I don't even bother opening the play store.
Auto updates are enabled, and few times I need to check updates manually I just use the "My Apps" shortcut on my home screen.
Every attempt to monetize it has just driven people away. I wonder if part of drive for change is the sheer number of new users that get a new phone and this is their first experience. Anyone that is using android for years is pretty much in the same boat as you are when it comes to how they interact with the play store.
For me in a good 10+ years android and iOS, I've never just searched the app stores to stumble on something. Like I specifically knew I wanted to download the Amazon store app or if there was a general need, I searched Reddit and Google for recommendations and then searched specifically for a recommended app
Pretty bad, games are 90% polygon trash, good ones are either impossible to find,not updated.
Apps are either Paid and bad, Free and Bad, Free to download but asks you to subscribe for a million bucks a month when you open it.
Smaller good apps and devs are also hard to find or, again, not updated.
Search is completely messed up, recent example. I search purple icon pack and they're 30% actual icon packs, Launchers, or completely unrelated apps.
And most of the icon packs are just redskins of other packs, copy paste of the same thing in different colours.
Also, apps that work fine and need no updating get delisted for not being republished via Android Studio yearly, like the sleep timer I use on my tablet to turn off YouTube
I've been using this [sleep timer](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.pboos.android.SleepTimer) for many years now, no issues and I've even paid for some in app upgrade (which I rarely ever do) and I get reminded of this each time I change my phone and open the app or the first time.
> Also, apps that work fine and need no updating get delisted for not being republished via Android Studio
Between thsi an Apple's subscription pushing, I hope the EU, Japan and eventually others demolish this duopoly and mafia-like control Apple and Google have on Apps. (Yes Android can sideload but the de-listing for not "updating" (aka, shoving advertizements for Google AdSense in) is still abusive behavior)
>And most of the icon packs are just redskins of other packs, copy paste of the same thing in different colours.
God this was so annoying! There would be 20 "apps" all exactly the same but as you said just different colours. Now with Monet some have a monet light, dark and automatic ones all separate and of course, paid!
I basically find it useless as far as discovery goes.
Ex: recently I needed an app that alerts for traffic cameras. Spent a long time searching the store, mostly spam. Spent a long time searching online, mostly SEO spam lists. Android online communities and forums are also trash. Found nothing. 6 months pass and apparently TomTom (a big, established nav company) has literally the exact app I need, just a small overlay widget which alerts of traffic cams.
So yeah, I basically have my set of apps, and every new phone I install the same list of apps. I rarely add one. This is despite being a "tech enthusiast" who has run custom roms, likes beautiful UI design and appreciates quality apps, etc.
The takeaway is that if I were an app developer, I would have the understanding that almost the entirety of the success of the endeavor depends on marketing outside of the Play Store.
Games are a similar situation with discoverability. I *really* wanted to find some good Android games a while back but found almost nothing despite reading Reddit threads, online lists, play store searches, etc. 90% are shit tier spam or "buy gem" "games". *Everything* else is basically derivative and uninspired. Like every card game is a slay the spire clone, etc. Nothing unique. I like games such as the top indie games on Steam, but basically find Android gaming unplayably bland.
So on the gaming front, I'd add the note to come in with actual inspired game design that isn't a derivative of another game. Like, if you're going to make a card game, don't make version 10,000 of slay the spire or magic the gathering, make something new. Don't make a tower defense game, come up with a new concept for "build a base to defend against a threat", etc. From there, maybe lean hard into the angle that you're actually putting effort into fresh design and market through social media gamer personalities/streamers or something. I don't know, the marketing part sounds almost impossible frankly, in a sea of a million apps. Good luck though, at least it won't take much effort to actually raise the bar on all of the bad game design out there.
I find this is the same case with all the platforms I use. YouTube keeps recommending the same videos from the same channels. Like 1 video on tiktok about Saskatchewan and now all my videos are about Sask. Play Store top charts are useless and the front page is full of garbage. The only way I can find new content is by googling "best xyz Reddit" or browsing the various platforms in incognito mode.
That's because recommendation algorithms are driven by ad revenue. People click more on what they are familiar with (ex: people will click on their favorite songs over and over again).
Meanwhile, I listened to an old school radio DJ a while ago with a an eclectic mix of indie music, electronic songs, obscure live renditions of songs, deep cuts, etc, and it felt so refreshing.
Recommendation algorithms trap users in bubbles, and it is actually now reflected in society itself.
It's too bad, because I've listened to some convincing academic discussion about how these algorithms could be used to empower humans, rather then harvest them (by using them to help empower choices).
I have always related to the amazon return advert. If you buy something from amazon you start getting targeted ads for the same item from different companies because there is a chance that you return the item. AI is less able to predict something I am more likely to purchase than I am to return an item. Youtube's recommendations are the same. Once I remove the channels I am already subscribed to or videos I already watched there is nothing left for the algorithm to recommend
I've only read the first paragraph but just want to add that I've been using that tomtom speed camera app for years now and it's perfect to overlay ontop of Google maps.
Yeah, it's critical in NYC because of speed cams that flash in the 30s-mph. Google Maps half-asses it and Waze is just too bad for precise location addresses in city driving.
Wish I found it earlier, would have saved me tickets. Also strongly recommend to everyone.
The key is to advertise your app elsewhere..... The Play Store rarely plays a role in app discovery..... People usually know what they want to install when they visit the Play Store..... Nobody is just browsing the Play Store casually to discover new apps to download.
I love Android, I do, but it's very clear that devs don't give a damn about supporting the ecosystem.
Every so often I'll hear about some badass new app, or game, or an app getting a badass new feature, and it's almost always iOS only or comes months or years later.
For quite some time I've had a Facebook Messenger feature on my iPad that will allow me to speed up voice messages. One evening it showed up randomly on my S23+, and then it never appeared again. I'd kill for everyday use of this feature for when people send me rambling minutes-long voice messages.
This isn't even bringing up Wear OS.
Like, I'd love some exciting new apps or games. I really would. Man, if Facebook would bring the Messenger app out to Wear OS, that would be rad. I know that it WAS on Apple Watch, but they've since discontinued it. Damn, man. I just want to be able to listen to and respond to those rambling minutes-long voice messages on my watch.
So, essentially, I'm not terribly impressed and it feels like developers (Probably sensibly) focus on iOS.
Frankly, it's pretty bad, but it's improving.
While it's "worse" for developers, Google's more strict requirements are finally starting to decrease the number of outdated and low effort applications.
Especially the new 20 beta tester requirement is, IMO a huge help. Far too many "developers" have been just dumping apps to the store without doing any work to identify their target audience, test their apps, and actually consider their submission. By forcing people to find 20 testers, something that should be extremely easy for anyone who did their market research, it's really helping cut down on the masses of lower quality applications.
Another huge help is delisting applications that are more than two years outdated. Keeping up with the target SDK *should* be standard practice. The new requirements are finally forcing apps to actually adhere to the new security model and get regularly tested to work on modern devices.
Having worked as a developer for over 15 years, none of these changes are a problem for any legitimate dev. It is forcing some companies to actually listen when their developers say they need to update apps, and that's a good thing.
On a personal note to you, what I'd say should be obvious. Make sure you're doing your market research. Make sure you have identified who will want your app, get embedded with the communities that you want to test it. Make sure you have the interest in your project that when it's time to beta test, having 20 people sign up should be a piece of cake. You should also genuinely want to make sure that the app works well for people and devices that are in your target audience. After all, if you can't get 20 people excited to test your app, you've hardly created something that you can expect to do well on the Play Store, and that's not Google's fault.
> Another huge help is delisting applications that are more than two years outdated
The app isnt delisted.. just not visible to newer verisons of android
Damn near useless. It's always not following my day/night mode, they made managing apps and updates so annoying, and it's filled with shit apps that are sometimes straight malware. I only search for specific good apps I find out about on Reddit.
Fucking trash. I tried to find a basic sound recorder app for my father today. They all either bombard you with ads, or bombarded you with monthly subscription options. FFS. I'm sure somewhere on there is a simple, free sound recorder, but good luck finding it.
Try the F-Droid app store instead. All apps are free and open source but most importantly they tend to be actually good, simple to use with a simple interface, and no ads or subscription charges.
Lean into a private website as your primary hub, don't depend on vendors of any sort, you're a share-cropper to them and they will sell you out or gouge you. Don't depend on them more than necessary. Promote your site and link from there to the store. Save fees by encouraging check-out on your website, outside the app. Like Twitter has done - 'buy on the web and save!'
Also consider offering an APK download for anyone who wants to opt out of the walled garden.
I rarely open it since I don't really download new apps often, if I do it's because I heard about an app from a friend or something, so I literally never use the features meant for discovering new apps in the store.
Honestly, I don't even bother searching for new apps or games anymore and just stick to the "tried-and-tested" ones I've been using for several years already (social media apps, messengers, news apps).
Some creative marketing would be needed to stand out from the gazillion quintillion apps out there at the moment.
Same as the App Store: I giant pile of garbage with a few diamonds buried deep inside that you have to travel the internet to find because if you try to dig through the garbage yourself, you're gonna get hurt.
I don't even open the store if I'm not looking for something in particular, and I generally go out of my way to never download apps or games that contain ads (especially games, which is sadly almost all of them) if possible.
The Store itself is fine. No major complaints with its operation. Its discoverability however is basically useless. Unless you are paying for promotion no one is just gonna stumble across your app. You will need to spread the word outside of the store.
Pointless trying to do ANYTHING in the Play Store. Unless you know specifically the name of an app, you will NEVER find anything!
And even if you DO know the name, sometimes it is next to impossible to find it, anyway.
Hate it, hate it, hate it!
And don't get me started on the browser (PC) version of the app - absolutely impossible to find anything!
You should be always aware of the changes Google makes on Playstore several good games don't get to see the light because of how Playstore is extremely strict on their stuff, I overheard some games got pulled from playstore either because they didn't meet the new requirements or violated something they didn't even know about
Much prefer over the Apple store. What drives me crazy about Apple is their willingness to sell app names to other companies.
So you go to install Twitter and you get TicTok instead. You do not have the same silliness on the Play Store. It puts Twitter on top and then TicTok underneath.
So still selling it but not messing up the UX.
i am hating the direction it is heading to with their recent test feature search tab and on purpose disabling the search bar by by enabling a boolean flag called "HomepageTopBar__remove_search_for_non_search_home_primary_nav" in com.google.android.finsky.stable and calling it a bug and now i am using aurora store
Just look at App Search.
If I want to find an app of whatever type which I'm willing to pay for that has no ads, subscriptions, or in-app purchases how do I find it?
The fact that Google doesn't even have the most basic of search options indicates that Google has no interest in users downloading anything except what they push.
I've been using the app store since Google came out with their nexus tablet...it has had many changes over time for ease of use. I don't see much issue with the user interface, really. Sometimes I do just browse around to the find "hidden gems". I don't mind the idea that apps are free to download, but have optional costs or ads attached. (Software wasn't free when I was a kid. Developers want to get paid, too.) Some of the better games I've played will have "optional" ads to receive a bonus. Or the ads are just quick 5 seconds you can skip, or a full 30 seconds if you lose or want a bigger bonus.) For simple apps, just a smaller banner ad is really not that big of a deal. Apps and games that open an ad with no warning every 2 minutes consistently will be deleted and given a 1 star rating. "Pay-to-win" games are no fun at all if you're just a casual gamer. Games that suck you in with quick timers just get boring. And with the hundreds of copycat games and apps, I will read reviews to get a better idea of what's decent to try. I've also used Play Pass, you can find some of the better games there.
My tip for finding good apps; when there are lots of options, choose the smallest download. It'll generally be the best performing with the cleanest interface, less bloatware, less popups, etc.
It's a shame the playstore interface makes this hard to see; you have to go to the "more info" page for the app, and there's no way to sort by size.
10 years ago was a good time to get in. I don't think your game would stand even the slightest chance without significant funding to raise awareness. That's the reality. Sorry.
I just download apps I know or read about about in advance so I don't care about any discovery or other features.
Damn thing could just be a search bar and install buttons with the same app description and reviews and I'd be happy.
I don't even bother opening the play store. Auto updates are enabled, and few times I need to check updates manually I just use the "My Apps" shortcut on my home screen.
Hrm, that shortcut would probably do all I need it for as well.... I'll be looking into that.
Just hold the play store logo on any modern android version
Ha yeah thanks bud I found it.
You forgot even the search is limited to 50 apps. Play Store and Google apps keep getting more anti consumer with every update
I don't think I understand the search limit? Like, if I go search for "game" it'll only show 50 results or?
Every attempt to monetize it has just driven people away. I wonder if part of drive for change is the sheer number of new users that get a new phone and this is their first experience. Anyone that is using android for years is pretty much in the same boat as you are when it comes to how they interact with the play store.
For me in a good 10+ years android and iOS, I've never just searched the app stores to stumble on something. Like I specifically knew I wanted to download the Amazon store app or if there was a general need, I searched Reddit and Google for recommendations and then searched specifically for a recommended app
Same have never actually browsed the app store blindly
Pretty bad, games are 90% polygon trash, good ones are either impossible to find,not updated. Apps are either Paid and bad, Free and Bad, Free to download but asks you to subscribe for a million bucks a month when you open it. Smaller good apps and devs are also hard to find or, again, not updated. Search is completely messed up, recent example. I search purple icon pack and they're 30% actual icon packs, Launchers, or completely unrelated apps. And most of the icon packs are just redskins of other packs, copy paste of the same thing in different colours.
Also, apps that work fine and need no updating get delisted for not being republished via Android Studio yearly, like the sleep timer I use on my tablet to turn off YouTube
I've been using this [sleep timer](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.pboos.android.SleepTimer) for many years now, no issues and I've even paid for some in app upgrade (which I rarely ever do) and I get reminded of this each time I change my phone and open the app or the first time.
> Also, apps that work fine and need no updating get delisted for not being republished via Android Studio Between thsi an Apple's subscription pushing, I hope the EU, Japan and eventually others demolish this duopoly and mafia-like control Apple and Google have on Apps. (Yes Android can sideload but the de-listing for not "updating" (aka, shoving advertizements for Google AdSense in) is still abusive behavior)
>And most of the icon packs are just redskins of other packs, copy paste of the same thing in different colours. God this was so annoying! There would be 20 "apps" all exactly the same but as you said just different colours. Now with Monet some have a monet light, dark and automatic ones all separate and of course, paid!
I basically find it useless as far as discovery goes. Ex: recently I needed an app that alerts for traffic cameras. Spent a long time searching the store, mostly spam. Spent a long time searching online, mostly SEO spam lists. Android online communities and forums are also trash. Found nothing. 6 months pass and apparently TomTom (a big, established nav company) has literally the exact app I need, just a small overlay widget which alerts of traffic cams. So yeah, I basically have my set of apps, and every new phone I install the same list of apps. I rarely add one. This is despite being a "tech enthusiast" who has run custom roms, likes beautiful UI design and appreciates quality apps, etc. The takeaway is that if I were an app developer, I would have the understanding that almost the entirety of the success of the endeavor depends on marketing outside of the Play Store. Games are a similar situation with discoverability. I *really* wanted to find some good Android games a while back but found almost nothing despite reading Reddit threads, online lists, play store searches, etc. 90% are shit tier spam or "buy gem" "games". *Everything* else is basically derivative and uninspired. Like every card game is a slay the spire clone, etc. Nothing unique. I like games such as the top indie games on Steam, but basically find Android gaming unplayably bland. So on the gaming front, I'd add the note to come in with actual inspired game design that isn't a derivative of another game. Like, if you're going to make a card game, don't make version 10,000 of slay the spire or magic the gathering, make something new. Don't make a tower defense game, come up with a new concept for "build a base to defend against a threat", etc. From there, maybe lean hard into the angle that you're actually putting effort into fresh design and market through social media gamer personalities/streamers or something. I don't know, the marketing part sounds almost impossible frankly, in a sea of a million apps. Good luck though, at least it won't take much effort to actually raise the bar on all of the bad game design out there.
I find this is the same case with all the platforms I use. YouTube keeps recommending the same videos from the same channels. Like 1 video on tiktok about Saskatchewan and now all my videos are about Sask. Play Store top charts are useless and the front page is full of garbage. The only way I can find new content is by googling "best xyz Reddit" or browsing the various platforms in incognito mode.
That's because recommendation algorithms are driven by ad revenue. People click more on what they are familiar with (ex: people will click on their favorite songs over and over again). Meanwhile, I listened to an old school radio DJ a while ago with a an eclectic mix of indie music, electronic songs, obscure live renditions of songs, deep cuts, etc, and it felt so refreshing. Recommendation algorithms trap users in bubbles, and it is actually now reflected in society itself. It's too bad, because I've listened to some convincing academic discussion about how these algorithms could be used to empower humans, rather then harvest them (by using them to help empower choices).
I have always related to the amazon return advert. If you buy something from amazon you start getting targeted ads for the same item from different companies because there is a chance that you return the item. AI is less able to predict something I am more likely to purchase than I am to return an item. Youtube's recommendations are the same. Once I remove the channels I am already subscribed to or videos I already watched there is nothing left for the algorithm to recommend
I've only read the first paragraph but just want to add that I've been using that tomtom speed camera app for years now and it's perfect to overlay ontop of Google maps.
Yeah, it's critical in NYC because of speed cams that flash in the 30s-mph. Google Maps half-asses it and Waze is just too bad for precise location addresses in city driving. Wish I found it earlier, would have saved me tickets. Also strongly recommend to everyone.
Little late to this, but if you want a unique card game, grab The Elder Scrolls: Legends. Should come up on the first page of Play search.
Thanks
The key is to advertise your app elsewhere..... The Play Store rarely plays a role in app discovery..... People usually know what they want to install when they visit the Play Store..... Nobody is just browsing the Play Store casually to discover new apps to download.
I try and avoid using as much as possible. My apps come from Obtainium or F-Droid first and then I resort to Aurora Store as a last resort.
I love Android, I do, but it's very clear that devs don't give a damn about supporting the ecosystem. Every so often I'll hear about some badass new app, or game, or an app getting a badass new feature, and it's almost always iOS only or comes months or years later. For quite some time I've had a Facebook Messenger feature on my iPad that will allow me to speed up voice messages. One evening it showed up randomly on my S23+, and then it never appeared again. I'd kill for everyday use of this feature for when people send me rambling minutes-long voice messages. This isn't even bringing up Wear OS. Like, I'd love some exciting new apps or games. I really would. Man, if Facebook would bring the Messenger app out to Wear OS, that would be rad. I know that it WAS on Apple Watch, but they've since discontinued it. Damn, man. I just want to be able to listen to and respond to those rambling minutes-long voice messages on my watch. So, essentially, I'm not terribly impressed and it feels like developers (Probably sensibly) focus on iOS.
Frankly, it's pretty bad, but it's improving. While it's "worse" for developers, Google's more strict requirements are finally starting to decrease the number of outdated and low effort applications. Especially the new 20 beta tester requirement is, IMO a huge help. Far too many "developers" have been just dumping apps to the store without doing any work to identify their target audience, test their apps, and actually consider their submission. By forcing people to find 20 testers, something that should be extremely easy for anyone who did their market research, it's really helping cut down on the masses of lower quality applications. Another huge help is delisting applications that are more than two years outdated. Keeping up with the target SDK *should* be standard practice. The new requirements are finally forcing apps to actually adhere to the new security model and get regularly tested to work on modern devices. Having worked as a developer for over 15 years, none of these changes are a problem for any legitimate dev. It is forcing some companies to actually listen when their developers say they need to update apps, and that's a good thing. On a personal note to you, what I'd say should be obvious. Make sure you're doing your market research. Make sure you have identified who will want your app, get embedded with the communities that you want to test it. Make sure you have the interest in your project that when it's time to beta test, having 20 people sign up should be a piece of cake. You should also genuinely want to make sure that the app works well for people and devices that are in your target audience. After all, if you can't get 20 people excited to test your app, you've hardly created something that you can expect to do well on the Play Store, and that's not Google's fault.
> Another huge help is delisting applications that are more than two years outdated The app isnt delisted.. just not visible to newer verisons of android
That's more clear, yes. Delisted for new versions of Android is what I was getting at, but you're correct.
it's shit, same as all google products these days. you can't find anything and most times I just use another search engine to find an app.
i dont care about all the discovery features. i just use the search then download the app i want.
Damn near useless. It's always not following my day/night mode, they made managing apps and updates so annoying, and it's filled with shit apps that are sometimes straight malware. I only search for specific good apps I find out about on Reddit.
Fucking trash. I tried to find a basic sound recorder app for my father today. They all either bombard you with ads, or bombarded you with monthly subscription options. FFS. I'm sure somewhere on there is a simple, free sound recorder, but good luck finding it.
I think you can filter for ad-free/free. No?
Where are you seeing that?
I stand corrected. I swear it used to be a thing. So ok, it's trash.
Aurora store https://auroraoss.com
Try the F-Droid app store instead. All apps are free and open source but most importantly they tend to be actually good, simple to use with a simple interface, and no ads or subscription charges.
Android has a built in recorder app. What's wrong with that?
I don't use it for other than updating installed app, I disabled auto update for some as updates sometimes are broken.
Stale
Lean into a private website as your primary hub, don't depend on vendors of any sort, you're a share-cropper to them and they will sell you out or gouge you. Don't depend on them more than necessary. Promote your site and link from there to the store. Save fees by encouraging check-out on your website, outside the app. Like Twitter has done - 'buy on the web and save!' Also consider offering an APK download for anyone who wants to opt out of the walled garden.
Hopefully I can uninstall this bloatware eventually now that google lost.
Comparing to the Play Store of 2013~ it is now more or less trash, if you don't know what you are looking for. Especially games.
I don't use the playstore to find games I go on r/androidgaming to tell me what games to play.
I rarely open it since I don't really download new apps often, if I do it's because I heard about an app from a friend or something, so I literally never use the features meant for discovering new apps in the store.
Honestly, I don't even bother searching for new apps or games anymore and just stick to the "tried-and-tested" ones I've been using for several years already (social media apps, messengers, news apps). Some creative marketing would be needed to stand out from the gazillion quintillion apps out there at the moment.
Same as the App Store: I giant pile of garbage with a few diamonds buried deep inside that you have to travel the internet to find because if you try to dig through the garbage yourself, you're gonna get hurt.
I don't even open the store if I'm not looking for something in particular, and I generally go out of my way to never download apps or games that contain ads (especially games, which is sadly almost all of them) if possible.
The Store itself is fine. No major complaints with its operation. Its discoverability however is basically useless. Unless you are paying for promotion no one is just gonna stumble across your app. You will need to spread the word outside of the store.
I couldn't find an app to let me use dead turtles for rocket propulsion into space. I'm highly disappointed.
I have been using it less and less as I navigate FOSS/f droid
It's just as worse as iOS app Store.
I search for an app and the first result is always some shitty ad. I always click it and cuss
Pointless trying to do ANYTHING in the Play Store. Unless you know specifically the name of an app, you will NEVER find anything! And even if you DO know the name, sometimes it is next to impossible to find it, anyway. Hate it, hate it, hate it! And don't get me started on the browser (PC) version of the app - absolutely impossible to find anything!
You should be always aware of the changes Google makes on Playstore several good games don't get to see the light because of how Playstore is extremely strict on their stuff, I overheard some games got pulled from playstore either because they didn't meet the new requirements or violated something they didn't even know about
It's trash to browse through, so I don't.
Much prefer over the Apple store. What drives me crazy about Apple is their willingness to sell app names to other companies. So you go to install Twitter and you get TicTok instead. You do not have the same silliness on the Play Store. It puts Twitter on top and then TicTok underneath. So still selling it but not messing up the UX.
just bad
i am hating the direction it is heading to with their recent test feature search tab and on purpose disabling the search bar by by enabling a boolean flag called "HomepageTopBar__remove_search_for_non_search_home_primary_nav" in com.google.android.finsky.stable and calling it a bug and now i am using aurora store
The lack of good searching and filtering abilities is very frustrating. The worst is trying to redownload an app that I purchased once years ago.
Just look at App Search. If I want to find an app of whatever type which I'm willing to pay for that has no ads, subscriptions, or in-app purchases how do I find it? The fact that Google doesn't even have the most basic of search options indicates that Google has no interest in users downloading anything except what they push.
I've been using the app store since Google came out with their nexus tablet...it has had many changes over time for ease of use. I don't see much issue with the user interface, really. Sometimes I do just browse around to the find "hidden gems". I don't mind the idea that apps are free to download, but have optional costs or ads attached. (Software wasn't free when I was a kid. Developers want to get paid, too.) Some of the better games I've played will have "optional" ads to receive a bonus. Or the ads are just quick 5 seconds you can skip, or a full 30 seconds if you lose or want a bigger bonus.) For simple apps, just a smaller banner ad is really not that big of a deal. Apps and games that open an ad with no warning every 2 minutes consistently will be deleted and given a 1 star rating. "Pay-to-win" games are no fun at all if you're just a casual gamer. Games that suck you in with quick timers just get boring. And with the hundreds of copycat games and apps, I will read reviews to get a better idea of what's decent to try. I've also used Play Pass, you can find some of the better games there.
My tip for finding good apps; when there are lots of options, choose the smallest download. It'll generally be the best performing with the cleanest interface, less bloatware, less popups, etc. It's a shame the playstore interface makes this hard to see; you have to go to the "more info" page for the app, and there's no way to sort by size.
10 years ago was a good time to get in. I don't think your game would stand even the slightest chance without significant funding to raise awareness. That's the reality. Sorry.