Hello everyone, and welcome to the week! It’s time once again for our look back at the noteworthy updates of the last seven days. There are a few big updates this time around, accenting a list of other more usual suspects. Whether you’re playing free-to-play, Apple Arcade, or paid games, there’s something in here for you to check out. Of course, you can keep an eye out for updates yourself by participating in the TouchArcade forums. This weekly summary is just here to fill you in on the things you might have missed. Let’s go for it!
Minecraft, $6.99 Caves & Cliffs: Part II is finally on tap, and it brings all kinds of awesome stuff to the game. There’s a new cave generation system to explore under your existing worlds, plus some new cave and mountain biomes to discover. Overall, the biome, cave, and ore generation systems have been dramatically improved and updated. So yeah, head on over to some caves and/or cliffs and see what you can turn up.
Zookeeper World, Zookeeper World got another update last week, and it is its biggest one yet. It adds another twenty-five levels to the mix, bringing the total up to three hundred. A couple of new park items have been added, but no new animals. This update also brings in a limited-time Christmas event where you can get some cool holiday-themed decorations by completing a certain amount of puzzles. Yes, I’ve already cleared all the new levels. No, you’re the one who has a problem.
Mini Metro, $3.99 This is both an update for the regular paid version of Mini Metro and the Apple Arcade Mini Metro+. Hey, that’s nice. Usually the + versions seem to run on their own track. In this new version you get a brand new map set in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. To go with it, you get some new achievements and challenges, plus some bug fixes and UI tweaks. Every new map pulls me back into this for a week or so, and yes, that went and happened again.
Fire Emblem Heroes, Free Fire Emblem Heroes has a major one this time around. Book VI of the main story kicks off tomorrow, and you can get yourself a Mythic Hero Ash: Retainer to Askr to get you started off on the right foot. What is waiting for Askr and Embla? You’l have to play to find out. Also in this update is the new Summoner Duels feature that allows you to play synchronous player-versus-player battles. Wow! That is pretty cool. There are a few other bits, but I’ll let you check out all the gritty details on your own.
The Greedy Cave, $0.99 Somehow, this game is still plugging along. In this version, there’s a new Naga race to find at the pub. You can find a new scene through the pier, with a new boss to fight named Gia Mime. The update notes are a little hard to parse, to be honest. There’s something here about a new small angel function that you through a torsion? And apparently you can customize equipment skills through a book function? I’m not too sure what all of that means, but if you want to find out you can fire this old-timer up for another go.
Grindstone, The popular Grindstone has some good stuff in its latest version to keep you grinding those stones for a while longer. This holiday-themed update includes the new Pine Tree Shield, a new cave called Bezoar Bungalow, and the spiffy new Gold-Throwin’ Bomb. You can swing by HjellHjole to pick up some seasonal decorations, and score a nice new upgrade for your old faithful Pickaxe. Happy holidays!
ANOTHER EDEN, Free Well okay, this update technically hasn’t arrived yet but it will very soon. And I am excited enough that I want to talk about it now, so here we are. Another Eden‘s latest collaboration is with none other than Square Enix’s Chrono Cross, which is pretty amazing. Another Eden shares some key staff with Chrono Cross, and in many ways it feels like it follows on from that game. Gosh, I wonder why this game that hasn’t seen a proper rerelease since 2011 is getting a special event all of a sudden? I suppose time will tell. For now, I’ll enjoy this event, which kicks off this Thursday.
Marvel Contest of Champions, Free Finally, Spider-Man is webswinging his way back into theaters! I have been waiting so long for this one, friends. The last movie I watched in a theater was Spider-Man: Far From Home, so I guess it all works out. Anyway, I expect every Marvel app to do something to tie in with the movie, and Contest of Champions appears to be the first. A new event called A Sinister Celebration launches with this update, which sees none other than the nefarious Sinister Six come looking for Spidey. Among them is the deadliest hunter on Earth, the ferocious Kraven. He’s the kind of guy who likes to do his own dirty work, so don’t be surprised to see him get hands-on. I think I’ll play it straight for once and give this the coveted UMMSotW award for his week.
Disney Heroes: Battle Mode, Free Disney Heroes has a new update, and as always that means some new characters are joining the fight. This time, we’ve got a bit of the new in the form of Raya from Raya and the Last Dragon, and a bit of the old in the form of Chip & Dale from Rescue Rangers. Hey, those aren’t bad pulls at all. There’s also a stat refresh for Elsa from Frozen 2, and a December Sign-In Hero and Shop Refresh. Is it okay if I confess here that I’ve never really cared for Chip & Dale? Little hooligans, that’s what they are. Dale seems a bit nicer than Chip but really, ne’er-do-wells the pair of them. Though I do find their Rescue Rangers versions a bit more tolerable. Well, that’s my peace. Good thing no one reads these, eh?
Homescapes, Free We’ll finish up with our obligatory free-to-play matching puzzle update for the week, this time checking in on the Austinverse once again with this new holiday-themed version of Homescapes. You’ve got your usual Christmas update with some new decorations to collect and a special holiday story, some new story content involving a party for a college student, a royal tea party with a talking cat, and more. Wow, that sounds pretty wild! All that just to provide context for shifting some colorful objects about. Well, that’s how it goes these days.
That about wraps it up for last week’s significant updates. I’m sure I’ve missed some, though, so please feel free to comment below and let everyone know if you think something should be mentioned. As usual, major updates will likely get their own news stories throughout this week, and I’ll be back next Monday to summarize and fill in the blanks. Have a great week!
