Apple Arcade Gets 30+ New Games: Check These

If you have been hesitant about Apple Arcade since its launch, the recent update should put an end to it. In April 2021, the service received a grand update including 30+ titles, the overall number reaching 180+. If the initial list contained too many mediocre games, now the roster got way more solid, with classical titles as well as exclusives.

NBA 2K21 Arcade Edition

No need to introduce this iconic series, but Arcade Edition is more arcade in both meanings – it is represented by Apple Arcade, and it features rather an arcade gameplay. This means we have 5v5 teams formed of 2020-2021 NBA rosters, we have arena quick matches, online multiplayer, gamepad support, and familiar mechanics (if you have played an NBA game on a console). What it doesn’t have is microtransactions (as well as MyTeam mode). And that’s a reason to stop worrying and love the NBA.

As for visuals, they are almost as great as on your PS4. “Almost” mostly means less detail, while all the movements are just as great as you’d expect. It depends on your device, though; on a fresh iPad the game looks way better than on Apple TV, the latest generation of it released in 2017.

The Oregon Trail

Yes, it’s that very Oregon Trail that appeared in the early 1970s as a text choice-based one and then as a source of multiple memes in 1984. Loosely built on historical facts, this game is a multilevel travel down the famous wagon route that shaped much of American history in the XIX century. This one by Gameloft combines great knowledge of history and wild imagination, combining both to develop fun-to-play missions.

Not only does it require strategical thinking to the very extent it was in the beginning. The Oregon Trail of 2021 retells the story including stories of Native Americans, improves the overall visuals (not after the text-based original, but over all the versions), and still gets you involved to the bone.

Star Trek: Legends

A spectacular turn-based action game may have too little of the original Star Trek vibe, at least simplifying its complex moral and philosophical content down to civilization clash. Most of the gameplay consists of turn-based combat where your character uses various weapons and skills against an enemy party, all painted in Star Trek-inspired manner and speaking in familiar quotes. The gameplay is charming, though too loosely tied to the origin.

The greatest thing about it, though, is a microtransaction-free implementation of gacha mechanics. That is, you do search boxes with unknown content, you get them, but it requires no actual investments besides the in-game ones. Applause, Apple Arcade!

Other noticeable titles include Fantasian (yes, from the creators of Final Fantasy – fantasize the rest!), Simon’s Cat: Story Time (yes, based on that animated series), a rhythmic arcade Taiko no Tatsujin Pop Tap Beat, a mystical samurai action World of Demons, and more. There are classical games like chess, checkers, solitaires, sudokus, and well-known hits like Cut the Rope (in a special new design) and Fruit Ninja. So the service becomes more attractive for both hardcore and casual players.