Arcade Update: HD Splat Swords, Continue and Royal Park
Published
It has been a busy week at NoInternet Arcade. Splat Swords got its biggest update since launch, four games now let you continue or start over from the title menu, Pixel Racer’s secret track has a new name, and nine of the older games have new cover art. Here is everything that changed, in plain words. You do not need to do anything to get it: open the site while online and the new version loads by itself, and a short “What’s new” note lists the changes.
Splat Swords: the big update
HD fighters, bosses and giants
Every fighter in Splat Swords is now a detailed HD model: your hero, every opponent, every boss and every giant. The heroes you buy in the Armory and the star skins from Rewards all got the new look too, and the arenas and the tournament map are freshly painted.
The fighters also got real hands. Every hand closes round its weapon, two-handed weapons like the greatsword, the spear or the great maul are held with both hands, and crates and barrels are carried by their sides. Fighters now walk properly while they block, charge a heavy swing or carry something, and the bots block and dodge like real opponents.
The new Bestiary in the menu shows all 37 opponents and giants going through their moves, and the Armory plays a live preview of every weapon and move before you buy it.
Crates and barrels for everyone
Stand next to a crate or a barrel and press THROW to lift it over your head, then press THROW again to hurl it. A crate smashes and drops what was inside, a barrel blows up. Everyone can do it: enemies, bosses and giants too, so keep an eye on a fighter standing next to a barrel.
Free for All on ten arenas
Free for All now picks one of ten arenas at random for every match, from the Stone Ring to the Rope Bridge and Storm Peak. If you are knocked out early, the fight goes on: watch the others battle it out to the end, or tap to skip straight to the results.
Giant fights that explain themselves
Giants were hard to read, so they now tell you what to do:
- Targets on the legs show where to hit, with a small leg meter under each one. Fill a meter and the giant topples.
- ARMORED! pops up when a blow bounces off an armour plate. The plates now sit right on the giant’s legs, and more of them appear in each new phase, so look for the bare spot.
- A red ! flashes before every stomp, grab, boulder and big swing.
- While a giant is down, HEAD X3 and a countdown ring show how long you have to hit its head.
- Your first two giant fights show big tips on screen: HIT ITS LEGS!, DODGE THE STOMP!, IT FALLS: HIT THE HEAD!
Spears, pitchforks and tridents now aim at a giant’s bare shins by themselves, so they finally hit, and a giant no longer swings its club over your head when you stand at its feet: it steps back first. Our Splat Swords guide has the full plan for felling a giant.
Smaller things
- CONTINUE and NEW GAME on the title menu (more on that below).
- The Armory shows your coins again, at the bottom of the screen.
- On a computer, the right mouse button blocks (and parries, if you time it).
- In full screen on a big monitor, the pixel text and menus are crisp and even.
- Phones held sideways: the action buttons no longer crowd the toolbar.
CONTINUE and NEW GAME
Pixel Grocer, Coin Tide, Pixel Racer and Splat Swords save your progress between visits, and their title menus now make it clear what happens next. Once you have progress, the first item takes you back to it (CONTINUE, or PLAY with your current day in Pixel Grocer), and NEW GAME next to it starts over.
NEW GAME always asks first, with “NO, KEEP MY PROGRESS” as the default. Here is what goes and what stays:
| Game | NEW GAME erases | Always stays |
|---|---|---|
| Pixel Grocer | The day, coins, stock and everything built | Your records |
| Coin Tide | Your level, coins and the whole town | Your records and skins |
| Pixel Racer | The championship and the Hardcore challenge, secret car and track included | Your best times and options |
| Splat Swords | The tournament, coins, weapons, upgrades, moves and heroes | Your records and skins |
If you are signed in, a fresh start stays fresh: the old progress does not come back from your account on your next sync.
One more fix in every game: MAIN MENU in the pause menu now really leaves the run. CONTINUE on the title takes you to your saved progress and never drops you back into the middle of the round you just left.
Pixel Racer: Royal Park and ranked races
The secret ninth track is now called Royal Park: huge straights, fast chicanes and a long final curve through a park of tall poplars. It unlocks together with the secret car when you win a Hardcore race on every track. Your unlocks and leaderboard times on it are kept.
The track screen now has a LEADERBOARD row that tells you before the start whether a race counts: ✓ RANKED for 3-lap races, ONLY 3 LAPS for anything else. No more finishing a great 5-lap race and wondering why it is not on the board.
The cars also sound better: the tyre squeal and the brakes are real recordings now, the Pixie 850 got a little faster, and the V8 GT copes better off the road. On HIGH graphics, Volcano Rush and Desert Canyon no longer stutter. Read our Pixel Racer guide to put it all to use.
New cover art for nine classics
Pixel Raptor, Nib’s Flight, Jump Up, Invoker Trainer, Sky Stack, Pixel Racer, Pixel Snake, Maze Muncher and Brick Tanks have new painted covers, in the same style as Splat Swords and Coin Tide. You see them on the game cards and in the preview when you share a game’s link: the raptor leaping a boulder in the desert, Nib between temple pillars at dusk, the V8 drifting on nitro through Volcano Rush, Chomp chased by the four spooks and more.
Smoother on phones
- 120 Hz screens: Brick Tanks, Pixel Snake and Pixel Summer Games run smoother on phones with fast screens, and Coin Tide is smoother on phones in general.
- Sideways phones: in Splat Swords, Pixel Pitch and Pixel Summer Games the action buttons no longer crowd the toolbar.
- Installed apps: if you installed the arcade as an app, it now picks up new versions reliably, older iPhones included.
A reminder about the new names
If you are looking for an old favorite under its old name: the dino runner (once Dino Run) is now Pixel Raptor, the bat flyer (once Flappy) is Nib’s Flight, and the football game (once Pixel Soccer) is Pixel Pitch. Your scores, skins and progress all stayed.
That is it for this week. Pick a game, and if something looks wrong after the update, tell us on the bug report page.