Despite thousands of beloved and critically-acclaimed games essentially disappearing overnight as a result of what we dubbed the ’32-Bit Appocalypse’, it was a bit surprising how underwhelming the reaction was to the whole situation. Of course, the TouchArcade community fought ’til the end, but there seemed to be an atmosphere of apathy and resignation amongst many gamers and the wider industry press – it became increasingly clear that Apple weren’t going to do anything to help alleviate this issue. However, the reception to new development studio GameClub announcing their plans to resurrect a number of forgotten iOS classics has been overwhelming, and reinforces the need for preservation on a gaming platform that means a lot to so many. In the latest issue of UK-based games industry magazine Edge, GameClub provided interesting new details on the process behind their revival efforts, and revealed a number of cult favorites that are set to join the developer’s impressive library of titles soon.
The big announcement within GameClub’s Edge feature is undoubedtly the return of Incoboto, perhaps one of the most creative iOS exclusives from a time when so many indie developers were taking advantage of the freedom that the platform gave them. Intuitive touch controls and some really interesting physics puzzles ensured the game received an extremely positive TouchArcade review back in 2012, and resulted in Incoboto being one of the most requested titles to make a return during GameClub’s initial announcement. Space Miner: Space Ore Bust is another huge win for the developer, as the game was an incredibly worthy recipient of the TouchArcade Game of the Year award in 2010. Through combining compelling RPG aspects with incredibly tight shooting action, Space Miner was one iOS title that came out of absolutely nowhere to completely floor me at the time, and so it’s fitting that it is set to return to the App Store in a similar fashion.
Other games announced include cute cat-kicking simulator (yes, really) Hackycat, early App Store relic Chopper 2, and hectic castle brawler Legendary Wars – all which I’m sure will have people reminiscing of the good old days of pre-IAP mobile gaming. However, Gasketball is perhaps my most highly anticipated GameClub project yet. Made by the same people that were responsible for Solipskier and Threes ($5.99), Gasketball was an incredibly creative arcade game that required clever construction tactics to land a basketball within a hoop. With awesome level creation features and great asynchronous multiplayer (both of which I hope are still accessible within GameClub’s resurrected version of the title), Gasketball was a perfect demonstration of the strengths of the platform and, similar to the previously announced Zombie Match Defense, one that didn’t get the recognition it deserved as a result of the changing nature of the App Store.
Beyond these game announcements, the Edge feature also gave an interesting look on how GameClub actually brings these titles back to life. According to Kepa Auwae of Rocketcat Games, Hook Champ was believed to be beyond saving, as so much had changed from the 2009 iDevices it was originally created for. However, after handing over the source code to GameClub, the team had it ’90 per cent functional within a day-and-a-half’. This certainly gives us hope that even the most decrepit games could make a comeback, and these chances are only going to grow as the developer becomes more adept at declining with the problems of these broken games. Beyond all this, it’s really cool to see iOS gaming, as well as the role TouchArcade has played in championing the platform, in such a prominent and influential magazine as Edge. As a long-time subscriber, it’s been great to see the spotlight that the publication has repeatedly put onto mobile games on a long-term basis, and I’d definitely recommend giving the full article a read if you can. With Apple putting a greater focus on gaming with their Apple Arcade scheme, and the likes of GameClub ensuring the early days of the App Store are not forgotten, it’s certainly a good time to be into mobile gaming.
I was really excited about GameClub at first, as there are many iOS games that I owned and miss. Unfortunately, these are all indie titles that I never played (nor heard of, mostly), so I guess I'm outta luck here. I'd happily pay $10 for a working version of Fight Night, but I'm not seeing anything worthwhile here. I guess that's to be expected with licensing and all...
You don't need a nostalgic connection to enjoy any of these games - a lot of them still stand up with the best of what iOS has to offer even now. If anything, that's as much the point of GameClub as well as just bringing back your favourite games. They've also been around for less than a month, so wouldn't rule out anything yet.
I hope you're right, and I don't want to take anything away from other people and their favorite games. I fully endorse what they have set out to do. I hate the modern game model, with a free download and an expensive back end. I refuse to download any "free" games.
Exactly, it seems like they’re just selecting random games they can get access to cheaply.
The point of this effort is to bring (back) great games. If you don't want to give "indie titles" a try, well, that's your loss dude.
I've tried many, many indie titles, but they almost always disappoint. The only one that's on my phone right now is College Lacrosse 2019. I play games like GRID, NBA 2K, and Pinball Arcade daily. Indie games are kinda like Indie movies, they often look like a great concept, but they disappoint in execution.
Still, I am glad someone is doing this, just disappointed that it won't result in any games that I am interested in.
Nice. Space Miner is awesome!
IKR? I’m super excited to delve back in. Very reminiscent of Star Control with a lot of Asteroids mixed in. One of the very few early titles I loved and played non stop.
It was a fantastic story, too!
I applaud GameClub for resurrecting old titles! I can name a few hundred that I love to play again. A lot of people were frustrated that these titles were removed from the Appstore. So please, keep it up! Thanks GameClub for listening to us.
I hope GameClub brings back iDracula
SPACE MINER is one of those games that just grabbed hold of me and never let go. I was sad that it got broken/abandoned, but it's GREAT that it's coming back! Rock on, GameClub!
Polara is coming back too. Great game 👍
Space miner is for me still the best game ever on IOS! I just love it. The humor, action, mining, controls, story, available upgrades.
Gasketball?! This was one of my favorite games when it was released, and as far as I remember it was a total flop. I have no idea why they chose this game to resurrect, but damn I'm excited.
Hope they optimise them for today's screen resolutions!!
Very nice, space miner is indeed a great game. Would love to see Dungeon Raid back on my iPhone too ;)