One of the coolest features of the TouchArcade app (Free) and the site redesign is the ability to add the various upcoming games we post about to a watch list and get alerted to new stories about those games as well as an iTunes link when they’re actually released. If this functionality is news to you, all you need to do is start clicking (or tapping) the “Watch App" slider. The neat part of this for us is that it allows us to see what games people are the most interested in, and post lists like these.
As we’ve said when we post these lists in the past, if the games you’re excited for aren’t on this list, or aren’t as high as you think they should be… Start ticking that “Watch App" slider to make the number of people watching them go up!
Here’s the top games that were announced in 2013 that our readers are most excited for:
Dungeon Keeper – Already available in the Canadian App Store, EA’s Dungeon Keeper scores the top slot for the game the most people are looking forward to in 2014. The forum thread is going strong, with people posting initial impressions of the game. Thankfully, it seems to pay enough homage to the original Dungeon Keeper series to keep everyone happy while at the same time incorporating some Clash of Clans-style elements.
Of course it remains to be seen how the IAP and timers are actually balanced when the game is launched, but so far the IAP seems fairly optional and used for speeding up timers and other typical things you expect of free to play timer games.
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft – This collectable card game from Blizzard has been in various stages of a Mac and PC beta for ages now, and if you really want in, it’s not too difficult to get a key. I see them pop up on r/softwareswap quite often, or if you ask around on Twitter or Facebook, a friend might have an extra. We’ve gotten pretty in-depth with how the game actually works as well as how the collection aspect comes in to play.
Like most virtual collectable card games, purchases, of course, are optional… However, from experience with the PC version, it doesn’t take long before the allure of cracking virtual booster packs sucks you in.
Mines of Mars – Crescent Moon Games’ Mines of Mars has already been through Steam Greenlight, and, it would seem, is closing in on a release. This Mars-centric Minecraft-y game is one we’ve already had our hands all over, and despite being a very work in progress build, it still showed tons of promise.
Basically, imagine a game like Junk Jack X or Terraria, but in space. Really, space makes everything better.
Out There – Interestingly enough, this FTL-like is actually higher up this list than FTL proper is. Potential reasons for that is it seems to blend way more elements into its gameplay than FTL’s often brutally difficult permadeath. Combining elements of choose your own adventure books, resource management, and space exploration, Out There sounds like it’s going to be a lot of fun.
A new trailer recently emerged from Gamescom, which is totally worth a look if these kind of space games are the sort of thing you’re in to.
Final Fantasy VI – The surprise of this list, at least to me, is how low Final Fantasy VI is down it- Especially considering the absolute FF6 fever people have seemed to contract since we first caught wind that Squeenix was porting Final Fantasy games to the platform.
It’s hard to get more classic than Final Fantasy VI, and, well, I can’t wait to get all teary eyed in that Opera House scene all over again on my iPhone.
Mew-Genics – The hotly anticipated cat hoarding game from Team Meat, makers of Meat Boy also secures a spot on our most anticipated list. I seriously love the teaser trailer, and Team Meat has already gone into quite a bit of detail regarding how the hoarding aspects of the game is going to work.
Oh, and the cats apparently will also have their own identities, because I need my cat hoarding games to be just as realistic as my cat hoard in real life.
Final Fantasy Agito – The second Final Fantasy game to make the list, Agito is slated as a free to play RPG for mobile that is designed to be played in cyclical sessions somewhat similar to the Infinity Blade games. A lengthy trailer was revealed at the Tokyo Game Show, but aside from that, details are few and far between.
We do know it’s getting localized, but as far as we know, Square hasn’t committed to a Western release of the game yet.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf – Scheduled for the second quarter of 2014, Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf is a free to play collectable card game of sorts where you build an army of Space Marines to do, well, what Space Marines do best: Fight.
Specifics about the game are hard to come by, but we did see a super brief trailer earlier this month.
Fright Fight – Aiming to be the “Super Smash Bros of your iPhone," the Fright Fight developers have been teasing new videos since we found out about the game this summer.
I’m not sure how it’s actually going to play, since at least for me, so much of playing fighting games is button mashing on an actual controller… But, like Oceanhorn became the Zelda of the iPhone, they could be in for a real hit if they manage to live up to all the Super Smash Brothers expectations.
Battleheart Legacy – Revealed in early November, Battleheart Legacy is one of the games I’m personally looking forward to the most next year. Mika Mobile is basically taking the core of the Battleheart formula, and turning it into a full-blown RPG.
Battleheart sort of revolutionized party management and RPG style battles on the touch screen, so I’m expecting some pretty big things from Battleheart Legacy.
