And its beautiful.
Welcome to 2019 the year of multiple launchers and platform exclusivity. Oh wait. Didn’t we always have that? Nevermind.
Apple Arcade is the newest kid on the block, although its by no means a small kid. It’s a subscription service for mobile games on apple devices, and so far the line-up is pretty indie-appealing. It’s no surprise that amongst its ranks are indie game royalty, UsTwo, creators of Monument Valley, which have seen such success on the device in recent years. They come to the platform with their new title, Assemble with Care, which releases via Apple Arcade today.
Capitalising on the kind of slow and meditative play style that mobile titles such as Florence have seen such success with, Assemble with Care sees you fixing well worn objects and in turn those that own them. You are Maria, an antique restorer with a knack for fixing whats broken, who has just arrived in the town of Bellariva. Fixing the beloved objects of the townfolk inevitably leads to some personal fixing in kind, turning a game about simple mechanics into a deeper, more emotional story. Cracks show under stress, and these inhabitants all of their own stresses to bear.
The majority of the gameplay is spent taking apart objects with a little screwdriver. Much like with any emotional issue, players take apart the object, find the source of the problem and then work to put everything back again. These things are unfortunately not always as simple as they seem. Bookending these parts of gameplay are narrative explorations of the people Maria is meeting, and the issues she herself is keeping at bay.
Its beautiful designed and is a real eye catcher from the start. We hope the narrative itself can live up to the promisingly beautiful atmosphere the game seems to have. Assemble with Care is available from Apple Arcade today, a subscription service that gives you access to a number of games on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV, for $4.99 a month.
For more info, check out UsTwo’s gorgeous website.
Associate Editor
Kate has been gaming since she could control a mouse. In addition to having a penchant for indie games, Kate had a World of Warcraft account when she was far too young, and has a weakness for any game with ‘RPG’ in the description.
