MOONTIDE vs Lancewing

Harness the Moon's energy to command the ocean. Hold anywhere and the tide rises toward you, let go and it comes crashing back down. Your fish simply rides the surface, so every dodge and every close call comes down to how you move the water. Time it perfectly, letting go right at the top of the swell or catching it right at the bottom, and you build Surge: the sea speeds up, your multiplier climbs, and a full meter unleashes a Tidal Rush. The farther you swim the busier the sea gets, with mines, jellyfish, diving gulls and electric gates drifting into your path, and an adaptive score that changes with every biome. Collect pearls and spend them on new fish, trails, moons, crests and splashes, and try anything on before you buy.

Lancewing is a fast, one-screen arcade battle in the sky, drawn and scored like the 8-bit games you remember. You ride a golden eagle over a lake of lava. Bat-riding raiders spawn on the floating ledges, and the rule is simple: when two lances meet, the higher one wins. Flap to climb, glide to dive, and hit them from above. EASY TO PICK UP • Touch the left side of the screen to flap left, the right side to flap right; hold to keep climbing. That's it. • Prefer a stick? Switch to slide-to-steer with a separate flap button, left-handed too. One hand busy? One Thumb mode: hold to climb, slide to steer. • First Flight, a one-minute guided flight, shows each move with arrows and a hand, then your first wave starts gently: one rider waits for you on the low ledge. • Fall toward the lava for the first time and the game throws you back up, slows down and shows you where to hold to climb. • Practice mode with slow, gentle riders (and half speed in its pause menu), and a Relaxed game speed for anyone who wants the action slower • A short How to Play page shows every enemy and trick. HARD TO PUT DOWN • Three kinds of riders, each with its own look: wandering Raiders, horned Marauders and plumed Warlords who always fight for the high ground • Unseated riders drop eggs: grab them for growing bonuses, catch them in midair for more, or watch them hatch into tougher foes • Gauntlet waves, nest waves, and lava geysers that bubble before they erupt • Linger too long and a wyvern comes hunting: only two blows from above will stop it • Extra life every 25,000 points 8-BIT AT HEART • Hand-made, shaded pixel art: wings beat in four frames, your eagle skids as it turns on a ledge and crouches as it lands, unseated knights tumble away and the lava rolls and glows • A chiptune title theme and sound effects made for this game, and an optional TV look with scanlines • Smooth, even motion on every screen, 120 Hz ProMotion included; a wrap-around arena and, on iPhone, a bump on every hit COMPETE • Game Center leaderboard and seven achievements • Your own top-ten Hall of Fame with initials, lifetime stats and every achievement, plus a Share button for your best runs • Your best score on screen as the one to beat, and with iCloud on, your Hall of Fame follows you to a new iPhone or iPad (no iCloud? keep a backup code instead) ACCESSIBLE • Every menu scales with your text size; each lost life is explained in words, not just color • One Thumb controls, a 3-2-1 countdown after pause, game controllers and keyboards FAIR AND PRIVATE No accounts and no tracking. One small banner on the title screen, never during play; the ads aren't personalized, and a one-time Remove ads purchase turns it off for good (Family Sharing included). Scores stay on your device (and in your own iCloud, if it's on); Game Center is Apple's own service and optional. Once a day the game reads a small file on utilava.com to learn whether a new version is out; the request carries nothing about you.