Apple Arcade added the rhythm game Samba de Amigo: Party-To-Go to its game library Tuesday, the same day Samba de Amigo: Party Central landed on Nintendo Switch. If you subscribe to Apple Arcade ($5, £5 or AU$8 a month), you can play Samba de Amigo: Party-To-Go at no additional charge and without ads or in-app purchases.
This game was developed by Sega, the same company that developed the original Samba de Amigo in 1999 and brought Sonic the Hedgehog to the world.
If you’re unfamiliar with Samba de Amigo, you play as the titular character Amigo who shakes his maracas to the rhythm of various songs. In addition to the standard rhythm mode available in the original game, Party-To-Go features a story mode where you join Amigo on a quest to, according to the game’s description, “return lost music to the world!”
The track list for Party-To-Go includes songs from artists like Pitbull and Ariana Grande, as well as Apple Arcade exclusive tracks from Lady Gaga, PSY — remember Gangnam Style? — and Fitz and the Tantrums.
While I played the game on my iPhone 14 Pro and didn’t have an issue with the controls, I don’t think I could play this game on a larger iPhone or iPad without a controller.
In this title, you have to press buttons located around your screen and perform actions to the rhythm. I simply tapped those buttons and swiped on my screen, but I struggled to comfortably reach those same buttons or perform the actions smoothly on a larger device without a separate controller. Or maybe I just have small hands and everyone else wears size XXL gloves.
You can play this game, and many others, in Apple Arcade for $5 a month, or $60 annually. You can also try Apple Arcade for free for one month with your first sign-up, or you can get a three-month free trial whenever you buy a new Apple device. To access Apple Arcade, open the App Store on your iOS device and tap the joystick in the menu bar.
