Following last week’s release of the side-scrolling action game Sengoku 2, SNK and Hamster have released the shoot ’em up Prehistoric Isle 2($3.99) on iOS and Android worldwide. Prehistoric Isle 2 debuted in 1999 featuring different kinds of dinosaurs as enemies. Your aim is to get rid of them and save the city while rescuing citizens. I’ve been digging some of the Hamster releases I haven’t played thanks to Shaun’s recent shoot ’em ups feature for them on Switch. Read it here. Shaun will likely review Prehistoric Isle 2 soon. Check out our new forum thread for it here. Check out a screenshot from the Android version of Prehistoric Isle 2 ACA NeoGeo below:
You can buy Prehistoric Isle 2 ACA NeoGeo on the App Store for iOS here and on Google Play for Android here. As with prior releases on mobile, this costs half of what it does on consoles at $3.99. If you’ve not heard of the series or seen it in action on mobile yet, Shaun has reviewed most of the releases so far in the ACA NeoGeo series on iOS. Check out his reviews for Sengoku 2here, Top Hunter Roddy & Cathyhere, Samurai Shodown IVhere, Alpha Mission IIhere, Metal Slug 5here, Shock Troopershere, NAM-1975here, ZED BLADEhere, PUZZLEDhere, The King of Fighters 2002here, Big Tournament Golfhere, King of the Monstershere, Last Resorthere, Aero Fighters 2here, Burning Fighthere, Robo Armyhere, Mutation Nationhere, Twinkle Star Spriteshere, and Aero Fighters 3here. Check out the official website for the series on mobile here. What’s your favorite recent ACA NeoGeo release and are you grabbing today’s release?
Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact 3rd(Free) developer HoYoverse just began signups for the final closed beta for the upcoming space fantasy turn-based RPG Honkai Star Rail. It has been a little while since we heard about Honkai Star Rail, and I’m glad it is moving forward wit hits final closed beta. This closed beta will feature Herta Space Station, Jarilo VI, and Xianzhou Luofo. The combat system and other newer in-game features will also be included on iOS, Android, and PC through this beta. Closed beta sign-ups are now live on the official website. The Honkai Star Rail Final Closed Beta release date is set for February 10th at 10 AM (UTC+8). Watch the Honkai Star Rail new trailer below:
Honkai Star Rail and the final closed beta are planned for iOS, Android, and PC platforms. A Honkai Star Rail release date for the full game is yet to be revealed. Honkai Star Rail has continued to look gorgeous in every bit of new footage, and I’m interested to see how this final closed beta turns out next month. Until we get a release window for Honkai Star Rail, you can get Honkai Impact 3rd on the App Store for iOS here and Google Play for Android here. Have you been playing Honkai Impact 3rd and Genshin Impact recently?
Late last month, Mr Traffic(Free) from Dashy Crashy(Free) developer Dumpling Design had its major 2.0 update go live bringing in progression changes, holiday costumes, and monetization changes. Over the weekend, Dumpling Design pushed out another big update for the game with fixes for things from 2.0 and also bringing in new costumes, missions, achievements, Game Center rivals on the leaderboards, and another change to in app purchases and ads. Check out the full patch notes here. Watch the Mr Traffic trailer below:
Lives have now been added to Mr Traffic. If you watch an ad, you get 3 lives. An in app purchase gives you infinite lives and removes ads. The new gameplay highlight is the ability to stop time with a new charge ability. Mr Traffic is free to play. You can grab it on the App Store for iOS here and on Google Play for Android here. Head over to our forum thread for Mr Traffichere for discussion around the game. Have you played Dashy Crashy or Mr Traffic from Dumpling Design yet?
Wales Interactive just revealed the first trailer for Ten Dates, the sequel to the interactive romantic comedy game Five Dates(Free). Ten Dates is due on Valentine’s day worldwide for mobile, PC, and consoles. Ten Dates features Misha from London who tricks her best friend Ryan into going on a speed dating event with her. It features real-time relationship status tracking that adapts the story, a streamer mode (likely not on mobile), and more. Watch the announcement trailer (via GodisaGeek) for Ten Dates from Wales Interactive below:
As of this writing, pre-orders and pre-registrations aren’t available yet. You can wishlist it on Steam and even sample the game through a free demo here. Check out the official website here. Wales Interactive have been bringing quality FMV games to multiple platforms including mobile over the years, and I’m looking forward to what else the studio has in the works for iOS and Android this year. I’m still a few releases behind on Wales Interactive’s catalogue. My recent favorite FMV game is definitely Square Enix’s The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story. Have you played Wales Interactive’s recent FMV games on mobile and did you play Five Dates when it hit iOS and Android?
Last week, Square Enix announced a new Dragon Quest game for mobile with a full reveal planned for today. The live stream in Japanese revealed Dragon Quest Champions for iOS and Android made in collaboration with Koei Tecmo. Koei Tecmo has worked with Square Enix on the Dragon Quest Heroes action games in the past. Dragon Quest Champions is a brand-new Dragon Quest RPG set for release in Japan with closed beta sign-ups now live in Japan. Dragon Quest Champions is the first new Dragon Quest mobile release since Dragon Quest Builders($27.99) hit the platform last year. There will be a solo mode and a mode with up to 50 players in total as well. Watch the live stream for the game reveal below:
If you’d like to try Dragon Quest Champions in Japan, you can sign up for the closed beta test here for iOS and Android. The official website has some gameplay screenshots and more information about the cast in Japanese with a confirmation that the game will be free (to play likely). As of this writing, a Dragon Quest Champions release date hasn’t been announced. Until we learn about a release date for Japan, I’m not going to be optimistic about an international launch. Until we learn more about Dragon Quest Champions, check out Dragon Quest Builders on the App Store for iOS here and Google Play for Android here. Have you played Dragon Quest Builders or any of the premium Dragon Quest numbered series ports on mobile yet?
Beginning Tomorrow, the HoYoverse revealed details for the next major Genshin Impact(Free) version 3.4 ‘The Exquisite Night Chimes’ update will roll out to iOS, Android, PC, PS5, and PS4. Pre-installation went live yesterday, and this update brings in support for characters, a new area, free-to-claim rewards, and a lot more. Today, developer HoYoverse announced that the second phase of banners for 3.4 will arrive on February 7th. This brings the Hu Tao and Yelan rerun banners and a weapon event wish on that day. I’ve been waiting for the Hu Tao rerun since the first time the banner went live a while ago. Watch the Genshin Impact version 3.4 update trailer below:
If you haven’t checked out Genshin Impact yet, you can download it for free on the App Store for iOS here and on Google Play for Android here. The PC version is available on the official website here and the Epic Games Store. If you play on iOS, with iOS 14.5 or iPadOS 14.5 and later, you can use PS5 and Xbox Series X|S controllers to play Genshin Impact. We featured Genshin Impact as our Game of the Week when it released and awarded it our 2020 Game of the Year. I also featured it as one of the best iOS games to play with a controller. Have you been playing Genshin Impact recently and what would you like to see in the game this year?
Nintendo just announced a new cross promotion for Fire Emblem Heroes(Free) and this week’s new Nintendo Switch title, Fire Emblem Engage. Linking your account to both games will net you orbs in Fire Emblem Heroes and a bonus item set for use in the Nintendo Switch game Fire Emblem Engage. To get the Fire Emblem Engage Order of Heroes item set, you need to have played Fire Emblem Heroes on iOS or Android and have linked your Nintendo Account to the app. The bonus in Fire Emblem Heroes is five orbs, which is not as good as the bonus given when Fire Emblem Three Houses released a few years ago. This collaboration will also see Fire Emblem Engage heroes arrive in Fire Emblem Heroes. Watch the trailer for that below:
If you’re wondering how to claim the Fire Emblem Heroes bonus in Fire Emblem Engage, you can follow the steps here with screenshots. It is worth noting that you should redeem your code within 150 days after getting it for the Nintendo Switch game. I haven’t played Fire Emblem Heroes in a while, but have adored my time with Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes last year. This collaboration got me to re-download Fire Emblem Heroes on iOS. It remains to be seen if I will spend more time with it after the item pack though. If you’ve not gotten it yet, Fire Emblem Heroes is available worldwide for free on iOS and Android. Details for Feh Pass paid subscription are here. If you’ve not played Fire Emblem Heroes for a while or play it regularly, what do you think of the new content and this collaboration?
A few days ago, Stardew Valley($4.99) creator Eric Barone released the massive version 1.5 update for iOS and Android. This update brought the mobile version up to date with the PC and console version. Since then, we’ve had 3 total updates hit iOS with big fixes for new issues introduced. Some Android users also reported save-related issues. Eric has posted a workaround for the Android save file issue here. If you haven’t kept up with what the update itself brings, Stardew Valley 1.5 features new content including new end game content, quality of life features, the ability to move beds, a new Beach Farm, advanced game options, and a lot more. When Eric said this update was quite a re-write for the game on mobile, we can clearly see that with how fast these new bug fix updates are hitting. I’ve not run into major issues, but this is amazing to see, and I hope it is stable for everyone on both iOS and Android soon.
If you run into any issues with this update, you can report them here. Eric Barone is currently also working on Haunted Chocolatier, which is a brand new game I’m looking forward to playing on Steam Deck until we get a console and mobile confirmation. If you haven’t tried Stardew Valley yet, read our original review. We even featured it as our Game of the Week. You can buy it on the App Store for iOS here and for Android here on Google Play. If you own a Nintendo Switch and an iOS device, I compared both versions of the game to help you find the best platform to play it on. Here’s our forum thread on the game for more discussion. What do you think of Stardew Valley version 1.5 so far?
TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge(Free) from Tribute Games and Dotemu is a very special game. Not only is it a fantastic beat ’em up, but it delivered on bringing the experience I had as a kid playing the Konami classics to current platforms with a modern experience. Unlike most of Playdigious’ prior conversions for mobile, TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge is available through Netflix for subscribers, and it is one of the best Netflix Games additions just like Into the Breach.
If you aren’t familiar with TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge, it is to the Konami classic TMNT beat ’em ups what Streets of Rage 4 is to that series. While I adore both TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge and Streets of Rage 4, the former is more special because I have a ton of nostalgia for these games from when I played some of them years ago. The current mobile version is one update behind the console and PC version, which means the custom mode and new filters aren’t available yet. Hopefully they are added soon.
Before getting into the mobile port features, TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge is special because of how unique the cast of playable characters is, how detailed and well-designed the levels are, and also for the superlative soundtrack from Tee Lopes. All of this comes together with gorgeous visuals that perfectly deliver on a modern take for a classic TMNT experience. In addition to the fleshed-out story mode with multiple bosses, this mobile version has access to the arcade mode which has you playing with limited lives and no saves.
TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge on iOS has full touch and controller support. The touch controls are very good as well. On the controller side, I tested both the Razer Kishi V2 and the Backbone One PlayStation Edition. Both displayed Xbox prompts but worked without issues. If you aren’t a fan of touch controls, you can use a controller without issues.
Visually, TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge looks perfect on the iPhone 11 and iPad Pro (2020) I used to try out the preview build and publicly available release on. It has artwork banners/bars around the gameplay and menus since it was originally designed for 16:9 displays only. It also runs very well. I didn’t have any major performance issues, but I haven’t been able to stress test the online in every level yet. The party menu confirms support for 6 online players right now which is good to see.
I had access to the game through a preview build pre-release, and I’ve tested the online in the publicly available version to confirm that it works great. While I wasn’t able to test the multiplayer much pre-release, the online play has worked brilliantly so far. I even tested it with two devices on cellular rather than wifi where it worked without any issues. The online play lets you create a party and share a code, find players online, or join using a party code.
As with my other reviews of mobile ports, I wanted to compare TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge on all portable platforms. Having now played it on iPad, iPhone, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, and Steam Deck, I like the iPhone and Switch (non Lite) versions the most. The Steam Deck doesn’t really offer any benefit for TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge like it does with Dead Cells, and the Nintendo Switch OLED model screen alongside modern iOS displays are a lot nicer especially with how colorful TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge is. The game controls very well across the board and you will likely have no trouble with it on your platform of choice. There will be some slowdown in certain parts on Switch and older mobile devices though while Steam Deck runs it without any issues.
Despite being one update behind the PC and console versions right now, TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge is absolutely essential. Playdigious did a fantastic job with this outstanding beat ’em up, and you owe it to yourself to play it if you have a Netflix subscription.
Travel App, Visited has published top trends for travel in 2022. The travel report also highlights how many countries travelers around the world visit, top states that travelers visit and wish to visit and other travel stats from global travelers.
Press Release –
Jan 10, 2023
TORONTO, January 10, 2023 (Newswire.com)
– The travel app, Visited by Arriving In High Heels Corporation has published a travel report which showcases top travel trends around the world with highlight of 2022 travels.
Visited, available on iOS or Android, is an app that allows users to mark off places they’ve been around the world, browse new travel destinations, get a custom map of their travels, and set travel goals.
According to Visited’s travel stats, the average global traveler has been to 18 countries. Travelers from the United Arab Emirates have visited the most countries, with an average of 29 countries visited. Swiss and Swedish travelers came in second and third as the most well-traveled. American travelers have on average visited 16 countries. The most popular countries to visit are France, Spain, Italy, Germany, the UK, and the U.S.
The most sought-after places to visit are Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Brazil. The top destinations that American travelers want to travel to include Australia, Greece, and New Zealand. The highest numbers of American users have traveled to Mexico, Canada, France, the UK, and Italy.
The most popular travel destinations in the world in 2022 were in Europe for the top 9 spots and the U.S. came in tenth. UK, Mexico and Italy topped the list for Americans in 2022. The travel report also highlights to United States travel which states had the most travelers visit and which states make it to the want list.
The most popular travel lists are capitals of the world, world wonders and art museums.
Travel data was compiled based on 1,550,000 international users and 275,000 U.S. users. To see more top travel lists and browse top destinations worldwide, download Visited on iOS or Android. For the full travel report, visit https://visitedapp.com/2021-travel-report.
Over the weekend, the massive Stardew Valley($4.99) version 1.5 update hit iOS and Android. It was supposed to release before the end of 2022, but was pushed a bit. Stardew Valley 1.5 brings in tons of new content including new end game content, quality of life features, the ability to move beds, a new Beach Farm, advanced game options, and a lot more. Following its release, the first bug fix update went live as well. Read the patch notes here. Another update is being submitted soon to fix more issues. I’m glad to see the update finally arrive. Creator Eric Barone also mentions that this is quite a re-write for the game on mobile and it should allow for quicker updates like for version 1.6.
If you run into any issues with this update, you can report them here. Eric Barone is also working on Haunted Chocolatier, which is a brand new game I’m looking forward to playing on Steam Deck until it eventually comes to mobile. Read our original review of Stardew Valley if you haven’t gotten it yet. We even featured it as our Game of the Week. If you don’t already own it, you can buy it on the App Store for iOS here and for Android here on Google Play. If you own a Nintendo Switch and an iOS device, I compared both versions of the game to help you find the best platform to play it on. Here’s our forum thread on the game for more discussion. What do you think of Stardew Valley version 1.5 so far if you updated over the weekend and has it been running well for you?
HoYoverse just revealed details for the next major Genshin Impact(Free) update today. Genshin Impact version 3.4 ‘The Exquisite Night Chimes’ releases on January 18th for iOS, Android, PC, PS5, and PS4 worldwide bringing in new characters, a new area, popular character reruns, free-to-claim rewards, and a lot more. This update will see seasonal events like a music festival and new year’s celebration performance arrive, the Desert of Hadramaveth new area, new five-star Dendro swordsman Alhaitham and four-star Dendro polearm user Yaoyao, a limited-time mode for the TCG, free-to-claim rewards including a total of 13 Intertwined Fates, new outfits, and a lot more arrive. It took a while, but I’m glad that the Hu Tao banner is coming back finally. Watch the Genshin Impact version 3.4 update trailer below:
If you haven’t checked out Genshin Impact yet, you can download it for free on the App Store for iOS here and on Google Play for Android here. The PC version is available on the official website here and the Epic Games Store. If you play on iOS, with iOS 14.5 or iPadOS 14.5 and later, you can use PS5 and Xbox Series X|S controllers to play Genshin Impact. We featured Genshin Impact as our Game of the Week when it released and awarded it our 2020 Game of the Year. I also featured it as one of the best iOS games to play with a controller. Have you been playing Genshin Impact recently and what would you like to see in the game this year?
Following last week’s release of World Heroes 2, baseball game 2020 Super Baseball has launched on iOS and Android. 2020 Super Baseball debuted back in 1991 and it aimed to be a “near future” sports game. It features two leagues of six teams competing to win the championship. The gameplay here involves landmines on the field and upgrading player stats through armor for protection. Check out a screenshot from the Android version of 2020 Super Baseball below:
You can buy 2020 Super Baseball ACA NeoGeo on the App Store for iOS here and Google Play for Android here. As with prior releases on mobile, this costs half of what it does on consoles at $3.99. If you’ve not heard of the series or seen it in action on mobile yet, Shaun has reviewed most of the releases so far in the ACA NeoGeo series on iOS. Check out his reviews for Top Hunter Roddy & Cathyhere, Samurai Shodown IVhere, Alpha Mission IIhere, Metal Slug 5here, Shock Troopershere, NAM-1975here, ZED BLADEhere, PUZZLEDhere, The King of Fighters 2002here, Big Tournament Golfhere, King of the Monstershere, Last Resorthere, Aero Fighters 2here, Burning Fighthere, Robo Armyhere, Mutation Nationhere, Twinkle Star Spriteshere, and Aero Fighters 3here. Check out the official website for the series on mobile here. What’s your favorite recent ACA NeoGeo release and are you grabbing today’s release?
Crash Bandicoot: On the Run(Free) is shutting down less than two years after it hit iOS and Android worldwide. An official announcement posted on Facebook reveals that Crash Bandicoot: On the Run servers will be taken down on February 16th, 2023. In app purchases have been turned off as of yesterday with the game currently not available to download on iOS and Android for new customers. Crash Bandicoot: On the Run is an online only game so this server shutdown means the game will no longer be playable in any form after February 16th, 2023 unless King ports it to something else.
Crash Bandicoot: On the Run launched as a free to play entry in the beloved Crash Bandicoot series. Details on prior seasons and updates are here. It even featured a collaboration with Spyro. Head over to our forum thread for the game here to see what players thought of the game. Did you play and enjoy Crash Bandicoot: On the Run on mobile over the last year or so?
Travel App Visited Compiles Users’ Data to Determine the Most Popular Statues in the World. New York Statues Top the List.
Press Release –
Dec 16, 2022
TORONTO, December 16, 2022 (Newswire.com)
– The travel app Visited by Arriving In High Heels Corporation has published a list of the top 10 most visited statues around the world.
Visited, available on iOS or Android, is a travel app with over 1.5 million users that allows users to mark off places they’ve been around the world. Users can also browse top travel destinations, see personalized maps and stats from their travels, set travel goals, and get printed personal travel maps. Other lists include: art museums, hiking trails and ancient sites.
These are the top 10 most popular statues in the world to visit, according to Visited:
Statue of Liberty is the most visited statue in the world.
Charging Bull – or the Bull of Wall Street – is an iconic bronze statue on Wall Street in New York City that symbolizes a strong financial market.
David is a Renaissance sculpture in Florence, Italy, by legendary artist Michelangelo.
Lincoln Memorial is a statue of Abraham Lincoln in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. capitol.
The Manneken Pis fountain sculpture in Brussels features a puer mingens, a naked boy urinating into the fountain’s basin, in what has become a whimsical symbol of Belgium.
Venus de Milo is an ancient sculpture located at the Louvre Museum in Paris believed to depict Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love.
The Thinker is a famous philosophical statue of a thinking man by Auguste Rodin in Paris, France.
Pieta is an Italian Renaissance sculpture created by Michelangelo Buonarroti in St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City.
Little Mermaid is a bronze statue of a mermaid located in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The Great Sphinx is a symbol of ancient Egypt that depicts a sphinx located in Giza, Egypt.
To see the complete list of the most popular statues and over 50 bucket lists of the most popular travel destinations, download Visited on iOS or Android.
The excellent Vampire Survivors(Free) released on iOS and Android last week for free following its announcement at The Game Awards 2022. Read my Steam Deck review of it here. and iOS review here. We featured it as our Game of the Week as well. Today, the long-awaited ‘Legacy of the Moonspell’ DLC released on Xbox and Steam for $1.99. This DLC adds eight characters, a massive new stage, 13 new weapons, and more. I’ve been playing it for review on Steam over the last week. Poncle announced in the launch post that the DLC will be coming to mobile in early 2023. Watch the DLC launch trailer below:
As of this writing, there is no price point for the mobile DLC. The announcement mentions them figuring out how to make it available in “a fair way”. Ideally the mobile DLC would be available with an option to remove ads permanently. I know I’d happily pay for it. Hopefully the DLC will be out with cross platform save sync as well. Until then, try out the game if you haven’t already. You can get Vampire Survivors on the App Store for iOS here and on Google Play for Android here. It is free without any in app purchases. It only has optional ads you can view to earn more gold when you get a game over. Check out our forum thread here for more discussion and impressions around the port. What do you think of it if you’ve downloaded it already?
Last night, Vampire Survivors(Free) from Poncle finally hit iOS and Android worldwide for free. The massively-popular indie game has been one of the most-played games on Steam Deck since launch, and I’ve enjoyed playing it daily across Steam Deck and on Xbox recently. Read my review of the 1.0 launch here to learn about the game. In this review, I will focus on the iOS port, the features included, and what I’d like to see in updates.
Despite Vampire Survivors exploding in popularity on Steam, it only got its hooks in me on Steam Deck. I kept hoping for a mobile version with portrait support, and that has now happened. Vampire Survivors on iOS and Android is a free game with no in app purchases. It is ad-supported, and there is currently no way to pay to not have any prompts to watch ads. This isn’t like most free to play games where you forcibly see junk while playing, but a very unobtrusive button to watch an ad if you want. I hope there’s a way to pay to disable this permanently.
Now, the actual mobile conversion plays great on my iPhone 11 and iPad Pro (2020). When you initially boot up the game, it loads in portrait, but you can change this from the second screen in the options menu. This cannot be done while on a run though so keep that in mind. The options also let you adjust the sound effects, disable flashing, adjust the volume, hide damage numbers, and more. There are no control options or anything, but given the gameplay, those aren’t needed.
When it comes to the controls, Vampire Survivors is still a single stick game where you move and shoot at the same time. It is perfect for portable and portrait play with your thumb. While you can play it in landscape mode on iPhone, I’d only recommend doing so if you are using a Razer Kishi or Backbone One controller on your phone. I found those setups the comfiest so far.
Despite Vampire Survivors officially being announced during The Game Awards, it actually went live on the App Store and Google Play quite a few hours prior. Having played it a lot before the announcement and during The Game Awards, I’m ecstatic with how good most aspects of this conversion are. I just hope a future update can let us pay to completely disable ads and tracking with a one time in app purchase. I’m looking forward to trying out the DLC when it launches next week on Steam and eventually on iOS.
As for what I’d like addressed in future updates, some of the touch targets, while similar to the scaling on PC, are a bit small on iPhone. I hope these can be improved over time. The other issue is the game currently does not seem to have iCloud save syncing. If it does have it, I’ll update this, but I didn’t manage getting it working across four devices and two different iCloud accounts. The developers are working on letting players bring progress across mobile and PC/Xbox, so maybe that is when cloud saves will be sorted, but this is worth keeping in mind if you play on multiple devices like I do. Having the game suspend your run when you leave it and it closes in the background would also be a nice addition in a patch.
If you’re curious about where to play it right now, I’d say the best option is iPhone in portrait or landscape with a controller attached. I didn’t care much for it with touch controls on iPad, but using an external controller is great. Note that there are black bars in landscape mode depending on your device. I hope a future update can add ultrawide screen support, but that might not be feasible with how the game is designed.
It feels surreal to see Vampire Survivors have such a great version on iOS and Android already. I kept thinking it might release on Nintendo Switch and eventually PlayStation following the Xbox and PC versions before coming to mobile. Not only is it worth downloading, but it is completely free. Hopefully the mobile version eventually catches up with the PC and Xbox versions so we get DLC and updates at the same time. Until then, I’m getting back to trying to reach where I am on Steam Deck on my iPhone from the start, and having an absolute blast with Vampire Survivors again.
Dinosaur Polo Club’s Mini Metro($3.99), also available on Apple Arcade as an App Store Great, Android, Nintendo Switch, and Steam, just got its holiday update adding a new map and more. This should be rolling out to other platforms soon if it isn’t already available. The update has gone live on iOS and Steam as of this writing. This holiday update brings the USA’s oldest subway system to the game with the Boston map. The Boston, Massachusetts metro is celebrating its 125th anniversary, and it is now available in-game. This update also has performance and audio tweaks to some maps. To unlock Boston, you need to score 500 in Stockholm or Saint Petersburg. I’m glad to see the game continue to get new content so many years later.
This update follows the Tashkent update, Lunar New Year update, Budapest update, and Addis Ababa update hitting the game over the last year or so. Mini Metro is one of the best games you can play on a touchscreen. If you’ve not played it yet, read Shaun’s glowing review of it. If you’re on Android, it is also available in Google Play Pass in addition to Google Play. If you’re on Apple Arcade, you can play Dinosaur Polo Club’s newest game Mini Motorways or Mini Metro+ through the service. Read about that here. Do you still play Mini Metro regularly and what do you think of the recent updates?
Dead Cells on iOS from Playdigious recently released on Apple Arcade in the form of Dead Cells+(). Dead Cells+ is an App Store Great featuring all prior DLC and updates. At The Game Awards 2022, Motion Twin revealed the next major DLC for Dead Cells with a new collaboration. The Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania DLC is due in Q1 2023 on PC and consoles. This will likely come to iOS and Android soon after we get the indie crossover update. Playdigious has been great with bringing the mobile version closer to the PC release. Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania DLC has two new biomes, three epic bosses, new weapons, familiar characters, music from Castlevania, and a lot more planned. Watch the Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania animated trailer below:
Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania DLC is planned to be priced at $9.99 on PC. This is double the usual DLC price on PC for Dead Cells DLC and Motion Twin went with this price point to reflect the scope of the DLC and the Castlevania IP use. Check out this Steam post for more screenshots from the DLC. If you’re curious about Dead Cells on mobile read my interview with Playdigious covering it and Streets of Rage 4here. You can buy Dead Cells on the App Store for iOS and on Google Play for Android. If you’re unsure whether to grab it on mobile or Switch, read my comparison here. What do you think of Dead Cells and its current state on mobile and PC?
At The Game Awards 2022, Innersloth announced the next major update for Among Us(Free). This update is arriving today for all platforms and it will bring in the new Hide n Seek game mode alongside new cosmetics and pets. This update is the game’s biggest update of the year and it also has a few surprises teased by Innersloth on Twitter and in the new gameplay trailer. This update arrives after the Hololive collaboration update. The update isn’t live as of this writing, but it should be available in a few hours on iOS, Android, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms. Watch the Among Us Hide n Seek game mode trailer below:
If you’ve not gotten Among Us yet, it is available for free on the App Store for iOS here and Google Play for Android here. Check it out on Nintendo Switch here and Steam here. Here’s our forum thread for the game. Among Us is available on mobile, Xbox, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC platforms. Where have you been playing it recently and what do you think of the state of the game in 2022?
