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 some very cool games in this week’s list. Games we don’t usually see in these hallowed halls, I dare say. I’ve put together a group of exciting updates with some of the usual suspects and rarer treats for you to enjoy as you get started on your week. 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!
SP!NG, Spexclamationpointng got a super-big update a hair over a week ago. I’m including it anyway because I am a force of chaos that cannot be controlled. Here’s what the developers have got for you: two new chapters with thirty-six new levels to play, introducing a new GravityFlip gimmick. Some adjustments have been made to almost fifty existing levels from Classic mode to make the difficulty a bit smoother. Some UI improvements, bug fixes, and performance updates round things out. Wait, I’m supposed to pronounce it ‘sping‘? Awkward. I’ve got some apologies to make.
Phoenix 2, Free Ooh, a new update for Phoenix 2. This is such a good game, I’m always looking for any reason to fire it up again. So what reasons are we given in this new version? Two new ships, for starters. Esperon and Naya are their names, and they bring with them a new Zen ability, the Clover ATS. This update also has a couple of changes to the gameplay. Pink speed lasers and their targeting beams have had their appearances changed to make them stand out a little better, and your ship now has a visible indictor to show when a Zen ability’s increased charge timer has reset to zero. If that doesn’t make any sense to you, it means you should play this game. Do it. Shaun is nudging you to do it.
Cinco Paus, $9.99 Michael Brough is a bit of a card, in case you didn’t know. Cinco Paus has been, up until now, only available in Portuguese. That’s just how it was, and it was fine. If you knew Portuguese, you had another great roguelite to play. If you didn’t? It was an extra layer of mystery in the early parts of the game as you got to know what things did what. Well, the game finally has a second language option: German. And to celebrate, the latest update notes are written in German! There are quite a few changes with regards to abilities and such, so you’ll probably have to devise some new strategies the next time you play the game. This is where I would insert some clever German if I knew any German words that weren’t cusses. Oh well.
Vortexika, Free Okay, so this latest release from Ernest Szoka, the maker of the excellent Only One, has had something like five updates in the last seven days. Watch out, Trese Brothers. You may have some competition here. Let’s hit all the main points: a new icon, some color adjustments, some serious balance changes to make the game a little easier to handle, improved visibility of pick-ups and V bucks, and a better approach to teaching the player how to play. This is a really fun shooter, and I’ll have my eye on from here on out with regards to Hot Updates.
MARVEL Realm of Champions, Free We’ve got a pair of Marvels to check out this week. I find myself a little annoyed at the subtitle this one has in the App Store at the moment: Make Marvel Yours. I feel like this is a reference to Stan’s classic “Make Mine Marvel" line, but you either do or do not when it comes to The Man’s catchphrases. Sorry. Anyway, this update allows you to unlock Thor, who is a bit of a big wheel these days thanks to his impressive Fortnite skills. There’s some new story content, a new Avenger Tier in the Competitive Seasons mode, more single-player challenges, and a Showdown mode where you need to try to take down Skaar. Sounds fun.
Marvel Contest of Champions, Free And here’s the other Marvel, Contest of Champions. There’s a new quest called Corruption where you have to track down Mister Negative before Kingpin and The Hood do. But why are they looking for him? What’s his deal? In addition, there’s a new event in the form of Shang-Chi’s Ten Ring Tournament. Collect rings by completing various objectives in order to earn some rewards. If it seems odd that we’re having a Shang-Chi event four months before the movie comes out, I think it’s because the movie was originally supposed to be out right about now before it got bumped a couple of times by Black Widow’s delays. There is also some new story content, new solo objectives, and some tweaks to a few Champions.
The Survivalistsâ„¢, Walloping websnappers, this is a hefty update. So hefty that I probably can’t fit it all in here. Highlights: new animals and plants, the ability to tame and breed certain animals, a proper crop system that lets you plant and grow various things, some updates to the labyrinths, some new structures that open up new customization options, and a whole lot of other things. I’ll go ahead and give The Survivalists this week’s coveted UMMSotW award. Quite a bit of competition this time around, so that is a hard-won prize.
Matchington Mansion, Free Here’s the obligatory free-to-play matching puzzle update of the week, friends. I’ve picked Matchington Mansion, just for variety’s sake. It features a new event called Red Panda Wonderland that has a new limited-time room in the form of the Spa House. Decorate the Spa House, chill out, and maybe even meet a new friend. And hope that new friend doesn’t eat your face, because listen up: nature has no patience for your nonsense, pal. This update also adds Ice Lounge Part 5, which gives you forty-eight new levels to play. There are also some bug fixes here.
LEGO® Brawls, Uh oh, this is one of those situations where I don’t know what popular thing the update is about and I leave myself open to looking like the old man that I am rapidly becoming. The new LEGO Brawls season is connected to something called VIDIYO. As near as I can gather, it’s a new type of LEGO set connected to Universal Music Group? Well, the end result is a new beach concert level, the option to play on team K-Pawp or Team Robo HipHop, fourteen new bandmate minifigs to collect, and a whole lot of music-related new moves. There are even six new dance emotes to annoy your friends and enemies with. Slap on some bug fixes and performance improvements and that’s basically it. Did I… did I maintain my precious cool?
Horizon Chase, Free Horizon Chase has grown some serious wings since it left our little mobile gaming nest so many years ago. Makes a Mama Bird proud. Happily, the developers haven’t completely forgotten the original version of the game. The Summer Vibes expansion, which came to some of the other versions of the game last summer, is now available on iOS. It adds a somewhat familiar car (and five skins for it) to the game and twelve gorgeous new tracks that give off some serious summer sensations. It’s not free, but at $1.99 it’s hard to argue with the price. Go enjoy some blue skies and great tunes!
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!
