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. That was a surprisingly exhausting weekend, but now that I’m all spent it’s time to start my week with a nice batch of fresh updates. 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!
Gardenscapes, Free
I’ve been a bit lazy about including the obligatory free-to-play matching puzzle update lately, so I figured I’d do it first this week and get it out of the way. Gardenscapes has a few new events and some story content to enjoy, with misadventures including Vivian trying to put on an Easter show for the kids and Joe trying to get a job starring in a Western. It doesn’t seem like there are any new puzzle elements this time, which is just as well as I think they’re running out of ideas for new mechanics with them.
Solitaire Stories,
These developers are some busy beavers. I feel like we just had an update for this a couple weeks ago. Let’s see… there’s a new story in here based on Swan Lake, and you even get some of that lovely music. You also get a new event called White Water Rapids, which sounds as thrilling as a game of solitaire can get. Easter is on the horizon, and Solitaire Stories is ready for that, too. Enjoy the Mad Hatter’s Easter Tea Party to celebrate the holiday in a special event. There’s also some sort of business involving origami, and that’s always a good time.
Jetpack Joyride 2,
Alright, let’s check in on a Jetpack Joyride game. I choose the Apple Arcade sequel this time. There are some new story levels that take you into the Catacomb Sewers to defeat the Scrapper, a new Antidote badge that gives you some defense against Nixie’s bots, a new Toxic Jetpack that looks very cool, and a new Laser Eraser avatar. Throw in the usual bug fixes and performance tweaks and that’s the lot for this one. I wonder if we’ll ever see any of the interesting cross-brand collaborations in this game? I would love to see the Ghostbusters and Back to the Future stuff make the hop.
Afterplace, $6.99
Oh hey, an update for Afterplace. This is one of those things where it seems like a small addition but it certainly took a ton of work. Up until now this game has only been playable in portrait mode, but as of this version you can now play in landscape mode. There are also a few bug fixes and a new Easter Egg for diligent players to sniff out. That’s a really cool new feature, kind developer. Thank you very much!
MARVEL SNAP, Free
I already went over this in some detail late last week, but I’m including it here because I really do have this game on the brain most days. The main purpose of the update was to make some changes to the Token Shop and the ways you can get new cards, but it also made some balance changes to address a few overpowered decks. We’re still waiting to see how things settle after all of that, but it certainly has some players scrambling to adjust their strategies.
Disney Heroes: Battle Mode, Free
We must have been good children lately, because the latest update to Disney Heroes adds not one but two new playable characters. I know they call them heroes because of branding and all that, but the first one isn’t much of a hero: Chef Skinner from Ratatouille. You know, the little fellow who has it in for the good guys. How dare he take issue with a rat chef?! The… other… new… character… is… a… fan… favorite… from… Disney’s… Zootopia. It’s… none… other… than… everyone’s… number… one… worker… at… the… DMV…, Flash… Slothmore. Yes, we also have bug fixes and other improvements. Good, good.
2112TD: Tower Defense Survival, $1.99
This one was submitted to the mailroom at TouchArcade Towers by an ambitious young lad named Sebby. Thanks, Sebby! Stay in school! This update adds a new mission called Return to Mars, and I’d imagine if you’re heading there you’re not going for a social call. Also in this update: some survival mode tower upgrades, new achievements, some graphical improvements, and a few other little bits and bobs. Not quite enough for the coveted prize, but a cool update nonetheless.
Tiny Tower: 8 Bit Retro Tycoon, Free
I guess it’s officially Easter season if we have two updates related to the holiday. Anyway, Easter event. Collect extra rewards, spin the Lucky Wheel, get some new customization options, and earn some extra Golden Tickets with a timely rebuild. This game more or less has its events down to a science by now, and this is another of its more standard types. Still fun, though.
Injustice 2, Free
Oof, my sympathies to Injustice 2. This game only updates a few times a year, so chances are good that its current icon will be there for a while. You probably can’t see it in this article, but it’s a big ol’ movie-style Shazam, whose latest film cratered so hard it made Morbius look good. Anyway, there’s a new Legendary Shazam in the game whose moves and appearance are based on Fury of the Gods. He can even call in the full superpowered family. Also new in this update is the addition of Constantine, and he might have been a better pick for the icon. Oh, and Superman will be celebrating his 85th birthday in April, so there are some goodies related to that as well.
MARVEL Future Fight, Free
Alright, let’s see what kind of Easter surprise we have waiting for us in Future Fight. Uh, a Sinister Syndicate event? Well, I guess if anyone knows anything about coming back from the dead, it’s Norman Osborn, Otto Octavius, and Sergei Kravinoff. Those fellows get new uniforms in this update, and they’re all pretty scary. Doc Ock gets his Tier-4, Gobby gets his Tier-3, and it’s time for Kraven, Lizard, and Rhino to Transcend Potential. I suppose that’s good enough for the coveted UMMSVotW award. Congrats!
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!
