Apple Arcade is home to two different horror-themed tactical strategy games. The first, Overland, was created by renowned indie studio Finji, creators of indie darling Night in the Woods and pioneering auto-runner Canabalt. The second, Dread Nautical, was made by Zen Studios, a company whose catalogue is almost entirely made up of pinball games.
I didn’t expect Zen Studios to make the better game either, but here we are.
The story of Dread Nautical takes a Lovecraftian  approach to horror, following the tale of one of four characters as they wake up in the bilge of a cruise ship where most of the passengers and crew have mysteriously transformed into grotesque monstrosities. It’s up to the player to scavenge for food and supplies, recruit a team of untransformed survivors, and find a way to escape the sea-based nightmare.
The story, unfortunately, doesn’t nail down the type of subtlety that a horror story in this vein requires to thrive — a fault that’s apparent from the moment that the game opens up.
Before players even reach the title screen, they’re treated to a somewhat cheesy intro cinematic where an ominous voice implies that you’ve been chosen for some kind of dark purpose and reveals that you’ve been transported into a realm of darkness, despair and dread. While this is all a perfectly acceptable stage on which to set a cosmic horror story, that’s not the kind of info you just blab about right off the bat. ...