For anyone even remotely interested in gaming, Apple Arcade makes a pretty appealing value proposition. Over 100 new and (pretty much) exclusive games for $5/month, with no pesky ads or in-app purchases to dilute the experience. The quality on show is impressively high, too – these titles are, by and large, leagues better than your average App Store find.
That means the problem facing most subscribers is one of choice. How do you dig into such an overwhelming catalog of titles?
We’ve been exploring Apple Arcade since it hit beta release, with each of our five writers picking three of their personal favorites to tell you about. We’ll be slowly releasing their selections, or you can read about all fifteen right now in the Premium section of the app. (We’re currently running a one-week free trial of the Premium subscription.)
This time we’re looking at three picks from our ex-editor and still-contributor Andy Price. His penchant for retro vibes and solid storytelling revealed some really great games – a perfect starting point for anyone dipping into Apple Arcade!
Andy’s top three
Overland
This post-apocalyptic strategy game really ramps up the tension with its turn-based approach. Start out at as a variety of characters that come and go as they demise, and sweat it out as you close in on that all-important weapon or gas canister as untold spiny beasts bear down on you… step by step.
Overland will very much appeal to board game fans due to its familiar survival goals, slower pace, and levels resembling dioramic sets. The graphics are moody and the conversation between characters during the rich post-stage cut scenes are suitably bleak, truly capturing the end-of-the-world backdrop.
Dead End Job
As one of the few games that really tickled our nostalgia buttons for looking, sounding and acting like an 80s cartoon turned arcade game crossover, we’re highlighting Dead End Job as a must play.
You play Hector Plasm, a pest control worker… for ghosts. Your job is to use your plasma gun to attack a variety of mischievous entities just trying to live their post-lives across various backdrops from the humble office to the local park.
If it wasn’t obvious, Dead End Job is extremely silly, but it’s also incredibly well crafted thanks to its slick graphics, incessant wordplay, and devilish difficulty. If in doubt: button bash.
The Get Out Kids
It’s another ode to the recent past, but what could be be more nostalgic than a narrative tale set in 1984 about a couple kids and their dog sneaking out of their parents house to watch a midnight showing of Ghostbusters? Nothing. The answer is nothing.
Its chapter-based approach, mini-puzzles, and mysterious events drive the game and easily earn it a place in our post-Stranger Things world, dimmed by the industrial afterglow of the 1980s. Fans of a good story and a unique approach to point-and-click games (with plenty of spinning worlds and hidden items) will love the way The Get Out Kids unfolds.