Audio puzzle game Heardle has been acquired by Spotify, genre-defying game Inscryption is being released on PS4 and PS5 systems, and an Apple Watch integration means you can walk the Oregon Trail while you play the game.

Spotify buys Heardle, the daily audio puzzle

Sparked by the Wordle phenomenon, Heardle uses the same format to have you attempt to guess a song based on the smallest of samples.

And this week, Spotify acquired the game.

Heardle gives you six tries to guess a song based on snippets from the beginning. Guess incorrectly and you get a slightly longer audio sample.

When you solve the puzzle – or fail to after your sixth guess – you’re provided with the song title and artist, and a link to the song in the Spotify system.

Smart pickup by Spotify.

Inscryption is coming to Playstation

Vancouver game designer Daniel Mullins has created a version of his outstanding game Inscryption for release on Playstation.

The game will be coming to PS4 and PS5 but a release date has not been announced.

In a post to the Playstation Blog Mullins wrote that some of the Playstation-specific features include audio and lighting emanating from the controller and use of the haptics that are in the PS5 controller.

I expect to see this before the year is out. Which is fantastic. I’m keen to play again.

Walk the Oregon Trail for real, kind of

The Oregon Trail was an early educational simulation game, created in the early 1970s that continues to engage with its exploration of pioneer and settler life and resource management.

Now, if you’ve got an Apple Watch, you can virtually walk the more than 3,200 km (2,000 miles) from Missouri to Oregon because Gameloft has integrated the Apple Arcade version of The Oregon Trail with the HealthKit step tracker.

So while you’re playing the game, you can see your avatar moving across the virtual plains, visiting historical locations along the way.

You need the Oregon Trail Steptracker app to connect the game to HealthKit, and then your 10,000 steps can, over the course of a year, track your 2,000 mile journey.