| Cult of Mac

NBA 2K22 hits the court at Apple Arcade

By

Apple Arcade going big with ‘NBA 2K22’ and ‘Transformers: Tactical Arena’
Play some serious basketball with NBA 2K22.
Photo: 2K/Apple Arcade

Basketball season kicks off Tuesday and that brings the launch of NBA 2K22 Arcade Edition on Apple Arcade. It promises authentic action starring top players. And also a new mode that lets you run your own NBA franchise.

The just-launched game is exclusive to Apple’s gaming service. There are versions for Mac, iPhone and other Apple platforms.

Lego Star Wars Battles explodes onto Apple Arcade

By

Grab your blaster: ‘Lego Star Wars Battles‘ shoots toward Apple Arcade
“Lego Star Wars Battles” lets Chewbacca fight Boba Fett. Or have an Ewok take on a Tusken Raider.

The newest addition to Apple Arcade really puts the “war” in Star Wars. Look for a mix of one-on-one real-time combat and tower defense with classic characters in Lego Star Wars Battles.

The game debuted Friday, and is playable on a wide variety of Apple devices.

Grab those wooden stakes! Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls stalks onto Apple Arcade

By

‘Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls’ stalks onto Apple Arcade
Fight monsters — and maybe Dracula — in Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls on Apple Arcade.
Screenshot: Konami

A classic vampire hunting video game series is back from the dead, and it’s only on Apple Arcade. Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls includes beloved characters but there’s new story full of side-scrolling action.

It’s joined by the release of Temple Run: Puzzle Adventure on Apple’s gaming service.

Solve puzzles, collect cute animals in Zookeeper World on Apple Arcade

By

Solve puzzles, collect cute animals in ‘Zookkeeper World’ on Apple Arcade
Solve match-3 puzzles to build a collection of adorable animals in Zookkeeper World.
Photo: Kiteretsu/Apple Arcade

Fans of match-3 puzzle games should be pleased that Zookeeper World just launched on Apple Arcade because it isn’t burdened with the biggest drawback of the genre. But it does offer a variety of adorable animals to collect and puzzles to play through.

You might remember this game as simply Zookeeper. It’s been renamed and is now exclusively for subscribers of Apple’s service, which also includes a lengthy list of other games.

Play pinball with Trolls or Kung Fu Panda in latest Apple Arcade game

By

Play pinball with Trolls or Kung Fu Panda in latest Apple Arcade game
Zen Pinball Party offers new and classic tables to play. You have to provide your own honky tonk music and cigarette smoke, though.
Photo: Zen Studios

Zen Pinball Party lets you have a go on tables with a Kung Fu Panda theme. Or Trolls. Or How to Train Your Dragon. And these are just a few of the options in a game that debuted Friday in Apple Arcade.

And that’s not the only new option. Show off your kitchen skills in MasterChef: Let’s Cook. And Layton’s Mystery Journey+ was also added to Apple’s gaming service.

Explore the charming mysteries of Baldo: The Guardian Owls

By

Prepare for an epic adventure in ‘Baldo’ coming soon to Apple Arcade
Baldo: The Guardian Owls is an adventure game with a lot of influence from Studio Ghibli movies like Spirited Away.
Photo: NAPS team

Fans of Zelda can now try Baldo: The Guardian Owls, a puzzle adventure that debuted Friday on Apple Arcade. The look is inspired by the films of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibili.

Plus Asphalt 8: Airborne+, a classic racing game, also zoomed onto Apple’s gaming service.

Puzzle to the rhythm of new Tetris Beat

By

‘Tetris Beat’ is coming soon to Apple Arcade
Take “Tetris” and give it some rhythm and you get “Tetris Beat.”
Photo: Apple Arcade

This isn’t your parents’ Tetris. N3TNetwork updated the classic puzzle game to give it some rhythm — the result is Tetris Beat.

It launched today on the gaming service Apple Arcade.

Crossword fans should give Apple Arcade’s Wurdweb a try

By

Make a web of words with ‘Wurdweb’ on Apple Arcade
Wurdweb takes one aspect of a crossword puzzle and goes to town with it.
Photo: Aran & Adriaan

Wurdweb is a new twist on crossword puzzles. The game supplies words and it’s up to players to fit as many as possible on a board. It’s one of those “easy to learn, hard to master” casual puzzle games.

It debuted Friday on the Apple Arcade subscription service.

Fantasian gets bigger and better in upcoming major update

By

Sakaguchi’s ‘Fantasian’ gets bigger and better in upcoming major update
Fantasian is a really gorgeous game. Enormous effort went into the look.
Photo: Mistwalker/Apple Arcade

Fantasian, which mixes handmade sets with computer-generated characters, will soon be updated with new content that’ll double the amount of gametime available.

Fantasian is the creation of Hironobu Sakaguchi, who also made the classic Final Fantasy series. It debuted on the Apple Arcade gaming service in April and Part 2 is scheduled for release August 13.