Metroidvania Forma.8 coming to Apple TV June 15th

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2D platform gaming, action-adventure, exploration – these are the elements that make up the now much-used gaming descriptor, Metroidvania. The term itself is a mash-up of select games from the classic Metroid and Castlevania series, with the resulting sub-genre now a spark for many heated Internet debates over whether a game is or isn’t a Metroidvania.

With such potentially contentious genre definitions likely to ignite minor revolutions, I prefer to use my words rather than a word, and Metroidvania or not, Italian studio MixedBag’s Forma.8 definitely looks like it will have 2D platform gaming, action-adventure, and exploration. And judging from the trailer over on page 2, it looks good too, right? Stylish, with a mysterious, brooding atmosphere.

Hit page 2 below for more.

Review: Subdivision Infinity – Trigger Happy

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With a name like Subdivision Infinity, you could be forgiven for thinking that Mistfly Games have created a Maths Edutainment title for the education system. Thankfully, the only maths you’ll encounter in this excellent 3D space combat shoot-em-up, involves watching your stats increase as you acquire new and better ships with which to blow stuff up.

The emphasis here is on arcade action, but Mistfly’s release (published by Crescent Moon Games) also has enough depth to keep players interested right through to when the credits roll.

Hit that page 2 button below for more.

Definitely Grab Framed for Apple TV While it’s Free This Week

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Framed is difficult to compare to any other game – Australian studio Loveshack Entertainment created something of a niche with its stylish noir puzzler on iOS in 2014. The unique release has since migrated to Apple TV, and coupled with the Siri Remote it feels as equally at home on the big screen as it does on mobile.

Not long ago we posted a list of three excellent titles that you really should play on Apple TV with the Siri Remote, and Framed could easily fit into a followup collection. Fitting the criteria of the original trio, it’s easily accessible via the Siri Remote, yet offers an experience with more depth and challenge then the proliferation of mobile puzzle ports on the platform.

Mash the page 2 button below for more.

Realms and Skyrim Hit Minecraft: Apple TV Edition

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Okay this news is a bit old – it happened at the end of last week – but it’s definitely worth a post. As mentioned in our recent post detailing what developers want from WWDC 2017 for Apple TV, Mojang’s continued support of this fledgling platform is great to see. The latest Minecraft content keeps finding its way through to the device, with this newest update adding Mojang’s subscription service – Realms – and its Skyrim mash-up for your enjoyment.

You probably know what Skyrim is, but what’s Realms?

Good question. Hit page 2 to find out.

WWDC 2017 Keynote and Apple TV Gaming: Less is More?

Cutting to the chase, Apple CEO Tim Cook chose to dispense with the customary sales figures and success stories of the last 12 months, and at seven minutes and fifteen seconds into WWDC 2017’s keynote speech, simply announced, “Apple is doing great.”

Over the next ninety-six seconds, Cook announced that Amazon Prime Video will be coming to Apple TV later this year, finishing up with, “You’ll be hearing a lot more about tvOS later this year.” And that was that for Apple TV news in a keynote that went on to span two hours and nineteen minutes.

I’ll admit, for someone who had been waiting eagerly for some sort of glimpse into the future of gaming on Apple’s digital-only console, at first I was a little shocked. But in hindsight, I’m actually even more intrigued, and more optimistic about the future of Apple TV gaming than before.

Hit page 2 for more.

WWDC 2017 & Apple TV Gaming: What Do Developers Want to See?

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There are those of us who play games on our fourth-generation Apple TVs. For some, it may be their only gaming platform, and for others – such as this writer – it may be one of many. The Internet is full of debate among gamers about what would make a gaming platform better, but at ATVG we thought why not go one better? Why not ask developers?

So we did.

The question we posed was this:

As a game developer, what would you be hoping to hear announced in the WWDC 2017 Keynote, regarding the future of Apple TV gaming?

The responses we received are worth diving into, and had an interesting common theme running through them. Join us on page 2 for more.

Will You Be Streaming the WWDC 2017 Keynote Live Via Apple TV?

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There have been previous years in which Apple has chosen not to live-stream its WWDC keynotes, but this year, it’s full-stream ahead.

Considering you are reading the Apple TV Gaming Blog, chances are good that you have a fourth-generation Apple TV. Go to the App Store on your Apple TV, hold in the mic button on your Siri Remote, and say “Apple Events.” If all goes according to plan, you’ll end up on the page for the Apple Events app which you can download for free.

As an entrée, you can watch or rewatch past WWDC keynotes from within the app in order to get primed for the main course. And on the 6th June at 3am (Australian), just six sleeps away, the main event will be available live.

What will we see announced for Apple TV as far as gaming-related news goes? A fifth-generation Apple TV? With more on-board storage? 4K compatibility? More horsepower under the hood?

These are the rumours that have been circulating for a while, and they are pretty reasonable predictions, as they ultimately just outline a new iteration of Apple TV with more of everything. WWDC is predominantly focused on software announcements however, so chances are good that we will just see the next tvOS unveiled, with hardware to be revealed later in the year. Hardware has been announced during WWDC keynotes before though, so we wouldn’t write it off completely.

Back in 2014 over on Grab It Magazine I predicted we’d see a gaming-capable Apple TV announced during that year’s WWDC keynote, but history proved me about 12 months early. I won’t make any predictions of my own this year, but instead wait patiently and report after the fact.

So tune in this time next week, and if there’s any news announced that effects gaming on your Apple TV, ATVG will do its best to round it all up and put a neat bow around it for your reading pleasure.

Early Impressions: Subdivision Infinity

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After spending Friday night fighting and mining our way through Subdivision Infinity’s first star system, getting some shut-eye and loading up on coffee, ATVG is back in the saddle to bring you our thoughts so far.

Published by Crescent Moon Games and developed by Mistfly Games, Subdivision Infinity is a premium game as opposed to free-to-play, so you probably want a heads up on how this 3D space combat title fares before separating with your iTunes credit.

Keep in mind before you do any spending, you’ll require a controller to jump into the action.

Mash the page 2 button below for the details.

Subdivision Infinity Joins Apple TV’s “Game Controller Required” Club

As we noted last week, Subdivision Infinity has hit Apple TV today on schedule. It offers players 3D space combat via a mission-based structure, but also promises free roaming exploration, mining, and side-quests – all the major food groups.

Subdivision Infinity also joins a growing list of traditional, fully-featured games for Apple TV that require a controller, which is an encouraging sign. Ever since Apple dropped the nonsensical restriction in 2016, the list has included notable releases such as Minecraft, Dan The Man, Space Marshals 2, Super Phantom Cat, Gods of Rome, Trials Frontier, and Riptide GP: Renegade. It’s not a definitive list, I’m sure I’ve missed some.

But even so, if you check out that list alone, you’ll find some quality gaming in there across a whole range of genres.

Cutting out the Siri Remote is obviously a risk for developers to take, as it limits the adoption rate in what is already a pretty small pond until Apple TV gains in popularity. Hopefully these early risk takers will be rewarded as the platform continues to gain momentum. Here at ATVG, we believe Apple TV is a growth market, and we know there are other developers out there who agree. We certainly don’t have any plans to stop writing about it any time soon, and with WWDC just around the corner, who knows what announcements lie in wait?

Check out the trailer below for Subdivision Infinity, and let’s take a moment to applaud the brave ones, the developers who have opted in to the “Game Controller Required” Club.

Mooff Games Off-Shoot Four Fats Aims to Make Games That Aren’t Sh*t

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It’s a worthy goal, and one that we should all probably aspire to, no matter what our endeavours. For example, aviation companies should aim to make planes that aren’t shit. Similarly, whiskey distillers should aim to make whiskey that isn’t shit. Safe planes and good whiskey – that’s a world I want to live in.

If you’ve been following the bouncing ball here at ATVG, you’ll know we enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) our time with Dungeon Time, Toon Shooters 2, and Smash Club. We included Dungeon Time in our Best Apple TV Games: Year One list, had a Nintendo Switch moment with Toon Shooters 2, and gave Smash Club the full review treatment. We don’t think Mooff Games makes shit.

For reasons we don’t fully understand, the team at Mooff Games have felt the need to form a splinter group made up of the exact same team (trust us, they told us in an email last night so it must be true) to form Four Fats. This Four Fats splinter group even has a website – there’s not much on it, but we’ve a feeling there’s more to come.

Four Fats is the label under which the sequel to Blackmoor (that’s right, the sequel to Blackmoor!) – Dungeons of Darkmoor: the Traitor King – is being made, and we got excited when the team let it slip on an unrelated Facebook post yesterday.