.
All comes back to money.
How many games are on the app stores for free, that are masterpieces that we don't know about because they don't advertise, they don't have microtransactions and are just good gaming experiences?
The scarier part about these sorts of "Games" is that these are the games that our "future" developers and game designers will grow up looking back at with nostalgia and reverence in the future, and we lose so much of what makes interactive fiction and gaming so unique and powerful.
I absolutely agree. Ten years ago, there were no ads in any games, and the gameplay was fantastic. Now, you have to watch ridiculous ads every five minutes. Want to progress in the game? Can't get past a level? You have to watch ads to strengthen your character...
I don't play mobile games anymore, and the reasons you describe are the reasons I stopped playing them. I have enough old games to play at this point that it is unlikely that I will get through them all before its time for me die :P I'll be a gamer for life! :)
Gamer for life but not fake ad games 👾🎮