Apple Arcade Discussions

In other news, What the Golf? is hilarious.

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Some scattered thoughts after a few days of playing Arcade games:

Card of Darkness is my favorite game so far, which doesnā€™t surprise me. Iā€™m a fan of card-based games, roguelikes, and Zach Gage designs, so this one checks a lot of boxes. Itā€™s also clearly a game designed for mobile, not a PC/console game trying to fit on a phone (looking at you, Overland).

@rinelk is rightā€“What the Golf? is hilarious, and thereā€™s more variety and depth to the puzzles than Iā€™d initially thought. Easy to play just one ā€œholeā€/puzzle or get sucked into a longer session.

Love Mini Motorways, but I think itā€™ll be much better on iPad, which is how I feel about Mini Metro, too.

Overlandā€™s awesomeā€“itā€™s come a long way since I bought the PC version in early accessā€“but holy cow is it a battery hog. I donā€™t play many games that noticeably heat up my phone like that.

My boys are going to love this stuff as soon as it comes to iPad. Iā€™m bummed to learn my old iPad Air wonā€™t run iPadOS, so I might finally bite the bullet and upgrade.

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Donā€™t sit on Grindstone guys, itā€™s GLORIOUS.
So much going on later on, so so muchā€¦

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I didnā€™t realize it was by Capybara at first. Once I realized that I downloaded immediately.

Not a huge surprise, but I drifted toward the card games.

Cardpocalypse is funny and has some fun cards ā€¦ Card of Darkness is solid (and hard!) ā€¦ Spelldrifter has potential. Iā€™m also playing Pinball Wizard, but feeling some early repitition.

The biggest issue for me is the screen size. Seriously, how do people play games on their phones? Iā€™ve already had to shut down my Cardpocalypse progress; I canā€™t read the cards. So iOS 13 hitting iPads is huge for me.

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Iā€™m eagerly looking forward to iPadOS and checking these out, myself. :sunglasses:

Tomorrow apparently.

Iā€™ve noticed a few games donā€™t fit full screen on my iPad so hopefully they fix that.

Cards of Darkness has been my go to the past day. I already scored over 500 in each map of mini motorways, i need iPad release tomorrow though to get more than that. At around that level, the screen just is too small to keep track of everything.

Will try Grindstone later, just downloaded.

I really do like this model, it suits a very short attention span gamer like me.

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Iā€™m surprised something has pried you away from Dead Cells, @Pitta. The daily challenge alone should keep you more than occupied!

Well, Iā€™m surprised myself but Iā€™m still playing it.
Consider last time I checked I was towards 250 hoursā€¦and the Hand of the King in nightmare mode (BC4) is still climbing the Everest for me.

That said, Apple Arcade is one of the best thing in games in my recent memory. Loving it.

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Ugh, finally made it to the Concierge on BC1 last night and almost beat himā€¦

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While I wait impatiently for iPadOS to release today (already backed up my iPad, just in case), has anyone heard if Apple Arcade, along with requiring no IAP, requires iCloud saves and device syncā€™ing?

I can relate to the @TheDukester comment on Cardpocalypse, despite not yet having played it ā€¦ Iā€™ve always thought that I would have played more of the developers behind Cardpocalypse, Gambrinous, previous game, Guild of Dungeoneering, if I could have syncā€™ed between the iPad, where I could actually read the text, and my iPhone for when I was out and about.

Hopefully Gambrinous cracked that nut that they posted back in 2017 in their TouchArcade thread that ā€œYeah, wish it was simpler. iOS is miles easier than android on this, at least.ā€ It would be great if working with the Apple Arcade program has allowed them to share with Apple their issues, and for both sides to achieve progress and success.

I donā€™t know how realistic it is, but if iCloud saves and device syncā€™ing are now a reality for Gambrinous, I can also dream about a new Guild of Dungeoneering update that would bring that functionality, along with support for the newer display dimensions. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Thatā€™s one of the big marketing points with Arcade - switch devices seamlessly.

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Iā€™ve been trying out a few of the games and there are some really great ideas.

One that Iā€™d not heard mention of is Dread Nautical. So far itā€™s a really fun XCOM-lite with really high production values. I thought Overland was going to be the tactics game that I spent time in, but Iā€™m enjoying this one a lot more. (Canā€™t imagine playing it on a phone though)

Well, thatā€™s piqued my interest. The screenshots on the App Store look very promising, XCOM-esque but also distinctive. Do say more :slight_smile:

So far itā€™s really good - the tactical gameplay is pretty interesting - lots of different types of weapons, which all have limited uses so you have to think hard about when to use them, and how best to synergise them with your characterā€™s unique ability.

The maps are decks of a ship, which I think are randomly generated, although there does seem to be some structure to the missions you get.

There are four different starting characters, and you meet other characters on your travels, who you have to convince to join your team by picking the right answer.

Iā€™ve played for 5 or so hours and maybe Iā€™m a third of the way through. Itā€™s probably not as long, deep or replayable as a AAA title, but itā€™s extremely good value as part of the subscription (in my view at least).

It does show up an interesting challenge with Apple Arcade, in that due to the hype around all the different games Iā€™d heard virtually nothing about this one. Grindstone has been fun as well, but they are completely different propositions. I hope that this type of game gets recognition as well as the puzzlers/shooters that are getting lots of kudos.

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It will be interesting to see how long they leave underperforming titles on there before they get the axe.

Any chance game centre friends lists started working again with iOS 13.1? Specifically adding new friends. Would make sense for arcade for comparing scores

You can add them in settings now, I believe.

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anyone have any 7yo friendly recommendations in Arcade? Is the Cat Quest game kid friendly?