The NEOGEO is generally characterized by, with only a few notable exceptions, fighting games and Metal Slug. Within a couple of years of its launch, the vast majority of the output on the console seemed to be mining (quite successfully) a few particular types of games. To be fair, such was the state of arcades by the mid-1990s. If you weren’t making a fighting game, a licensed beat-em-up, a shoot-em-up, or a puzzle game, you were rowing against the current.
Sigono’s OPUS series of games had its debut with OPUS: The Day We Found Earth back in 2015 on iOS and Android. That was eventually ported to PC and Nintendo Switch with its followup game OPUS: Rocket of Whispers following the same pattern. I adored the first game and have played it on every platform. While I do have issues with the gameplay in OPUS: Rocket of Whispers, I still consider it worth experiencing for fans of the first game. When OPUS: Echo of Starsong ($8.99) was announced, I was hoping it would make its way to iOS because it kept looking like a massive step up over the originals in scale and production.
Marvel Snap is a really good card game. On the one hand, you could say that isn’t all that surprising. Ben Brode is one of the minds behind it, and you might remember him as the lead designer of Hearthstone. Four years ago he and some of his colleagues dipped out from Blizzard and set off to do their own thing, and that turned out to be Marvel Snap. The pedigree is there. These folks clearly know how to make a good card game, so of course they went and made another good card game.
If you own a Steam Deck or have played anything on Steam over the last year, you likely have heard of or seen Vampire Survivors. When it had just hit Steam Early Access, I had a few friends try to get me to play it, but I didn’t bother because I rarely play games until they do their proper 1.0 launch. Vampire Survivors on Steam Deck made me break that rule after I saw a few GIFs of the gameplay. The blend of survival, rogue-lite, bullet hell, avoidance, and more with the aesthetic from developer poncle has been a joy to play for the most part, and it has been mindblowing seeing how much is included in this game at its low price point.
Over the last few years, the Backbone One has been the controller I see recommended the most for iPhone. Jared has been praising it a lot as well when I ask about dedicated grip controllers. While I’ve been using my PS5 and Xbox controllers recently, iOS 16 made me revisit everything and also test out the new(ish) Backbone One PlayStation Edition to compare with the Razer Kishi V2.
In recent years, it feels like the Backbone One has been the de facto controller for playing on iPhone. While on an iPad you have the flexibility and convenience of using any console controller with the iPad set on any surface, it never feels as good when using a traditional controller with a clip and iPhone. Having spent the last week or so using both the Razer Kishi V2 and the Backbone One on my iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 to try out various games and both apps, both controllers offer something over the other, but are held back for different reasons.
It’s been seven years since Aquiris’ outstanding arcade racer Horizon Chase (Free) arrived on the App Store. Since then, the game has been on a tour of its own, hitting a variety of other platforms and constantly adding new content to enjoy. About a month ago, we finally got a sequel when Horizon Chase 2 () roared onto the Apple Arcade service in anticipation of a wider release in 2023. I’ve been playing the wheels off the game since then, and I figured I’d write up a review in case anyone needs a nudge.
