| Cult of Mac

Slow down and relax with Japanese Rural Life Adventure

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'Japanese Rural Life Adventure' on Apple Arcade
Japanese Rural Life Adventure uses a gorgeous and carefully crafted pixel art style.
Image: Game Start/Apple Arcade

Fans of cozy life simulation games will enjoy Japanese Rural Life Adventure. It’s about living your best (digital) life, with plenty of the traditional culture of Japan mixed in.

The app debuted Friday on the Apple Arcade subscription gaming service.

Adopt a pretty kitty in the big city in My Talking Angela 2+

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My Talking Angela 2+ by Outfit7 Limited on Apple Arcade
Angela is a virtual pet with style and cattitude.
Image: Outfit7 Limited/Apple Arcade

My Talking Angela 2+ is a virtual pet game. Players help Angela, a fashionable anthropomorphic feline, stay busy in her big-city home. Some off her activities include practicing her dance moves, baking treats, making original music and designing jewelry.

It’s the latest addition to Apple Arcade, a low-cost subscription service that includes hundreds of games.

Become James Bond and battle Spectre in Cypher 007 stealth adventure game

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Become James Bond and battle Spectre in 'Cypher 007' stealth adventure game
Cypher 007 is one of four games joining Apple Arcade in September.
Image: Tilting Point LLC/Apple Arcade

Blofeld, the criminal mastermind and head of Spectre, is once again scheming to defeat James Bond in Cypher 007. The action game launches for a range of Apple devices in late September on Apple Arcade.

And there are three more games headed for Apple’s gaming subscription service in September.

Samba de Amigo dances onto Apple Arcade

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Samba de Amigo: Party-to-Go on Apple Arcade
Sega's classic arcade and console rhythm game Samba de Amigo is now playable on your Ap[ple devices.
Photo: Sega/Apple Arcade

Shake to the rhythm of the beat in the revival of Sega’s Samba de Amigo: Party-to-Go. The game debuted in arcades and on consoles more than 20 years ago, and is now available for an Apple TV, Mac and more.

It’s this week’s addition to the Apple Arcade gaming service.

Shake it with Samba de Amigo and other new Apple Arcade games

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Coming to Apple Arcade in August:
Coming to Apple Arcade in August: Samba de Amigo: Party-to-Go plus three puzzle games.
Photo: Apple

Apple said Tuesday it will add four new games and more than 30 updates and events to Apple Arcade in August.

New games include a revival of Sega’s classic rhythm game Samba de Amigo: Party-To-Go, puzzle games Nekograms+ and Kingdoms: Merge & Build, and indie puzzle-remix game finity.

Samba de Amigo: Party-To-Go is coming soon to Apple Arcade with exciting new songs and a series first Story Mode only found on the service,” said Ian Curran, president and chief operating officer of Sega of America.

Super-cute Hello Kitty Island Adventure is latest Apple Arcade exclusive

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Supercute ‘Hello Kitty Island Adventure’ is latest Apple Arcade exclusive
Hello Kitty Island Adventure is a life simulation game where players will build friendships.
Image: Sunblink/Apple Arcade

Hello Kitty Island Adventure is a charming life sim game starring the world-famous feline, and it just joined the Apple Arcade roster.

With her adorable friends, Kitty White explores a beautiful island and the magical underwater world near it.

Beloved farming RPG Stardew Valley+ debuts on Apple Arcade

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‘Stardew Valley+’ is only one of the games coming soon to Apple Arcade.
You can farm in “Stardew Valley+” or fight monsters. Or get married.
Image: ConcernedApe

Popular farming simulator Stardew Valley+ is now playable via Apple Arcade. The game promises many hours of entertainment, with farming, ranching, fighting monsters and even getting married.

It’s one of a number of classic titles to hit Apple’s gaming subscription service in recent weeks.

5 fun iPhone games that won’t spam, scam or screw you

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Games on iPhone
There’s a bunch of fun games on iPhone… if you know where to look.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

So many games on the App Store are thinly veiled vessels for sucking away your money through in-app purchases, a problem that Apple is both the cause of and solution to. Today, I’m going to give you my five favorite non-spammy games for iPhone. They’re all highly addictive time-killers.

All of these games are devoid of manipulative game mechanics, pay-to-win schemes and scummy in-app purchases. They’re all free, included in a $4.99-a-month Apple Arcade subscription, or very cheap to buy. I don’t make a lot of time to play video games, so I’m certainly not going to waste time on a game that doesn’t respect me as a player.