Apple Arcade remains one of the best deals on gaming, even after a price increase. Since its launch, the service has grown steadily with a mix of original and classic App Store mobile releases, none of which are loaded with ads or in-app purchases that so often plague smartphone games. 2023 was a particularly strong year for new additions, with everything from daily word games to word-obsessed with cozy adventures to relax. If you just got a new Apple device or are using the subscription service for the first time, these are some great places to start.
Zach Gage and Jack Schlesinger have teamed up on a series of fantastic mobile puzzle games, including Good Sudoku and spell towerwhich are also available on Apple Arcade, but knotted words could be my favorite. It combines the structure of a classic crossword puzzle with the riddles inherent to word. You are presented with a grid that looks like a crossword puzzle, but instead of clues, you are given letters that can only be placed in certain squares. From there, you will have to solve the words that complete the puzzle. knotted words It has a large number of puzzles, including daily ones, which are the perfect complement to your morning coffee.
There was really nothing like well down when it first debuted in 2015, and all these years later not much has changed by the time the game hits Apple Arcade. It's a platform game of sorts, but one that asks you to move down rather than forward. You play as a hapless pixel art character constantly falling down a pit full of platforms and enemies, aided by a pair of boots with guns, so you can kill the bad guys and slow your descent when necessary. well down It's dark and strange and very difficult, and also very difficult to put down once you get into it.
Adventure in Japanese rural life
This is probably the best way to disconnect without having to hang up the phone. Adventure in Japanese rural life It may have an extremely literal name, but that also means you know exactly what you're in for. It is a relaxed experience in the mold of harvest moon, but optimized for playing on a smartphone. You play as a newcomer to a small Japanese village: first, you must rebuild your abandoned house before continuing to help rebuild the entire city. There's fishing, farming and festivals, and you can even go for a swim.
stardew valley
Speaking of cozy games, the megahit stardew valley It's now on Apple Arcade. For the uninitiated, it's an extensive life and farming simulator with an incredibly open structure, so you can do whatever you want at your own pace. The game originally debuted on PC, but it's ideal for playing on the go, when you only have a few minutes to water your crops or woo the NPC of your dreams.
Hello Kitty Island Adventure
It may sound like a South Park joke, but Hello Kitty Island Adventure It's actually a very solid combination of animal crossing with the iconic board of Sanrio characters. That means you can make friends and customize a house, all while exploring and restoring a very pretty island. So far, the game has also been updated with new content and events tied to specific holidays, giving you reasons to come back regularly. Plus, you can turn into a mermaid.
One of the App Store's earliest hits returned this year with a remastered version. The core of ridiculous fishing It's still the same old thing: you use increasingly devious tools to dive into the depths of the ocean collecting fish, before finally throwing them into the air and… shooting them. It doesn't make much sense, but it's tense and fun as the best arcade games tend to be. The new edition has updated visuals, along with a few other tweaks, including a version in the TikTok universe all about fish.
Sonic Dream Team
It's been a tough time for Sonic the Hedgehog, at least when it comes to video games. (Surprisingly, the movies have fared better.) That's part of what he does Sonic Dream Team such a welcome change of pace. It's not a return to form for Sonic but, rather, a nice detour; It's kind of like what would happen if you crossed sonic adventure with Professional skater Tony Hawk. The levels are full of ramps, halfpipes and rails, and in each mission you will have a different task. It could be running to the end as quickly as possible, or it could mean figuring out how to get to every corner of the level to find hidden items. The stages are bite-sized and the controls are very simple, making it perfect for enjoying a bit of the game on the go.
Puzzle and dragon story
He Puzzles and dragons The series has been around for a while and offers a good mix of match-3 gameplay and role-playing games. Imagine Jeweled, but you are fighting monsters inside a dungeon. The Apple Arcade version adds more story elements, which you can probably guess from the title, but the biggest change is the removal of microtransactions. The series has a bit of Pokemon vibe, as you collect monsters to create the ideal team, but in the main game that usually requires spending cash a virtual gacha machine. Without that real money element, the game is much more fun and even harder to put down.
