Apple Arcade, everything you need to know: price, trial month, catalog and exclusives

Presented for the first time during the last edition of the WWDC, Apple Arcade is Apple's new subscription service that gives you access to a catalog of games to download without advertising and in-app purchases.

We tried it and there are so many things to say so we decided to tell you about our test and collect all the useful information in a single article!

What is Apple Arcade?

Apple Arcade is a subscription service that allows you to access a catalog of over one hundred games to download (currently there are just over fifty). The subscription can be done on the App Store or on the website. The catalog of games offered is completely without advertising e there are no in-app purchases. In order to play, titles must be downloaded and therefore it is not possible to use them in streaming; however, it is possible to archive the saves on iCloud, in order to make the game available cross-platform among the various compatible Apple devices in your possession.



A new way to play on smartphones and tablets!

The subscription can also be shared thanks to the Family Sharing feature which allows you to create a household of users and devices associated with the same Apple ID. In the case of children, on the other hand, there is the usual field for parental controls or to limit the use of games through the Time of use function.

Where can I play?

Before signing up for a subscription, it is good to know what are the required hardware and software requirements.

In order to access the service, you must have a device with iOS 13 (iPhone 6s and later), iPadOS (iPad Air 2 and later), TvOS 13 o macos catalina.



Also, you can play using the Dualshock 4 and controller Xbox One connecting them through the apposition section reachable from Settings> Bluetooth.

How much?

The monthly price is € 4,99 per month. The first time you subscribe, you can try the service for free for one month. Upon activation of the free month, the Automatic Renewal. It is also good to know that, during the trial month, the service stops immediately when you suspend the automatic renewal.

As with other subscription plans such as iCloud or Apple Music, it is possible to share the subscription with up to 6 people via the “Family Sharing” function.

Apple Arcade, everything you need to know: price, trial month, catalog and exclusives

What games are included?

The subscription includes both exclusive and non-exclusive titles. In this specific case, the concept of exclusivity refers mainly to the mobile world therefore it is not excluded the arrival of these games, in the future, also on PC and consoles.

As with the other apps, each game has its own dedicated page complete with reviews, trailers and screenshots. In addition, there is information such as recommended age, gender, number of players (eg 1-4), developer, language and download size.

Below is the list of titles currently included in Apple Arcade:

  • skate city
  • Agent intercept
  • tint.
  • Assemble with care
  • Mutation
  • Mini motorways
  • Dear Reader
  • Patterned
  • The Enchanted World (esclusiva)
  • The pinball wizard
  • Towaga: Among Shadows
  • Sayonara Wild Hearts
  • oceanhorn 2
  • Stellar commanders
  • Operator 41
  • Exploittens
  • Projection: First Light (esclusiva)
  • Cardpocalypse
  • Down in bermuda
  • spidersaurs
  • The get out kids
  • EarthNight
  • Outlanders
  • Don't Bug Me!
  • HyperBrawl Tournament
  • Shantae and the Seven Sirens
  • Punch planet
  • Overland
  • Rayman mini
  • Dodo peak
  • Chu Chu Rocket! Universe
  • Nautical Dread
  • lifeslide
  • Spell drives
  • Speed Demons (esclusiva)
  • Red Reign (exclusive)
  • LEGO Brawls (exclusive)
  • Big Time Sports (exclusive)
  • Possessions.
  • BattleSky Brigade: Harpooner
  • Dead End Job
  • Card of darkness
  • Fledgling heroes
  • Where Cards Fall (esclusiva)
  • Spaceland
  • Sneaky Sasquatch (esclusiva)
  • VARIOUS DAYLIFE
  • Murder mystery machine
  • King's league ii
  • Stranded sails
  • Way of the Turtle (esclusiva)
  • Sonic racing
  • spec.
  • WHAT THE GOLF?
  • Bleak Sword (exclusive)
  • Painty mob
  • Frogger in toy town
  • Tangle Tower
  • Hot lava
  • Cricket through the ages
  • ATONE: Heart of the Elder Tree
  • Shinsekai Into the Dephts
  • Over the alps
  • Jenny LeClue - Detectivu
  • Cat Quest II
  • Exit the gungeon
  • Hexaflip: The Action Puzzler
  • Word laces
  • Neo Cab
  • Super Impossible Road
  • Grindstone
Apple Arcade, everything you need to know: price, trial month, catalog and exclusives

Our test

Delighted and in part impressed by the huge list of games available, to start we created and then filled a folder with nine different games or the ones that most of all, at first glance, managed to inspire and intrigue us. Our test took place on both the 10,5 ″ iPad Pro (2017) and the iPhone Xs Max. To better test the quality of the service and products offered, we have chosen games for all tastes: from great classics such as RaymanMini a Sonic racing, Via oceanhorn 2 e Cat Quest II.



Although the App Store is already a controlled place and with rather high quality standards compared to the Google counterpart, in Apple Arcade this concept turns out to be even more exasperated and therefore, as in the best clubs, a stringent selection is applied at the entrance to part of the publishers of Apple. Therefore, in general, all the titles that we have had the opportunity to try have been well optimized and very pleasant to see. Although mobile productions generally tend to be minimized, thanks to the iPhone's OLED display with High Dynamic Range and stereo audio, the experience and visual quality imagined by the developers is really enhanced. Furthermore, it should also be emphasized that the latest generation devices have now reached a considerable calculation and processing capacity, allowing a fluid and smooth execution of more or less full-bodied titles.

Before talking about one of the most massive productions that we have been able to try, it is right to give credit also to the minimal style, the inspired tone and the flat colors of titles such as Overland e Mini motorways, two fairly classic strategy games that mix survival elements with roguelike and management mechanics respectively, perfect for mobile sessions and absolutely pleasant and enjoyable on both iPhone and iPad.

La prova di Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm

Of all the games we tested, however, there is one that really blew us away. Is called Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm, is developed in Unreal Engine 4 and represents in our opinion the highest peak, technically speaking, ever reached on smartphones. This is a single-player adventure - it supports both the use of controllers and the Italian language, which at the moment can be downloaded exclusively on Apple Arcade, for a total weight of Gigabyte 2,3.



The level of graphic cleanliness is high and, together with the lighting system, it returns shades of bright, warm and believable colors. The iPhone's OLED panel does justice to a truly unique mobile gaming experience with 1.000.000: 1 contrast and wide color gamut. The textures are cared for and the elements of the environment with which the character can interact are well animated and responsive; the range of effects proposed instead, during and outside the fighting, is rather simple and not very invasive but still satisfying. In terms of involvement, we must applaud the whole sound sector which is enveloping and coherent in every moment of the game, so much so that it has pushed us on more than one occasion to resort to the use of headphones.

A unique gaming experience that makes the most of the iPhone's OLED display.

The fluidity of the game, as mentioned, is excellent and does not suffer from problems neither when playing using the touch controls nor when using a wireless controller. Of course, the convenience of playing with a pad is incomparable to the on-screen control system, however, under certain conditions and with large displays (starting from 6,5 "), the title still manages to be enjoyed without compromising too much gaming experience.

Note a rather delicate battery situation: although the internal menu of Oceanhorn 2 provides a game mode in "energy saving", the obvious consequence of playing such a complex and demanding title for the processor of your device is overheating and a consequent not indifferent battery consumption. From this point of view, perhaps more could have been done but in any case, our data is safe (you can create three different save files) because at any time and with just a few taps, you can create a backup of your progress. also on iCloud.

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