| Cult of Mac

Apple Arcade adds 21 classic games and App Store greats

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Apple Arcade just added
The total number of games in Apple Arcade passed 180 on Friday.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s subscription gaming service grew significantly Friday. Apple Arcade added 30 titles and two new categories: Timeless Classics and App Store Greats. This adds favorites like Monument Valley and Fruit Ninja Classic. And there are now versions of Suduku, chess and other perennial favorites.

“Today we’re launching our biggest expansion since the service debuted, now offering more than 180 great games that include new Arcade Originals, Timeless Classics, and App Store Greats,” said Matt Fischer, Apple’s vice president of the App Store.

Monument Valley celebrates birthday with new update and videos

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Monument Valley
Monument Valley was a masterpiece of design.
Photo: ustwo/Cult of Mac

It’s one thing to be reminded that Apple turned 43 earlier this week. But it’s another when a major anniversary comes around for something which, seemingly, arrived just a couple of months back.

That’s how I feel about the fifth anniversary of ustwo’s Monument Valley. One of the most stunning iOS games yet created, the beautiful puzzle game landed in the App Store this month in 2014. To celebrate its birthday, its creators have given it a neat anniversary update. And thrown in a couple of videos for good measure.

9 classic iOS games to keep you entertained this weekend

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Games iOS
Gaming's good on iOS, but couldn't it be better?
Photo: Ally Kazmucha/The App Factor

app-factor-logo-thumbnailThere are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of games available in the App Store. I’ve played tons of them over the years. Some of those games eventually ended up getting deleted, or moved to the last few pages of my games folder, where they remain for long car or plane rides.

However, there are a few games that have remained on my iPhone or iPad’s Home screen for literally years now. Even long after their launch, I still launch these games regularly, play them, and thoroughly enjoy them.

4 iOS games with awesome soundtracks

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Just like music often makes movies, it can also make an already great game even better!
Just like music often makes movies, it can also make an already great game even better!
Photo: Ally Kazmucha/The App Factor

app-factor-logo-thumbnailYou can usually tell when a game has been well-crafted. A great game will include excellent graphic design, playability, a captivating story and, of course — the soundtrack. A soundtrack can turn a great game into an extraordinary game, captivating the player and immersing them into a world they’ve only dreamt about.

A compelling soundtrack will have amazing melodies, epic chord changes that make you feel something, and sounds that are perfectly tailored to the atmosphere of the game. Below, check out four great iOS games that have amazing soundtracks. I caught up with a few of the soundtrack creators who make these beautiful soundscapes, and their answers to my questions give a ton of insight into how special this music really is.

Awesome iOS game will make an even awesomer Lego set

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This superfan would like to see Monument Valley in the real world.
This superfan would like to see Monument Valley in the real world.
Photo: Isometry/Lego Ideas

A Monument Valley fan has taken to the Lego Ideas website with plans to create real-life Lego models out of the award winning iOS game.

Lego Ideas user Isometry has created a page that you can log in and vote for if you want to support the project; it costs nothing but your time to do so.

And why wouldn’t you? This is a fantastic way to bring one of the best iOS games into the real world.

PhotoPanda, Groove Planet and other awesome apps of the week

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If you're appy and you know it, check our list!
If you're appy and you know it, check our list!
Photo: Cult of Mac

From a photography app with a difference to a math training app with human curation and a fantastic classic iOS puzzle game going free, we’ve sifted through this week’s most exciting apps to bring you the ones you absolutely need to download now.

Check out our picks below. Trust us, this is the way you want to spend Sunday!

Stunning iOS puzzler Monument Valley goes free for first time

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Monument Valley
Monument Valley is one of my favorite iOS games.
Photo: ustwo

Tremendous iOS puzzle game Monument Valley has just gone free on iOS for the first time in its history.

Inspired by the surrealistic designs of M.C. Escher, the title is a triumph of isometric design, in which the player guides a princess through a series of impossible structures in a game that Apple lyrically described as, “akin to a walk through a museum or listening to a music album.”

Seriously, download it now.

The makers of Monument Valley want to redesign your car dashboard

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Monument Valley
Who wouldn't want the team behind Monument Valley rethinking the way we drive. Photo: Ustwo

What do you do as a second act after creating one of the most beautiful iOS games in history? If you’re Ustwo, the devs behind the Cult of Mac favorite Monument Valley, the answer is simple: you redesign the car dashboard.

Yes, you read that correctly.

It might be a long way from the M.C. Escher-inspired iPad puzzle game, but Ustwo has teamed up with the company Car Design Research to create a prototype for a simplified in-car display that shows only the information you need at the time you need it. And, unsurprisingly, it looks spectacular.