Video games have long enjoyed a home on iOS and iPadOS, but the complexities of today's titles dwarf yesteryear's modest mobile distractions. For these more full-featured games, an Apple Arcade subscription offers more than 200 games that rival console and PC releases. Apple just bulked up its Arcade library with 20 new titles; here are our first impressions of a few standouts.
1. TMNT Splintered Fate
TMNT Splintered Fate is an isometric beat-‘em-up game that features challenging and rewarding roguelike elements. The game's broken into four main chapters, and you amass power-ups while battling through each zone. In a nice touch, you can carry those useful power-ups into your next run, which makes subsequent attempts slightly easier (the game is hard!). Splintered Fate is a multiplayer-focused title, so you're encouraged to create lobbies and four-player teams.
2. Cityscapes: Sim Builder
Cityscapes: Sim Builder puts you in the mayor’s office, and in charge of a burgeoning city. Spend your budget developing the town as needed, while also taking into account the demands and complaints of your citizens. You must keep them happy, because you'll receive more revenue as the city grows (which means additional money for new projects). It’s easy to get lost in development; the game features a massive campaign and numerous diverse biomes, so there's no shortage of city-building fun.
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3. Disney SpellStruck
If you love Words with Friends, this Disney-themed puzzle game is right up your alley. In Disney SpellStruck, you venture across the Isle of Tiles using an adorable Disney or Pixar character, and undertake word challenges. The hook is that you can only use the letters allotted to you within each turn. Each character possesses a unique special ability that gives them an edge during the game. For example, Tiana, heroine from The Princess and The Frog, converts select tiles into double-point awarding squares when used in a word. You can compete against the CPU to achieve a high score, or challenge friends in the online versus mode.
4. What the Car?
What the Car? delivers wacky vehicular action and near-limitless challenges. You play as a car with legs, and perform nonsensical feats to clear objectives. These challenges can be as mundane as mowing unruly grass, or as frenetic as evading mines as a shark-kitted car with a jetpack. The game features physics-based movement, so you must master maneuverability as well as the ever-changing ruleset. A ranking system judges your performance based on the time needed to complete a given challenge, so you always have a high score objective.
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