It’s Sunday, April 27th, and its time to take a look at the Windows Store, which houses apps for both Windows 8.1 and Windows RT. Let’s see what the total app count is, which apps are at the top of the charts, and highlight some new apps for our readers. Lets begin!
As of April 27th, there are now 157,252 apps in the Windows Store. The top-five free apps in the United States are Facebook, Skype, Asphalt 8 Airborne, Netflix, and Flappy Bird. The top-five paid apps in the United States are Halo Spartan Assault, Machinarium, Plex, Wheel of Fortune, and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.
The top-five free and paid lists appear to be unaffected compared to last week. Facebook remains the top-free app for quite some time now, along with Skype and Asphalt 8 Airborne. Halo Spartan Assault, Wheel of Fortune, and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas have also remained on the top-five paid list for a few weeks now.
It’s no surprise that Asphalt 8 Airborne remains in the top-five, the ever so popular game just recently received an exciting update on both its Windows 8 and Windows Phone apps. Bumping up the version number to 1.0.0.5, the update brings new locations and cars to the game.
Let’s take a look at some of the new apps that have made it to the Store.
Violett ($3.99) – “Set in a world full of wonders, quirks and things from beyond our reality, Violett is a remarkable adventure game that will push your brain to the limits and engross you completely,” the app description reads. This game for Windows 8.1 is a fantastic 2.5D point-and-click adventure game that features a unique world inside a “rabbit hole.”
There are a multitude of puzzles and riddles, a spooky atmosphere of mystery and uneasiness, an evil Spider Queen who’s trying to prevent you from ever coming back, paranormal forces to manipulate objects, beautiful hand-painted graphics full of quirkiness and style, full parallel reality inspired by Alice in the Wonderland and other great works, and much more.
“Rack your brain on intricate puzzles that will allow you to move forward. Use the power of telekinesis to get you out of your troubles. Fight the evil spider queen that wants to make you her new trophy. Use your touch to roam the beautiful and psychedelic world, inspired by Alice in Wonderland, Dali and other great works. Immerse yourself in the soothing sound track,” the app description adds.
WritePlus (free) – “WritePlus is a text editor with essential formatting support to keep it distraction free. The minimalist interface allows you focus on what you are writing, while the basic formatting options give you a pleasant writing environment,” the app description reads. This app was formerly known as Write++. This is a fantastic free text-editor app and it has received numerous updates since its release. Here are the key features:
- Minimalist interface.
- Basic formatting settings: bold, italic, heading, bullet, etc.
- Print.
- Share by email and other apps.
- Auto save.
- Spell check.
- Deep focus mode.
- Word count
- Text to Speech
- Export to WORD (DOCX), HTML, WAVE
- Word cloud
Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams ($14.99) – “Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is a blistering platformer with contrasting worlds. Warp Giana’s vivid dreams to alter your abilities and destroy the twisted creatures lurking within. Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams combines the challenge of retro era platforming with graphics that pack a visual punch and tight controls,” the app description reads.
This app is one of the more expensive apps available for Windows 8.1 (x86 or x64 only). The game supports Windows-compatible keyboard and mouse, optional controller (Xbox 360 Controller for Windows recommended). This game does not have touch capabilities. Here are the key features of this app:
- Powerful Abilities: Change Giana’s personality to unlock her unique abilities – you’ll need to control both sides to survive her dreams!
- Intuitive Controls and Smooth Gameplay: Master the tight knit controls to defeat the cunning trials ahead.
- Visual Punch: Giana’s dreamworlds leap off the screen with gorgeous 3D graphics that morph before your eyes.
- Twisted Puzzles: As Giana changes, so does the world around her. Collecting gems and finding secret locations requires strategy and interchanging the two worlds.
- Legendary Soundtrack: Each dream layer has its own music style. Experience a dual crossfading soundtrack by Chris Hülsbeck and Machinae Supremacy!
- Explore and Discover: There are 23 rich levels across 3 distinct worlds, each transforming into the two contrasting dreamworlds.
- Epic Boss Battles: Take on gigantic creatures dredged from the depths of Giana’s most terrifying nightmares. Each unique boss has only one thing in common with the others – they’re utterly brutal!
- Extras: Christmas and Halloween-themed levels accessible from the start.
Puzzle Craft (free) – “Some villagers have started a new settlement and they’ve put you in charge. In Puzzle Craft you take control of an entire populace and must help them grow their settlement into a bustling city! To do this you will need to farm, mine, collect taxes, hire workers and more. Blending two forms of gameplay for the first time, Puzzle Craft is as unique as it is addicting,” the app description reads.
Here are the key features of this app:
- Part town building sim, part match-three puzzler, Puzzle Craft blends two gameplay modes together for the first time ever.
- Incredibly deep gameplay, there’s always something to do!
- Craft tools to aid with farming and mining.
- Hire villagers to help out around the settlement.
- Create special buildings to increase productivity!
Gym Instructor (free) – “A complete guide to those who don’t know where to start their workout,” the short app description reads. This app allows you to select a body part and learn how to work out that area with detailed descriptions and exercises. This free app also features a step-by-step guide as well as a demo illustration to help you get started in your fitness routine.
Stay tuned for next week’s Windows Store app highlights!