A 2021 game plucked right out of the early '90s. Photo: NinjaRabbitStudio
Fan of Metroidvania games? Like mice and pixelart? Then you might want to check out Micetopia, a new game starring a “brave mouse who must fight, jump, and explore its way through a world of mystery.”
Micetopia, created by Russian developer NinjaRabbitStudio, is available now to download on iOS and iPadOS in the App Store. Check out the trailer below.
Too hot for the App Store? That's what temperature checks are meant for. Photo: Florian Mueller
When Florian Mueller submitted his latest game to the App Store, he didn’t think it would end with him filing a complaint against Apple with the European Union, the U.S. Department of Justice and other antitrust authorities around the world.
But that’s exactly what happened after Apple rejected his Corona Control Game due to its COVID-19 theme. Google, which barred Mueller’s game from the Google Play store, is also named in his complaints.
Germany-based Mueller, who has another career as a blogger on legal issues, is not happy with how Apple and Google handled his game submission.
“When [Apple and Google] rejected the game at the beta-testing stage, I was indeed surprised that they took issue with it in such a fundamental way they wouldn’t even let us distribute it to testers,” Mueller, 51, told Cult of Mac.
Get a taste of what it’s like to be a field researchers in Nuts — A Surveillance Mystery. Image: Noodlecake Strudios
The squirrels are out there. And no one knows that they’re doing. It’s your job to find out in Nuts — A Surveillance Mystery, which debuted Friday on Apple Arcade as well as other platforms.
It’s a game for everyone who thinks they’d be a good spy. Just not a creepy one.
Slamming its way into the App Store soon. Photo: Wrestling Empire
Edit: Like the creepy girls intoning the return of The Undertaker at Judgment Day 2000, “He’s here.” Or, at least, the game is. You can download it for free from the App Store, with in-app purchases.
There are plenty of subjects I’ll happily geek out about. But pro wrestling and Apple are both prominent players in the top tier. Imagine, then, my excitement when the two get brought together like some odd-couple tag team.
The latest example in this limited convergence genre? A new game called Wrestling Empire, which is set to superkick its way into the App Store soon. Check out the trailer.
Call of Duty: Mobile has been a big success. Photo: Activision
December was a good month for Call of Duty: Mobile, which topped the iOS App Store list of most-downloaded games, according to a new report from app analytics platform Sensor Tower.
The App Store in China had its biggest single-day removal of apps ever — with a massive 39,000 games given the boot by Apple on Thursday alone. This is as a result of Chinese laws stating that all game publishers must obtain a special license in order to distribute their titles.
According to research firm Qimai, only 74 of the top 1,500 games in the App Store survived the massive app bloodbath. Major titles that vanished included the likes of Assassin’s Creed Identity and NBA 2K20.
Bidding farewell to a terrible year! Photo: Nintendo
Mario Kart Tour is so over 2020, and ready to take on the nothing-can-possibly-go-wrong utopia that is 2021.
With that subtext, the popular Nintendo racing game has released its last update of the year, kicking off the New Year’s 2021 Tour. This tour, which runs through January 12 or 13 (timezone depending), features a plethora of new tracks.
Same Kombat. Smaller screen. Photo: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
‘Tis the season to be jolly — or, it seems, to take your mortal enemies, tear their still-beating hearts from their chests, and then freeze said organ in your hand, all while laughing evilly. Or something similarly twisted.
That’s an around-about way of saying that Mortal Kombat for iOS has received an update. If you’re looking for a bit of gory fighting action to distract you from the impending holidays, it’s well worth checking out. Although why you’d have any built-up stress that needs excising after 2020 is beyond me…
Reconfiguring the buttons on an PS4 or Xbox game controller connected to an iPad or iPhone is easy. Here’s how. Graphic: Cult of Mac
Serious gaming on your iPad or iPhone gets better with an external Xbox or PlayStation controller instead of a touchscreen. And Apple recently improved the experience even more by allowing you to reconfigure the buttons on your game controller.
Here’s how to customize what those all-important buttons do.
Google bypassed the App Store to make a version of Stadia that’ll run on an iPhone and iPad. Photo: Google/Cult of Mac
Google followed through with a promise to make its Stadia cloud-gaming service available for iPhone and iPad. On Wednesday, the company starting the process of giving Apple mobile devices access to console-quality games, including Cyberpunk 2077.
But don’t look to the Stadia application in the App Store — the subscription service must be played through a web app.
PUBG Mobile was the year's big winner. Photo: Tencent Mobile
The world may have struggled in 2020, but life’s been good on the App Store — and especially if you’re the makers of PUBG Mobile, Honor of Kings, Pokémon GO, Coin Master, and Roblox.
Those five mobile games all broke $1 billion in takings in 2020, across both iOS and Android. The first two, both made by Tencent, managed to break through the $2 billion barrier, claims a report from app analytics platform Sensor Tower.
Saving a dolphin is part of Alba: A Wildlife Adventure. Photo: Ustwo Games
Head off with a little girl as she wanders a Mediterranean island rescuing animals in Alba: A Wildlife Adventure. She’s supposed to be on vacation, but she’s ready to start an environmental movement instead!
The game, which hit Apple Arcade on Friday, is from Ustwo Games, the creator of the classic Monument Valley.
Zombie Rollerz: Pinball Heroes is a mashup of two popular game genres. Photo: FireFly Games
Dark forces are on the rise and your quest is the defeat them with the power of… pinball. OK, high fantasy this is not. Instead, Zombie Rollerz: Pinball Heroes fuses pinball and tower defense into a deliberately wacky game that launched Friday on Apple Arcade.
And the in-app purchases that plagued the original version are gone!
Genshin Impact is one of the year's most notable new games. Photo: Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact is Apple’s pick for iPhone Game of the Year, despite only landing in the App Store at the end of September. That’s not its only impressive claim to fame, however. According to app analytics platform Sensor Tower, the open-world RPG generated close to $400 million in its first two months alone.
That averages more than $6 million a day across both iOS and Android — with Apple’s platform accounting for the majority of that spending.
Coming to the App Store in a remastered edition next year. Photo: Square Enix
As great as it is to see brand new games arrive in the App Store, it’s in some ways even better when a game you enjoyed as a fresh-faced young person, eyes shining excitedly at the prospect of life stretching ahead of you, gets ported to iOS. What better way to relive misspent youth?
The latest title set to receive this treatment is Square Enix’s SaGa Frontier, an RPG which found relative fame on the PlayStation (that’s right, young people: the first PlayStation) back in the late 1990s. Look for SaGa Frontier Remastered to arrive on iOS (alongside Android, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC) in summer 2021.
With just a bow and an eagle, take on an epic quest in The Pathless on Apple Arcade. Photo: Giant Squid/Annapurna Interactive
An archer and her eagle are the centers of The Pathless, an open-world adventure that debuted Thursday for iPad, Mac, iPhone and other platforms. Players take on the role of the Hunter, who travels a mystical island with her feathered companion and dispel a curse of darkness. There are monsters to slay and puzzles to solve.
Apple Arcade subscribers can play this new title at a considerable savings over other platforms.
Take a rock band to stardom among the stars in Reigns: Beyond. Photo: Devolver Digital
You can live your dream to become a space rockstar in Reigns: Beyond. Players will need to do everything from planning tour dates to fighting space pirates in this card-based game that launched Friday on Apple Arcade.
All of You stars a chicken that can stop time. Photo: Alike Studio
Some video games focus on muscle-bound warriors. Others lets players become beautiful princesses. In All of You, you’ll play as a clumsy chicken. Still, she’s a heroic hen out to save her lost chicks. Players need to solve plenty of puzzles to reunite the chicken with all her brood in a game that debuted Friday on Apple Arcade.
South of the Circle is as much an emotional journey as a real one. Photo: Apple/State of Play Games
South of the Circle is a narrative adventure game that starts with a plane crash in Antarctica in 1964. Its animation style results from motion-captured performances from a cast of actors.
The story begins Friday on Apple Arcade, this company’s subscription gaming service.
To put it mildly, 2020 hasn’t been the best year on record. It’s been a year that, at various times, makes you mad enough to throw things — like, err, bacon?
This oddball bacon-tossing concept is at the center of a game called *ahem* Bacon — The Game. Created by the excellent indie developer Philipp Stollenmayer (Sometimes You Die), it’s a strangely addicting game which I’ve played, off and on, for the past couple of years.
Today, Stollenmayer cranked up the crispiness by adding another 30 levels to the quirky game. If you’ve not played it before, this is a great time to give it a whirl. Or a toss.
The Collage Atlas takes players on a hand-drawn, first-person journey through a picture book. Photo: John William Evelyn
The Collage Atlas could be a temporary escape from 2020. It’s “a journey through an entirely hand-drawn picture-book dream-world,” according to the creator of the game, John William Evelyn.
This title launched Friday on Apple Arcade, and is available for a range of devices.
The game recently celebrated its first anniversary. Photo: Nintendo
Mario Kart Tour recently turned one, marking its first year on iOS following its debut in September 2019. To celebrate, the game is offering a slew of anniversary themed celebrations — including new characters, courses, and an intriguing new Auto mode.
Auto Mode can be selected at the beginning of a race. You can then watch the characters speed round the course a bit like an extended demo mode. If you’re into taking screenshots of the game, it’s a good addition since you don’t have to worry about controlling the character.
The Survivalists challenges 1 to 4 players to survive after being shipwrecked. But there are monkeys to help. Graphic: Team17
The Survivalists, which debuted Friday on Apple Arcade, shows that being shipwrecked on a deserted island doesn’t have to be a disaster. Players can train monkeys to make life comfortable. And there’s plenty of adventure to be found in this game for 1 to 4 players.