Slay the Spire, Stardew Valley, and Ridiculous Fishing remaster coming to Apple Arcade

Apple’s Arcade subscription service can be pretty hit and miss – or overly focused on casual gaming – but a trio of all-time indie greats will be joining the Arcade roster in July, and it could be worth diving into.

The headliner of the month of updates is an all-new remaster of the App Store classic Ridiculous fishing by Dutch iconoclasts Vlambeer (Nuclear throne, super crate box). According to Apple, it’s a “full and comprehensive remaster,” now in 3D, that was “built from the ground up by the original award-winning team.” This is quite a surprise considering that the founders of Vlambeer closed the studio in 2020. Polygon has reached out to Apple and Vlambeer for clarification.

Ridiculous fishing is a hugely fun arcade game where you pierce the depths of the sea with unlikely bait (like a toaster), collect as many fish as you can, hurl them into the air and then shoot them down. It was famously plagued by clones before it was even released, but Vlambeer managed to beat the copycats and release one of the hands down best games on mobile. Along with the visual makeover, the new EX version adds a competitive mode with daily, weekly and monthly challenges and leaderboards, and an “extensive and prestigious” new game plus mode. Ridiculous Fishing EX releases July 14 in Apple Arcade.

There will also be “App Store Greats” versions of the brilliant deck-building roguelike Kill the spire and immortal farm sim Stardew Valley. Like other App Store Greats on Arcade, they get a plus sign at the end of their titles to indicate you’re getting all content and updates, without in-app purchases, ads, or other forms of revenue (not that these two premium games that in the first place).

Kill the spire+ arrives July 7 on Apple Arcade and Stardew Valley+ comes out on July 21.

Also coming to Apple Arcade in July Hello Kitty Island Adventure on July 28 – a “cosy new life/simulation game” featuring the indelibly cute mascot – while parents of young children will be thrilled to learn that the eye-wateringly expensive Lego duplo world will get an all-encompassing App Store Greats version on July 7.

There will also be “big” updates to two of Arcade’s best games, mini highways And Mini metro+plus updates to a number of other titles including What the car?the recently released sequel to the hilarious What the Gulf?

What is Apple Arcade?

Apple Arcade is Apple’s subscription service that offers access to over 200 games. All are available on iPhone and iPad, and some can also be played on Apple TV and Mac computers. The service includes final versions of mobile hits such as Jetpack Joyride 2, Cut the rope, Fruit Ninja, Angry Birds, The Oregon RouteAnd Stations of the Crossas well as newer games like Fantasy, mini highways, NBA 2K23, What the Gulf?And Wylde Flowers. Apple promises that Apple Arcade games will never contain ads or in-game purchases.

How much does Apple Arcade cost?

It costs $4.99 a month, and it’s also included as part of Apple One, a bundle that bundles it with Apple Music, TV Plus, and iCloud for $16.95 a month for an individual, or $22.95 for a family of five. Apple is offering a one-month free trial of Apple Arcade, and users who buy a new Apple device get three months free.

Is Apple Arcade Worth It?

If you enjoy playing games on your phone, but don’t like the ads and in-app purchases that have become synonymous with mobile gaming, then Arcade is worth checking out. It’s relatively inexpensive and carefully curated – the included games are of decent quality and cover the entire broad spectrum of mobile gaming, from indie narrative games to casual puzzle games, console-style role-playing games to children’s titles. It’s arguably the best gaming subscription service for families, and it feels great to be completely free of microtransactions and ads.

It’s worth noting, however, that the game catalog is heavily focused on casual gaming, and Apple has struggled to find really exciting new exclusive games for the service lately. If you’re looking for a steady stream of exciting new releases to justify the subscription cost, you might find it too little.