Mobile Games News Review | Week of 20-26 June 2022

Discover the weekly recap of the mobile games news on Android and iOS for the week of June 20 to 26, 2022! On the agenda this week: a new Hello: Neighbor game, Don't Starve Newhome pre-registrations, TFT patch 12.12, July Netflix games update, the strange problem of Diablo Immortal and much more to discover in this recap. We'll let you read it all below. ⬇️

Mobile games released this week and other announcements

1️⃣ Let's start this recap with the Lost Light beta on iOS. We know some of you have been waiting for it since our test back in January on the channel, well the beta has launched in the US, Thailand and Russia. For the rest of the world, you'll have to take your best VPN or wait a little longer until the official release of this slow FPS focused on realistic survival. The beta for Lost Light, akin to Escape from Tarkov mobile, will last until July 4, but pre-registrations are already available on iOS and the full game was released several months ago for Android players.

2️⃣ The new mobile game Hello Neighbor: Diaries is launching in Singapore, the Philippines and Canada on Android. Dreamed up by tinyBuild, the title features a brand new storyline for this new installment of the hit indie license. If you're not familiar with Hello Neighbor: the plot is simple. Your neighbour is such a shady guy that you're driven by curiosity to find out what he might be hiding in his house as evidence of his crimes. In search of ghoulish clues and keys to unlock everything, you have to search his house without him spotting you. Every time you miss a beat, you'll raise the alert level and, when the gauge is full, your murderous neighbour will hunt you down to death. If he catches you, you start over. In Hello Neighbor: Diaries, it is the disappearance of a young boy in the neighbourhood that seems to be linked to this dangerous neighbour, but it is up to you to prove it. Unfortunately, no worldwide release date has yet been announced for this title. You can still play it on TapTap for free.

3️⃣ On the beta side, this week has more surprises in store. Let's start again with the second closed beta of Avatar: Reckoning, which we weren't expecting at all. Honestly, we at Mobi.gg were convinced that the Avatar games would never be released, as Pandora Rising never made it to our doorstep and Reckoning was never heard from again. However, this MMO, based on James Cameron's film and developed by Archosaur Games in partnership with Tencent, is still in the development stages test. As with Pandora Rising, Avatar: Reckoning is only targeting Canada and the Philippines with its beta. As for the release date, nothing has been officially announced, although the title could make its debut on Android and iOS around December 16 to coincide with the release of the second Avatar movie, The Way of the Water.

4️⃣ This week also marks the second closed beta of TeeTiny Online on PC and Android mobile. iOS players will not be able to join the game until the official launch. Online until July 7, 2022, this beta allows you to get your hands on Smilegate's MMORPG that focuses on a single-server architecture to bring together players from around the world. In-game communication will be facilitated by real-time machine translation. The gameplay focuses on class freedom with a weapon-based build system to adjust your strategy as you fight and cross-platform PC and mobile housing and gardening features. TeeTiny Online's closed beta is now available on the Playstore.

5️⃣ We told you about it at the launch of Level Infinite, Tencent's gaming label, and Don't Starve: Newhome is now opening up pre-registrations. To participate, all you have to do is go to Taptap and validate the pre-registration on the device type of your choice. Visually less striking than its PC predecessors, the survival game Don't Starve: Newhome brings a fresh adventure, shortened gameplay sessions for the mobile format and multiplayer present from the moment of release. For those unfamiliar with the licence, Don't Starve is a survival game based on a rather large day/night cycle as the darkness is called Charlie and tries to kill you.

In addition to the usual hunger and temperature gauges, there is also an insanity gauge that fills up as you venture into this strange world. To last as long as possible, resist the night, the madness, the seasons and the onslaught of monsters while gathering resources to meet your basic needs and build your base. Don't Starve: Newhome will be no exception, offering high difficulty and a wide variety of content.

6️⃣ If you prefer Asian folklore to the creepy drawings of Don't Starve, you may be pleased to know that pre-registration for Westward Journey Restarts has just opened. Little known in our country, this title is based on the Westward anime and manga adapted from a Chinese novel called Journey to the Westward. The game should be released on June 30th. So hurry up and pre-register for the extra rewards at launch if you are interested in Westward Journey Restars. A strategic RPG and gacha, the game alternates between PvE and PvP with temporary events complementary to the main game that will allow you to dive into the Chinese lore.

7️⃣ On the original game side, we know the new release date for Arida Backland's Awakening, which had been pushed back a little earlier this month. Finally, this title will send you exploring the Brazilian lands from June 30th on Android. In this port of the PC game, you'll be able to discover exactly the same narrative depth to discover step by step the Brazilian culture mixed with a survival game. After a great drought, you will search for resources and learn to love this land full of history, mythology and hidden beauties.

8️⃣ Already on the doorstep of summer, we're slowly starting to discover the releases planned for July. We start with the release of a test phase of Mission Zero on July 8. An infiltration and deception game in 2v4 asymmetric PvP, it was announced in April 2021 by NetEase. The goal of the infiltration is obviously to avoid being exposed, but also to come out with top secret documents to expose the actions of a nasty mega-corporation.

9️⃣ For slightly fun releases, there's the release of Cooking Mama: Cuisine! on Apple Arcade, which will appeal to those nostalgic for their best DS cooking sessions. Exclusive to the iOS gaming subscription, you won't find it anywhere else unfortunately. So sharpen your knives and heat up your pots and pans as the ingredients will change every day from now on.

And Toy Rider: All Star Racing also launches this week. In this miniature racing game, you zigzag between cereal boxes and toys in courses that will remind you of Toy Story or some of the It Takes Two environments, even if they're less elegant. With over 100 vehicles and a host of different items and boosts, you're bound to find some fun in this original title.

🔟 Netflix continues to move its chips forward after Summer Game Fest to position itself as a major player in the mobile game market, so let's take a look at what Netflix game releases will be happening in July. Let's start with my favorite : Before your Eyes. This little nugget features an interesting gameplay mechanic where if you blink in the game, the scene you're in ends. In the middle of Benjamin Brynn's memories, you'll have to make the right choices to guide him to the end. Touching and immersive, this title is a gem that I can only recommend if you like original games.

In addition to Before Your Eyes, Netflix adds Mahjong Solitaire, the match-3 Wild Things: Animal Adventure and Immortality, an investigation game about a missing actress. The various releases are spread out over the month of July, enough to keep you entertained this summer without paying more than your Netflix subscription.

1️⃣1️⃣ I'd like to take this opportunity to make a small point about the most ignored bad buzz of all time: that of Diablo Immortal. I think most of you are aware of this storm of criticism that has been raining down on the game since its release. Even if Blizzard's title offers quite honest gameplay and a good immersion in the Diablo universe on mobile, what is much less honest is its business model. It is well known that mobile games tend to bring out bad aspects of addiction, gambling with lootboxes and other rather dangerous spending techniques.

Except, of course, no one expected Blizzard to fully embrace the most predatory techniques of this ecosystem without any embarrassment. And while the gaming community is abuzz on the subject, acknowledging that you'd have to spend a fortune to get a good end-game build and openly denouncing Blizzard's abusive practices on this title, the game's publisher and developer isn't responding. I prefer to avoid pushing open doors and so we rarely talk about bad buzz in the recaps, but the lack of response from Blizzard on this subject is staggering. The least they could do is to own up to the fact that not everyone likes what they've done, and either backtrack slightly or continue in full force. Blizzard's silence is a disappointment that adds to the accumulation of everything that has made the company's reputation bad in recent years, and the firm doesn't have enough respect for its players to speak out on the subject, knowing that it probably believes that the community will be there no matter what happens for the release of Diablo IV. And while she's probably right, it's a more than questionable turn of events for Blizzard as they continue their questionable practices. So, as this has been in the news for several weeks, you know everything!

Essential updates

1️⃣2️⃣ Let's continue the weeks news with the essential updates. While Warzone prepares its weapons for the 2022 sequel, its big brother Call of Duty Mobile is getting an aerial Season 6. Available on Wednesday 29 June, this update titled To the Skies introduces a host of new unlockable content, a battle pass, a new map and an additional vehicle. It's official, your new destructive aircraft will be the Jackal, a fighter plane equipped with a Gatling gun, missiles and decoys. However, you'll have to watch out for an anti-aircraft defence weapon that's also making an appearance. And, to take advantage of this new content, you'll also be able to explore the Favela map from Modern Warfare 2. Find out more about this Call of Duty Mobile Season 6 in our dedicated article on Mobi.gg.

1️⃣3️⃣ Other major updates this week include two Riot games in the front row. First up is TFT and its 12.12 patch, which puts the spotlight on gunners, like Corki. The game team has decided to put a spanner in the works for reroll compositions with a nerf to composition Fighter / Scalescorn led by Diana and Olaf while a boost to Volibear and Anivia with the Legendary trait. 30 champions, 12 traits and many augments have undergone balancing changes so head over to our detailed article on Mobi.gg to optimise your upcoming games on patch 12.12.

1️⃣4️⃣ Finally, Wild Rift introduces Pyke and Nautilus for the first time in the Mobile Summoner Rift with the Wild Rift 3.2b patch. In addition to these two supporting champions, Riot Games 's MOBA features the Creature of the Deep event with dedicated missions and points to unlock additional rewards . Depending on your ranking against other players at the end of the event, you will get a special prize.