Apple Arcade adds 20 games, including new What the Golf? follow-up

And a Disney game from Words with Friends' creator.

News by Tom Phillips Editor-in-Chief

Published on May 4, 2023

Apple Arcade has received a major shot in the arm today, with the addition of 20 further titles for the smartphone subscription service.

These include all-new games from the developers behind What the Golf?, Words with Friends and Sim City, plus a fresh Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles roguelike.

A number of existing favourites are also getting Apple Arcade versions - meaning no adverts, and no microtransactions. These include Kingdom Two Crowns, Limbo, Octodad: Deadliest Catch, Snake.io, Temple Run, Very Little Nightmares, Farming Simulator 20, and Getting Over It from Bennett Foddy.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is a new roguelike from Super Evil Megacorp, developer of cross-platform MOBA Vainglory. It's an Apple Arcade exclusive and co-op friendly, so you and your pals can play as different members of the Turtles' squad as they battle across New York City. It's being pitched equally at long-time Turtles fans, with a story to match, and accessible for newcomers.

Next up, Words with Friends co-creator David Bettner is back with Disney SpellStruck, a cute puzzler with dinky versions of Disney and Pixar characters who guide you through familiar-looking Scrabble-like boards.

Disney SpellStruck features a Adventure Mode you can play solo, but of course there's a Versus Mode to challenge other players, and a Daily Challenge. The story follows Blank, an evil entity who has scrambled up familiar Disney locations and characters. Save them, and you'll gain access to that character and their superpower, which can give you a new ability to use in matches - solo and against other players. So it's Scrabble with hero powers. Oh, and it looks lovely.

Cityscapes: Sim Builder from Magic Fuel Games is the work of Maxis veterans, and it's a city sim game - as you might expect. It's being billed as a live-service without the need for microtransactions, thanks to Apple Arcade's subscription. There's a monthly season pass for exclusive cosmetics, but it's also included in your subscription.

It features pretty much everything from a city sim you'd expect, but on your phone. That means a virtual environment teaming with cars and other animated elements, plus a day/night cycle. There's an environmental push too, with players forced to confront issues such as wildlife habitat concerns versus the need for more housing, or sports facillities to keep your citizens healthy.

What the Golf? developer Triband is making What the Car?, another comedy experience from the Danish developer. As you'd expect, it properly takes the piss out of racing games - or from my point of view, actually makes them worth playing.