Evil Dead: The Game Perfectly Captures the Cult Film's Chaos

Evil Dead: The Game Perfectly Captures the Cult Film's Chaos

The Evil Dead films have a different flavor compared to similarly venerable horror franchises like Halloween or Friday the 13th. What the Evil Dead does differently, and does so well, is blend outlandish slapstick action-comedy with some truly ghoulish monsters and horror violence. It's no surprise that its popularity has endured since its 1981 debut, but it still seems like its potential is largely untapped within the gaming world.

Due May 13, Evil Dead: The Game wants to change that. I recently got to play about an hour of the game with staff at developer Saber Interactive, which also made the World War Z game. Not only is it faithful to the goofy horror of the original films, I was also surprised by how much fun I had getting scared.

Firstly, Evil Dead: The Game is a massive tribute to the beloved horror series. Serving as something of a greatest hits for the original trilogy and the three-season TV series -- all starring cult film actor Bruce Campbell -- the game channels the Deadite slaying and horror comedy into the structure of a multiplayer game. (Deadites are a species of parasitic demons and primary antagonists of the Evil Dead franchise.)

Four players fight to stay alive as the survivors; another player uses a variety of demonic magic to stop them. Structurally it's quite similar to the popular Dead By Daylight -- a great fit for Evil Dead.

Paying homage to the main location of the first two films, series protagonist Ash Williams and other survivors face off against the forces of darkness in a massive forest filled with supernatural horrors. You'll be able to squad up in a team of four as the survivors, each of which play as different classes -- leader, support, warrior and ranged. The playable characters are made up of mostly familiar faces from the original films and the TV series, which includes fan favorites Pablo and Kelly.

Fans of the Ash vs Evil Dead TV series will be able to revisit that incarnation of Ash in this game.

Saber Interactive

But of course, Ash Williams -- portrayed by the returning Bruce Campbell -- makes his comeback. This character is such an icon, and I couldn't resist playing as him, even though the other playable characters are interesting too. In a clever twist, there's not just one version of Ash, but four different incarnations based on his many appearances throughout the series. So if you prefer Ash from Army of Darkness, then you play as that one, with different skills to his counterparts.

In my interview with Saber Interactive Chief Creative Officer Tim Willits, he said the approach to making the crew of survivors was to satisfy long-time fans and give variety for players when they jump into a game.

"The Evil Dead universe is just so great. Bruce Campbell is a legend, and the amount of stories and lore in the universe is so rich," says Willits. "The thing about [Evil Dead: The Game], which is an asymmetrical horror game, is that the hero Ash Williams and the other survivors can kick ass and win."

The big difference between this game and other horror games of its ilk -- like Dead By Daylight or Friday The 13th: The Game -- is that Evil Dead: The Game gives its "survivors" the means to defend themselves against the forces of darkness. When I got to play as the survivors, it felt like I stepped into a genuine action-horror game like The Evil Within or Resident Evil.

Squad up with several returning characters from the Evil Dead series, including some favorites from Army of Darkness and even the original film.

Saber Interactive

By scrounging up supplies, I could pull together a rifle and a chainsaw to take down some roaming Deadites. It was thrilling getting to tear into them with finishing moves from Ash's chainsaw, and taking them down allowed me and my squad to clear the way for our set of objectives. One thing that players on the survivor team have to watch out for, however, is your character's level of Fear, which will make them susceptible to the more vicious attacks and even possession from the big baddie of each game. That's when the game's spookier side begins to show itself.

The roaming Deadites are just one obstacle. The true threat is another player pulling all the strings. Along with playing as survivors, you can also play as the architect of the Deadite invasion. When playing as the demonic force, shown from the first-person perspective like in the films, you can freely move around the map to set traps, power up the roaming Deadites and assume direct control of powerful demons or even the survivors themselves.

Playing as the survivors is enjoyable, but Evil Dead: The Game really shines when you're the one shaking up the game's events. One of my favorite moments came from playing as the antagonist. After laying traps and stalking the survivors from the shadows, I saw that the crew of four were quickly trying to head to a nearby vehicle. I activated a fear-based skill that triggered a jump scare effect that hit the survivors. As they were distracted, I immediately used my demonic powers to possess the car and rammed it into the group as more Deadites surrounded them. It was so satisfying watching the chaos unfold.

The forest is a big place, and your squad will need some wheels to get around.

Saber Interactive

I appreciated that there's a lot of variety and depth for both the good and evil sides of online matches. The survivor mode gameplay feels like a game of co-op survival horror. In contrast, the antagonist gameplay is a more dynamic tower defense-style mode, and that's a really cool combination. 

Evil Dead: The Game is very much multiplayer first, but there is also a bonus mission mode for solo players that recreates some scenes from the films, such as the cabin invasion from the original flick. It's a nice addition to the game, and the devs already have plans to add more characters and content with a season pass. While the game so far will mostly encompass the original trilogy and the TV series, the devs of the game did have some appreciation for the 2013 Evil Dead remake.

"There's so many more characters, demons and weapons that we can add to the game, and we've teased some content on the season pass already," Willits says. "But not to give too much away, we do have ways to tweak the game itself in the future, so maybe we'll see some interesting stuff come up ... we know Jane Levy, who played Mia [in the Evil Dead remake] pretty well. That's all I'm going to say."

When playing as the antagonist, you can choose to take on the role of the Necromancer, aka Evil Ash from Army of Darkness.

Saber Interactive

I'll admit, I initially had some apprehension about a new Evil Dead game. While there have been some in the past, particularly on the original PlayStation and PS2, they felt more like exercises in retreading ground from the iconic Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn. This new game so far branches out into some ambitious territory, and I was impressed with how it came together to form a multiplayer experience that pays tribute to the goofy nature of Evil Dead, but also offers some genuine scares. 

It can be a tough thing to balance, but I felt that Evil Dead: The Game is so far looking to be an interesting take on horror-comedy in a game, which is quite rare. This latest adaptation of the Evil Dead just might be the game that long-time fans have been waiting for.

Evil Dead: The Game will be released on May 13 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch.

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Apple Watch: It's been 5 years since my original review, and it holds up

Apple Watch: It's been 5 years since my original review, and it holds up

I'd love to say that when I first put on the Apple Watch, I'd never seen anything like it before. But of course, that's not true. By late 2014 I'd been surrounded by smartwatches for a few years. So when Apple announced it was making its own watch, my thought (as so often with Apple) was: finally.

The first smartwatch I reviewed at CNET was the Martian Passport, an analog watch that could make phone calls. It sounds so primitive now, but it was cool in early 2013. The Pebble Watch followed, and the Steel version became my favorite: It was like a Casio watch turned into a useful little pager-assistant. It was simple and had long battery life, and it was great.

There were others, too: Samsung's first smartwatches were ambitious (a camera?). Google's first Android Wear watches arrived in 2014. Meanwhile, there were Fitbits and Jawbone trackers galore.

I say this to lay the groundwork for the Apple Watch and what its impact was. Like the iPhone wasn't the first smartphone, the Apple Watch wasn't the first smartwatch... but it made the biggest footprint. It was another step validating that a world of wearables was here to stay. 

I was able to wear the Apple Watch a month before it went on sale. I spent a ton of time with it, getting used to both how it handled phone calls, and the activity tracking rings. I looked at my heart rate measurements. I accidentally ordered an Xbox One with an early Amazon app.

The Watch was, much like the first iPhone, sometimes feature-limited. But it also had some features that already stood out.

My original review was updated a year later, which you can read here. Some parts have changed, clearly, and Apple has updated the OS. But I'll comment on what I wrote then, and how I felt, and how that's evolved. Quotes from the original review are in italics.

The gold Apple Watch, way back when.

James Martin/CNET

An excellent design, with luxury overtones

Apple wants you to think of the Apple Watch as fine jewelry. Maybe that's a stretch, but in terms of craftsmanship, there isn't a more elegantly made piece of wearable tech. Look at the Apple Watch from a distance, and it might appear unremarkable in its rectangular simplicity compared with bolder, circular Android Wear watches. It's clearly a revamped sort of iPod Nano. But get closer, and you can see the seamless, excellent construction.

The first Apple Watch came in aluminum, steel and ramped all the way up to a gold model costing more than $10,000. Compared to other smartwatches, it screamed luxury.

Certain touches felt luxurious, too: the fine-feeling Digital Crown, which spun ever so smoothly like a real watch part, for instance. The OLED display, which was a first for an Apple product, looked crisp and bright.

The most amazing part, maybe, were the watch bands. Apple created a really nice series of specially designed straps, from a steel link to a clever magnetic Milanese mesh that were extremely expensive and impressively engineered. 

Its watch face designs were great, too, and they integrated some information from the iPhone that aimed to add at-a-glance ease of use. There was a Mickey Mouse watch face that danced! The Solar face showing sunrise and sunset, and the astronomy face that showed planetary alignments and moon phases, felt like magic. I wanted more, but Apple's assortment of watch faces was limited, and it didn't allow for third-party watch face design. That's still the case now.

A lot of the Apple Watch reminded me of the strides Apple began with the iPod Nano, which also had watch mode... and a Mickey Mouse watch face.

Sarah Tew

New technologies at first: fantastic haptics, a force-sensitive display

All Apple Watches have a new S1 processor made by Apple, that "taptic" haptic engine and a force-sensitive and very bright OLED display, which is differently sized on the 38mm and 42mm models. The watch has its own accelerometer, gyrometer and heart-rate monitor, but no onboard GPS. It uses Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz Wi-Fi to connect to your phone or your home network. There's a built-in speaker and microphone, but no headphone jack.

As I wore the watch on the first day, I felt a rippling buzz and a metallic ping: one of my credit card payments showed up as a message. Apple's "Taptic Engine" and a built-in speaker convey both a range of advanced taps and vibrations, plus sounds. Unlike the buzz in a phone or most wearables, these haptics feel sharper: a single tap, or a ripple of them, or thumps.

Sometimes the feelings are too subtle: I don't know if I felt them or imagined them. My wrists might be numbed from too many smart devices. I set my alerts to "prominent" and got sharper nudges on my wrist.

The first watch introduced some ideas that eventually made their way to other iPhones. A "taptic engine" delivered on some amazingly refined vibration effects, ranging from a purr to a ping to a gentle tap. These were way ahead of what anybody else was doing -- and they weren't just a gimmick. The notification types associated with unique vibrations felt distinct. Sometimes, the vibrating taps on the first Watch weren't as powerful as I wanted. But with later updates, the haptics made parts of the interface seem real: virtual wheels, clicking as if moving with invisible gears.

The more advanced haptics made their way to the iPhone next, making us used to them now. Other phones, game consoles like the Nintendo Switch, and VR accessories, have evolved haptics since, but the Apple Watch was the first mainstream device that upped the haptics game.

Force Touch was another wild idea: Apple made its watch display force-sensitive, meaning a deeper press could work like pushing a button. Though this idea was refined further into 3D Touch on the iPhone 6S, 3D Touch was a technology that never became as necessary as expected, and current iPhone models have dropped the pressure-sensitive display tech completely.

The Apple Watch still has Force Touch, though, and I think it always will.

Digital Touch: I never used it much after that.

Sarah Tew

Lots of features. Too many features?

As you can see, this is a lot of stuff. Did I have fun using the watch? Yes, mostly, but there are so many features that I felt a little lost at times. There are so many ways to interact: swiping, touching, pressing harder into the display, a button and a clickable digital crown-wheel. Plus, there's Siri. Do I swipe, or click, or force touch or speak? Sometimes I didn't know where an app menu was. Or, I'd find getting back to an app I just had open would require an annoying series of crown clicks, swiping through apps, then opening the app again.

There's a reason I used the word "complicated" to describe my feelings using that first Apple Watch. Setting up bits of information, called complications, was slow and not always intuitive. Apps took a while to load, and were sometimes so slow that it was easier to check my phone instead. Quick glances and notifications, and phone calls, were fine. Apple Pay on the watch was clever, but would I use it? I wished the watch had more battery life.

I didn't like the overcomplicated feel. The design of the OS, and the card-like swappable mini-view apps that used to be on the Watch like a dock, changed over time. It's gotten better since.

Storing music on the watch, while it took a while to sync, was easier than attempts on Samsung Gear or Android Wear. Of course, I had to hunt for a good pair of Bluetooth headphones to connect with the watch.

Today I still forget to dive into and make the most of the apps on the watch. I just dusted off Walkie Talkie: it's cool. There's noise monitoring. One app lets me remote control my iPhone camera, which has been a huge help for my stay-at-home self-shot videos. The Remote app helps me when I lose the Apple TV remote every other day. 

Third-party apps, and the grid of options? It turns out I don't use them much at all. I don't dig down deep into the layers of functions. I prefer what's on the surface: watch faces, and their readouts. But I've come to appreciate the watch's surprising number of options and settings. It's better than not having them at all.

The rings were the beginning.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Fitness: The ring idea was just the beginning

The Apple Watch doesn't work any fitness miracles that the rest of the wearable world hasn't already invented, and it doesn't ship with any new magical sensors that change the game. But the Apple-made integrated fitness apps, Activity and Workout, are far and away the best fitness apps on any existing smartwatch that isn't a dedicated "fitness watch" (Samsung Gear, Android Wear, Pebble and the like). A clever three-ring method of tracking daily activity, which simultaneously measures and rewards daily calorie burn, active exercise and standing up, feels like a fusion of rewards and metrics seen on the Nike FuelBand, Jawbone Up, Fitbit and others. 

I appreciated Apple's complete-the-ring motivational activity tracker, which felt inspired by wearables like the Nike FuelBand (not surprising, since Apple's head of fitness, Jay Blahnik, arrived from Nike). For the red ring's daily goals, it's great. It felt too easy to complete the blue Stand ring, and it still does.

There are tons of fitness advancements Apple has made on the Watch in the last five years: GPS, resting heart rate, workout controls, social sharing, third-party app integration, swimming, modes for accessibility, activity trends -- and I haven't even discussed Apple's massive health aspirations like adding ECG, checking for falls, monitoring elevated or irregular heart rate or women's health tracking. There is some form of coaching and motivation, too. But I'd still love to see more of that. I hit a wall when trying to be fit, and there's only so much watches seem to help.

The first Apple Watch was more of a Fitbit. Now, it's more of a health companion. Those two worlds still feel like they need to dovetail and grow. There are missing features, too, like sleep tracking, which feels like the inevitable next step.

You still need an iPhone, just like in 2015.

Sarah Tew

It was, and still is, an iPhone accessory

Much like most other smartwatches, the Apple Watch isn't a standalone device -- it's a phone accessory. Android Wear, Samsung Gear, Pebble and others work the same way. But here, you must own an iPhone 5 or later to use the Watch. A few Apple Watch functions work away from the phone, but the watch primarily works alongside the phone as an extension, a second screen and basically another part of your iOS experience. It's a symbiote.

One thing I noted back then was that you needed an iPhone to use the Apple Watch. Unlike other wearables that can pair with Android or iOS, or even sync with a computer, the Apple Watch was always designed to live symbiotically with the iPhone.

That's still the case now. Even with independent cellular options, and an on-watch App Store, you can't use the Watch without pairing to an iPhone. And it still won't work with Android. It's a shame, because a fully standalone watch could be a really helpful tool for many people who don't have iPhones, and it could even be a phone alternative (for kids, maybe).

Apple's AirPods created a gadget trinity where the Watch, the iPhone and AirPods can all work seamlessly together. But that trinity is an expensive one. The entry price of the Apple Watch has dropped, at least. But it feels like an extension of the iPhone more than its own device, even now.

The Apple Watch Series 5: much better, with a few similarities.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Today: the best watch in a war of attrition

You don't need an Apple Watch. In many ways, it's a toy: an amazing little do-it-all, a clever invention, a possibly time-saving companion, a wrist-worn assistant. It's also mostly a phone accessory for now. In the months and years to come, that may change: with Apple's assortment of iPads, Macs, Apple TV and who knows what else to come, the watch could end up being a remote and accessory to many things. Maybe it'll be the key to unlock a world of smart appliances, cars and connected places. In that type of world, a smartwatch could end up feeling utterly essential.

I think back to what the Apple Watch was competing against back then: Jawbone, Pebble, Fitbit, Google's Android Wear, Samsung's watches, the Microsoft Band. A lot of competitors are gone now. Fitbit was acquired by Google. Samsung still has watches. Garmin makes lots of dedicated fitness watches. There are still plenty of more affordable relative newcomers, too.

The original Apple Watch, with the Pebble Steel, Moto 360 and the original iPod Nano with wristband (clockwise from top left).

Sarah Tew

In a field of fewer alternatives, the Apple Watch's consistent addition of new features and ongoing performance improvements has made it the best option. It's Apple's commitment to gradual improvements that has made it a stand-out watch now, especially compared to the struggles of Google's Wear OS.

The Apple Watch is still an iPhone accessory. And it's still not an essential product. But it's become a really fluid and useful device, one with lots of key upgrades that work, and one that's a lot easier to use.

What's the best smartwatch now? The Apple Watch. That doesn't mean I don't want to see improvements: battery life, sleep tracking, a watch face store and most importantly, Android support and true standalone function. If the last five years are any indication, Apple will tackle these problems on its own... time.

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20 spooky games for Halloween on Apple Arcade

20 spooky games for Halloween on Apple Arcade

Halloween is almost here, and spooky mysteries with a dash of suspense are a satisfying October staple. Apple Arcade -- Apple's $5 per month mobile gaming subscription -- has almost 220 games in its catalog, including plenty of spooky titles. 

We picked out 20 games that are perfect for getting into the spooky season spirit. Here's what to play: 

Bleak Sword

Developer: Devolver Digital

Bleak Sword on Apple Arcade. 

Screenshot/Devolver

Bleak Sword is a dark retro fantasy action game full of evil creatures you must slay in order to break a legendary curse. Dodge, roll and parry against randomly generated enemies across nine chapters of swaps, forests and castles.

The Bradwell Conspiracy

Developer: Bossa Studios and A Brave Plan

Bossa Studios

The Bradwell Conspiracy is a narrative-driven first-person game where you have to uncover the truth behind the explosion that destroyed the Bradwell Electronics facility. At the start of the game, you wake up in the rubble with only a computerized voice in your "smart glasses" to guide you. The glasses guide eventually connects you to another person trapped inside the facility, and you must try to escape together. 

Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls

Developer: Konami Digital Entertainment 

Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls on Apple Arcade

Apple

Dracula is quintessentially Halloween. Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls is a side-scroller action game that features a number of characters from the original gothic fantasy series and its creators, Ayami Kojima and Michiru Yamane. The game is set after Dracula has been sealed away, and you can play as Alucard, Charlotte, Maria, Simon Belmont and more as you battle your way through Dracula's army.

Cozy Grove

Developer: Spry Fox

Cozy Grove on Apple Arcade.

Apple

Cozy Grove is like a haunted version of Animal Crossing , and it's adorable. In the game, you're a Spirit Scout tasked with bringing peace to the adorably haunted island of Cozy Grove. Explore the island, collect resources and craft items to survive, tend your fire -- Flamey -- and try to help the lost forest ghosts. The more you help, the more the island heals -- the environment becomes colorized and flowers grow.

Creaks

Developer: Amanita Design

Creaks on Apple Arcade.

Apple

Creaks is an intricate puzzle platformer game that seeks to solve the mystery of what exactly goes bump in the night. In the game, you're spending a quiet evening in your room when the light starts flickering and the ground trembles. The wallpaper pulls back to reveal a secret door, and someone, or something, is making noise in there. Grab your flashlight and explore a mysterious subterranean world of bird people. Lurking in the shadows are deadly, shape-shifting monsters. But don't worry -- when you shine a light on them, they transform into harmless furniture.

Don't Starve: Pocket Edition

Developer: Klei

Don't Starve: Pocket Edition on Apple Arcade

Screenshot by CNET

Don't Starve: Pocket Edition puts you in the role of Wilson, a scientist, transported to a mysterious, unexplored wilderness full of unidentified creatures, dangers and surprises. You must help Wilson fight off enemies, research, navigate the environment, craft resources, gather items, solve the mystery of the strange land and ultimately survive. 

The Get Out Kids

Developer: Frosty Pop

The Get Out Kids on Apple Arcade.

Screenshot by CNET

The Get Out Kids mixes mystery with nostalgia, taking players back to 1984. Molly, Salim and Molly's dog Moses sneak out one night to catch a late showing of the Ghostblasters movie at the local drive-in. Along the way, they have to navigate creepy woods and sneak past the surly cemetery groundskeeper. When Moses goes missing suddenly and suspiciously, Molly and Salim begin an adventure to find out what happened to their canine friend. This narrative-driven game includes puzzles, hidden object searches and more. 

Hitchhiker

Developer: Versus Evil and Mad About Pandas

Hitchhiker on Apple Arcade. 

Hitchhiker/Screenshot by Shelby Brown/CNET

Hitchhiker is a mystery game where you play as a hitchhiker with no memory of your past or destination. By catching rides with five strangers across a landscape of rolling hills, you must try and figure out who you are as well as find a mysterious missing friend. Everyone has a story to tell, but not everything is what it seems. Search the vehicles for clues and choose your words carefully to bring hidden parts of your identity to light -- and prepare for the dangers ahead. The longer you're on the road, the more your grasp on reality loosens.

Inmost

Developer: Hidden Layer Games and Chucklefish Games

Inmost on Apple Arcade. 

Hidden Layer Games

Inmost, a hidden-object platformer, immediately drops players into a creepy world inside a mysterious house. You'll play as multiple characters whose storylines are more connected than they might seem at first. Navigate a strange castle and dodge menacing shadows on your path to find answers.

Jenny LeClue

Developer: Joe Russ and Ben Tillet

Jenny LeClue on Apple Arcade.

Jenny LeClue/Twitter

Jenny LeClue envelops players in a mystery-adventure-thriller narrative, guided by choices you make. The game is set in the seemingly idyllic town of Arthurton, where you play as Jenny, a kid sleuth who is eager to prove her worth as a detective. When your mother is accused of murder, you set out to prove the truth. As you seek out answers, you quickly realize that nothing and no one in Arthurton are what they seem. 

Layton's Mystery Journey

Developer: Level 5

Layton's Mystery Journey on Apple Arcade. 

Apple/Screenshot by CNET

Layton's Mystery Journey sets up a Sherlock Holmes meets Studio Ghibli environment to tell the story of Katrielle Layton -- a young detective out to unravel the mystery of her father's disappearance. Visit the crime scene, investigate with your magnifying glass, interview witnesses and suspects, collect clues and solve puzzles to crack the case. The puzzles in the game start off simple, and you can use coins to get clues if you get stuck. The more difficult a puzzle is, the higher its coin value. Earning coins also grants you access to end-game bonuses that help you solve your case. 

Murder Mystery Machine

Developer: Blazing Griffin

Murder Mystery Machine on Apple Arcade. 

Apple Arcade

In Murder Mystery Machine, you're a detective out to prove yourself when a murder case comes across your desk. Explore the crime scene, collect evidence, interview suspects and make deductions to solve the case. You can get hints from your partner if you get stuck, but he's a bit surly. The game releases mysteries in episodes, and the first one is about a murdered politician. Fans of detective procedurals like Law & Order might like this game.

Necrobarista

Developer: Route 59

Necrobarista on Apple Arcade.

Apple/Screenshot by Shelby Brown/CNET

Anime-style supernatural game Necrobarista tells the story of Maddy Xiao -- a barista and amateur necromancer -- is the new owner of the Terminal, a coffee shop that welcomes the dead to walk among the living for one night. Under the tutelage of coffee expert and necromancer Chay Wu, Maddy must navigate the Council of Death's rules, the ethics of life and death, and what it means to let go. 

Neo Cab

Developer: Chance Agency

Neo Cab on Apple Arcade.

Apple/Screenshot by Shelby Brown/CNET

Neo Cab is a survival game for the digital age embroiled in a mystery. You play as Lina, the last human taxi driver in a world overcome by automation. When you move to Los Ojos to reconnect with your best friend, Savy, she vanishes. With no other options, you must keep taking passengers to earn money and get information about Savy's disappearance. This becomes increasingly difficult as you progress. Keep an eye on your Feelgrid bracelet to stay in tune with your emotions and ultimately remain human in this tech-noir game. 

Neversong

Developer: Serenity Forge

Neversong on Apple Arcade.

Apple/Screenshot by Shelby Brown/CNET

Neversong is a side-scroller style puzzle game where you play as young Peet, who, upon waking from a coma, finds himself in a nightmare. With his girlfriend nowhere to be found, Peet must navigate the frightening halls of Blackfork Asylum and try to understand the sometimes-violent behavior of adults. The more he explores, the more the secrets of his past unfurl. Neversong has six levels to explore, including Red Wind Field and Blackfork Asylum, which are all packed with bosses to defeat. Armed with a baseball bat, his childhood friends and his pet bird, Peet will set out to learn the truth about his coma.

Nuts

Developer: Noodlecake 

Nuts on Apple Arcade.

Apple

Nuts is a surveillance mystery game that's lightheartedly reminiscent of Firewatch. The squirrel population in Melmoth Forest is acting suspiciously and it's up to you, as a field researcher, to get to the bottom of it. Pack up your map, cameras, motion sensors, thermal imaging tech and GPS for the weirdest surveillance mission ever. Along the way, you'll be tasked with missions: Placing cameras, observing footage, tracking the squirrels' movements and more. The whole time, you're in communication with Professor Nina Scholz. With all that gear, plus your logic and wit, will you be able to uncover a bigger conspiracy?

The Room Two

Developer: Fireproof Games

The Room Two on Apple Arcade

Screenshot by CNET

The Room Two is a gorgeous 3D mystery puzzle game. You must follow a trail of letters left behind by a mysterious scientist with the initials A.S. The game is intricate and requires a tactile approach to solving in-depth, multistep puzzles.

Survival Z

Developer: Ember Entertainment

Survival Z on Apple Arcade.

Apple

Survival Z is a fun tower-defense-style strategy game that drops you into a world crippled by a zombie outbreak. You play as Megan, a loner mechanic who's savvy with a crossbow. When she meets Marcus, another survivor with intel on a diner potentially stocked with supplies, the pair head off on a journey, salvaging and upgrading equipment and battling waves of zombies along the way. 

Tangle Tower

Developer: SFB Games

Tangle Tower on Apple Arcade.

Apple Arcade

In this clever, colorful game, Detective Grimoire and his sardonic partner Sally are on the hunt for the murderer of Freya Fellow in the mysterious Tangle Tower. The clues come pouring in long before you cross the first threshold to find out that the prime suspect is a painting. Investigate, explore, gather evidence, question suspects and solve puzzles to discover the truth. 

World's End Club

Developer: IzanagiGames

World's End Club on Apple Arcade

Apple

World's End Club  is perhaps the darkest game on Apple Arcade so far. In the game, a busload of ragtag students known as the Go-Getters Club are on a field trip when a mysterious meteor causes the bus to crash. The kids awaken in a creepy theme park under the sea called World's End Land, and try to regroup. Suddenly, a floating harlequin named Pielope appears, and commands them to play a Game of Fate. As the stakes get higher, friendships are put to the test. Pielope's psychotic game sends the Go-Getter's Club on a dangerous adventure. 

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Canva: The poster child of DIY graphic design

Canva: The poster child of DIY graphic design

Good design is hard. But more and more we all have to do it. Whether it's a nice Facebook banner, a clever profile pic, an eye-catching Instagram post or some well polished ideas for a work presentation, we all want something more than the terrible basic options offered up by Powerpoint.

Enter Canva. The 5-year-old Australian startup is all about offering slick templates through a free service that is exceptionally simple to use. Whether through its website or the apps for iPhone and iPad, it takes just a few seconds to work out how to get started and make something that looks great.

This all sounds like an ad -- simple DIY design sounds too good to be true -- but a quick taste test proves how true the pitch is. And after a slow boil for its first few years, a rapid climb to over 10 million users across 179 countries (Canva says it just passed five designs per second) suggest this is something that is starting to resonate.

Co-founder Melanie Perkins wants to give everyone the tools to make good everyday designs with minimal fuss.

Canva

"Having great quality ingredients for people to work with has been a driving premise behind Canva," says Melanie Perkins, co-founder of Canva. "Before Canva, you'd have to be a professional designer to easily access beautiful stock photography and illustrations. There are template libraries out there, but again, they're only for designers who use professional design software."

While the service is free, Canva makes money through the sale of stock images as well as a "Canva for Work" premium offering that lets a company set brand guidelines and templates to make it easier for people all around a company stick to core design principles without always needing designers to create every document, every presentation or whatever else may be required.

"Social media posts, pitch decks, proposals, marketing materials. Designers are getting spread really thin throughout organisations," says Perkins. "They often have to neglect sales, for example, who often just string their own terribly off brand things together. This really helps to bring brand identity together. Colours, fonts, logos so everybody is on the right track."

Democratising design

Exploring the Canva website, beyond the design tools the company also offers anyone who wants it a crash course in good design. There's a design school blog, design tutorials and a design stream where you can see what other people have been designing and offer likes and comments. Perkins suggests people have been conditioned to think they're just not creative, so they're often afraid to play around.

Canva's usage has been on a rapid rise, now surpassing five designs per second across its web and app platforms.

Canva

When Canva first launched, the company's user research found people were inherently afraid to click things in case they messed something up.

"People were really conscious about not clicking too much and not playing around. But this is meant to be the exact opposite," says Perkins. "So we introduced starter challenges -- put a hat on a monkey, change the colour of a circle, add a background to a page, really basic things. But each step builds confidence."

Offering templates that don't get too repetitive is a big challenge, but Canva has tried to solve for this concern by inviting professional designers to share templates publicly and receive royalties whenever their templates are used by others.

For Perkins, it's the success stories of those who have been using Canva that make her feel like they're achieving their mission. From the story of a small US sheriff's office using Canva to create wanted posters, to the story of a woman who created an image to help track down her birth mother that worked after going viral on Facebook.

Australia's coolest tech company

Canva is fast becoming the proverbial and literal poster child of the Australia startup scene. From humble origins in Perkins' mother's living room and "incubating" in San Francisco food courts, the company is now growing rapidly with a team of over 120 across 3 countries and a latest funding round of AU$19.8M at a valuation of AU$462M.

Canva across the web, iPhone and iPad. "Other platforms" (read Android) are planned for the future.

Canva

The company also provides classic Silicon Valley perks, with an in-house chef, free gym and yoga classes, flexible working conditions and more. It was all enough to land Canva the title of Australia's Coolest Tech Company two years running from job listings website Job Advisor.

"We're in the ridiculously fortunate position that before we took on this latest funding we hadn't spent a dollar from the previous round," says Perkins. "We got the revenues to grow rapidly and everything sort of naturally moving in the right direction."

There's still a lot more to do. Getting apps on Android is an obvious one, but Perkins suggests the company is only scratching the surface of its larger, and far loftier, long term plans.

"If we can become the productivity tool, the productivity platform for the next generation, with all the crazy needs everyone has for visual content they need to create, that would be pretty cool."

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