Letterlike is much more than just word building. The new game combines your usual word creation with a roguelike with great results. In the game, you will advance through rounds by playing different words. Each level has three rounds. To keep moving through the game, you will need to earn enough points by submitting words. But you will need to watch out as you only have five words per round to earn enough points. And during the final round of a level, your options are restricted by a special ability. All of the rewards you warn can be used to buy items at the shop. Those can help you score more and more points. Some of those can be used automatically while some need to be activated in the round. You can also gain special gems through the game to bank powerful upgrades for each run. You’ll never have to worry about playing the same levels with procedurally generated runs. Each one offers random items and bosses for endless fun. While the game is designed to be played solo, specific runs can be replayed by friends using a shared seed. There’s no need for an Internet connection to play, so it’s perfect for a plane ride or any other time without a wireless signal. Letterlike is a $2.99 download on the App Store now. It’s only for the iPhone. Get Letterlike in the App Store
It’s shaping up to be a great season for Apple Arcade fans. Apple has just announced 15 new titles arriving on the gaming subscription services in December and January. Here’s what expect. December 5The new game additions start arriving on Thursday, December 5. Highlighting the additions is Talking Tom Blast Park. In the game, you can joining the iconic Talking Tom and friends to save Blast Park from Rakoonz. Players will have wacky blasters like the Duckinator and Power Plunger to defeat the trashy foes. Other additions on that day include Boggle: Arcade Edition, PAC-MAN 256, Hot Wheels: Race Off+, Barbie Color Creations+, and Little Cities: Diorama for the Apple Vision Pro. December 9Just four days later on December 9, two Final Fantasy games will arrive. FINAL FANTASY IV (3D REMAKE)+ features updated graphics along with improved gameplay and voice acting. The game is the first to introduce the Active Time Battle system. Arriving on the same day is FF IV: THE AFTER YEARS+. January 9To start 2025, seven titles land on Thursday, January 9. The new games are led by Skate City: New York. The popular franchise is moving to the Big Apple. You’ll skateboard through the iconic streets of the city while mastering a host of tricks in real-world locations. Also arriving that day include Three Kingdoms HEROES, FINAL FANTASY+, Trials of Mana+, Rodeo Stampede+, and It’s Literally Just Mowing+. Gears and Goo is only for the Vision Pro. Subscribe to Apple ArcadeTo subscribe on your iPhone or iPad, open up the App Store tab and then select the Arcade tab. All of the games are ad-free and don’t have any in-app purchases or subscriptions. You can try out Apple Arcade with a one-month free trial. After that, it’s $6.99 per month. It’s also a part of all Apple One bundles. A subscription can be shared with up to six other members of your family with Family Sharing.
Before starting a road trip, you’ll obviously need directions through a navigation app. But something you might forget is to check the weather on the route. There’s nothing worse than heading out and getting delayed by severe weather or something else. That’s where Weather on the Way comes in. Instead of a dedicated navigation app like Apple Maps or Google Maps, it’s designed to work with them. You can see the route and a detailed forecast for points along the route when you’re scheduled to drive through. Along with the temperature and precipitation, you can see more data like visibility range, wind speed, and UV index. You can see all of that on your iPhone screen, or even via CarPlay. To help you avoid bad weather on the route, you can use a departure time slider to see what time to leave. The app has just been updated to version 2.0 with two new features. First up, the Go Now mode will automatically update the weather forecast during driving taking into account your position and the route. Thanks to new support for a Live Activity, you can see the upcoming weather in any iPhone with a Dynamic Island, no matter what app you have open. That’s a great way to keep your main navigation open and still see the weather conditions. Weather on the Way is a free download now on the App Store for the iPhone. With the free version, you can see weather along with route and any alerts. You can also save your route. But the enjoy all of the app’s features, you’ll need a subscription. That’s available for $4.99 per month or $20 annually. There is also a lifetime unlock of the subscription features for $84.99 Subscribers can take advantage of a number of additional features including CarPlay radar and weather conditions, see alternate routes, look at a live radar, create custom waypoints/stops, and more. Get Weather on the Way in the App Store
Once upon a time, you always knew your photos and videos were safe because they were in a box somewhere in your house and not even you could be bothered to look at them. Everything has changed. Our pictures now belong to the digital realm, where they’re liable to teleport from place to place and show up where you don’t expect them. They move through the world like wayward pets, going wherever they like and taking your secrets with them. Ever been flicking through your gallery to discover that a gross picture you received over WhatsApp is now nestled among your treasured memories? Ever taken a mildly embarrassing private snap only to see it blown up in 4K via your Chromecast? It’s unsettling to say the least. Fortunately, there’s a simple solution at hand. Photo Lock, from developer AlgoTwist, is a neat, user-friendly app that enables you to avoid these minor inconveniences and countless other much more serious violations of your privacy, dignity, and security besides. Features include a secure access folder, unlockable with a pattern, passcode, Touch ID, or Face ID, along with the ability to lock albums with a password. Plus, there’s a private browser that lets you download images directly into a locked private album. Photo Lock offers break-in alerts, too, along with a decoy gallery and misleading app icons to throw snoops off the scent. Basically, it’s like having James Bond’s phone. But it’s also just a really handy way to organize your photos. Photo Lock lets you arrange your media into multiple albums with custom covers using an interface that’s easy and intuitive to use. These can be photos you’ve imported from your gallery or taken directly within the app, meaning there are pretty much no extra steps involved if you don’t want there to be. However, Photo Lock also offers an advanced, subscription-based security level that gives you a host of premium privacy features. The pricing for premium subscription in the app is $7.99 a month with a 7-day free trial, and also $29.99 a year. You can download the base Photo Lock app for free on the App Store. And the app has an official site where you can learn more about it here.
The new game Carrion turns horror on its head. Instead of being hunted, you take on the role of the hunter. You’re an amorphous creature of unknown origins stuck in a prison. But now it’s time for retribution. You will stalk and consume those who imprisoned you to spread fear and panic throughout the facility. As you progress, you will grow and enclave to tear down the prison and acquire more devastating abilities on the road to freedom. The 2D platformer is full of blood and retro charm. I’m just a few minutes in, but am looking to see how much more havoc I can cause and evil scientists I can consume. Carrion is a free download on the App Store now. You can try the game for free with no ads. To unlock the entire game and DLC, you’ll need to make a $6.99 in-app purchase. Get Carrion in the App Store
Some text messages need to be seen by more than a single person. Especially as part of a team, you might need to share information like two-factor authentication code, one-time passwords, and more with others. The new app Forward SMS makes it simple to share that information with a team. The app can automatically forward text messages to email, Microsoft Teams, Slack, or Discord. The app uses Shortcuts to do the heavy lifting. You can forward messages to multiple destinations if you choose. With a focus on privacy, the app doesn’t require any permissions to access messages or take over your phone number. It also doesn’t store any messages, just forwards them on the device. There is a comprehensive step-by-step guide to help you get started and up and running with the integration Forward SMS is a free download available on the App Store now. It’s for the iPhone and all iPad models. You’ll need a subscription to use the app. There are two different options, $9.99 monthly or $71.88 yearly. Both offer a free, seven-day trial. Get SMS Forwarder - Forward SMS in the App Store
Setting timers for a single event is easy to do on your iPhone. But the new app ClickClock lets you easily create and customize a timer for multiple intervals. Whether you’re looking to create a set of timers for a workout, physiotherapy, study sessions, or something else, the app makes it easy. Add a timer and then add a name, you can then add how many times it should repeat. For each repeating option, you can optionally add a name, have the app read out the name, or a sound effect. Adding a name can help you better define each step. ClickClock is a free download on the App Store now. It’s for the iPhone and all iPad models. An optional, $2.99 in-app purchase will unlock the ability to create an unlimited number of timers and use a variety of alternative app icons. With the free version, you can create up to three timers. For anyone who needs to create a multi-step timer, ClickClock is pretty much perfect. With just a few steps, I had created a long timer chain to break up different tasks at work. Get Custom timers - ClickClock in the App Store
The new game Letter Burp is definitely something different. Perfect for any age, the game is truly juicy. You begin the level with a word, like cat. Using the keyboard, you will start typing each letter of the word that is spit out by the mouth to the platform on the bottom of the screen. To win, you will need to keep all of the letter in balance without falling off the platform. To help do that, you can rotate each letter to adjust its position before being spilt out. While it might sound easy, the combination of letter and the constantly moving platform make it difficult, and enjoyable to master. As a nice touch, no internet connection is needed to play, making it perfect for a long plane ride. Letter Burp is a free download now on the App Store. The game is for the iPhone and all iPad models. There are in-app purchases available to unlock all of the levels and other customizable aspects. You can also purchase skips if you get stuck on a level. Get Letter Burp: type and stack! in the App Store
Another month has come to a close, so it’s time to look back at all of the best new games that arrived in October. Our top choice is the tiddy puzzler A Little to the Left. See what else made our list here.
October is in the books so it’s time to look back at the best apps to hit the App Store in the last month. Our top choice is the unique new music streaming service Nintendo Music. See our entire list here.