Optus Mobile Review ALDI Mobile Review Amaysim Mobile Review Belong Mobile Review Circles.Life Review Vodafone Mobile Review Woolworths Mobile Review Felix Mobile Review Best iPhone Plans Best Family Mobile Plans Best Budget Smartphones Best Prepaid Plans Best SIM-Only Plans Best Plans For Kids And Teens Best Cheap Mobile Plans Telstra vs Optus Mobile Optus NBN Review Belong NBN Review Vodafone NBN Review Superloop NBN Review Aussie BB NBN Review iiNet NBN Review MyRepublic NBN Review TPG NBN Review Best NBN Satellite Plans Best NBN Alternatives Best NBN Providers Best Home Wireless Plans What is a Good NBN Speed? Test NBN Speed How to speed up your internet Optus vs Telstra Broadband ExpressVPN Review CyberGhost VPN Review NordVPN Review PureVPN Review Norton Secure VPN Review IPVanish VPN Review Windscribe VPN Review Hotspot Shield VPN Review Best cheap VPN services Best VPN for streaming Best VPNs for gaming What is a VPN? VPNs for ad-blocking Every time I recommend it, people are quick to judge the colour-matching gameplay because, often, their only experience is with games like Bejeweled or Peggle, or worse, some of the insidious gambling-adjacent free-to-play games littering the App Store and Google Play. But developer Capy has taken the often sinister aspects of the genre and use them as a force for good by nixing any and all free-to-play elements (such is the Apple Arcade credo) and giving Grindstone some personality; something you just don’t see in the genre. Rounds of Grindstone are short, sharp and outrageously brutal. You play as Jorj, a sword-wielding Viking who traverses a dangerous icy mountain like a pinball of death and destruction. Using simple swipe controls, you must chain together as many critter murders as possible. As a colour-matching game, you can only jump between critters that share a colour at first (e.g. blue to blue). That is until you string together enough kills (10 or above) to spawn a grindstone, which allows you to jump from one colour to another, opening the gates for sheer annihilation. Once a few grindstones have dropped, there’s almost no stopping Jorg from clearing out entire levels with one fell swoop. However, the perpetual critter culling (understandably) angers the horde and as you progress through each level, the critters are given the chance to fight back. For example, if you land next to an angered enemy, Jorg can lose a heart (he has three in total). Get hit three times and you will lose all your loot and precious grindstones. Grindstone actually gives you the option to leave peacefully with all your gear intact early on in each level but this is a game about guts and glory and the risk of losing it all makes painting the mountain red all the sweeter. If you’re currently climbing the mountain of Apple Arcade games, do yourself a favour and give Grindstone a gander. You won’t be disappointed and you WILL NOT STOP.
Super Time Force Ultra (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows and Mac) Below (Xbox One - Available on Game Pass, PC) Collaboration// Superbrothers: Sword and Sorcery EP (Switch, Android, iOS, Windows and Mac)
The world of Pilgrims might seem small, and the laundry list of objectives quite short, but there are loads of ways you can tackle each puzzle to reach the end goal. Thanks to the charming characters and the game’s zen-like pace, you’ll want to jump back in and try a different path almost immediately. It’s the kind of game that makes you smile from ear to ear and a delightful way to spend 30 to 40 minutes before dozing off.
Chuchel (Android, iOS, Windows, Mac) Machinarium (Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, Switch, Windows, Mac) Samorost 3 (Android, iOS, Windows, Mac)
Assemble With Care is a hand-illustrated adventure/puzzle game from the folks who brought you Monument Valley. You play as Maria, a travelled antique restorer who arrives in the fictional beachside town of Bellariva and almost immediately begins repairing the inhabitants’ dusty antiques and their broken hearts. Props to Ustwo games for building a compelling lead character and world around a very simple core mechanic but what I really can’t get enough of is the nuts and bolts of Assemble With Care, the tranquil puzzle-solving. If you’ve got an itch for pulling things apart but don’t have the patience or dexterity to put them back together, Assembled with Care is for you.
Monument Valley (iOS and Android) Monument Valley 2 (iOS and Android)
I had absolutely no expectations when I started Inmost and it quickly shot to the top of my mobile must-plays. Coming from a small two-man Lithuanian studio via indie publisher Chucklefish Games (Stardew Valley, Wargroove) Inmost casts the player as three separate playable characters from different times (and worlds) all with different playstyles, controls and puzzle-solving mechanics. The world of Inmost is teeming with supernatural beasties; from dangerous slime to possessed corpses and towering, Lovecraftian goliaths; it’s a full-blown supernatural horror. Behind all that, there’s a tender and tragic story about grief. Some of the best moments of Inmost came completely out of the blue. One that stuck with me was a sombre walk in the shoes of a frail old man while an unknown voice waxes poetic. This early scene was all I needed and Inmost had me hook line and sinker.
Stardew Valley (iOS, Android, Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, Mac) Wargroove (Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows) Risk of Rain (Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, Mac)
Simogo’s rhythm game has been described as a visual pop album about a history of heartbreak. Many have joked that’s it’s the Taylor Swift album of indie games but in reality it’s more akin to a K-Pop music video. It’s also narrated by Queen Latifah as if that’s not reason enough to give it a whirl. The game wastes no time throwing you into the action. From the main menu, the needle drops and the tunes don’t stop coming until the credits roll. Each level/song is themed differently; influencing not only the soundtrack but the world and challenges Simogo throws at you. Speaking of challenges, there’s not a lot to be found here. Like Assemble with Care, Sayonara Wild Hearts has been designed to be enjoyed peacefully. It does throw a new interesting challenge at you every few levels but at most, you’ll fumble a handful of times and even then the game will ask if you’d like to fast-forward a little if you’re having trouble . The most basic description of Sayonara is an on-rails endless runner with rhythm elements such as timing your actions in sync with the soundtrack. You’d think that’d be a perfect fit for touch controls but it’s not as simple as swiping left and right to change lanes; sometimes you need a little extra dexterity that’s tough to nail with touch. I’d recommend playing this one with a PlayStation or Xbox gamepad if you’ve got one handy.
Device 6 (iOS) Year Walk (iOS, Windows, Mac) Beat Sneak Bandit (iOS)
Indie golf games are usually driven by one core principle: golf is boring, whacking things with a stick is fun. Something What the Golf? clearly understands. What The Golf? features a series of increasingly absurd courses where the golf ball target can be just about anything. In one course you might be using a cat as target practice and in the next you could be flogging the poor kitty cat across the green. Each level is like a Kinder Surprise; if the surprise was a new absurd reimagining of the fundamentals of golf. Controls seem simple at first: tap to parry, swipe to dodge roll, and use both in tandem to attack in any direction, as well as holding down one finger to charge attacks. If you’re not feeling the touch controls, you can connect a PlayStation or Xbox controller and play that way. It might make gameplay a little easier but truth be told, the developers have done a cracker job translating this shortlist of commands to touch. Each round sets the bloody battle on a small dioramic level; a small slice of Bleak Sword’s monochrome fantasy world. Level and character models are super lo-fi 8-bit renditions of menacing forests, knights, ghouls, skeletons etc. Standard fantasy fare. Despite its blocky presentation, enemies move across the small map fluidly and their animations are detailed enough to signpost incoming attacks (which you’ll need to learn for each new enemy type). What I appreciate about Bleak Sword is that it really doesn’t waste any of your time; it’s quick to get to the combat and when you do fall, it’s 100% your own fault. Warm up those digits and download Bleak Sword. Just make sure you’ve got a good protective case before you enter a world of pain. True to form, it’s an absolute delight. If you’ve played any UbiArts Rayman title in the past, the world and gameplay of Mini isn’t going to come as a surprise to you. Same as the other mobile titles, this is an auto-runner where you’re tasked with tapping the screen to jump, vault and glide throughout Rayman’s musically charged challenges. That said, there is a small difference in Mini’s level design. The game’s introduction shows that Rayman’s been shrunk down in size by a wicked wizard. The game takes advantage of little Rayman’s predicament by creating courses and obstacles out of life’s small wonders; things like spiderwebs, bouncy vegetation and the like. To be completely honest though, Rayman’s lush green world’s are already so fantastical, it took me a while to realise that the setting was different from previous titles. Cat Quest II is much the same, but this time, you can play as both a cat and a dog, as you join forces to reclaim your thrones and put an end to the ongoing war between Felingard and the Lupus Empire. It’s a worthy successor to the OG Cat Quest, bringing with it more weapons, spells, abilities, and a ton more pun-filled side quests. Having played both Cat Quest and Cat Quest II on the Switch, I was keen to see how it would translate to my iPhone 12 Mini. As it turns out, it’s pretty purr-fect, with intuitive controls and cute graphics to boot. Essentially, this puzzle strategy game puts you in the shoes of a metro system designer. Set in a number of big cities around the world, it’s your job to create lines and loops to ensure passengers are getting where they need to go in a timely fashion. It’s the kind of game you can fit in between meetings, waiting for your coffee, or for a quick fix during your lunch break. It’s minimalistic, beautifully designed, and oh so addicting. When you’re done redesigning the world’s metro systems, it’s also worth checking out its sequel, Mini Motorways, which is also available on Apple Arcade and will have you equally as hooked. Apple Arcade is also available on MacBooks and iMacs running macOS Catalina or later. In iOS, there’s a dedicated tab for Apple Arcade at the bottom of the screen so it’s super easy to access the library of games included in your subscription. Once your free months runs dry, Apple will charge you $7.99 per month to keep playing the games you’ve downloaded via Apple Arcade.
