Subscription-based iOS gaming service GameClub last week brought popular open world RPG Aralon: Sword and Shadow back to the App Store, with better than ever graphics.


For those unfamiliar with Aralon: Sword and Shadow, it was one of the most popular games in the early days of the ‌App Store‌ as it was the first major open world RPG that was made available on iOS.

GameClub's service is based on reviving classic games that are no longer in the ‌App Store‌, providing new updates, graphical overhauls, and more. For Aralon: Sword and Shadow, there have been major changes.

When the game was first released, it used programmer art that was super basic. Later on, Crescent Moon, another developer, picked it up and did some graphics updates, and when GameClub took over, there was another major graphics update so it looks much better than it did in the early days. A before and after of the original art, updated art, and GameClub art can be seen below.

aralonoriginal

Aralon: Sword and Shadow's original graphics

aralonmiddleupdate
Aralon: Sword and Shadow after Crescent Moon update

aralongameclub
Aralon: Sword and Shadow after GameClub's revamp

The original Aralon: Sword and Shadow game was designed to run on early iPhones like the iPhone 4 and the first iPad, but ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌ graphics have evolved significantly since then. With the graphics overhaul and the experience of playing a classic game on a device that's much, much faster, Aralon: Sword and Shadow is worth checking out for those who liked the first version back in the day.

GameClub is priced at $4.99 per month, and allows up to 12 family members to play with a single subscription. Those who are new to the service can get a 30-day free trial, which is great for people looking for something new to do while stuck inside.

gameclub
There are now more than 100 titles on GameClub ranging from puzzles to strategy games to RPGs and action titles, all without ads or in-app purchases.

Top Rated Comments

BrokenDinosaur Avatar
72 months ago
If you previously owned the game, you do not need to pay for the subscription.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cosmichobo Avatar
72 months ago
What a lovely paid advertisement..?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ErikGrim Avatar
72 months ago
Add the original Peggle / Nights to this and you have my money.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
psac Avatar
72 months ago

What a lovely paid advertisement..?
I don't know if it is, but one of the main people behind Gameclub (Eli Hodapp - SP?) was the editor in chief of Touch Arcade, which is a sister site of this one. So it might not be a paid ad as much as doing a solid for an old buddy/colleague.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Eorlas Avatar
72 months ago
that's pretty impressive, i remember this game from back when.

i'm still fingers crossed that they rerelease Aurora Feint; that was probably one of the best top-down brick combine/smasher things. back from when they didnt put these ridiculous levels in that all the new ones have.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
star-affinity Avatar
72 months ago

Hmm, think I’ll stick with Destiny2 on PlayStation.

Isn't World of Warcraft also still available on the Mac platform?
Destiny 2 is a nice game, but the lock to 30 frames per second on the consoles ruin it quite a bit, in my opinion.

World of Warcraft is still around on MacOS, yes.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

M5 MacBook Pro

Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:07 am PDT by
Apple today updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, which is also available in updated iPad Pro and Vision Pro models. In addition, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 4TB of storage on Apple's online store, whereas the previous model maxed out at 2TB. However, the maximum amount of unified RAM available for this model remains 32GB. Like...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

Apple Debuts New iPad Pro With M5 Chip, Faster Charging, and More

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple today announced the next-generation iPad Pro, featuring the custom-designed M5, C1X, and N1 chips. The M5 chip has up to a 10-core CPU, with four performance cores and six efficiency cores. It features a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerator in each core, allowing the new iPad Pro to deliver up to 3.5x the AI performance than the previous model, and a third-generation ray-tracing ...
maxresdefault

Here's Everything Apple Announced Today

Wednesday October 15, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We didn't get a second fall event this year, but Apple did unveil updated products with a series of press releases that went out today. The M5 chip made an appearance in new MacBook Pro, Vision Pro, and iPad Pro models. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up our coverage and highlighted the main feature changes for each device below. MacBook Pro M5...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
Vision Pro M5 Announcement

Apple Updates Vision Pro With M5 Chip, Dual Knit Band, and 120Hz Support

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:14 am PDT by
Apple today updated the Vision Pro headset with its next-generation M5 chip for faster performance, and a more comfortable Dual Knit Band. The M5 chip has a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, and a 16-core Neural Engine, and we have confirmed the Vision Pro still has 16GB of RAM. With the M5 chip, the Vision Pro offers faster performance and longer battery life compared...
iphone air thickness

Apple Said to Cut iPhone Air Production Amid Underwhelming Sales

Friday October 17, 2025 8:29 am PDT by
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec). The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
MacBook Pro M5 Screen

New MacBook Pro Does Not Include a Charger in the Box in Europe

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:59 am PDT by
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip does not include a charger in the box in European countries, including the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and others, according to Apple's online store. In the U.S. and all other countries outside of Europe, the new MacBook Pro comes with Apple's 70W USB-C Power Adapter, but European customers miss out....
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New 14-Inch MacBook Pro Has Two Key Upgrades Beyond the M5 Chip

Thursday October 16, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with an M5 chip, and there are two key storage-related upgrades beyond that chip bump. First, Apple says the new 14-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 2× faster SSD performance than the equivalent previous-generation model, so read and write speeds should get a significant boost. Apple says it is using "the latest storage technology," ...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday October 14, 2025 8:43 am PDT by
Apple's AirPods Max have now been available for almost five years, so what do we know about the second-generation version? According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods Max will be lighter than the current ones, but exactly how much is as yet known. The current AirPods Max weigh 0.85 pounds (386.2 grams), excluding the charging case, making it one of the heavier...
macbook pro blue

Apple's M5 MacBook Pro Imminent: What to Expect

Tuesday October 14, 2025 4:35 pm PDT by
Apple is going to launch a new version of the MacBook Pro as soon as tomorrow, so we thought we'd go over what to expect from Apple's upcoming Mac. M5 Chip The MacBook Pro will be one of the first new devices to use the next-generation M5 chip, which will replace the M4 chip. The M5 is built on TSMC's more advanced 3-nanometer process, and it will bring speed and efficiency improvements. ...