Top 5 Apps of the Week: Rememento, CalCountAI, and More!

If these suggestions don’t spark your curiosity, you’ll be pleased to discover a selection of premium applications currently available for free, but only for a limited time. And if you're on the lookout for even more hidden treasures, be sure to explore our "Free Apps of the Week" section, refreshed every two weeks!

Rememento - White Shadow (Android & iOS)

Rememento: White Shadow arrives in the clothes of a turn-based RPG, offering a strategic combat system and engaging narrative. However, I still think that there is much that can be more polished about this game, especially when the exploration elements are rather underwhelming, while many have reported experiencing technical issues with it. 

Basically, this game offers a semi-open world experience with a focus on turn-based combat. I really found battles to be more than simple and straightforward, requiring strategic depth as it utilizes an MP-based mechanic, which requires careful energy management and skill timing. My eyes were often treated to amazing visuals thanks to the Unreal Engine, allowing me to drool over the flashy effects and well-designed character animations. 

Overall, controls were decent enough as it does not require that much precision. However, I felt the open-world design was rather sparse and incomplete, with limited enemy encounters and repetitive environmental elements. Gameplay was interrupted at times with selected puzzles requiring specific elemental abilities.

You might want to stock up on some cash since Rememento features a gacha system with a 2% drop rate for 5-star characters. While this is higher than some competitors, there is no guaranteed pity system in place, which will certainly frustrate up to 98% of its gamer base. Thankfully, the game is rather generous in its early stages, perhaps to help you get hooked. 

• Price: Free / Advertising: Yes / In-app purchases: Yes ($0.99-$89.99) / Account required: Yes

Overall, I'd say Rememento: White Shadow offers a compelling combat system and attractive character designs with the potential to deliver an engaging RPG experience. Too bad the technical shortcomings, lackluster exploration, and localization issues might prove limiting to some. 

• Download Rememento - White Shadow from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

Anxiety & Panic Relief: Calmer (Android & iOS)

Having returned from my beach vacation, it is back to the helter-skelter nature of city life. Boy, do I miss the soothing sunsets without having a care in the world. Well, there is an app known as Calmer: Anxiety & Panic Relief that purportedly claims to assist users in managing anxiety and panic attacks via evidence-based techniques. I guess there's no harm in trying it out, right?

I like the user interface that is simple and yet not cluttered, as it should be. After all, I do not want to get bogged down by my inability to figure out where to click next. Key features of this app include guided breathing exercises to calm down, and they are well-instructed and easy to follow.

I also like the inclusion of an Emergency SOS Mode. This is a standout feature that boasts a "Panic Mode" button, which guides me through grounding exercises should I experience any acute anxiety episodes. This tool is particularly useful for those needing immediate assistance.

Overall, the minimalist design with its clean and soothing interface made it easy to navigate. The integration of daily tasks and reminders also provides personalized recommendations to encourage consistent practice and support long-term anxiety management. If I ever need to access calming sounds and gentle affirmations, those are also available in the app. 

• Price: Free / Advertising: None / In-app purchases: Yes ($9.94-$44.99) / Account required: No

Do consider that those who want in-depth analytics or extensive customization may find the app's offerings to be rather spartan, and will have to pony up for a monthly or annual subscription. Primarily, its focus on simplicity and immediate support has proved to be a positive experience for me. Time to plan the next holiday...

• Download Anxiety & Panic Relief: Calmer from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Shake to Enable Torch (Android only)

Smartphone cameras have come a long way since their early inception. Prior to that, there was no such thing as having a flash, and capturing photos in low-light conditions proved to be anathema. However, as time and technology progressed, cameras with flash began to become popular, and rightly so. In fact, the flash has also become commonplace in concerts and parties, where revelers hold up their smartphones with the flash enabled to simulate candles. However, accessing the smartphone's flash often requires a few steps, so why not use an app to make access easier and faster?

Shake to Enable Torch does just that, as its name implies. Shake your smartphone and voila! The flash turns on. Want to turn it off? Simple, just shake your handset again. The premise is so simple, and the user interface is spartan, but it does get the job done. You can use it in dark mode as well if you so desire to have a more uniform look with the rest of the smartphone.

Since different people have varying degrees of an idea on how much to shake, Shake to Enable Torch lets you adjust the sensitivity, since you would not want the flash to go off by accident. The sensitivity scale is adjusted by increments of 5 basis points each time, so do experiment with it yourself until you arrive at an agreeable degree of sensitivity.

• Price: Free / Advertising: None / In-app purchases: None / Account required: No

This is as simple as it gets, and practical, too. I have tested it out on a couple of my smartphones, including an old OnePlus Nord (read review), and it worked like a charm. Basically, if you want a simple app that provides quick and easy access to the torchlight, you won't go wrong with Shake to Enable Torch!

• Download Shake to Enable Torch from the Google Play Store.

CalCountAI: Calorie Tracking (Android & iOS)

Here we are again, using AI to help make life a little bit better and easier for everyone. It is a simple enough app to navigate and use, specially designed to simplify calorie tracking while employing artificial intelligence to estimate the nutritional content of meals based on photographs taken by the smartphone's camera.

I am not too happy with the way my body looks at the moment, and despite trying to run regularly, things in life just crop up and cause me to lose track of my fitness goals. With this app, at least I can keep tabs on my calorie intake. All I need to do is enter basic data about myself, my goals, and capture photos of everything I eat. The app will then attempt to identify the food items and estimate their calorie and macronutrient content.

It is also able to provide instant breakdowns of protein, carbohydrates, and fats to aid informed eating decisions. However, depending on how the food is presented (especially when it comes to more fancy plating), the app does get stuff wrong, which thankfully, you can edit the contents for a more accurate count. 

• Price: Free / Advertising: None / In-app purchases: Yes ($12.99-$71.99) / Account required: Yes

Knowing just how much balance of calories I have left for the day is a great help, and being able to review past meals and track progress over time will certainly aid me in my fitness goal. I would use this as a supplementary tool and prefer to consult with my healthcare professional for personalized dietary advice instead, in the long run.

• Download CalCountAI: Calorie Tracking from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

WorryBugs (Android only)

Who doesn't worry? I know I have my fair share of worries. There is so much going on around me that I realized long ago there's nothing I can do about it, but it still, er, bugs me. Enter WorryBugs, an app that was designed to provide a gentle, comforting space for users to manage their worries and anxieties.

Basically, I write my worries down, which then appear under the "Current" tab as a bug. Each bug has a name with a little bit of information about it. I suppose it is a cathartic experience to be able to name a worry and then process my thoughts and emotions about it.

Once I have spent enough time processing that worry, which might be moments later, or even weeks or months down the road, I can always revisit that worry and indicate that it no longer worries me. This allows me to provide more in-depth information on how I overcame the worry, so that bug will then be relegated to the "Past" tab. I like how this app allows for continuous engagement, enabling me to add updates, journal thoughts, or simply interact with my WorryBug at any time.

• Price: Free / Advertising: None / In-app purchases: None / Account required: No

I found WorryBugs to be an innovative app that offers a gentle approach to anxiety management. After all, it lets me personify and interact with my worries in a comforting digital space. It does look to be a promising tool for those seeking a novel method to address their anxieties. Thankfully, the app looked bug-free (hehe!) throughout the duration of my use!

• Download WorrryBugs from the Google Play Store.

Time sure passes by quickly when you're having fun! We've arrived at the end of this week's Top 5 recommended apps! Let us know how you find them in the comments, and stay tuned for next week's edition!