A Hollow Doorway and other awesome apps of the week

A fun retro game that’s packed to the gunwales with zombie blasting action is just one of our selections for this week’s “Awesome Apps of the Week.”

In addition, we’ve got a neat update to GarageBand, a trippily brilliant door-tilting puzzle game, and YouTube’s premium skinny TV bundle finally come to Apple TV. Check out our picks below.

Headshot ZD: Survivor vs. Zombies Doomsday

People like zombie survival games and retro-style pixel art titles, so why not put the two together and see what happens? That’s the mission statement behind Headshot ZD, a game in which you travel through a zombie-infested world, dispatching brain-hungry hordes of the undead, while rescuing human survivors and gathering resources.

According to Headshot ZD‘s storyline, 99.9 percent of living creatures on Earth have been zombified thanks to a chemical reaction caused by nuclear radiation and mysterious air pollutants. In this pixel art world, you interact with over 100 unique types of survivors and zombies, utilize a range of weapons, gather additional resources, and explore new areas of the map.

Some good, suitably gruesome and diverting weekend fun!

Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: Free (with in-app purchases)
Get it from: App Store

YouTube TV

As promised, YouTube’s $35-per-month YouTube TV service landed on Apple TV this week.

The premium package, which offers a skinny bundle of 40+ live TV channels, has previously only been available on Apple TV if users ran it via AirPlay from an iPhone or iPad.

While it’s only available in the U.S., channels included with YouTube TV include the likes of ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, AMC, ESPN, the Disney Channel, Fox News and Bravo.

The app is compatible with the two latest Apple TV models, including the fourth and fifth-generation. However, despite being available for the Apple TV 4K, it’s worth noting that the app currently can play video only in 1080p, rather than in 4K resolution.

Available for: Apple TV
Cost: $35 per month
Get it from: YouTube

A Hollow Doorway

Created by dev Kenny Sun, A Hollow Doorway is a brilliantly simple puzzle game. A bit like a gameshow Hole in the Wall, in A Hollow Doorway you have to rotate a, well, hollow doorway so that it will allow through a constant parade of similar shapes.

These come thick and fast, and you have to do your best to rack up as many points as possible before you inevitably make a mistake. Addictive!

Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: Free (with in-app purchases)
Get it from: App Store

GarageBand

This week, GarageBand got its first new entry in its Sound Library (a sort of App Store for samples, loops, presets, and instruments) since the feature was added in version 2.3.

Called “Flex and Flow,” the pack contains 395 Apple Loops, 25 Alchemy synth sounds, five drum kits, and two Live Loops — all contained in a 174MB download. It’s great for making chilled hip hop, but the loops and sounds can be used across a wide variety of range of musical genres.

You can check out my colleague Charlie Sorrel’s in-depth article about the GarageBand update here.

Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: Free
Download: App Store