Even if you’re close to your family and like them quite a bit, Christmas time can be… overwhelming. Maybe there are kids running around and screaming their heads off. Maybe your uncle is saying some truly out of pocket stuff at the dinner table. Maybe you, like me, just get really overstimulated by constant chatter and need to get away for a while.
At times like these, I’d like to whip out my Steam Deck and disengage fully, but that’s generally considered rude during a game of charades. I’m usually forced to use my phone instead, for plausible deniability. Since I’m forced to do this often, I have Apple Arcade which gives me loads of games for no extra cost. If you’re like me, here are some games you can dive into so your parents don’t yell at you in front of the whole family for being rude.
Sorry, Android users. You’re still valid.
Final Fantasy(s)
If you haven’t heard, Final Fantasy is now on Apple Arcade – specifically, the remastered versions of Final Fantasy 4, and Final Fantasy 4: The After Years. Granted, it’ll be a little obvious that you’re playing something as you’ll have to turn your phone on its side, but if you haven’t played any of the early JRPG entries, this is as good a place as any to start. Bonus if you can use a Backbone or something as a controller.
A remaster of the first Final Fantasy is also coming to Apple Arcade, but not until early January.
Balatro
Finding out Balatro was on Apple Arcade has been a huge hit to my productivity, and I still haven’t quite recovered. One of the best games of the year, Balatro works perfectly on iPhone – almost as if it were made for mobile, really. Again, it will be obvious that you’re playing a game, but whatever.
Get your family hooked on it too, and it won’t be a problem anymore. Your Uncle is probably super into gambling anyway if he’s already getting cancelled at dinner.
Outlanders 2
You may have played the first game in the town-builder series on PC, but Outlanders 2 is exclusive to Apple Arcade. This one can be played in portrait mode for maximum sneakiness, and it has a fully intuitive UI besides. It’s got very cosy vibes, with a soothing acoustic soundtrack, muted colours, and low-poly graphics. If you don’t want to muck around with the campaign or challenges (which are quite fun, from personal experience), there’s a sandbox mode guaranteed to help you zone out completely.
stitch.
I love stitch. and play it all the time. It’s a puzzle game with a fairly basic premise – it’s kind of a combination of embroidery and Picross. You fill in the design with thread according to the numbers in the grid and with clues from the overall design. It’s compelling and ridiculously hard to put down – mindless enough that I end up doing far more than I intend to in one sitting, and brain-scratching enough that I feel appropriately challenged without being frustrated.
Vampire Survivors
You know it, you love it. Do I need to say more? Fine, I will. The 2022 breakout indie bullet-heaven roguelite is available in full on Apple Arcade. I still haven’t gotten around to it myself, because I’ve seen what it’s done to the lives of those around me. I am afraid to start. I don’t want to have another Balatro-sized hole in my productivity.
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