Best Apple Arcade games
Over the past two issues we’ve published our guide to the best Apple Arcade games. Here we continue our series.
We test primarily on iPhone. We also strongly recommend that you get a hardware controller, given how many of the games benefit from one: we test with an Xbox controller and a Rotor Riot wired controller to see if this works and how well it suits the gameplay. Many games support Bluetooth controllers despite not mentioning this fact in their App Store description.
121. THE LULLABY OF LIFE
Cheerful if limited music-themed puzzler. The protagonist, who can only be described as a blob, activates triggers and opens barriers by playing the correct sequence of sounds when prompted.
There’s more to that premise than you might think, given that the blob, as well as playing his own notes, can recruit new sounds and drag them along for the ride; obstacles limit the places to 121. which he can transport these handy sidekicks, and sometimes you have to make use of long strings and time‑delayed loudspeakers to get a sound wave to its required destination. But you’re unlikely to get stuck on a puzzle for long.
Puzzle • Age 4+ • Single player only • Supports hardware controllers (and works well)
122. SCRAPPERS
This takes me back. It’s a side-scrolling beat ‘em up!
You control a robot dustbin man, and your job is to collect rubbish and chuck it in a truck that follows you round. Your rivals don’t take kindly to you entering their turf, but you have a solution: kill them and dump their bodies in the truck.
Combat feels a bit button-bashy and I’ve yet to find much subtlety to it: there are combos – sort of – but these are generally to be avoided because the third attack is slower and can leave you vulnerable. I suspect it will work best as a multiplayer but it was unable to match me with any human teammates and there’s no option to fight alongside AI players.
Fighting • Age 9+ • 1-4 players • Supports hardware controllers
123. STELLAR COMMANDERS
Good-looking sci-fi strategy game set on an adorably tiny planetoid that’s about to blow up. It’s territory-based, and the idea is to conquer or destroy as many as possible using a mixture of ground troops, aircraft and longrange missiles.
A curious and disappointing omission is a single-player campaign with a difficulty curve and progression. Instead, as soon as you get through the brief tutorial (which, unusually for a mobile game, veers on the side of under-rather than overeducating you)
