4 New Games Just Hit Apple Arcade On The Weekend

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In ATVG’s part of the world, it was a Sunday. On Saturday I posted this list of 30 games that were yet to come to Apple Arcade, and less than 24 hours later, I was already updating the story, crossing a couple of them off.

Two of the games – Redout: Space Assault, and The Bradwell Conspiracy – I was eagerly anticipating, while the other two – Pilgrims and Nightmare Farm – weren’t even on ATVG’s radar.

While it’s not unprecedented for games to release to the App Store on a weekend, it’s certainly unusual. Years ago it became the norm for studios to release on a Thursday, and while other weekdays would see new titles, Thursday became the most common by far. But Saturday or Sunday? Get outta town!

Not that I’m complaining. Who doesn’t like waking up on a Sunday morning to find four new games had come to the subscription service you’d already subscribed to?

I’d mused in Saturday’s post on what sort of release schedule new Apple Arcade titles would follow. Is this to be the start of a new patten, in which each weekend new titles will be delivered to waking gamers? Maybe there will be no set pattern. Maybe small batches of new titles will just come when they’re good and ready, having been baked to a lovely golden brown by master chefs in studios around the world.

Remains to be seen.

For now, let’s have a look at this quartet of freshly baked goods, in which we have a first-person narrative adventure, a gorgeous looking story in which farming seems to be the main mechanic, a puzzle adventure from the makers of Machinarium and Samorost, and a space shooter.

It’s nice to get four such disparate genres all at once. If only one new game had arrived, chances are it may not be in your wheelhouse of favoured styles, but getting four new releases which would barely overlap on anyone’s Venn diagram, chances are much higher that players will find something to enjoy, possibly even more than one.

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Here’s 30 Games That Haven’t Yet Hit Apple Arcade

We’re a little shy of two weeks into a world in which Apple Arcade on Apple TV is a thing. And what a thing it is.

What phase are you in?

Personally I spent the first week in a phase of trying game after game for 15 minutes to half an hour while waiting for another one to download and so on and so forth. During every game I played, I felt sorry for all the games I wasn’t playing.

After that first week, I felt myself moving into a second phase which involved going back to the games I’d briefly tried but really enjoyed on the big screen, such as Spidersaurs, Exit the Gungeon, Sonic Racing (a bit broken at first, but here’s how I fixed it), Oceanhorn 2, Punch Planet and a bunch of others, and spending some more prolonged, quality time with them.

And then along came Dead Cells. What a distraction that was. And still is.

So now I’m alternating between runs in Dead Cells, and spending some solid time with Oceanhorn 2. All the others will have to wait patiently for their turn, I’ve only got two hands.

None of this is taking into account the multitude of Apple Arcade games that are a really nice fit for iPhone and iPad, which I’ve been dabbling in as well.

Prior to Apple Arcade’s launch, I posted this list of 61 games that I knew were coming to the service, but post-launch, many of them haven’t yet arrived. With that earlier list now redundant, I thought I’d filter out all the ones that launched, and post a new list with just the ones that haven’t, plus a couple more I’ve since learned about. As with the earlier list, I’ll look at updating this new list as more information comes to hand.

In total you’ll find 30 games over on page 2 that are on the way, and right about now would be a great time for Apple to start building some hype for what’s to come beyond the initial launch stage. While there’s already way too many games to have gotten through already, players will want to start looking to the future to see if the free trial they’re currently enjoying is worth converting into a paid subscription.

It’ll be interesting to see what sort of rhythm Apple Arcade settles into for new releases. Will they be weekly? Monthly? If it proves successful will we see some big hitters come to the party to sweeten the deal for consumers?

The future feels bright right now for Apple TV gaming as we bask in the afterglow of Apple Arcade’s launch, and hopefully there will be some big announcements to talk about in the coming weeks.

Stay tuned.

And mash the Continue button below for more.

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An Appreciation: Dead Cells For Apple TV – All Killer, No Filler

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Thanks to access to statistics due to running this site, one of the best indicators for me of a game’s popularity (whether it be an existing or upcoming title) is the amount of traffic that follows a story about that game.

Dead Cells from studio Motion Twin wasn’t on my radar until August, when publisher Playdigious emailed me letting me know it was bringing the release to iOS. I replied querying whether Apple TV-compatibility was on the cards, and on receiving a response in the affirmative, I posted this story.

The response via site-traffic was immediate, and that post has been one of ATVG’s consistently biggest hitters since, even among all the noise surrounding Apple Arcade’s arrival.

So the question of course is, now that Dead Cells has come to Apple TV, arriving two days ago as a universal app (meaning that owners of the iOS and iPadOS versions don’t need to buy it again for Apple TV), does it warrant all the attention?

Because sometimes games can achieve cult-status and popularity despite a lack of quality. Something about them will be seized on by influencers and after a certain cumulative mass-hysteria of hipness, it will be a brave soul that then speaks out negatively against it, which in turn feeds the beast even more.

What about Dead Cells though? Is it only good by popular decree, or is it actually good?

Hit the Continue button below for ATVG’s take.

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PlayStation Blog Posts How-to Guide: DualShock 4 With Apple Devices

iOS 13, iPadOS, and tvOS 13 all brought compatibility for PS4 and Xbox controllers to our Apple screens big and small recently, and the family will be complete in October as macOS Catalina will do the same for Macs.

All tied in together, and along with Apple Arcade, Apple’s gaming ecosystem is a unique one, offering cross-save and universal functionality no matter which is your preferred Apple platform for gaming. Or you might just like to mix and match and take advantage of all the options.

After receiving a good question from a long-time reader recently, ATVG posted this article on controller compatibility, answering how many controllers can be connected to an Apple TV at any one time, and also having a look at just which controllers are supported.

Overnight, Sony has come to the party, posting a story on its blog which outlines everything players need to know about gaming on Apple’s hardware connected with a DualShock 4.

The story also details the use of Sony’s Remote Play app, which ATVG has been using for quite some time, and its fantastic.

Mash the Continue button below for more.

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Dead Cells Hits Apple TV As A Universal App

When publisher Playdigious told The Apple TV Gaming Blog in a world exclusive reveal back in August that Dead Cells was coming to Apple TV, no date was given.

And so the wait began for this critically acclaimed action-platformer from Motion Twin to hit Apple’s lounge room hardware, bringing its Dark Souls-influenced combat to our big screens.

The wait has been made quite bearable thanks to the arrival of the all-you-can-eat gaming banquet that is Apple Arcade, leaving Apple TV gamers spoilt for choice as to what to play next (and if you’re in that enviable position of not knowing where to start with Apple Arcade’s offerings, then you could always follow in ATVG’s footsteps and check out the first four games I played)

Well, the wait is over, and now it will be a case of Apple TV gamers having to divide their time over yet another quality title, as Dead Cells has landed on Apple TV today.

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Apple Arcade Games Controller-Compatible, Despite App Store Saying No

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On seeing the above information for Cat Quest II in the Apple Arcade section of the App Store, I felt two things – disappointment, and confusion.

Disappointment because I’d really been looking forward to this isometric action-RPG from The Gentlebros. on the big screen of Apple TV, with a controller in-hand for the full console experience. But as you can see, controller-compatibility is not listed.

Controller-compatibility, when listed, looks like this:

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The confusion came due to a lack of controller support simply not making sense for Cat Quest II. Given that all Apple Arcade games are playable on iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs, and Macs (when macOS Catalina arrives in October), I couldn’t see how a complex console-style action-RPG could possibly have controls shoehorned into the Siri Remote.

Okay I thought, I’ll download it to Apple TV and see for myself.

I’m glad I did.

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PS4 Controllers Turn The Colour Of Apple Arcade

The light bar on Sony’s DualShock 4 is not universally loved. Some have taken such a disliking to it that they’ve actually taped over it to obscure it completely.

I get it.

In a darkened room, the reflection on a television is not ideal, and yet it’s just never bothered me in the least. In fact I’m the complete opposite – I advocate for it, and feel it’s one of those small little details that while seemingly insignificant, helps add up to the overall sum that makes the PS4 such a beautifully crafted machine.

And now, this seldom seen detail is shining its light for the benefit of a gaming console not even made by Sony.

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Way Of The Turtle – An Auto-Runner? Think Again.

From what I’d read so far about Way of the Turtle from Illusion Labs, and from the gameplay I’d seen, I’d relegated it to my list of Apple Arcade games to try out on my iPad.

If I’ve made the effort to set myself up in the lounge room, controller-in-hand, big screen and stereo ready to go, then I want to be playing something that justifies the experience, something that enables complete agency over my avatar in a way that auto-runners don’t.

The casual gaming experience of an auto-runner makes a great fit for mobile, with touch controls enabling a style of play that many developers (such as Halfbrick with Jetpack Joyride) have managed to infuse a healthy amount of depth into, despite the casual nature.

But on the big screen I want full control.

So laying in bed on a lazy Sunday morning, I took the opportunity to give Way of the Turtle a chance, to see if it would become one of my go-to auto-runners on iPad.

I soon realised I’d rather be playing it on Apple TV.

It’s actually a 2D platform game with full control: Left, right, stop, and jump.

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Sonic Racing Was Broken On Apple TV, Here’s How I Fixed It

Apple might’ve caught some developers unawares by hitting the big GO button on tvOS 13 a week early, unleashing Apple Arcade on our big screens.

Apple made it very clear leading up to the release of Apple Arcade that all games would be compatible across iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and macOS, so it was confusing that when tvOS got its update, there were some games – such as LEGO Brawls and Sonic Racing – showing as available on iOS and iPadOS, but not tvOS.

Over the last 24 hours however, things seemed to have resolved themselves, as these games are now available on Apple TV as well.

I’d been saving Sonic Racing for the big screen, not wanting to spoil the first-time experience for myself on iOS or iPadOS, and so when it finally appeared I quickly fired up the lounge room, mashed the ‘Get’ button, and booted up SEGA’s hotly anticipated kart racer.

That’s when things went a little pear-shaped.

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How Many Controllers Can You Connect To Apple TV At Once?

Updated May 2021: This story has been updated to include the newly added compatibility for the PlayStation 5 DualSense and Xbox Series S and X controllers. Compatibility for these came to tvOS recently via the 14.5 update. The information over the page has been updated accordingly, and the links to Apple’s pages remain current.

Original Story from September 2019:

Love that artwork Apple.

The gaming party is in full swing at the moment on Apple TV, thanks to tvOS 13 arriving a week early, and bringing Apple Arcade along with it.

With dozens and dozens of games to choose from, it can be a bit daunting at first deciding what to try first, and if you need help choosing, then let ATVG help carry your burden and head on over here to find out which four games I played first. Feel free to follow in my footsteps, my first night of Apple Arcade gaming on Apple TV was a cracker.

It seems there’s at least one of almost every genre to choose from on Apple Arcade, with more on the way, and many classic genres such as 2d fighters and kart racers really shine with local multiplayer. With this in mind, and also prompted by a long time reader’s recent question, I though why not take a look at just what you can connect to your Apple TV, and how many.

The results over the page might surprise you, and help you to realise that you actually own a very capable gaming console.

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The Apple TV Gaming Blog

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