Kings of the Castle gives Apple Arcade the royal treatment – CNET

This story is part of CNET’s coverage of Apple Arcade, including exclusive first looks at some of the service’s high-profile new games.

The latest game joining the Apple Arcade catalog is Frosty Pop’s Kings of the Castle. Subscribers to Apple’s $4.99 gaming service can check out this title on Friday. The game is available on the iPad, the iPhone and Apple TV to start, with content slowly rolling out to the Mac. 

In Kings of the Castle, Prince Rupert has been locked away in a tower by the dragon Zantorian. You play as the princess, sent by Lord Baldor, to find and rescue the prince from a mysterious island. Outsmart enemies, avoid traps and obstacles and collect gems to pay the prince’s ransom. Play solo or team up with others in multiplayer mode. 

Read more: How Apple Arcade changed mobile gaming in 2019

Faisal Sethi, the game’s developer, wanted Kings of the Castle to push back against traditional fairy tale clichés. Sethi, the son of Pakistani immigrants, wanted to feature diversity in his games, and women as heroes. The characters in Kings of the Castle are drawn from South Asian, East Asian, Eastern European and Canadian cultures.

Sethi said the inspiration behind his games is to re-create childhood experiences.

“One of the games we played was simply a race to the top of a hill on our school play ground. The first one who got to the top ‘won’ and was crowned ‘King of the Castle,'” Sethi said in a release. “This is a pretty common trope [or] basic challenge for any kid and their friends and parents, even in this day and age. I’ll race you to the end of the block, or the first one to that tree over there wins, is something that pretty much any one, any where, at any time, can relate to.”

Kings of the Castle is Frosty Pop’s fifth game on Apple Arcade. The company previously released Don’t Bug Me, Big Time Sports, The Pinball Wizard and The Get Out Kids.