Apple recently surprised with a stack of Apple Arcade classics. As a result, there is finally a reason to keep paying for the service.
Apple Arcade classics: what a great idea
Apple Arcade probably doesn’t have it easy. If you buy a new Apple product, you get free access to Apple TV Plus for a year, but you can only use Arcade for free for three months. Recently, Apple offered few reasons to subsequently renew the subscription, with the exception of a nice game here and there. That has finally changed.
Apple Arcade had a fantastic day on April 2. This is partly because Fantasian has been released. This game from developer Mistwalker is a truly classic Japanese role-playing game very similar to Final Fantasy, created by the people who also founded the Final Fantasy series. It is a top game, which stands out mainly because of its unique design. All environments are built as miniatures, through which the 3d game characters walk.
The Japanese game maker Platinum Games has also added a nice new game to Apple Arcade. In World of Demons, you can engage in battles with all kinds of demons, where timing comes down. Platinum Games is known for its wonderful combat systems for a reason. But as fun as these two new games are, the attention was mainly drawn by a stack of classics.
Plus
On Apple Arcade you can now find (among others) Threes !, Monument Valley, The Room Two, Reigns, Mini Metro, Fruit Ninja Classic, Don’t Starve, Cut the Rope and Badland. You can’t help but recognize at least some of these names, because these are absolute classics.
There is something strange about that. Normally, the games that you can play on Apple Arcade are exclusive to the service. You can’t find it anywhere else. Yet the above games are still in the App Store and Google Play Store.
Apple is avoiding its own rules by offering exclusive Plus versions of these games. You can now download Threes! +, The Room Two + and Monument Valley + exclusively via Apple Arcade. The big advantage of these games via Apple Arcade is that you have no in-app purchases and no commercials. So you can play undisturbed.
Without hassle
These games fill an important gap for the service. Until now, some cool games have been added here and there, but after a while you are done with it. Games like Threes !, Really Bad Chess, Fruit Ninja and Don’t Starve are titles you can always fall back on.
In addition, titles such as Monument Valley and Badland are games that you should have played anyway if you ever play smartphone games. The fact that those games can now be played via Apple Arcade without hassle makes this subscription suddenly very attractive.
Hopefully, Apple will continue the service in this way. To be honest, I was planning to cancel my subscription after Fantasian, but now I hang around for a while. Hopefully Apple will keep this combination of new top games and old classics in the future. Add in a stronger Apple TV and it finally looks like the company is starting to understand games.
More about Apple Arcade
On iPhone we keep a close eye on Apple Arcade. We’ve listed the best Apple Arcade games of 2020 for you, so you know exactly which older games are worth checking out when you subscribe. Don’t you understand what it’s about? Then read our Apple Arcade beginner’s guide.
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