Why You Can Trust CNET New on Apple Arcade: Oddmar and Dandara: Trials of Fear
Check out the newest games to join Apple Arcade today.
- She received the Renau Writing Scholarship in 2016 from the University of Louisville's communication department.
RPG Viking tale, Oddmar, is a physics-based puzzle game.
Apple Arcade added two new games to its catalog of more than 225 games. Subscribers can check out Oddmar and Dandara: Trials of Fear today. Here's what you need to know about the new games on Apple's game subscription service:
Oddmar
Developer: MobGe
Oddmar is an action-adventure platformer about a Viking searching to belong. To prove himself to his village, he embarks on a quest full of challenges, magical weapons, new friends, enemies and more. Explore 24 hand-crafted levels with physics-based puzzles through enchanted forests, snow-capped mountains and mines full of secrets.
MobGe co-founder and CEO Özgür Taşkın told CNET that stories of fearless Vikings and Scandinavian culture and geography inspired the game. As the team dove deeper into the stories, they discovered many mythological events that would fit into the game. Taşkın said the team wanted players to feel the texture of Scandinavian geography and the smell of rain as they explored the environments.
"We want players to have fun and experience a beautiful adventure with ups and downs of five or six hours with different mechanics added at each level," Taşkın told CNET via email.
Players may also see themselves in the game's main character, Oddmar, and his journey to find his place in the world.
"We hope everyone can stay positive, peaceful and compassionate like Oddmar in their own adventure," Taşkın said. "Even if they are clumsy."
Oddmar won the Apple Design Award in 2018 and is already available to play the App Store, but it costs $5 without an Apple Arcade subscription. The game has a 4.8 out of 5 rating. Fans of Secret Oops! and Yaga: The Roleplaying Folktale should check out this game.
Dandara: Trials of Fear
Developer: Raw Fury and Long Hat House
Dandara is the heroine who rises to save the city of Salt, which is set in a world on the verge of ruin whose citizens live in oppression and isolation. The 2D Metroidvania platformer lets you explore by jumping across walls and ceilings to combat enemies and discover the hidden mysteries of Salt.
The development team focused on using touchscreen drag motion to keep players engaged, as well as telling a story through their own culture, Long Hat House game developers Lucas Mattos and João Brant told CNET in an email.
"Dandara is a very fresh take on exploration and battle, especially for the touchscreen," Brant said.
Dandara: Trials of Fear's main character and narrative -- a fierce warrior who relentlessly fought for freedom against invasive and controlling oppression was inspired by real-life heroine Dandara dos Palmares, an Afro-Brazilian warrior who fought against slavery in the 17th century.
After the game's original 2018 release, the team realized the positive impact that diversity in games could have for their culture, behavior and society, according to Mattos and Brant.
"Diversity in media, when done well, is important to deconstruct stereotypes, to reach and inspire misrepresented people in new ways, to make underrepresented voices and stories heard and seen and more respected by raising the audience's interest in them," Brant said.
Dandara: Trials of Fear, an App Store Editors' Choice game, is already available to play the App Store, but it costs $4 without an Apple Arcade subscription. The game sports a 4.4 out of 5 rating.
In addition to the new titles, Apple Arcade still has more games coming to the service soon.
If you're interested in trying Apple Arcade, you can get a three-month free trial with the purchase of a new device, or one month for free if you're signing up for the first time. Open the App Store and tap the little joystick icon at the bottom of the screen to launch the service.
