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. It’s a relatively dire bunch this week, I regret to say. It’s like all the positive energy for the bunch was absorbed by a major update to a game that hasn’t seen much updating at all in the last fifteen years. 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!
AFK Arena, Free The best RPG for busy us is back in the updates articles, and this time it’s because it’s doing a collaboration with That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. Rimuru – Demon Lord and Shuna – Miko Princess are joining the game, complete with their original voice actors. Aside from that, there’s also a new Draconis hero in the form of Melion – Warden of Order. Not a whole ton in the notes beyond that, but I’m sure there are the usual little tweaks and bug fixes as well.
Gardenscapes, Free Let’s get the obligatory free-to-play matching puzzle game update out of the way early this time. It’s summer in Gardenscapes, and that means it’s time for Austin and friends to hit the beach! Well, it seems like they’re going to be hitting the pool instead, but… close enough, right? Also in this update: a secret agent defends Earth against invaders, the gang takes a trip to the chocolate factory, and Harry and Jane’s relationship hangs in the balance along with the fate of Mineral Valley.
Real Racing 3, Free A Real Racing 3 update almost always entails new cars and events being added to the game, and yes, that checks out here. Let’s name those cars! Koenigsegg Gemera, Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Lotus Evija, Porsche 919 Hybrid, and Bugatti Divo. How about those? Some cool cars there. Look, I’m not a car guy. I can’t keep up this charade. But you can try to add these cars to your garage via the various events running in the game right now and in the coming weeks.
Jetpack Joyride 2, Okay, there are a few updates that we’re looking at this time that are immediately out of date due to being connected to the Fourth of July holiday, but let’s just grin and bear it. Jetpack Joyride 2! Independence Day event with plenty of fireworks, a thing that everyone loves! Except dogs. And most people. Well, what can you do? Beyond that, there’s a beach event, some updates for those using the Vision Pro, and some bug fixes and performance enhancements. If you’re enjoying the game, there’s plenty to like here.
SimCity BuildIt, Free This one is actually a little over a week old, but today we take what we can get. The latest Mayor’s Pass Season is dedicated to Barcelona, allowing you to construct famous locations like La Pedrera, Catalonia Square, and the Sagrada Familia. Build the Bureau of Restorations and get to work on crafting new items and completing the events if you want to catch up on all this. I’m sure you’re not too late for all of it. Probably.
Whiteout Survival, Free This game seems a little popular these days, doesn’t it? I guess ad campaigns work. Well, perhaps having it here will rub some of that popularity off on us. Ha, if only it were that easy. I should at least say the name in case the web searching robots pick it up. Ahem… Whiteout Survival. Anyway, the latest update adds three new heroes to the game, and then comes rushing in with a massive list of optimizations and balance adjustments. You come for the heroes, and stay for the various improvements. I wonder if that works? Probably. The game isn’t ripping up the charts for nothing.
Minion Rush: Running game, Free Despicable Me 4 is rocking the box office at this very moment, and as you might guess the latest update to Minion Rush is capitalizing on that. Help Poppy and the Minions steal the honey badger in Poppy’s First Heist, the latest Special Mission for the game. It also seems to be getting ahead of the upcoming Olympic Games, setting up an event called World Games where the Minions are playing a variety of sports in order to train. I still miss Spider-Man Unlimited, but I guess some part of it is still living on in this game.
Tiny Tower: Tap Idle Evolution, Free Here’s the other main Independence Day-themed update in the list. Tiny Tower loves holidays and it rarely misses a chance to do a Fourth of July event in particular. This time it’s a relatively low-key affair, with Fireworks to collect and possibly the most generous Spin Wheel I’ve seen in my time playing the game. Also some new holiday-themed tower tops, lobbies, and elevators you can buy if you have the Bux. It will keep you tapping, if nothing else.
PiKuBo - 3D Nonogram Puzzles, Free I already wrote this one up in its own article late last week, but here we are again. There is a new Puzzle Pack with thirty-six puzzles you can buy, and they’re a good challenge this time around. The game now labels the difficulty of each pack, which is cool, and you can toggle a setting if you want to keep your paint/hammer active while turning the camera. Cool stuff, love it.
Vay, $5.99 This week’s coveted UMMSotW award winner is Vay, a game that somehow held itself together with popsicle sticks and glue since its debut on the App Store sixteen years ago, albeit with a few little updates here and there, but was in sore need of a proper overhaul. By the way, this version of the game is now older than the original game was when this app first released. Little fun fact there. Anyway, this is as proper an overhaul as we can expect. Some of the assets still look very low-res, but this 2.0 version features a complete engine rewrite with all kinds of modern niceties like controller and iCloud support along with, you know, options that don’t require you to open up your phone’s Settings app to adjust. Seems like the ugly redrawn graphics have been yeeted, too. Anyway, Vay lives! Who would have guessed it would be among the last standing from those early years?
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!