Apple Arcade February 2021 Roundup: 'Lumen' and 'Survival Z'

This month, "Lumen" and "Survival Z" arrived on Apple Arcade, joining the expanding library of 146 games already on Apple's exclusive-based mobile gaming subscription service.

apple arcade orange feature

Last month, ‌Apple Arcade‌ gained three games: "Oceanhorn: Chronos Dungeon," "NUTS - A Surveillance Mystery," and "Spire Blast." In February, just two new games joined the platform in the puzzle and action genres.

February 5: lumen.

Lumen was the first new game to arrive on ‌Apple Arcade‌ this month, offering a series of mysterious light-based puzzles.

Lumen comes from developer Lykke Studios, which also brought the color-mixing puzzle game "Tint" to ‌‌Apple Arcade‌‌ last year. Lumen encourages players to use light sources, lenses, and mirrors to solve puzzles.

lumen. is a puzzle game with unique mechanics, where you have to solve levels by using lights, mirrors, and lenses.

You will find yourself in the old attic of Olivia McLumen and discover her mysterious vintage lumen box. Olivia McLumen lived in Scotland over 100 years ago and was a great inventor of her time. Solve puzzles to recreate the stories of her inventions!

With carefully considered visual feedback, animations, and music, Lumen creates a distinctive atmosphere and challenges players to solve hundreds of unique puzzles.

February 19: Survival Z

Survival Z is a tower defense survival game from Ember Entertainment, where players start out as a survivor trying to save humanity.

Players can place traps and obstacles to increase their chances of survival, collecting and upgrading equipment to power up their character as they play, and bring other survivors into the fold to fight alongside them.

After the event, humanity lies on the brink while zombies dominate the landscape! You are a survivor. Armed with your wits and bravado, you are determined to save all who remain.

Your goal is clear: find survivors and seek out a way to exterminate the undead menace. Choose your way along randomly generated routes to build and battle your way through environments crawling with zombies.

Survival Z boasts simple controls as players plan out their trap and weapon placement before waves of zombies arrive.

The game features ever-changing routes to create "endless" replayability, so no two runs are the same. There are also unique story events with extra rewards, a wide range of enemy types, 15 playable characters, and 50 unique levels.

Next Up on Apple Arcade: SP!NG

SP!NG, from developer SMG Studio, is a classic, arcade-style game that can be played with just a single touch.

The game has more than 180 different levels, five themes, and 40 characters to unlock. Players will receive daily challenges while playing the game, offering in-game rewards. SP!NG arrives on Friday, March 5.

Coming Soon: Cosy Grove, Farm It, and Wonderbox

There are three new games slated to arrive on ‌Apple Arcade‌ soon in the casual, simulation, and adventure genres.

"Cosy Grove" is a game about camping on a haunted, ever-changing island. Players are challenged to navigate the island, discover its hidden secrets, and contact the local ghosts. Over time, players can revitalize the island with crafting and decoration as the narrative unfolds.

"Farm It" contains a series of mini-games to collect resources to build up a farm. Through activities such as fishing or plowing, and with the help of animal companions, players aspire to sell their resources, customize their character, and grow their farm.

Finally, "Wonderbox" is an action-adventure multiplayer game. Players can engage in pre-set adventures filled with challenges, enemies, puzzles, and platforms, or construct their own in Creator Mode. The game revolves around "boxes" used to form a deep chain of interconnected environments.

Lumen and Survival Z are available on the App Store now. Keep an eye out next week for SP!NG and throughout March for more new games.

‌Apple Arcade‌ is priced at $4.99 per month with a one-month free trial available to test it out. Apple also has a one-year subscription option available for $49.99 per year, a savings of $9.89 over the monthly price, and it is also available as part of all tiers of Apple One, starting at $14.95 per month.

Top Rated Comments

steevn Avatar
40 months ago
I literally forgot Apple Arcade existed.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dasmb Avatar
40 months ago
Lumen is not great. Most of the puzzles are extremely easy and the wit of the story is lost in the slow pace, unappealing graphics of the story segments and the utterly mundane plot that clashes with the whimsy and wonder of the premise.

As an example: in a game that presupposes an inventor has encoded all of her secrets in a light and photography based puzzle box, we are treated to the story of the same inventor cleaning her house with a bicycle stretched over 40 or 50 puzzles (each taking 30s-1m to solve). Not much of a reward for not much of a challenge and certainly it doesn't live up the potential presented by the mystery box approach.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Villarrealadrian Avatar
40 months ago
I’ve tried using apole arcade twice but i think apple needs a mascot or a signature game maybe to attract more audience
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nwcs Avatar
40 months ago
I finally started my free trial on arcade and I have to say I’m really enjoying it. Ballistic Baseball and Mini Motorways are my faves right now. Sonic Racing, Frogger TT and What the Golf are also pretty fun.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
peglegjack Avatar
40 months ago

I feel like Apple Arcade is the only game in town with the latest Playstation / Xbox always sold out. I don't see ever seeing the latest consoles available for at least another year or two.
Yeah it seems like a waste of time dealing with all the bots. I’m playing bioshock remastered on my m1 mini (1440p, maxed out, 60fps) and have Apple arcade for my m1 Mac, iPhone 8, iPad Air 4, and ATV4K. Playing Alba right now and loving it.

I say embrace it and roll with what you’ve got. I want for nothing now really
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FightTheFuture Avatar
40 months ago

Had a trial previously, by looking at the games on there recently not much has changed, still garbage.
So you mean you cancelled your trial. I'm pretty sure a lot of folks have the same reaction to Arcade, or find more value in consoles. I get that. I have a backlog of PS4 and Switch games, and would rather play those than try out Apple Arcade. That said, I know a lot people - kids and adults, who enjoy the service. So different strokes.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
iphone reasons to upgrade

Apple Outlines 'Reasons to Upgrade' Your iPhone on New Website

Monday March 25, 2024 12:53 pm PDT by
Apple today added a "Why Upgrade" section to its website, which is aimed at encouraging customers with older iPhones to upgrade to a newer model. The website allows customers to compare the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max to the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max. Each comparison shows what new features someone with an older...