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. I found some things, everyone. Most of them are free-to-play, but I promise they are good. Some pretty hefty content drops, and the first volley of what is sure to be a huge wave of iOS 14 updates. Of course, you can keep an eye out for updates yourself using AppShopper or 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!
Dr. Mario World, Free In addition to the constant flow of new doctors and assistants, Dr Mario World got itself a relatively big update to some of its underlying systems. The number of keys required to open battle boxes has been reduced, and several continue options have been added. Some balance changes have been made to certain doctor skills, the difficulty of some stages has been adjusted, and the number of coins you earn for winning in versus mode has been changed. I think the aim here is to make the game a more player-friendly experience, but you never know with this kind of thing until you put some time in and see the ultimate effects.
Knives Out, Free I’m quite confused by this update, if I can be frank with you all. The tagline on the game’s App Store entry says “Season 13 is underway!", and the first screenshot says ‘Season 13’ on it. But then the main game description and the latest update notes both say “the all-new Season 12 is underway!". So which is it? I don’t know, but at the very least we can safely say that some kind of new season is underway, and it almost certainly features the number one in its tens digit. With Fortnite gone and not likely to come back anytime soon, competitors like Knives Out are pushing forward vigorously.
The Battle Cats, Free Ah, those weird and loveable Battle Cats are back again. I wonder what’s in this latest version of the game? Oh wait, I’m the one who knows. Well, I’d better get on with telling you, then. Some cats have gotten new 3rd forms and Talents, making them more powerful and hopefully more useful too. There are some new Legend maps, with existing maps also getting some higher difficulty versions. There are new User Rank Rewards, new CatCombos, and some alert settings on the Event Calendar for Isle of the Map Lord. Things are rounded out with those ever-awesome bug fixes, ensuring any strange occurrences you run into in the game are deliberate.
AFK Arena, Free Wow… this update. Big… boy. Big boy! Wowow brrrrmmmm! Sorry, had a little glitch there. At any rate, there is a ton of stuff in this new update for AFK Arena. Some highlights include the arrival of Autumn themes for some locations, a couple of new adventures, a new Artifact Blessing feature that lets multiple heroes equip an artifact simultaneously, and some new selectable areas to plunk down your Guild Statue in the Guild Grounds. If you want all the lovely details, I suggest you head over to the App Store and read the update notes. I’d put them all here, but I need to go away from keyboard soon.
RAID: Shadow Legends, Free Yeah, it’s the YouTube Sponsor game again. I’m not being sponsored by them to write these update notes though, don’t worry. I’m just here to tell you what’s new and collect my laundromat coupons from Jared in payment. Anyway, new features. The Artifact Forge, which allows you to craft new sets and Platinum Arena sets using materials. Advanced Quests, which are pretty much exactly what they sound like. You can get some nice rewards for racking up your tally in these. A huge balance adjustment to Champions to try to make the Arena play a bit more competitive. And a fond farewell to support for certain iOS devices. If you’ve got an iPhone 5 and under, you won’t be able to play anymore. Sorry. Also, get a new iPhone.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Free It’s been a long while since we last checked in on this game. It’s still very popular, I see. Well, let’s see what the latest version has in store for us. Project NEXT has officially launched, with huge improvements to the graphics of the game and revamps for many classic heroes like Alucard, Saber, Miya, Layla, and others. A new hero joins the roster in October named Brody the Lone Star, and this update sets things up for that. Finally, a new Little Commander named Mavis was just added to the game. Will she teach you typing? Probably not, no. There’s more than one fictional person named Mavis in the world, yeesh.
Blackmoor 2, Free Hey, alright. Blackmoor 2. This game is pretty dope. It’s a rather nice update, too. There’s a new hero named Frank, which is a fine name for a hero if you ask me. Even better than Frank is that there is a new Endless survival mode to play, and by doing so you will unlock pages in the returning Character Book featuring hand sketches and stories. Cool, cool. There are new dungeon enemies, new bosses, and new design skins, and an online 2v2 mode where you can play co-op with a buddy against a CPU team. Some balance adjustments and bug fixes have also been carried out, making for a rather spiffy new version.
Toon Blast, Free The last moments of summer are in captivity. The galaxy… is at peace. The toons of Toon Blast, desperately seeking context for their new pack of 50 levels, decide to hold a marathon. It is okay, there is no plague in their world. Not yet, anyway. They must compete with all of their strength, not just to overcome each other but also to overcome themselves. To defeat the petty limits placed on their self-worth through years of battering and weathering by the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Only one will be first across the finish line, but in this contest all who defeat their own demons and stoke that raging fire within may be declared… winners.
Butter Royale, It feels extremely likely that I already made a Pulp Fiction joke the last time I covered this game. Likely enough that I don’t want to do it again in favor of looking like a doddering old fool who repeats the same stories and everyone in the room is aware of it except him. He has an inkling, but only after it’s too late. Alas. Uh… a new NOM, everyone. The Hot Sauce Squirty, which is (RUDE JOKE REDACTED). Haha wow, Jared will never let me keep that one in. Probably wasted my time typing it, even. Anyhow, you can drench your opponents with spicy hot sauce, and that is awesome. Some Time Limited events have been added, each with their own goals and twists. Try them out for a little variety in your diet.
Phoenix 2, Free Ooh, a big new update for Phoenix 2. Yes, that is something that is always welcome in these parts. In this new version of the game, there’s a new ship called the Mistral, a new enemy called the Doomsday MIRV, the ability to toggle between 60 fps and 120 fps on iPad Pro devices, and some balance changes to a few weapons and ships. Importantly, this also updates the game for iOS 14 compatibility. With that comes various improvements to the game engine, making the game the best it’s ever been. That’s worth a coveted UMMSotW award from me! Also, don’t forget to check out the really clever App Clips demo of Phoenix 2 that Firi put together, it’s really cool.
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!
