This week, there's a new game about a cast of beloved characters hopping between dimensions that isn't a Marvel game, Netflix reveals yet more new games coming to the service and Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki drops his new game on Apple Arcade.
There's other stuff to play involving hook-ups, guns and dungeons too, but not all at the same time.
Let's get started, shall we?
A multitude of mirror Mickeys
Disney's Mirrorverse has multiple versions of familiar heroes colliding in battle, hopping in and out of portals as they go. It's like they saw the multiversal madness going on in the MCU and decided to get in on the action.
You begin Disney Mirrorverse as a battle-ready version of frying pan-wielding Rapunzel, and as Mickey Mouse explains, there's been some hullabaloo around a magical mirror which means you've got to batter a bunch of baddies to get it back.
The 3D arena-style combat is simple enough, with each character's special moves on timers and an easy-to-use swipe and dodge mechanic. In the first few minutes you bump into Ariel, Hercules, Mulan, Jack Sparrow, and Scar from The Lion King, but as you progress you'll build up a team of heroes drawn from across the various Disney and Pixar universes. It's fun stuff from Kabam, the maker of Marvel Contest of Champions, which has proven experience making and supporting these kinds of games over months and years.
The Netflix games keep coming
After it revealed a bunch of new games as part of its Geeked Week stream, we kind of assumed Netflix was done dropping big new game announcements. Happily, we were wrong.
It confirmed this week that four new games are coming in July, two of which look really interesting. Immortality is an interactive video thriller from the mind behind Her Story and Telling Lies, Sam Barlow, which is already getting people hyped for its release on PC. Before Your Eyes is another story-led game, but with a quirky conceit — you control it by…blinking. There's also a match-3 game and a Mahjong Solitaire game coming.
The very next day, Netflix announced that beloved indie strategy game Into the Breach is also coming to the service on July 19. Netflix and developer Subset Games have promised the game will be the exact same as the Advanced Edition of the title coming to PC and console, but with a new touchscreen interface.
These are more smart moves from Netflix as it continues to build out its games catalog. While getting these indie darlings onto the service is great, we're still yet to see a true blockbuster game arrive as part of the Netflix games offering. But it's coming. We can feel it.
A twist of fate
Admittedly, we were a little bit snarky about Sega legend Yu Suzuki's new Apple Arcade game Air Twister when it was first announced. And we were half-right to be. It turns out it's a fun, if limited, space shooter.
With its unhinged PS2-era aesthetic and bizarre Queen-like soundtrack, it's quite the assault on the senses. You thumb your way around the screen dodging incoming fire from strange flying creatures and a steady stream of shiny, spiky metal things before encountering giant end-of-stage bosses. It's a new version of Space Harrier in all but name, essentially.
So while it probably won't grab your attention beyond the first few levels, if you're already an Apple Arcade subscriber it's worth a quick look, if only to marvel at just how bizarre it all is.
What else to play this week
The two other games worth a look this week each have extremely 'on the nose' titles.
Hook Up: The Game is a short indie narrative set within a fictional dating app called Hook Up. You play a thirsty young person working through some issues by, well... you get the idea. Naturally, it addresses some adult themes and is certainly not for young players, but it is a well-written and fascinating peek into a world that I, an extremely boring 40 year-old straight white man, don't often see.
Gun and Dungeons has an equally blunt title, and unsurprisingly features a lot of guns and dungeons. It's a really fast and fun shooter where you dodge incoming fire then lift your thumb off the screen to blast back, clearing out rooms and picking up a steady stream of upgrades as you go. Great for quick, no-brains-required fun.
Until next week!
- Neil Long
