Manton Reece - Arcade

Wrapping up Apple Arcade trial

When Apple Arcade launched, I thought it would be fun to try a new game each day for 30 days. And it was fun! For… 18 days. On Saturday I sat down to play my 19th pick, Oceanhorn 2, and realized that playing a new game each day wasn’t working.

Unlike visiting 30 coffee shops, 30 libraries, and 30 parks — where each series of blog posts I explored Austin and got a lot out of it — playing video games has proven to be too big of a time commitment for me right now. I love video games and there are some great games in Apple Arcade, but if I’m on my phone for an hour I need to be using that time for something work-related. It was creating too much extra stress for too little return.

Oceanhorn 2 is also a good place to wrap up this experiment because it’s one of my favorites. It’s heavily inspired by Zelda. I’m going to enjoy playing it a little bit more over the next week or so. All the other games I’ve played are collected in this category on my blog.

→ 9:44 AM, Oct 7

Agent Intercept is a combination of racing game and spy story, with new missions released every day. @andynicolaides has a nice review over at thedent.net, including gameplay video. 🕹️

→ 11:05 PM, Oct 4

Playing a new game each day means I just can’t get very far if there’s any depth to the game. Cat Quest II is like that. There’s a lot of polish, nice backgrounds with a watercolor look, and it starts quickly and would be a lot of fun to finish if I had time. 🕹️

→ 8:40 PM, Oct 2

The look of Towaga: Among Shadows reminds me just a little of Don Bluth’s Dragon’s Lair. Completely different type of game — really not even close to the same thing — but also clearly hand-drawn with a lot of nice details, almost like a 80s cel animation throwback. I like it. 🕹️

→ 8:25 PM, Oct 1

Playing a new Apple Arcade game each day, I barely have time to scratch the surface of most games, so I tried for Way of the Turtle to get much farther into it. Starts simple but there’s nice potential for level design as you unlock the different shells and wall-jump. 🕹️

→ 10:46 PM, Sep 30

Another card-related game for the weekend: Where Cards Fall, from the developer of Alto’s Adventure. Beautiful game. 🕹️

→ 8:25 PM, Sep 29

Still hearing about games in Apple Arcade that I hadn’t seen with random browsing. Recommended from the Studio Neat newsletter: Card of Darkness. Nice change of pace and hand-drawn art. 🕹

→ 10:54 PM, Sep 28

What The Golf? keep surprising me with its delightful wackiness. Busy day today so I needed something that was fun to pick up for just a few minutes at a time. 🕹️

→ 12:46 PM, Sep 27

The best Apple Arcade games start with gameplay nearly right away, realizing they are mobile games first. It took me a little while to get going with Shinsekai Into the Depths. It looks great but may be better with a real controller. 🕹

→ 9:13 PM, Sep 26

Love the idea of how shadows are used in Projection: First Light, but I don’t have time to play very far into it. Glad there are a bunch of 2D games in Apple Arcade. 🕹

→ 3:13 PM, Sep 25

Dodo Peak is kind of half Crossy Road, half Q*bert. 🕹️

→ 4:32 PM, Sep 24

Pinball Wizard is a fun twist on pinball. Love the cute graphics. 🕹️

→ 8:34 PM, Sep 23

Bleak Sword is the first game I’ve tried on Apple Arcade that was designed for portrait orientation on the iPhone. The controls work well, but it’s best for quick sessions. My thumb got sore frantically pressing and swiping the screen while repeatedly trying to beat a level. 🕹️

→ 9:37 PM, Sep 22

The Enchanted World

I almost forgot to post to my blog for the 6th day of trying games on Apple Arcade. Remember those sliding block puzzles? The Enchanted World is that but set in a wonderful fantasy design where your character moves through the story using magic to set the world right.

I was going to stop my micro review there, but after I started playing the game I came across the story of the developer and designer who created it. Apple featured them in this newsroom blog post:

For creators and friends Ivan Ramadan and Amar Zubcevic, both 33, the game is much more than that: It’s a metaphor for a child growing up in a time of war. Both Ramadan and Zubcevic grew up in Sarajevo during the conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s, and both had parents that used creativity to shield them from the violence and danger around them.

There’s also a longer feature on CNET about the developers.

→ 10:59 PM, Sep 21

Apple Arcade makes it easy to try a game, and often I’m downloading a game without knowing exactly what it’s about. That was the case with Over the Alps. It’s like a choose your own adventure book! Brought to life with nice illustrations and sound effects. 🕹️

→ 12:35 PM, Sep 20

Sayonara Wild Hearts was featured in the keynote last week and for good reason. I love what they’re doing with this game. Great blending of music and different gameplay elements. 🕹️

→ 8:38 AM, Sep 19

Next up on Apple Arcade: Rayman Mini. I wanted to try a side-scrolling platformer and this is the first that popped up while browsing. I’ve played Rayman Origins on the Wii. This feels similar, but touch just isn’t quite the same as having a d-pad. 🕹️

→ 8:43 AM, Sep 18

I’m enjoying Mini Motorways on Apple Arcade, from the makers of Mini Metro. Reminds me a bit of the original Flight Control in style and craziness when the city gets bigger. I need a new road-planning strategy, though… Wish I could create traffic circles. 🕹️

→ 11:44 AM, Sep 17

Apple Arcade is rolling out. I’m going to do micro reviews for a new game each day this week. First up: Tint. Beautiful concept to combine mixing paint with brush strokes to solve puzzles. 🕹️

→ 2:37 PM, Sep 16

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