Tag: Free to play

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VainGlory developer’s new game Catalyst Black launches in early access next month

Super Evil Megacorp has announced that its upcoming game, Catalyst Black, is launching in early access from August 12. The shooter first reared its head back in May, and since then we’ve been trying to work out how much influence Catalyst Black takes from its predecessor. But unlike VainGlory, Super Evil Megacorp’s previous game, Catalyst Black is actually an arena shooter, and has a lot more in common with games like Brawl Stars.

But even that comparison doesn’t really do Catalyst Black justice. The game features ten player teams in a variety of drop-in drop-out modes, and is intended to ‘set a new bar for mobile gaming’. We know that literally every mobile game says that, but Catalyst Black’s unique combo of MOBA and arena shooter elements look to set it apart from many of its peers.

Early access to Catalyst Black is iOS only – once again, sorry Android users! If you want to sign up while there’s still space you can head on over to the ironically named ‘Secret Service‘ to secure your spot on the battlefield.

Super Mega Evil Corp also revealed some gameplay with Catalyst Black’s early access trailer:

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As you can see, it’s somewhat hard to determine exactly what Catalyst Black is – it feels likes a MOBA with elements such as neutral monsters, but it does also capture that same free-for-all feel of an arena battler. We’re excited to see more soon!

Catalyst Black’s drop-in drop-out system is also worth making a note of, as it claims next-to-no match-making times, and if that’s true, Black is sure to be very popular. Game controller support is also going to be offered from launch.

You can find out more info about Catalyst Black on its website. If you want some similar recommendations, check out our lists of the best mobile MOBAs and the best mobile multiplayer games!

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Dead by Daylight Mobile adds new skins and a training mode

The new update to Dead by Daylight Mobile sees the introduction of a new game mode: training. While training game modes are quite popular in games across a multitude of genres, few of them have as many benefits as the Dead by Daylight Mobile training mode does.

Unsurprisingly, the training mode is a solo experience where you can refine your skills against bots. The gameplay is the same as you would see outside of training, and you get to keep 50% of Bloodpoints and 10% of Character experience if you appease or outwit The Entity. The game mode offers advantages for new and veteran players, as the bot’s difficulty scales up depending on your skill level.

If you have yet to play Dead by Daylight Mobile, then you are missing out on a brilliant and yet terrifying survival experience – which you can read about in our Dead by Daylight Mobile review. The game is a four-on-one multiplayer horror where one killer hunts and stops the other four players from escaping. Dead by Daylight Mobile isn’t just entertaining, it is also exhilarating as the deranged killer can sneak up on you at any moment.

Dead by Daylight Mobile training mode trailer: What to expect from the new mode

If you are yet to see any of the gameplay for the new mode, this trailer will give you a better understanding of why training was added and how to use it.

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Dead by Daylight Mobile update: Cook Out outfits

As part of the Dead by Daylight Mobile update, four new skins have been added for players to collect. The outfits are only available inside Gold Tier Super Mystery Boxes and are available from now until August 23.

The new outfits include two killers and two survivors:

  • The Huntress: Wild Feast (Killer)
  • The Clown: Chef Carnage (Killer)
  • Jane Romero: Guest Superstar (Survivor)
  • Ace Visconti: Maitre Ace (Survivor)

If you are playing Dead by Daylight Mobile and would like to see the best survivors and killers, then you should read our Dead by Daylight character tier list.

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Popular RPG Summoners War now has a comic book spin-off

Com2uS has announced a team-up with Skybound comics to create a spin-off of Summoners War, its popular RPG. Summoners War: Legacy was revealed during a panel at the Skybound Xpo and acts as a prequel to the main game. Set 35 years before the climactic events of the original, Legacy explores new characters such as Abuus, Rai, and Tomas, delves further into the land Alea, and looks more closely at the fate of Durand’s parents. Legacy also represents an opportunity to expand the lore of the original, while also giving fans a new story experience.

“Summoners War is one of the world’s top mobile games thanks to its rabid fanbase, roaring esports community, and a rich in-game universe,” says John Nam, VP of Summoners War’s IP strategy department. “We’re expanding the IP into new frontiers by partnering with Skybound Entertainment on our first official comic book series, Summoners War: Legacy. Our friends at Skybound are a powerhouse of imagination and a perfect partner for helping Com2uS grow Summoners War in new directions.”

Summoners War: Legacy runs to around 40 pages, and you can pre-order it right now on the Skybound site.

If you want a look at the actual game, here’s a trailer for Summoner’s War:

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For those that don’t know, Summoner’s War is a fantasy RPG that sees you enter the Sky Arena and face off against a variety of monstrous foes. Summoner’s War is also one of the most popular games on mobile with over a 100 million players, and over a billion dollars in lifetime revenue.

If you want to play Summoner’s War for yourself, you can find it on Google Play and the App Store. If you’re looking for some similar games, be sure to check out our list of the best mobile RPGs!

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Tales of Crestoria’s monthly subscription costs $75

It’s no secret that mobile games occasionally have silly prices for gems and various other in-game items. We see single microtransactions go over the $100 mark pretty often, and there’s, quite frankly, very little micro about that sum. But Tales of Crestoria, Namco Bandai’s latest entry in the Tales franchise, is just adding to the silliness with its monthly subscription model.

Tales of Crestoria offers two different subscriptions, which it markets as ‘Reward Passes’, and these cost $7.99 and $38.99 respectively. The cheaper of the two provides you with eight days worth of 50 Gleamstones (the game’s equivalent of gems) and six of 100, which totals at 1,000. The more expensive offers 20 days of 250, which totals at 5,000.

Taken on their own, individual terms, these subscriptions provide you with four and 20 summons over their own periods respectively, and represent a saving of around 50-60% when compared to purchasing the Gleamstones directly. But it’s when you consider how much you can end up paying for both over a 30 day period that it starts to look a bit silly.

The first calculation is easy. If you purchase the cheapest twice, that’s a total of $15.98 over 28 days. The second is trickier, as you need to calculate it 1.5x to represent 30 days. That’s $58.49. Add the two together, and we get $74.47 for both subscriptions over a 30 day period. To be clear, this represents you logging in every single day for 30 days and grabbing the rewards, as the subscriptions either last 24 or 30 days respectively, but end early once you’ve collected the maximum number of daily rewards.

In other words, the total cost is hiding in plain sight. We find this a lot more distasteful than a $75 microtransaction (which also exists, by the way) as at least the latter is upfront. Besides, you can put any price tag you want on an item, it doesn’t mean that people are going to spend it.

But the deliberately obtuse nature of this system is that you’re giving the players the illusion that they’re spending a lot less. You may lack sympathy for the player that chooses to spend this, but the entire business model of mobile relies on this sort of shotgun spending. You hit a paywall and you reach for your wallet.

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Besides, subscriptions are usually designed to offer value. Take AFK Arena’s options, for example. For $5 you get 12 summons per month, while the $15 provides you with 47. Purchase both and you’re getting over 20 more summons than Tales of Crestoria’s $75 subscription for around a quarter of the cost. AFK Arena’s subscriptions also offer a $44 and $180 saving versus outright purchasing the gems, which is a considerably higher saving than Tales of Crestoria’s variants.

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Get free in-game goodies for demon-slaying RPG Darkness Rises!

If you’re a person who enjoys the simple things, like running through a dungeon, blending your foes with whirling blades, or facing off against fearsome bosses, then we might have something for you. After our giveaway of the JRPG, Emergent Fates last week, we are now giving away a fair few Android treasure codes for the action-packed, Darkness Rises. It’s a great looking RPG, crossing the hack-n-slash of games like Diablo with challenging boss battles, as you hold the line against a seemingly endless wave of demonic incursions.

Sounds like fun, right? Darkness Rises also has great character customisation options to give you that authentic RPG experience, and some elements of dungeon crawling. You don’t have delve dungeons alone either, as you can join a guild with your adventurer pals, and form a party to take the fight to those demon scoundrels.

Though Darkness Rises launched last year, it still feels pretty chipper with its graphical realism and gorgeous fantasy visuals. If you’re going to murder demons, why not do it in style?

If you’d like to get your hands on an Android code, simply fill in the Gleam form below. We do need your full name and email address so we can contact you in a week’s time if you win though, and we also require that you read our full terms and conditions before you enter. You can find them right here.

PT – Darkness Rises – Android giveaway

Each Android code lets you get your hands on the following in-game:

  • 5 x Costume Chest (Rank A – S++)
  • 500 x Adventure Key
  • 20,000,000 Gold
  • 20 x EXP Boost Ticket
  • 20 x Choice Dye Ticket
  • 10 Costume Deco Chest (Rank A – S++)

Be sure to enter if you want the free stuff! You can find Darkness Rises on Google Play and the App Store. If you also want some other games to sink your teeth into, try out list of the best mobile RPGs.

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Nier Reincarnation is getting a closed beta later this month

Square Enix recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of the cult JRPG Nier’s launch on PS3 and Xbox 360 with an exciting livestream that detailed the series’ future. Not only was a remake of the original announced in the form of Nier Replicant (for PS4, Xbox One, and PC) but a mobile exclusive entry is also in the works.

Nier Reincarnation launches a closed beta across Android and iOS later this month, though it’s only open to people in Japan right now. There are 10,000 spots available for both platforms, and registrations are open until July 26. However, if the closed beta is oversubscribed, who gets to play is decided with a lottery draw. Sounds fair to us!

We don’t know that much about Nier Reincarnation just yet, but we’re able to surmise some details from the most recent trailer. Reincarnation seems to feature a young female protagonist, with a ghost-like companion, and in the trailer we see her wandering through expansive open locations, such as a stone city in the sky. The game also shows some party-based combat, and pretty fancy side-scrolling 2D sections.

It’s not a whole lot to go on, but you can check out the trailer below for more visual details on the game:

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Aside from what we see in the trailer, we know Square Enix is producing while Applibot is tasked with development duties. Cydesignation is also working on character design, and we know that Reincarnation takes place in a new Nier location called ‘The Cage’.

Square Enix has launched an official website dedicated to the game in Japan, so you can bookmark that if you’re desperate to learn more. It’s pretty bare bones, but chances are it will receive regular updates as we head towards launch. If you’re the social media type, you can also follow the official Twitter and Facebook pages to receive updates directly.

If you need something Nier-ish to play in the mean time, be sure to check in with our list of the best mobile RPGs, and the best mobile MMORPGs.

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The deck building card game Marvel Duel is available for pre-registration

The latest game in the Marvel universe is Marvel Duel, and it’s ready for pre-registration now in certain territories. The fast-paced card game features your favourite heroes from the entire saga. Although no exact release date has been confirmed, the pre-registration suggests that the full launch of Marvel Duel is not too far away.

Marvel Duel is a game where you collect superheroes to fight for you against the forces of evil. The aim of the game is to build as strong a deck as possible out of the 150+ characters available. It’s clear that the game is all about collecting and upgrading characters, but there are also equipment, abilities, and trap cards needed to build a supreme deck.

Details on the newest Marvel game are surprisingly sparse. However, judging from the game description and screenshots, fans of traditional CCGs will be familiar with the Hearthstone-looking game board. The description also reveals that a mysterious force has altered the iconic events in Marvel history. This means you can expect to see some familiar settings in the story mode.

Marvel Duel Pre-registration: Where can i pre-register

You can pre-register for Marvel Duel on both the App Store and Google Play. It’s worth mentioning that the pre-registrations are geographically restricted to the following countries.

  • Thailand
  • Indonesia
  • Philippines
  • Malaysia

Although we don’t have an exact date of when to expect the game to head west, you can expect to hear more about it in the coming weeks.

Marvel Duel trailer: How does the gameplay look?

Marvel Duel looks like your traditional turn-based card game. If you are familiar with Hearthstone, then you will already know what to expect from Marvel Duel. If you would like to see the trailer, check out the 15 second teaser below.

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Marvel Duel character list: How many characters are there?

Although it is still too early to provide a complete list of characters, the game page states there will be over 150. While flicking through some new screenshots of Marvel Duel, we discovered that there are 183 cards to collect. Whether this is just characters or items included, it’s fair to say that you will see a lot of familiar faces.

Marvel Duel online: Will I be able to fight my friends?

Marvel games are always keen on uniting players through guilds or alliances. Sometimes these features are added after launch. In Duel, there are some elements of a community. For example, the leaderboards tab and the duel game mode. It would surprise us if Marvel Duel had no in-game friends list or private match capability, but it’s still too early to tell.

Marvel Duel Download: How to get an APK

If you are looking to get your hands on an APK of Marvel Duel, you can do so from APKPure. We have yet to try it out ourselves, but there are plenty of trustworthy sites offering their own versions if you can’t wait.

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Netflix’s Aggretsuko anime is getting a mobile game spin-off

The latest anime to get a mobile game spin-off is Netflix’s Aggretsuko. The game is called Aggretsuko: The Short Timer Strikes Back, and it’s a match-three puzzler that’s available on iOS and Android. There’s not long to wait, either, as the Aggretsuko: The Short Timer Strikes Back release date is July 28, 2020.

The show is about a red panda who faces relatable, everyday struggles while working a typical desk job. Her boss is an insensitive jerk, talentless suck-ups are progressing quicker than she is, and her mother won’t stop nagging her to get a boyfriend. What gives Aggretsuko her quirk, though, is that she lets off steam by freestyling death metal songs into a karaoke mic.

Aggretsuko: The Short Timer Strikes Back has a simple premise. Your company is relocating offices, and it’s up to you to handle the decoration. Of course, those decorations don’t come for free, so you’ll have to complete match-three puzzles to acquire the means you need to complete the task. As far as I can see, there’s no death metal karaoke element here, and, yes, I am gutted about that.

If you’d like something to play in the meantime, though, then we have a best mobile puzzle games list we keep on top of.

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If it’s something newer you’re after, then we also have a new mobile games list that offers a variety of games across different genres.

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PUBG Mobile’s next map looks like its smallest yet

PUBG Mobile is getting a new map that has been designed with players on the go in mind. That comes from The Verge, which reports that the new map is called Livik and is as large as two kilometres by two kilometres. Matches on Livik support 40 players a game and are intended to last 15 minutes each.

While PUBG Mobile has primarily been designed to bring the PC experience to mobile phone users, Livik has been crafted to accommodate mobile players. That means the design facilitates quick matches you can play on your daily commute to and from work. “We want more people to enjoy PUBG Mobile in a more flexible way,” producer Rick Li explains to The Verge. “The initiative for this map is bringing more flexibility to those players who have tighter schedules and circumstances to accommodate for.”

While the map is notably smaller than others, Li reassures that there are still plenty of points of interest that help games go quicker. The Nordic-themed map features a volcano, hot spring, and a waterfall. While Li didn’t give much else away, he reckons that the current of the waterfall will mix up PUBG Mobile matches. There’s currently no word on when we’ll be able to play Livik, but apparently it’ll be “soon”.

If you’re curious as to what else is happening in the world of Tencent’s battle royale, then you can check out our PUBG Mobile update guide. If you fancy a go yourself, you can find it on iOS and Android.

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We also have a list of the best mobile multiplayer games, so you have more options for games you’d like to play with your friends.

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New Rules of Survival update will introduce trains and drones

Rules of Survival turns two-and-a-half years old this week, so developer NetEase is launching a new update to celebrate. The event is called 624 Rush Hour and introduces new vehicles and weapons alongside login rewards. You won’t have to wait long, either, as the Rules of Survival update goes live June 24, 2020.

The first significant change is trains, which you can board for combat as they dot along their specific routes. If you win out, you can take advantage of the mounted heavy machine gun to batter your foes. There’s also a respawn mod on the train so you can revive downed teammates, too. The drone is a sneakier alternative that you can pilot from afar. It has a machine mounted for damage and detonates on-demand to damage groups of people.

There’s also another piece of equipment called ‘The Scroll’, which is somewhat mysterious. It’s described as a magical parchment that gives its holder a gift every time they find one. We’re not sure what those gifts are, but apparently, the scrolls belonged to ninjas so that might be a hint.

Finally, there are login rewards, too. Boot up the game from tomorrow onwards to snag loot such as a Supply Coupon and an Avatar Frame. There are more goodies if you convince others to jump in, too.

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If you want more games to play with friends, then we got a best mobile multiplayer games list just for that. If you’re curious about other games on the horizon, then we have an upcoming mobile games list for that as well.

If you haven’t already, you can download Rules of Survival on iOS and Android.