NEW YORK, Sept 20 — With over 50 games expected to be made available at launch, here are five you can try first — visually striking music video album Sayonara Wild Hearts, charming monster island soap opera Mutazione, zombie survival challenge Overland, surreal and silly sports outing What the Golf? and the fluffy heroics of Cat Quest II — each exclusive on mobile to iOS, while also available immediately or not long after on computer and console.
Apple’s US$4.99 (RM20.91) per month Arcade subscription launches September 19 with 53 games and around 50 more already waiting in the wings.
The catalogue’s been advertised as a mixture of new games and titles whose only mobile footprint is on Apple devices, yet a good proportion are expected to pop up on console, computer, or both.
Thanks to Apple’s curatorial approach, inclusion in the Arcade line-up is at this point a de facto recognition of design quality — so why not start with these five titles that launch simultaneously (or not long after) on other platforms too?
Sayonara Wild Hearts
September 19 on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
Pulsating pop and flashy visuals meet interactive music video album through motorcycle chases, swift longboard sequences, tumbling skydives and forest sprints on deer-back. Developer Simogo already has a track record for mobile success thanks to the acclaimed Device 6 and Year Walk, here taking its expertise in a vastly different direction.
Mutazione
September 19 on PlayStation 4 and PC (via Steam)
Ever feel like the odd one out? Or maybe that it’s everyone else who’s weird? Then, a little shift in perspective, and you start to see the good in those shared differences. In Mutazione, you’re the normal human sent to an island full of strange, friendly mutants who are happy to chat and fill you in on their stories, while your character can also grow and harvest plants according to her new neighbours’ needs.
Overland
September 19 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, Mac and Linux (via Steam, GOG, Itch.io)
Lead a rag-tag group across a post-apocalyptic USA in search of supplies, weapons, other survivors and friendly pups at each dangerous pit stop. This turn-based survival adventure has been highly anticipated since 2014, thanks in part to its developers’ award-winning one-button rooftop runner Canabalt.
What the Golf?
Later in 2019 on PC (via Epic Game Store)
Winter 2019 (ie, December) on Nintendo Switch
It’s “golf for people who hate golf” or, one might suggest, for people who like golf, but perhaps its more ridiculous extremes, and find themselves wishing for obstacles and course layouts that are more and more surreal. Hence, be prepared to see all manner of things as ball and cup: houses, horses, eggs and frying pans, sheep, bowling pins and so on.
Cat Quest II
September 24 on PC via Steam, Fall 2019 (September — November) on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Second in a series inspired by classics Final Fantasy, Zelda and Skyrim, but with a lot more in the way of adorable fluffiness. This one’s all about teaming up with a loyal dog friend, switching between cat and canine on the fly or having a pal control the second character. — AFP-Relaxnews
