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Welcome to the 460th edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the big headlines from the last week:
- Google launched some helpful search features this last week. Google Lens received a “multi-search near me” feature that searches for things you take a photo of in your general location. Google Maps now has a new Live View, which also includes some features for EV owners. The list is too long for a roundup like this, so hit the link to see all the new stuff.
- Samsung owners are seeing an increasing issue. A lot of Samsung owners are using the word Samsung as their password on their Samsung phones. That’s a security issue for various reasons, the least of which is that you should never use a password that is the name of the thing you’re using. If you’re one of those people, please consider changing your password.
- Android is an excellent ecosystem, and our writer Curtis Joe wanted to talk about why he thinks so. It turns out, the ability to play Japanese versions of many Japanese games, which are often much further in development than the global variants, is one of them. We’ve linked his article above if you want to read more about it.
- Google Messages is adding the ability to react to whatever message you get with whatever reaction you want. Currently, you’re limited to seven choices, but the beta version now has a picker to use whatever you want. We don’t know when it’ll hit the main app, but it should be in the coming weeks.
- Google is warning users of common scams that take place during the holiday season. They include donations to fake charities, gift cards and giveaways, crypto scams, and more. It’s fairly common this time of year since scam artists like to take advantage of people’s good natures. Hit the link to learn more.
Neural Cloud
Price: Free to play
Neural Cloud is a gacha RPG. This one stands out in a sea of gacha RPGs with its unique combat. It’s a strategy RPG where you place pieces on a board, and they do battle with units already there. The developers say there’s a roguelike element where you can choose how you conduct combat, but it’s a bit of a stretch to us.
In terms of general gameplay, it’s a lot of stuff you’ve seen before. You collect dolls to do combat while you progress through the story. It has the same min-maxing as other gachas. The story and artwork aren’t half bad, either. This should end up reasonably popular since it does feel a bit different from other gachas.
Goaly
Price: Free / $1.49 per month / $5.99 per year / $10.99 once
Goaly is a goal tracker app. It integrates with Google Calendar to help you see your goals in more than one place. The app works like many other goal apps. You input what you want to achieve and the app helps remind you to do those things. It boasts an AI that adjusts your goals based on your performance so you still complete it, but maybe not in the original time frame you expected. We think to-do list apps are better overall for this, but something specifically for your goals may be helpful for some.
Canned Heroes
Price: Free to play
Canned Heroes is an idle RPG from Buff Studios, developer of a number of visual novels that we like. It uses a mixture of idle RPG mechanics with a gacha character collection for its main mechanics. You increase the power of your characters and, thus, progress through the game faster. It’s a cute game with simple mechanics. The game also plays offline, so you can play it anywhere. It’s a bit buggy, as new games typically are, but otherwise, it’s a relatively chill experience.
OYE Wellness
Price: Free trial / $4.99 per month / $59.99 per year
OYE Wellness is a mental health wellness app. It supports both English and Spanish. The app tries to help you pinpoint and understand your emotions. It then offers various videos to help you work through what you’re dealing with on any given day. There is a free trial that lasts for two weeks, and then you have to pay for it. The app still needs some work, but the idea is solid.
Sword Art Online VS
Price: Free to play
Sword Art Online Variant Showdown, or Sword Art Online VS for short, is the latest mobile game that uses the popular anime property. It follows Kirito and Asuna into a new game that reportedly causes memory loss in its players. It’s an action RPG with fairly standard controls. You move around the game world and tap on attacks that you learn to deal damage. There is also character customization, various power-up cards, and more.
We think the use of SAO in yet another game is a bit long in the tooth, and the game does have some issues out of the gate. However, we expect the issues to get sorted sooner or later, and fans of the series will enjoy some fresh content from it.
If we missed any big Android apps or games news or releases, tell us about them in the comments.
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