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Hey!
Summer’s here, and with it comes lazy days when you just want to chill and enjoy a game on your iPad. But what to play? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered — here are three games to while away with.
Pascal’s Wager
I want to start and talk about Pascal’s Wager, a wannabe Souls-like with tones from The Witcher. It’s a dark and bleary action RPG, with high production value. I’m not sure if I’m a fan, though, but that’s beside the point. You see, Pascal’s Wager is one of the first, or even only, third-person games that actually support playing with a mouse and keyboard.
So, what, big whoop?
Mouse support isn’t anything new, it’s been around for some time now, but that doesn’t mean that you can expect a game to function like it would on, say, a PC. That’s because the mouse pointer really is simulating a finger, so there’s no chance of you strafing in Call of Duty Mobile using a keyboard and mouse, for example.
And that’s why I think Pascal’s Wager is interesting. The developers have added support for proper keyboard and mouse gaming, using dark magic no doubt. It’s not native support or anything, so this doesn’t mean that you can expect the same feature in other games. Unless, you know, Pascal’s Wager is a roaring success because of it.
Pascal’s Wager is a premium title. The base game costs $7, and there are more content to be purchased in-app.
Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower
I was a big fan of the original Warhammer Quest, loosely based on a board-game long out of print, and if you haven’t played it, you should — it’s a bargain at $3. Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower isn’t the same thing, not at all, but in a way it is.
Let’s get the elephant out of the room: Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower is free to play, but as you progress through the various campaigns and challenges, you’ll find you’ll need to grind a lot to survive. Or pay money for gold and characters and gems and whatnot, as usual. I’d say that Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower is pretty generous — there are worse free to play games out there — but I did pony up a couple of times during my first rather intense couple of play sessions.
Anyway, we’re talking turn-based strategy here. You’ll have different objects, but usually, it’s about getting your four heroes, or Guardians as they’re called, from one place on the board, to another. Depending on how you do, you’ll level up, get loot from chests, and so on. Using gems, you can summon more Guardians to collect them all, and yes, you’ll get a ton of duplicates so if you truly want all of them, expect to pay good money. Or, you know, grind-grind-grind.
Dungeon-delving board-games such as this are a bit grindy by nature. I pop in and play the dailies sporadically, still.
♟ Get it for free on the App Store.
Game Dev Story+
Kairosoft’s pleasant, and rather quirky, simulators might not be as popular as they once were, but I was thrilled to see Game Dev Story get the plus treatment on Apple Arcade. That means you can waste away the hours building your fictional game studio, create games, and even launch your own games console.
Game Dev Story (plus version or not) isn’t without its problems, though. For me, it just isn’t challenging anymore, which shouldn’t surprise anyone given how many times I’ve played it over the years. There are plenty of exploits, and when you’ve launched your own console, things get a bit … weird.
That’s not to say that Game Dev Story isn’t enjoyable, especially if this is your first time around. Kairosoft simulators are quirky and fun, and this one’s the best if you ask me.
👾 Download from Apple Arcade (if you have a subscription), or buy the original game for $5.
What are you playing on your iPad? Do let me know, preferably by tweeting to @tdh. I’m always looking for more games to play.
Until next week, have a good one!
— Thord D. Hedengren ⚡️
In the wild…
