Strips, Mixel, Letterboxd, and other apps to check out this weekend

This week’s edition of our Apps of the Week roundup features a new image editor for comic book fans, an 8-bit cocktail recipe app, and a new universal app for the popular Letterboxd network. And as always, we’ve selected two great new games for you to check out.

Strips

Tired of the same old Instagram and Snapchat filters? Turn your photos into a comic strip with Strips. The app creates a video sketchbook out of your Camera Roll using artificial intelligence. It has three comic filters—Takes, Book and Sample, and you can customize things like the title and the soundtrack. This app is clearly in its infancy, offering far fewer features than similar apps out there, but I think a lot of folks will appreciate its simplicity and minimal UI design. Strips is available for $1.99.

Mixel

Throwing a big Super Bowl party this weekend? Let Mixel help make the drinks. The app features over 700 cocktail recipes from world-renowned sources and it presents them in a fun 8-bit, pixel art style. You can explore the recipes using search and filters—filter by ingredients, flavor, favorite drinks, or ones you haven’t tried with. Other features include a running list of over 500 ingredients, 8 hand-crafted themes for the app (4 light and 4 dark), search by ingredient and a built-in shopping list. I’m sure there are hundreds of these types of apps out there, but this one seemed worth highlighting this weekend. Mixel is available for free (with some IAPs).

Letterboxd

They say 2018 is going to be a huge year for hit movies, and what better way to keep track of them then with Letterboxd? This isn’t a new app, but the recent 2.0 update made it universal for both iPhone and iPad (along with other improvements). For those unfamiliar with the service, Letterboxd allows you to browse and log films with date, rating, review and tags. You can also read and comment on reviews, create, edit and comment on lists (think, top 20 horror films of all time), view member profiles and follow their activities, and much more. If you consider yourself a film buff, and you haven’t checked out Letterboxd yet, do it. Letterboxd is available for free.

Disc Drivin’ 2

Based on the acclaimed original Disc Drivin’, Disc Drivin’ 2 is a combination of skill and tension-producing physics. Now with two swipes per turn, set up your shot and make a second move while still in motion to avoid an unexpected hazard at the last second as you race around the track. Armed with an arsenal of upgradable powers to slip past your enemy, decide the best way to outrace your opponent. Try your hand at the new Speedrun mode where you’ll race against the clock to improve your skills. Earn coins in competition to unlock cards, new powers, discs, and abilities. Disc Drivin’ 2 is available for free (with some IAPs).

PAKO 2

PAKO 2 is an arcade driving game where you work as a getaway driver. Pick up your crew from heist spot, escort them to safety in dramatic chase against the cops, repeat and compete in the leaderboards! Every run gains you money which can be used to buy new rides and locations. Get in, get out, get paid! Features include easy controls, vast handcrafted levels, electro soundtrack, and absolutely no in-app purchases or ads. PAKO 2 is available for $1.99.

More apps to check out