Apple has kicked off a neat event on the App Store. As part of the platform’s Indie Games Week, some well-known titles are hitting iPhones and iPads, some of which you can grab now. Arguably the biggest name among the bunch is No Man’s Sky.
After Hello Games brought No Man’s Sky to Mac in 2023, someone on the team claimed they could get the game running on an iPhone, according to studio co-founder Sean Murray. While the iPhone and iPad version includes all of the space exploration and survival game’s updates from the last decade, it has the same initial restrictions as the Nintendo Switch port — you won’t be able to access multiplayer or settlements on iOS or iPadOS at the outset. Hello Games did eventually bring those features to the Switch 2 version. “Based on feedback and player numbers we will support iOS in a similar way,” Murray said.
The iOS port has rebuilt touch controls. It supports TV casting, controller inputs and mouse and keyboard on iPad. What’s more, No Man’s Sky takes up less than 5GB of storage on iPhone and iPad. “A lot of PC and console games, if they can make the jump to mobile at all, are confined to the very latest iOS devices, but we are super-proud that we have been able to make No Man’s Sky playable on iPhone 11 and 3rd generation iPad Air and above,” Murray said.
You can pre-order No Man’s Sky for iPhone and iPad starting today. It’ll be available on those devices on October 28, and it’ll be free to try.
Among the other indies you can snag on iPhone and iPad is Sifu, Sloclap’s tough revenge beat-’em-up in which your character grows older after every death. The iOS version has a reworked camera system and touch controls. It ran without a hitch on my iPhone 16, which is essential given it’s a fast-paced action game that demands quick reactions.
I also briefly checked out Vampire Crawlers, which is a more strategic, card-based take on Vampire Survivors. It feels just as smooth on my iPhone as it does on Xbox, though it’s not exactly the most resource-intensive game out there. The same is true of Dome Keeper, a roguelite that melds mining and tower defense.
A few other titles are being highlighted as part of Indie Games Week, including Yes, Your Grace 2: Snowfall, strategy game 9 Kings and the delightful adventure Little Kitty, Big City. All three of those are available for iPhone and iPad now. App Store editors have curated some other indies for your consideration and they whipped up a separate indie games guide for titles that run on Mac.
“Indie games are constantly pushing the boundaries of creativity to deliver unique gameplay experiences to Apple users, and we wanted to take a moment to celebrate these games and the teams that take creative risks to push gaming forward,” Carson Oliver, Apple’s head of App Store Worldwide, said. “Whether from a solo developer or a growing studio, the App Store gives bold ideas a global stage — turning daring visions into worldwide hits. We’re thrilled with the incredible games launching on the App Store this week and amazed by their breathtaking artistry, brilliant design, and deeply moving stories.”
Indie games are the best, and it’s neat to see a bunch of them get a moment in the spotlight on the App Store.
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