Over the years the video game industry has slowly started adopting a subscription type service a la Netflix. With Sony and their PlayStation Now service (a service that recently just dropped in price to be more competitive) and Microsoft with their Game Pass, more and more companies are starting to look to this model to hopefully carve out their own slice of success.

Which brings us to Apple. The tech company has for years had a small toe in the gaming space, however with Apple Arcade (available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV) Apple looks to throw their hat in the game service competition ahead of their smart device competitor Google and their game service Stadia.

So the question is “is Apple Arcade worth the price?” Honestly that depends on what kind of gaming you’re into. If you’re the type of gamer that gravitates to more AAA game fair, then no. However, if you are a gamer who likes sitting down and playing fun and yet sometimes odd indie titles then yes.

Let’s get this one out of the way first, Apple Arcade games are not the just rebranded mobile games that you would find on the App Store loaded with Microtransactions geared to drain the casual mobile gamer of their hard earned cash. Apple Arcade is however a service with over a 100 indie titles that vary in size and complexity. None of the games that I have tried out on the service could be warranted as a full size console experience (not even the excellent Ocean Horn 2) However they run the same quality of indie titles that you would find on PSN and Xbox Marketplace respectively.

Not all the titles are available on other systems. Apple spent some cash and was able to get their hands on some exclusives that wont be found anywhere else. However titles such as Sayonara Wildhearts can be found on other gaming store fronts. However when viewing the price of said titles when found somewhere else it helps put in perspective of how good the price tag is for Apple Arcade.

Apple is only charging 4.99 a month for the arcade service and that right there is enough to give it a look (especially when you get a free month when signing up.) For the 5 bucks you get access to games that you would end up spending 9.99-14.99 to play anywhere else, and that is what makes Apple Arcade worth it for basically the price of a Starbucks coffee you get access to some really fun and quirky indie titles. When you put in that perspective than yes Apple Arcade is definitely worth it.