Google Play’s best Android apps and games for India: check out the full list

Google Play Best of 2020 Winners for India have been announced. While the challenges surrounding the pandemic forced Google to cancel its annual developer conference and even its YouTube Rewind video that celebrates creators, the Google Play awards for the best apps and games were announced as usual.

Also Read: Indian government bans 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, ShareIt and Clash of Kings

The search giant has announced the annual list of best apps and games for 2020. Considering Google operates in multiple countries and has a massive developer network, the lists are localised. This is one of the best ways to discover apps that are popular in your country.

You can check the winners now by tapping on the “Best of 2020” banner in your Google Play Store app, which will reveal the winners for best apps and games across categories. The list shows the top apps and games in India. Check out whether your favourite app or game made the list.

Best Android App of 2020

This is the ultimate prize for any app developer. In 2020, the app winning the best award is one that combines “utility with ingenuity and delight”. The best Android app of 2020 in India is Sleep stories for calm sleep – Meditate with Wysa. It takes the crown for its beautiful design and thoughtful execution.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise since people found difficulty sleeping amidst the pandemic and its economic impact. Sleep by Wysa helps such people with ways to improve sleep, calm the mind using cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-i). It offers personal coaching in one-on-one sessions with a sleep therapist.

Best Everyday Essentials apps

During the year, apps helped us stay connected, get work done and manage our time. With its everyday essentials category, Google is trying to highlight those apps. Here are the winners:

1. Koo: Connect with Indians in Indian Languages – Koo is a made for India micro-blogging platform available in five Indian languages. It helps users find other similar users and share their opinions or indulge in discussions.
2. Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and More – This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Microsoft tools have helped people get work done from home during this pandemic. Whether it is editing a document or crunching numbers or making PowerPoint on the go.
3. The Pattern – An astrology app that truly excels in terms of design is The Pattern. The app does not really talk about astrology but instead about patterns. It connects your tendencies and helps explore what stars have to stay.
4. Zelish – Meal Planning, Grocery Shopping & Recipes: This an app that seems to help people get through lockdown. From meal planning to grocery shopping to recipes, it covers all the bases.
5. ZOOM Cloud Meetings – ZOOM has literally transformed an industry that was earlier known as Skype. It has become the go to platform for celebrity interviews, boardroom meetings and even for remote learning. It is thus crowned as an everyday essential.

Best Personal Growth apps

This category highlights apps that helped people meet 2020’s challenges with personal feats. From growing in one’s career to building resilience, these apps helped with personal growth. Here are the winners:

1. apna – Job Search App | Job Groups | Rozgaar: In the year when the economy has entered technical recession, apna has helped people find relevant jobs and grow in their career.
2. Bolkar App: Indian Audio Question Answer | GK App – This is a self explanatory app that answers your general knowledge questions with voice. It includes categories such as history, sports, agriculture and more and aimed at aspirants of government exams.
3. Mindhouse – Modern Meditation: Mindhouse offers guided meditation and yoga sessions led by experts.
4. MyStore – Create your Online Dukaan in 15 seconds: This is an app that helps small business owners go online in 15 seconds. MyStore by Khatabook offers inventory management, order tracking and reporting.
5. Writco – Publish & Write Stories, Poems, Quotes: This app is for those who aspire to be a writer.

Best Hidden Gems apps

This category celebrates the apps which are new to the scene and immediately gained traction. Here is the list:

1. Chef Buddy: Smart App for Chefs & Food Businesses – This app is for home chefs and food businesses looking to grow their venture.
2. Finshots – Financial News Made simple: This apps tackles one story a day in the world of business and finance with narration and easy to follow articles.
3. Flyx – Vote for Best Movies & Shows Filmfare Awards: Flyx will help you decide what movies or TV shows to watch next with curated reviews and trailer picks.
4. goDutch – Split bills & group expenses: This app is for those groups looking to manage their group expenses. The most unique feature is their instant group payment that auto deducts every member’s share.
5. Sleep stories with calm sleep – Meditate with Wysa: The best Android app of 2020 makes its appearance once again as a hidden gem.

Best apps for fun

This category highlights apps that helped users maintain their creative edge throughout this year. Here are the winners:

1. Free Audio Stories, Books, Podcasts – Pratilipi FM: While podcast consumption declined during the lockdown, they are now back to their pre-pandemic levels. Pratilipi FM offers audiobooks, stories and podcasts for free.
2. Moj – Made in India | Short Video App: Filling the gap left by TikTok ban is Moj, which lets users browse for content or become creators themselves.
3. MX TakaTak – Made in India Short Video App: Another short form video app in this list is MX TakaTak from MX Media. The idea remains the same.
4. REFACE: Face swap videos and memes with your phone – This app from Neocortext lets you swap your face for fun and create videos or memes.
5. VITA – Video Maker for Indian Creators: This is a video editor app for those looking to edit videos on their mobile devices.

Best apps for good

This category highlights apps that address one of the most critical issues in society: mental health. The winner is InnerHour Self-Care Therapy – Anxiety & Depression, a mental wellness app with a large number of self care courses. It also offers tools that are free and lets users control stress, overcome depression or manage anxiety.

Best game of 2020

The winner of best game of 2020 is Legends of Runeterra. Set in the world of League of Legends, the Legends of Runeterra is a strategy card game where your success is determined by your skill, creativity and cleverness.

Best competitive games

This list looks at some of the most competitive games in 2020. Here is the list:

1. Bullet Echo – This top-down shooter game features small, skirmish-friendly maps with narrow corridors and restricted vision.
2. KartRider Rush+ – If you are a motorsport fan then you would know that it all starts with karting. With KartRider Rush+, you can experience the thrill by getting into mini kart battles.
3. Legends of Runeterra – The best game of 2020 is also one of the most competitive games out there.
4. Rumble Hockey – This game lets you assemble a wild hockey team and battle in three-minute tactical duels. Each animal gets a different ability.
5. Top War: Battle Game – In this game, you can build a base, merge units and engage in strategic battles.

Best indie games

Indie games have been gaining accolades on console and PC for sometime. This year, they are leaving a big mark on mobile platforms as well.

1. Cookies Must Die – As the name implies, you must smash through cookies and deadly pastries while also slingshotting off surfaces as a super-secret agent Jack.
2. Maze Machina – This strategy game by Arnold Rauers is all about escaping foe-filled mazes in this tile-swiping puzzler.
3. Motorsport Manager Racing – Download this app to compete with best managers in multiplayer races and build your team designing car parts and hiring the best drivers.
4. Reventure – This is a funny homage to the classic adventure game and one you would not want to miss.
5. Sky: Children of the Light – This popular iOS game finally made its way to Android and is getting the much deserved accolade.

Best casual games

Here is a list of games that put fun in the midst of this pandemic.

1. Asian Cooking Star: New Restaurant & Cooking Games – In this game, you can travel the Asian continent and serve delicacies to delight your customers.
2. EverMerge – In this game, you match and merge your way through fairy tale worlds by combining tiles to collect colourful characters.
3. Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells – Do you think you know everything about Harry Potter. Then test your skills with this game
4. SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off – As a spongebob, you get to flip burgers, grill steaks and mix shakes in this game. To help Mr. Krabs expand his restaurant empire, download the game from here.
5. Tuscany Villa – This is a Mediterranean match-3 renovation game where you turn your late grandmother’s Tuscan home into a hotel.

Best innovative games

Google thinks these are the most innovative games of this year.

1. Fancade – This game offers an endless array of games sparking ideas and helping you with creativity. Download from here.
2. Genshin Impact – This open world RPG game flips the action and delivers an all new user experience.
3. Minimal Dungeon RPG: Navigate through boss battles and gather all the loot in this game.
4. Ord. – In this game, you navigate through darkly funny tales in minimal text-based adventures.
5. Sandship: Crafting Factory – In this game, you are quested with the task to return an abandoned factory back to its former glory.

Users’ choice winners for games and apps are World Cricket Championship 3 – WCC3 and Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint & More.

Google’s list of best apps and games for 2020 shows that Indian consumers chose utility, tools, creativity and fun as the key elements for their favorite apps and games. Let us know your favourite apps and games during this year in comments.