Online Gaming Zone 2018: Arcade

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A Trifecta of New Devices – The TouchArcade Show #470

In this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show we have A TON to talk about, which is weird because despite that this show ended up shorter than usual. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Eli talks about his trifecta of new devices: the Nintendo Game & Watch (affiliate linked below, buy 30 of them!), the Xbox Series X, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max. We then talk about Apple’s event this week where they unveiled new Macs featuring their custom Apple silicon, the already bananas value of Game Pass that shot up a ton with the addition of EA Play this week, and of course the big mobile gaming stories of the week.

Don’t forget to shoot us emails with any questions, feedback, or anything else relevant or irrelevant to podcast@toucharcade.com. We read ’em all, and love decoding messages written entirely in emoji. As always, you can listen to us with the links below… And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and/or drop us a review in iTunes. Much appreciated!

As a companion to this audio podcast, we also do a video version of the same show that is exclusive to Patreon which allows you to see us playing the games we’re talking about. Backers can view the most recent video episodes of the TouchArcade show by clicking here. Be sure you’re logged in to see the latest content. For everyone else who is curious, you can check out our public patreon posts to see older episodes of the video podcast. If you like what you see, consider becoming a TouchArcade Patreon backer.

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Show Notes

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TouchArcade Game of the Week: ‘MO: Astray’

As a gamer who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s I have a massive soft spot in my heart for side-scrolling pixel art platformers, and I’ve really loved their resurgence over the past decade or so during the big indie gaming boom. That said, there are A LOT of indie developers with a similar gaming upbringing to mine, and they’ve leaned SO heavily into the pixel art platformer genre that, despite loving the genre so much, my eyes just kind of glaze over at this point whenever I see a new one. I mean for every genuinely fantastic new entry there are at least a couple dozen entirely mediocre or even just straight up bad ones.

It would be very easy to look at Rayark’s MO: Astray on the surface and just gloss over it as yet another one of “those" pixel art platforming games. I did that exact same thing myself with the game’s PC launch a year ago and its Nintendo Switch launch just a couple of months ago. I mean I have an anxiety-inducing backlog of platformers as is, so despite hearing a ton of buzz and seeing glowing reviews left and right, I’ve had a hard time justifying picking up MO: Astray on either of those platforms. But with the game arriving on iOS and Android this week, it’s much easier to give the game a chance because in this context it’s literally my job, and so now after finally playing MO: Astray for myself I can safely say: Don’t be an idiot like me. Don’t sleep on this absolute masterpiece.

This is perhaps far too much exposition for a simple Game of the Week article as I’m not leaving myself a ton of time to talk about the game itself. In reality though that’s not a bad thing, as MO: Astray is best experienced firsthand. What I can tell you are the basics. This is a puzzle platformer that balances things nicely between puzzling and skill-based platforming. The mechanics are weird at first. You’re sort of a little… blob thing, and can freely move left or right with the invisible direction pad in the lower left of the screen. Jumping, however, is handled like a slingshot. The default is set up like Angry Birds where you’ll pull back to aim and let go to jump. In the options you can basically reverse this so that you’re swiping in the direction you want your little blob to move, more like how jumping works in Oddmar, and I much preferred playing this way. If you’ve played Dandara the movement in MO is somewhat similar, as you’ll fling yourself around and grab onto walls and ceilings automatically. You can also use a physical controller with the mobile version of MO: Astray if that’s more your thing.

While the movement does feel weird at first, you do warm up to it quickly and you’ll be surprised at just how nimbly you can move about the environments in MO: Astray. And it’s good that controls and movement isn’t something you have to constantly think about, because then you can focus all your attention on the game’s absolutely tremendous atmosphere. The visuals, the sounds, the story… this is one of those games where everything just comes together beautifully. Our own Shaun Musgrave reviewed the Switch version in September and his words are definitely worth reading, as our the positive impressions from players in our forums. While you might think you don’t have room for another pixel art platformer in your life, MO: Astray is so, so much more than that and you definitely owe it to yourself to experience it on whatever platform you can.

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Classic Tactical Game ‘Auro: A Monster-Bumping Adventure’ Updated After More than 5 Years

We first came to know Dinofarm Games and lead game designer Keith Burgun by way of their “rogue-like for the masses" 100 Rogues which released on iOS a little over a decade ago. Wow, time sure does fly. The following year in 2011, Dinofarm began working on a new tactical turn-based game called Auro: A Monster-Bumping Adventure. Like 100 Rogues, Auro was a rogue-like dungeon crawler, but that’s pretty much where the similarities stopped. The gameplay in Auro was far more tactical and quite unlike your typical dungeon crawler with its focus on literally bumping monsters off of the map. After several years in development, Auro finally made its way to the Android platform in September of 2014, and due to some strange technical issues, didn’t arrive on iOS until February of 2015. It was well worth the wait, however. We chose Auro as our Game of the Week when it released and awarded it 5 stars in our review. It really was a masterpiece of design and emergent gameplay, the kind of game you’d never remove from your device.

Well, the design of Auro may have been enduring, but its technical pieces certainly were not. Dinofarm worked diligently on Auro following its release on iOS and Android, honing in on the design and making some rather sweeping changes in preparation for the game’s launch on PC. That majorly overhauled Auro would be known as Auro version 2.0 and it arrived on Steam in April of 2016. The plan was to bring all those big changes to the mobile versions of the game, but due to the various tools and frameworks that Dinofarm had used to build Auro over the course of the previous 5+ years, it just wasn’t really even possible to provide updates to the iOS or Android versions anymore. Heck, even adding basic things like fullscreen support to the then-new PC version was basically impossible. The mobile version of Auro received its last update in June of 2015 and remained stuck on version 1.3 until finally being yanked from the App Store altogether sometime in late 2017.

That was until about a month ago when people in our forums began to notice Auro showing back up in the App Store. As Dinofarm detailed on their blog back in July, solo developer Brett Lowey aka BrainGoodGames aka creator of the excellent Solar Settlers ($3.99) (among others) decided to just up and rebuild Auro in Unity entirely from scratch. This was no small undertaking I’m sure, but bringing Auro from its foundation of popsicle sticks and chewing gum into a widely-used engine like Unity means that it can now more easily be maintained by Dinofarm across all platforms. And that meant that Auro showed back up in the App Store last month in preparation for its huge version 3.0 update which landed on Steam and Android already and arrived for the iOS version this past Friday.

So what’s new? Well, the game works again! This is also version 3.0 (or more specifically, 3.1 to match with the most recent update to the Steam version) and since the mobile Auro was only at 1.3 or so the last time it was updated, the iOS version now contains all of the major overhauls of the version 2.0 PC release from 2016. One thing I’m not overly excited about is that the mobile version is now permanently landscape-oriented rather than portrait as it was originally, which made it a particularly fantastic one-handed game. This is probably because this new version is based off the PC release which was in landscape. Not a huge deal, but worth noting. Also worth noting is that Auro doesn’t quite fill out the full screens of the newest iOS devices, again likely due to it being based on the PC version.

Really though, I’m just nitpicking to a high degree, because the real news here is that a classic mobile game has been resurrected and is playable once again, and not only that but it’s now in a position to be updated and added on to for a long time to come, and it sounds like Dinofarm have a lot of ideas for where they’d like to take the game in the future in terms of new content and features. They even exclaim in the update notes that “We have a lot of new features coming, so stay tuned." Auro really is a brilliant little game, just read Shaun’s original review to learn why, and I’m so happy to see it brought back to life with a potentially bright future ahead.

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‘XCOM 2 Collection’ iOS Review – Portable Tactical Perfection?

The fantastic tactical RPG XCOM Enemy Unknown surprised a lot of people when it hit iOS a long time ago not just because of the port but also the price point. Fast forward to today and the full sequel has arrived on iOS devices in the form of XCOM 2 Collection ($24.99) as a premium and very demanding release.

When Feral Interactive usually announces a mobile release, I get curious to see how a game has been adapted for mobile devices when it comes to the interface. With the XCOM 2 Collection, I was more curious about how the team managed to not only bring a current generation console and PC game to mobile but also how the huge install size was brought down for iOS. Having played it over the last few weeks, I can see the concessions that have been made to bring XCOM 2 Collection to iOS but also I’ve grown to like the game itself more than when I first tried War of the Chosen.

The story in the XCOM 2 Collection is set 20 years after the original XCOM Enemy Unknown and Enemy Within where Earth is under alien rule. There are more threats in XCOM 2 and the game itself is more tense overall as you take command of the Avenger headquarters going across locations trying to take down the aliens once and for all. If you’ve not played the original game, you can still play this and have a blast. The base XCOM 2 and its DLC have been slowly releasing ever since the PC debut back in 2016. In 2020, the XCOM 2 Collection is still essential for any fan of strategy games and this port feels like a miracle for a few reasons.

The XCOM 2 Collection on iOS includes four DLC packs and XCOM 2 War of the Chosen. While you obviously need to download content once you finish the initial install from the App Store, there are no in app purchases in this release. The vanilla XCOM 2 game initially disappointed me on PC and PS4 but I had a much better time playing the XCOM 2 Collection on Xbox One a while later. On iOS, all the enhancements and improvements from the added content is available from the get go and Feral Interactive have ensured it runs very well on modern iOS devices.

War of the Chosen is important because that expansion brought with it multiple fixes and enhancements to the engine on PC that improved the game considerably compared to the vanilla experience, not just for features but also for stability and performance. Having everything available on iOS including the gameplay improvements right from the get go is awesome and it ensures players are getting the best possible XCOM 2 Collection experience when played on iOS (barring visuals of course).

After the original XCOM Enemy Unknown translated so well to iOS, I wasn’t too concerned about the UI in XCOM 2 Collection –– on iPad at least. I was a bit worried about how it will be on the iPhone though. I’ve played XCOM 2 Collection with cloud saves working flawlessly across iPhone 11 and iPad Pro 11 (2020). I also tested it on an iPhone 7 Plus. The UI on phones takes a bit of getting used to for touch targets but it translates well with the interface panels and looks excellent on iPad screens.

XCOM 2 isn’t an amazing looking game on any console and it has obviously had many things turned down from the PC version to run well on iOS. Thankfully, it still looks and feels like XCOM 2 across the board and retains the gameplay perfectly. The biggest noticeable downgrades for me are the cut-scene quality, textures in the environment, and the effects. The UI looks crisp on all three devices I tried the XCOM 2 Collection on but you will need to adjust to the lower quality textures and character models if you’re coming from other platforms. While no one really plays XCOM 2 for cutting edge graphics, this is still a noticeable downgrade.

Feral Interactive’s frame rate details say most devices target 30fps while lower devices run at 25fps and some of the highest devices run with a higher fps cap. Having played it on iPhone 11, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPad Pro 11" (2020), I’m very impressed with this release despite fluctuations in certain scenes even on the newest iPad Pro. Performance on the iPhone 11 has been mostly solid with some drops, with a responsive interface and camera controls. iPad Pro 11" (2020) feels excellent and has been much smoother in my testing. The iPhone 7 Plus on the other hand is a step below the iPhone 11 as expected, but it is still very playable. There are no graphics options on any device I tried XCOM 2 Collection on to be able to tune the experience further so keep that in mind.

Barring the initial download for XCOM 2 Collection from the App Store, you need to download about 6GB from within with 5.6GB being a required download. You can download this while playing the opening portions but it is recommended to get it downloaded before starting. While the in-game downloader for Civilization VI on iOS remains unreliable, I had no trouble with XCOM 2 Collection on three iOS devices. Even if you force close the app, it resumes properly. While I’m still annoyed by having to download a lot in-game, I hope Apple eventually raises this limit because 4GB is very restricting in 2020 for games.

Whenever a console or PC game gets ported to iOS, I like to try out the various control options. The XCOM 2 Collection doesn’t have controller support. In most cases, this would be a negative for me but with XCOM 2 Collection, the touch screen controls are way better than the controller options on consoles. Feral Interactive also confirmed that there is no official keyboard and mouse support right now. Hopefully they get added so that players of XCOM 2 Collection on PC can transition over better to iPad Pro in the future.

With every big port on mobile, the price is a big factor for many people. The XCOM 2 Collection on iOS is priced at $24.99 which is $5 more than the launch price for XCOM Enemy Unknown from back in the day. What blows my mind is that the price for XCOM 2 Collection also includes all DlC and the huge expansion. On PS4 and Xbox One, the XCOM 2 Collection (digitally) is priced at $99.99 usually. Just the War of the Chosen expansion is regularly priced at $39.99. In terms of value, the $24.99 for XCOM 2 Collection on iOS is more than worth it not just because it is a great conversion today but because Feral Interactive have earned players’ trust for post-launch support across iOS updates.

My biggest problems with this release are because of Apple’s size restrictions. Despite the initial App Store download being about 4GB and the overall size after the in-game download growing to over 8GB, a lot of textures and cutscenes are noticeably lower quality than on consoles. Keep in mind that XCOM 2 Collection is around 24GB on Nintendo Switch and it is much larger on PS4 and Xbox One. Despite the massive download on iOS, I hope Feral Interactive considers allowing newer iOS and iPadOS devices another optional download to improve the textures and cut-scenes if it is feasible.

Overall, this is by far the most impressive of all of Feral Interactive’s iOS conversions yet. Given how awful XCOM 2 was at launch on PS4 for me and how it runs on current consoles, I’m more than impressed with the iOS version and can safely recommend it above the consoles as an alternative to those who want the full XCOM 2 experience and don’t want to play on PC with the caveat about the visuals. The XCOM 2 Collection is a joy to play on iPad Pro and I can’t wait to see where the port goes over the next few months with potential updates and maybe even potential features brought in.

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The Official Hades Fan Club – The TouchArcade Show #469

We kick off this week’s episode talking about the US election which has been going on for approximately 47 years now. Were you aware that there was an election this week? Apparently it was a big deal or something. We then launch into all sorts of mobile gaming news, like the long-awaited iOS release of HopFrog’s Forager or the possibility of Fortnite making its way back to iOS via Nvidia’s GeForce Now streaming service. We also pause for a moment to reflect on our love for Supergiant’s Hades and its ingenious God Mode option.

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Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-469.mp3

Show Notes

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TouchArcade Game of the Week: ‘Space Marshals 3’

Pixelbite’s original two Space Marshals games are some of my favorite games on any platform, but they are extra special in the world of original premium mobile games. There just aren’t a whole lot of developers out there making mobile games that aren’t either free-to-play grind fests or dumbed down just for the fact that they’re games on your phone. The Space Marshals games offers top-down action blended together with tactical and stealth elements, and despite their more complex nature, they still work incredibly well on mobile. All of this is true as well with the latest entry in the series Space Marshals 3, which hit iOS and Android this week.

If you were a fan of the first two Space Marshals games, then chances are you’ve already downloaded this third game and are happily blasting away at some space baddies. Or, you know, sneaking up behind them and taking them out stealth-style. If you haven’t played a Space Marshals game before, then this entry is probably the best place to start. That’s because Pixelbite has gone with a free-to-try model for Space Marshals 3 so you can download the game for free and try out the first two levels for yourself. If you enjoy it you can unlock the entire first chapter made up of 10 more levels for $3.99. There are a couple more chapters currently in the works too, which will be released as DLC in the future. So saddle up cowpoke and give Space Marshals 3 a shot right now.

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YouTuber Drae and Headup Give Us Our First Glimpse at ‘Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead’ in Action

While it originally released nearly a decade ago in 2011, Headup and ClockStone Studio’s Bridge Constructor went somewhat viral and topped the iTunes charts in 2014. Several spinoffs have been released in the years since, and it was in 2017 when the developers showed us that the Bridge Constructor formula could mesh well with a seemingly totally unrelated IP, in this case Valve’s Portal, with their crazy mashup Bridge Constructor Portal. Well if you thought THAT was an odd pairing, Headup took things to the next level a couple of months back when they announced Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead. Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Bridge Constructor mixed together with the characters and scenarios of The Walking Dead TV series on AMC/the original graphic novels from Robert Kirkman. Headup announced the game with an amusing live action teaser, but we really didn’t have any idea of how Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead would actually play. Well that changed today as Headup has partnered with popular YouTuber Drae for a new video showcasing the game in action.

Now, I am what the kids would refer to as An Old, and I’m not exactly hip to all the YouTubers or vTubers or Twitch streamers or what have you. I’d never heard of Drae before now but I’ve got to say I’m digging his vibe. He also does a good job at showing off what Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead is all about. Yes, there is plenty of traditional bridge constructing where you’ll need to get vehicles safely across various expanses, typically while killing hordes of undead along the way. But there’s also a lot of directing human survivors in various scenarios which does call for some bridge construction but also calls for some order-of-operation directing of the humans’ actions in a manner that’s somewhat similar to something like Human Resource Machine. Things can get majorly complex and almost Rube Goldberg-like as you try to satisfy the requirements of each level. There’s also a heavy Lemmings vibe as sometimes your goal is to coerce the mindless undead together so you can take them all out at once. It all looks very awesome, and although no release date has been announced, Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead should be arriving before the end of the year.

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Out Now: ‘XCOM 2 Collection’, ‘Space Marshals 3’, ‘My Memory Of Us’, ‘Lamplight City’, ‘Iris and the Giant’, ‘Shadow Fight Arena’, ‘Sine the Game’ and More

Each and every day new mobile games are hitting the App Store, and so each week we put together a big old list of all the best new releases of the past seven days. Back in the day the App Store would showcase the same games for a week, and then refresh those features each Thursday. Because of that developers got into the habit of releasing their games throughout Wednesday or very early Thursday in order to hopefully get one of those coveted features spots. Nowadays the App Store refreshes constantly, so the need for everyone to release all on the same day has diminished. Still, we’ve kept our weekly Wednesday night format as for years that’s the time people knew to check TouchArcade for the list of new games. And so without further ado please check out the full list of this week’s new games below, and let us know in the comments section which games you’ll be picking up!

Astrogon (Free)

iTunes Description

ASTROGON is a dynamic arcade game in an intergalactic synthwave universe.
Its gameplay, colors, graphics, creative mode and music make Astrogon a one-of-a-kind game! Easy to learn, we have fun from the first seconds, but challenging to master like a boss!

Forum Thread: Astrogon (by KOSMOON STUDIO)

Bam Boost (Free)

iTunes Description

Bump other players and try to be the first of this epic run !
You won’t want to leave this pixel environment which is full of crazy characters.

Forum Thread: Bam Boost (by Laurent Bakowski)

CheetahBoo Bubble Shooting (Free)

iTunes Description

New friends from other galaxies, as well as Armii and Hamdong!
Who will be the friend that will crush the enemies by CheetahBoo’s side? Let’s Choose

Forum Thread: CheetahBoo Bubble Shooting (by MACOVILL)

Cheetahboo Super Dash (Free)

iTunes Description

You will witness the sudden tremendous power of Cheetahboo as he travels down the underground world,
as you avoid and smash the obstacles with the power of Cheetahboo and travel through the underground world. Let’s go together! It’s so perfectly fun!

Forum Thread: Cheetahboo Super Dash (by MACOVILL)

ChocoHunters – The Enchanted Pirate King ($2.99)

iTunes Description

ChocoHunters is a defensive ShootEmUp Action Adventure exclusively developed for Mobile devices.

In a world where pirates ruled the great seas, and chocolate was more valuable than gold, a legendary tale was born. Three heroes rise up to become one of the greatest pirate legends of their time. They were known as ChocoHunters. They hunt for a legendary treasure. The lore of an imaginary land. Become one of these heroes and conquer the world of ChocoHunters. Embark on great adventures and try to become the greatest ChocoHunter of all times.

Forum Thread: ChocoHunters – The Enchanted Pirate King (by Orhan Keskin)

Equestriad World Tour (Free)

iTunes Description

Equestriad World Tour is a family-friendly experience that delivers a fun, realistic portrayal of the equestrian 3-day eventing sport of exciting show-jumping, cross-country & dressage competitions. From your own country estate, we guide players through the basics of equine riding mastery. Once you have mastered certain equine skills in qualifying events, you will progress to the officially licensed 5* star Badminton, Burghley and Kentucky horse trial events as well as the Australian International 3DE event, where you will be evaluated on timing, control and even rider and horse appearance.

Forum Thread: Equestriad World Tour (by GoGallop Studios)

Hear the Picture (Free)

iTunes Description

This is an English word guessing game with a new, fun and crazy game rule that can challenge your English ability.

Forum Thread: Hear the Picture (by Tai Dau)

Hode The Line (Free)

iTunes Description

Hode The Line is a new Strategy game where you get to defend your castle against WAVES of monsters. Simply build your army and defend your Castle. Every type of Character you recruit to fight on the battlefield have their own unique features and this is the same for the Monsters. Come up with ideas and tactics to hold the enemy and keep them away from your Castle.

Forum Thread: Hode The Line (by Little Goblin Studios)

Iris and the Giant ($3.99)

iTunes Description

Iris and the Giant is a fusion of a collectible card game with RPG and roguelike elements. You play as Iris, who must brave her fears in her imaginary world. Behind the game’s unique minimalist art style players will explore a touching story of a young woman facing her inner demons and soothing the raging giant inside.

Forum Thread: Iris and the Giant (by Plug In Digital)

Lamplight City ($4.99)

iTunes Description

A steampunk-ish detective adventure from the creator of A Golden Wake and Shardlight! Can private investigator Miles Fordham find justice for his clients and track down his partner’s killer before his entire world comes apart?

Forum Thread: Lamplight City (by Grundislav Games)

Machinal Instinct (Free)

iTunes Description

Fight your way to the top of the food chain, and watch your enemies become the prey!

Machinal Instinct is a fast-paced fighting game, set in a world where animals pilot powerful mechs to compete against each other in a worldwide tournament.

Forum Thread: Machinal Instinct (by Pomelo Games)

My Memory Of Us ($4.99)

iTunes Description

The Evil King plunders the city and his robot soldiers appear everywhere. Citizens are segregated, some of them marked and forced to move out of their homes. They are made to live in a place that is sealed off from the rest of the city by a huge wall. Fortunately, the children are not alone – they have each other. Their friendship allows them to stay together, even though fate tries to tear them apart.

Forum Thread: My Memory Of Us (by Virtual Programming)

Pancak3r ($1.99)

iTunes Description

CAUTION HIGHLY ADDICTIVE! Stack the pancakes as high as you can but be careful, one wrong move can make the whole tower topple down. A super addicting game that will have you trying, again and again, to get the best score possible. The best thing since Tetris. New skins are available now!

Forum Thread: Pancak3r (by Hugh Trotter)

Piggy Button (Free)

iTunes Description

Help Piggy to escape the fate of becoming a sausage! Her magic medallion of invisibility is fading. The only way to boost it is by harvesting colourful buttons. As Piggy is currently in hiding, she needs someone to aid her with this task. Will that be you?

Forum Thread: Piggy Button – Merge & Charge (by HellYeah!)

PUSHOT (Free)

iTunes Description

PUSHOT is a puzzle game that requires you to control the character move around the board to clear blocks as many as you can before you are conquered by those stubborn blocks. In order to survive longer, you need not only good reflex, but also strategic mind to move the blocks carefully so you can chain combos to free the board faster!

Forum Thread: PUSHOT (By ZHEN CHYEN)

Shadow Fight Arena (Free)

iTunes Description

In Shadow Fight Arena, you create a dream team of 3 fighters to defeat the opponent’s team.
All heroes have unique upgradeable abilities that interact with each other and can be leveled up.
Choose the right fighter to counteract the enemy’s tactic and win the battle!

Forum Thread: Shadow Fight Arena (by Nekki Limited)

Sheep Squad (Free)

iTunes Description

Combining artillery and arrow shooting with intense action platforming, this game is guaranteed to keep you on your toes while you make new friends and battle your way to victory.

Forum Thread: Sheep Squad (by Pixel Squad Limited)

Shredded Streets (Free)

iTunes Description

Introducing Shredded Streets.

Show off your moves in this super addictive skateboarding game!

Forum Thread: Shredded Streets (by Astro Hound)

Sine the Game ($2.99)

iTunes Description

Sine is a competitive arcade game with unique mechanics and compelling visuals. You control a sine wave, avoiding obstacles, racing to the finish, and collecting orbs scattered throughout levels ranging from simple to painfully difficult. The intuitive one-finger controls are easy to learn, but hard to master.

Forum Thread: Sine the Game (by Lonely Vertex)

Space Marshals 3 (Free)

iTunes Description

Join the rowdy Space Marshal crew on their latest misadventure in outer space. Strap those boots on, gear up and get ready to hunt space crooks!

This is a story driven action game with an emphasis on stealth and tactical combat. It continues the quirky story from the prequels, but you don’t need any previous knowledge to enjoy this one.

Forum Thread: Space Marshals 3 (by Pixelbite)

SudoKoi – Sudoku & Killer (Free)

iTunes Description

SudoKoi has everything you would expect from a Sudoku game. Choose from up to five difficulty ratings and play up to nine Sudokus simultaneously. Enter notes and keep track of candidates. Highlight numbers, check for errors and undo your last action. What it does not come with is anything you do not need like distracting animations, annoying sound effects or ads.

Forum Thread: SudoKoi – Sudoku & Killer (by Fabian Kreiser)

TERA: Endless War (Free)

iTunes Description

The best strategy game with hexagon tile maps, and large-scale battles!

[Heroes of TERA at your command!]
Players can recruit legendary heroes from the world of TERA
to protect Arborea from the Argon invasion.
“You are the savior of Arborea. You must believe in the heroes and your instincts.”

Forum Thread: TERA: Endless War (by JOYCITY)

US Football: Super Watch Match (Free)

iTunes Description

Be the MVP in tonight match. Play US football on your watch or phone:
* Tap to change direction.
* Bump in your opponents as a true warrior.
* Kick the ball curve through the gooooal!!!
See ya on the field. GET THE GAME NOW

Forum Thread: US Football: super watch match (by GOSIHA)

VegDun: Rogue Arcade Shooter (Free)

iTunes Description

VegDun is about making the most fun of every moment, whether you are on a bus ride, lunch time at work or relaxing at home. You will enjoy this top-down shooter with many challenging level. As you play each level, you may experience a different level, because the same level will behave differently each time! Download it, Enjoy it.

Forum Thread: VegDun: Rogue Arcade Shooter (By Alireza Loghmani)

Wannabe Challenge (Free)

iTunes Description

I, a prominent fashion model, hereby declare to run away from home!
But before I can even move out, 4 strange men appear in my life!
How will this unexpected rendezvous with 4 guys unravel?

Forum Thread: WANNABE CHALLENGE (by Com2uS Corp.)

XCOM 2 Collection ($24.99)

iTunes Description

Aliens rule Earth with a new order promising a brilliant future for those who conform, while silencing all those who do not. At the edges of the world, the scattered forces of XCOM gather to defend humanity, ignite a global resistance, and reclaim the planet.

Bring down the alien regime from your iPad or iPhone with the XCOM 2 Collection; the complete experience of XCOM 2: War of the Chosen and four DLC packs in a single package with no in-app purchases.

Forum Thread: XCOM 2 Collection (by Feral Interactive Ltd)

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Upcoming Mobile MMORPG ‘Warhammer: Odyssey’ Gets an Awesome New Trailer

It was way back in August of 2019 that developer Virtual Realms first announced Warhammer: Odyssey, an upcoming mobile MMORPG set in the Old World portion of the greater Warhammer universe, and it would be more than a year afterwards before we heard from the game again when they unveiled a teaser trailer back in September of this year. With an early 2021 release still in sight, things are starting to ramp up in terms of new Warhammer: Odyssey news, and today Virtual Realms has unveiled an extremely cool looking new trailer for the game, which you can see right here.

This new trailer is certainly more exciting than the one from September which only really showed a selection of environments in the game. Here we get treated to some lovely cinematic scenes showcasing the game’s various classes before getting a glimpse of those very same characters in what appears to be actual in-game footage. I dig it! Sign-ups for potential beta testing have been open for a long time over on the game’s website, so be sure to drop your email into the bucket if you want to be considered, and the game’s official Facebook page is also a good place to keep up to date on any further Warhammer: Odyssey news.

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‘Darkest Dungeon: Tablet Edition’ Finally Gets Updated to Not Crash on iPadOS 14

I recently upgraded from an old iPad Air 2 to the new iPad Pro and I’ve been slowly getting back to playing more of my backlog on iOS. Darkest Dungeon: Tablet Edition ($4.99) is something I’ve enjoyed across multiple platforms but it felt excellent on iPad. Despite it going on sale, it is more than worth the asking price with all DLC on iPad for me. The port was done with Blitworks (who are one of my favourite studios for all their PS Vita and Nintendo Switch ports). Read our review of Darkest Dungeon on iPad here. iPadOS 14 and 14.1 had Darkest Dungeon: Tablet Edition unplayable thanks to crashing on launch. Today, an update has gone live (version 1.4) to fix this. Watch the trailer for the newest DLC for Darkest Dungeon below:

Darkest Dungeon: Tablet Edition is out now on iPadOS worldwide and it is not a universal app. The Shieldbreaker, Crimson Court, and Colour of Madness DLC are also available as in app purchases in addition to the Musketeer that is available as a free in app purchase. If you’ve not picked this up yet, you can buy Darkest Dungeon: Tablet Edition for just $4.99 on the App Store for iPad. As usual, it is available for a lot more on other platforms including Nintendo Switch. Hopefully a future update can bring in full cross platform saves across consoles, PC, and iPad. Check out our forum thread for Darkest Dungeon: Tablet Edition here. Have you been playing it on iOS before the crashing issues?

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‘Kingdom Two Crowns’ Just Got Updated to Bring In Cross Platform Saves, Performance and Multiplayer Improvements, and More

Kingdom Two Crowns ($5.99) from Raw Fury is something we’ve been covering for a long time. It was originally revealed for consoles, mobile, and PC in 2017 and after launching on those systems, it hit iOS and Android as a premium release that included a nifty two player splitscreen mode. A big update for Kingdom Two Crowns just went live on all platforms bringing in cross platform saves in addition to performance and multiplayer improvements as highlights. On iOS this is the 1.1.5 update on the App Store. Watch the Kingdom Two Crowns co-op video below:

For cross platform saves, you need to create a Kingdom account. Raw Fury have also improved the multiplayer smoother with performance improvements on all devices. Multiplayer improvements include crowns not getting lost, no infinite and invisible coins anymore, and other fixes. I’ve always been hoping more games available on mobile, PC, and consoles get cross platform saves and it is great to see Kingdom Two Crowns implement it. You can buy Kingdom Two Crowns for $9.99 on the App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android. Kingdom Two Crowns also has native controller support on iOS. Have you played it on iOS or Android yet?

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Action Platformer ‘Slimes and Monsters’ is the Premium Follow-Up to ‘Knights and Slimes’ and is Coming November 12th

We were big fans of developer Monte Boyd’s Knights and Slimes (Free), which we detailed in February of last year ahead of its launch the following April. Knights and Slimes cast you as the hero in a war against the most fearsome fantasy trope enemy of all time: The slime. It was one part Slayin, as you’d attack said slimes by simply running into them, and one part Pang! aka Buster Bros. as once you did attack a slime it would split into two smaller slimes, and depending on the size of the original slime, perhaps two even smaller slimes, and so on. Levels were randomly generated but there was an overall structure to the game as you progressed through each level and encountered boss fights. It was like a perfect little version of an action platformer stripped down to just the parts that worked well as a bite-sized mobile game.

Well Boyd is back at it again with a follow-up title to Knights and Slimes, and this time the slimes aren’t alone. The new game is called Slimes and Monsters and in addition to the squishy little enemies from the original game you’ll also be facing off against… yeah that’s right, monsters. What kind of monsters? You know, bats, skeletons, spiders, goblins. That sort of thing. Another change is that instead of the single-screen arena style levels of the first game, Slimes and Monsters features lengthier and more complex levels, though they are still randomly generated and still of a manageable length for mobile play. Multiple unlockable playable knights make a return, but this time around there are some more serious RPG elements, so instead of special weapons being these temporary power-ups you’ll actually unlock new weapons and gear to equip to your heroes. Enough talk, check out this awesome trailer!

Similar to the first game, Slimes and Monsters will feature a structured campaign to play through made up of the randomly generated levels. It will feature a storyline to follow and epic boss fights, and once you’ve made your way through that campaign you’ll unlock an Endless Mode so you can just keep on playing. Also Slimes and Monsters will be a paid game with no IAP and no ads, and it’ll cost just $1.99. The original Knights and Slimes was free to play, but done so in an absurdly fair way with just a couple of coin pack IAP options and some opt-in ads for earning additional coins. In fact if you never checked out Knights and Slimes when it launched last year you should totally do so right now for free to get a taste of what’s in store for Slimes and Monsters. Plus it’s just a darn fun and criminally overlooked game in its own right. Slimes and Monsters is set to arrive on November 12th and until then you can talk about this one in our forums.

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Phenomenal Boxing Game ‘PrizeFighters’ is Getting a Sequel in December, Beta Testing Underway

It feels like just yesterday that developer Koality Game released the mobile boxing game Prizefighters on the App Store, but somehow that was actually nearly three years ago now, in December of 2017. Boy does time fly. Prizefighters looked like your average Punch-Out!! homage on the surface, and it certainly had that 8-bit era aesthetic and simplified mechanics, but below that surface it offered one of the most full-featured boxing games on mobile that hewed more towards a simulation than an arcade-style game. Prizefighters has only grown since its 2017 release, receiving numerous updates including full-blown online multiplayer. We even included it in our list of the 100 Best Games of 2017.

Yes, Prizefighters is excellent, but now it’s time to enter a new era with a sequel, aptly titled Prizefighters 2. There are a couple of fundamental changes this time around. First and foremost is that you are no longer just a stationary fighter. You can now move forwards and backwards in the ring, and the distance between you and your opponent can affect things like punch strength and knockout probability. You can also now punch straight out of a dodging or ducking move, making the back and forth action between you and your opponent much more fluid and satisfying. Check out the announcement trailer for Prizefighters 2.

One other big change in this sequel you likely noticed in that trailer is the new onscreen controls. The original Prizefighters utilized a smart control scheme that broke the entire screen up into 4 different quadrants, essentially 4 giant buttons, with different actions pulled off depending on which quadrant or quadrants you tapped or by performing swipe gestures. It was an elegant scheme, but also limited due to its simplicity. Prizefighters 2 basically takes that “4 buttons" idea from the original but adds a set of those buttons to both sides of the screen. The buttons on the right side handle your mid and high punches, the buttons on the left are for moving back and forth, dodging, and ducking. There’s also an additional button on both sides of the screen that’s dedicated to blocking.

While I’ll miss the minimalist controls of the first game, I love the added complexity these new controls allow for in Prizefighters 2. This will also extend to a revamped Career Mode which will feature a much more authentic recreation of the path a fighter has to take from an amateur just starting out to the overall champ, rather than simply fighting a ladder of opponents as in the first game. It’s all sounding quite fantastic, and while Koality is shooting for a mid-December release, they’re currently taking on some beta testers to help shape the final outcome. The original Prizefighters was heavily shaped and improved based on player feedback on our forums, and Koality hopes for the same with this sequel. If you’d like too try it out, head over to the game’s thread in our forums and let Koality know you’re interested and then look for Prizefighters 2 to launch hopefully at some point next month.

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Making Slinky Noises with Our Mouths – The TouchArcade Show #468

In this week’s show Eli recounts his finding of the slinky and then losing it again, and then contemplates the merits of just buying a new one (or a three pack). I then dive into why I’m feeling like garbage which is directly related to my toddler son feeling like garbage last week, which resulted in a Covid scare over the weekend. Not fun. But everything is ok! We then manage to wrangle ourselves back on track to discuss mobile gaming news including Eli’s impressions of the League of Legends Wild Rift beta test and how to get in on it even if you’re not in one of the soft launch territories.

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Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-468.mp3

Show Notes

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TouchArcade Game of the Week: ‘Pixboy’

We see A LOT of retro-inspired games on mobile, or really, in video games in general. Lots of stuff inspired by the 16-bit or 8-bit eras, but occasionally some that go back even further than that. Like the monochrome era of the original Game Boy or the surprisingly vibrant world of graphing calculator homebrew. These are what immediately came to mind when I first fired up Pixboy, a new platformer from developer Oaky Games.

When you’re dealing with essentially just black and white, you have to go that extra mile to give your visuals some extra detail and life, and Pixboy does a great job with this. It’s the kind of game that looks totally lo-fi on the surface, but actually runs so smoothly and is filled with fancier things like particle effects that wouldn’t have been possible on actual hardware of the day. There’s also a couple dozen unlockable color palettes so you can change up the look while retaining that retro visual style.

In fact unlockables are a big part of what I’m digging so much about Pixboy. This game is absolutely stuffed with secret areas to discover which hide hidden coins and popsicles to seek out and collect. A crown badge awaits those who collect all coins, and one for all popsicles, and a third for beating a level’s completion time. There’s even a special Pacifist badge to earn if you’re able to beat a level without killing any enemies, which can be super challenging.

Pixboy won’t redefine what you expect out of a platforming game. It’s mostly straightforward with some interesting wrinkles thrown in here and there to keep things fresh, and of course countless secrets to discover and goals to shoot for in its 40 well-designed levels. For platforming fans looking for their next fix, this should do nicely, and the players in our forums have been enjoying this one a lot too so be sure to see what others are saying about Pixboy.

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‘South of the Circle’ from State of Play Is This Week’s Apple Arcade Release and It Is Rolling Out Now Worldwide

Last month, I posted about South of the Circle () from State of Play. State of Play developed Kami ($2.99), Kami 2 ($2.99), INKS ($1.99), and Lumino City ($4.99) and the company’s newest release is rolling out now on Apple Arcade in the form of South of the Circle. At the time, it was only announced for Apple platforms but wasn’t explicitly confirmed to be an Apple Arcade game but was confirmed soon after. South of the Circle is a gorgeous adventure game with a narrative focus set in 1964 in Antarctica after an an aircraft crash. Watch the teaser trailer for South of the Circle below:

South of the Circle tells the story of Peter who is a Cambridge academic trying to reach bases and fight for survival through the cold. State of Play says South of the Circle uses full motion capture for realism with its gorgeous aesthetic. South of the Circle is out now on Apple Arcade with controller support and it is a 2.3 GB download on iOS. Check it out on the App Store for Apple Arcade here. Check out our forum thread for South of the Circle here and the official website for State of Play here. For all Apple Arcade related things, check out our dedicated Apple Arcade forum for discussion on the service and every game included here. What do you think of the recently released games and updates?

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Out Now: ‘Tales of the Neon Sea’, ‘Pixboy’, ‘The Longest Drift’, ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted’, ‘Double Pug Switch’, ‘Poly Bridge 2’, ‘Chook & Sosig: Walk the Plank’, ‘Shooty Quest’ and More

Badlanders (Free)

iTunes Description

Here, upon the ruins of a once-great civilization, scavengers fight for treasure and glory. The Red Beach Sanctuary once housed the world’s most advanced weapon tech but, in the face of natural disasters, became a beacon for the preservation of science and technology for all mankind. However, it was short-lived as war broke out and the preservation plan collapsed. The only things left on that bloody beach are massive ruins, competing scavengers, and endless opportunities… Gear up and get ready to enter the hot zone of riches and danger.

Forum Thread: Badlanders (by NetEase)

Chook & Sosig: Walk the Plank (Free)

iTunes Description

With classic point-and-click adventure gameplay, a charming cast of unusual creatures, and beautiful hand-drawn art, Chook & Sosig will take you on a journey you won’t soon forget. Uncover multiple endings by exploring carefully and trying out different options, and chill out to the funky soundtrack by Nathan Cleary. Be mindful of your choices, or you just might be the one walking the plank!

Forum Thread: Chook & Sosig: Walk the Plank (by Tooki Palooki)

Double Pug Switch ($1.99)

iTunes Description

Double Pug Switch is a challenging, but easy to learn single-player 2D precision-platformer. Take control of a Pug who can swap between dimensions!

Double Pug Switch is a tough sidescrolling platformer, you take control of a Pug who can switch dimensions due to a catastrophe in a lab. Run, jump, power-up and cry your way through several levels of doggy dimension goodness.

Forum Thread: Double Pug Switch (by Polygon Loft)

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted ($4.99)

iTunes Description

This is the mobile version of Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted, a collection of classic and original mini-games set in the Five Nights universe.

Survive terrifying encounters with your favorite killer animatronics in a collection of new and classic FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S experiences. “Where fantasy and fun come to life!”

Forum Thread: Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted (by Steel Wool Games)

Goblin Raiders (Free)

iTunes Description

Set in medieval times, Goblin Raiders is a comical, physics-based game with a unique and addictive gameplay mechanic that combines both strategy and skill. The goblin horde will attempt to scale your castle walls. Do whatever it takes to prevent them reaching the top. Smash their heads with rocks, drop poison on them, set them on fire, shoot them with arrows, blow them to smithereens, annihilate them any way you like – the choice is yours!

Forum Thread: Goblin Raiders (by Arif Games)

the longest drift ($1.99)

iTunes Description

“The Longest Drift" is a one-of-a-kind, racing-puzzle-adventure game about solving the mystery of the disappearance of two family members.

Far away in a remote, picturesque countryside village, a woman embarked on a journey to find her lost husband and her son. In order to succeed in this mission, she’ll have to prove great driving skills, solve puzzles and investigate mysterious events.

Forum Thread: the longest drift (by Tepes Ovidiu)

Magic Bright Star (Free)

iTunes Description

On the ancient continent Lemuria, the Magic Bright Star always in the sky and give out the greatest light in history since least year. The inspector made a prediction, the Magic Bright Star’s activity will bring Lemuria a golden period of three years. After that a sage will appear to inherit it power and achieve his vision, bring Lemuria into the new age.

Forum Thread: Magic Bright Star (by BennyBird)

MMC Racing (Free)

iTunes Description

MMC Racing
Mountain Muscle Car Racing.
Classic American and Australian muscle cars from the late 60’s to 90’s.
Race through the mountain roads, turned into make shift race tracks.

Forum Thread: MMC Racing (by Adam Rogan)

Pixboy ($2.99)

iTunes Description

Pixboy is a mad scientist who produced a powerful elixir. Unfortunately, a gang of naughty dogs stole it. Help him to beat all enemies, to face all challenges, to get an elixir, and to prove he’s the best.
Feel the retro vibes during hours of adventure! 1-bit color, chunky pixel art, chiptune music – all is a ticket back to the ’90s!

Forum Thread: Pixboy (by Oaky Games)

Poly Bridge 2 ($4.99)

iTunes Description

The acclaimed bridge-building simulator is back and better than ever!

New levels, new mechanics, a custom physics engine, workshop campaigns, and much more! Rediscover your engineering creativity with even more hours of puzzling fun!

Forum Thread: Poly Bridge 2 (by Dry Cactus)

Shooty Quest (Free)

iTunes Description

Enjoy the retro era with this challenging, fast-paced, retro-inspired arcade game. Shoot from the center of the screen at 360 degrees, constantly selecting the type of arrow that matches the enemies weaknesses while dodging arrows, pushing enemies and collecting items.

Forum Thread: Shooty Quest (by Ogre Pixel)

Smashing ZOO (Free)

iTunes Description

You are not using a hammer or dynamites, but a gun with animal-shaped ammo. Imagine the fun of seeing elephants, sheep, or other animals pop out of your guns and hit the objects with crazy funny animal sounds. You should also hit the flying birds with your ammo because the birds will give you a lot of coins and additional ammo or bonus guns to use. So exciting and addicting!

Forum Thread: Smashing ZOO (by URocks!)

Space Evade! (Free)

iTunes Description

Try to survive in this ADDICTING space survival game!

Dodge all kinds of space objects using your skills and cool POWERUPS!

Collect coins to WIN new space ships that YOU can fly to reach a new high score!

Forum Thread: Space Evade! (by Adam Gilbert)

Tales of the Neon Sea ($3.99)

iTunes Description

The vast sky city overhead obscures the sun, and the city’s neon lights never go out. With the booming of science and technology in the distant future, self-conscious robots and humans live together on this land.

In this cyber city where punk and magnificence coexist, noises and tranquility chorus, our protagonist Rex runs a private detective agency. A former member of the police, he now makes a living on carrying out various commissions.

Forum Thread: Tales of the Neon Sea (by Boke Technology Company Limited)

ZombieSmash! Idle Saga (Free)

iTunes Description

Welcome to the world of mages, knights, grandpas and ..zombies.
Zombie Smash! Saga is a strategy fantasy RPG about epic heroes fighting on the ruins of grandpas world.

Step into the role of a legendary warrior seeking to find his place in the midst of battle!

Forum Thread: ZombieSmash! Idle Saga (by OOPS11)

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Online Gaming Zone 2018

Web development

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TouchArcade Game of the Week: ‘Space Marshals 3’

YouTuber Drae and Headup Give Us Our First Glimpse at ‘Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead’ in Action

Out Now: ‘XCOM 2 Collection’, ‘Space Marshals 3’, ‘My Memory Of Us’, ‘Lamplight City’, ‘Iris and the Giant’, ‘Shadow Fight Arena’, ‘Sine the Game’ and More

Upcoming Mobile MMORPG ‘Warhammer: Odyssey’ Gets an Awesome New Trailer

‘Darkest Dungeon: Tablet Edition’ Finally Gets Updated to Not Crash on iPadOS 14

‘Kingdom Two Crowns’ Just Got Updated to Bring In Cross Platform Saves, Performance and Multiplayer Improvements, and More

Action Platformer ‘Slimes and Monsters’ is the Premium Follow-Up to ‘Knights and Slimes’ and is Coming November 12th

Phenomenal Boxing Game ‘PrizeFighters’ is Getting a Sequel in December, Beta Testing Underway

Making Slinky Noises with Our Mouths – The TouchArcade Show #468

TouchArcade Game of the Week: ‘Pixboy’

‘South of the Circle’ from State of Play Is This Week’s Apple Arcade Release and It Is Rolling Out Now Worldwide

Out Now: ‘Tales of the Neon Sea’, ‘Pixboy’, ‘The Longest Drift’, ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted’, ‘Double Pug Switch’, ‘Poly Bridge 2’, ‘Chook & Sosig: Walk the Plank’, ‘Shooty Quest’ and More

Final Fantasy VII Remake PC Requirements Released Ahead Of Launch

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