~The Game Pass Thread~

Just started playing Deathloop’s campaign. Very stylish, and of course the whole 1960’s “stuck on an Island” vibe is super reminiscent of The Prisoner. Really enjoying the soundtrack.

Subnautica is also leaving next week.

Last day to get your Football Manager '22 in. Free achievement for the streaks when you open the dlc store (“Downloads” on PC).

…because '23 releases on Game Pass tomorrow! :)

I read a headline this morning that Football Manager 22 isn’t just leaving game pass, it’s going to be delisted from the stores too, so no one can buy it moving forward. I’m not really familiar with the series, but I guess they really want people moving on to Football Manager 23.

I think that’s pretty normal for this series, apart from the really retro Champ Man games, you can’t buy any of the older FMs on Steam.

I feel like this has been true for a while, but don’t rush to move to the new FM.

I installed last night on the xbox since I’ve never played the console version, and it is on game pass. I also didn’t get around to playing much of 22, so best not to buy it and just play it here. :)

Return to Monkey Island is available for download!

I’ve played through Curse of Monkey Island. I don’t need to have played any of the other ones first to play this one right?

You don’t need to, but a lot of the jokes, character references and general nostalgia will go over your head. The first third of the game is a hard riff on the original game. I would absolutely recommend playing 1 and 2 first. I mean, I would recommend playing them anyway, they’re among the best adventure games ever made.

My understanding is that it incorporates some elements introduced in Curse, but it’s really a sequel to Monkey Island 1 and 2.

Ok, that was a surprising answer. And it turns out, I own the special edition of the first game on Steam for some reason. So installing now.

I notice Vampire Survivors is now on Xbox too. A whole new separate set of achievements! Woohoo!

Tried Somerville

great start (gamepass version):

  • The game does not apparently know what vsync or frame limiter is, so my GPU runs at 120fps 99% constantly, eating 350W for no good reason

  • I set the game graphics to “high” in main menu, but when I checked again ingame, it was again set to medium because reasons

  • during the cutscene after first ten minutes, when “shit goes down”, the game just completely froze (no input reacted) and had to be shut down via task manager (this is on PC that runs Prime95 and Combustor and RT Cyberpunk for hours without issue)

As for game itself, it seems interesting…

Coming Soon


Dune: Spice Wars (Game Preview) (PC) – November 17
A 4X real-time strategy game from the developers of the critically acclaimed Northgard . Set in Frank Herbert’s groundbreaking Dune universe, you must lead your faction and battle for control and dominance over the harsh desert planet of Arrakis. 'The Air & Sand Update is also coming November 17, adding new layers of strategy with military flying units and new buildings, along with improvements across the board.

Ghostlore (Game Preview) (PC) – November 17
Ghostlore is an ‘Eastpunk’ Action-RPG where you fight monsters from Southeast-Asian folklore. Inspired by timeless classic ARPG’s such as Diablo 2 and Titan Quest , Ghostlore offers a detailed item and character customization system, procedurally generated maps, and an authentically retro 90’s aesthetic.

Lapin (Cloud, Console, and PC) – November 17
Available on day one with Game Pass:
Lapin is a 2D platformer game featuring a group of brave rabbit explorers. Five rabbits used to live under a park, but construction forced them to leave their beloved hole. Players need to help Liebe and her friends explore the world with precise control. Meet new friends, remember past events, and hop on to the end of the adventure!

Norco (Cloud and Console) – November 17
The award-winning Southern Gothic point & click narrative adventure game Norco is coming soon to Game Pass, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. Your brother Blake has gone missing in the aftermath of your mother’s death. In the hopes of finding him, you must follow a fugitive security android through the refineries, strip malls, and drainage ditches of suburban New Orleans.

Gungrave G.O.R.E (Cloud, Console, and PC) – November 22
Available on day one with Game Pass:
Stylish third-person shooting meets close-range martial arts, creating seamlessly flowing action as you crush your enemies in a gory ballet of bullets. Utilize your unlimited ammo Cerberus pistols and your transformable EVO-coffin to unleash devastating combos in pursuit of maximum damage and style.

Insurgency: Sandstorm (Cloud and Console) – November 29
Battle in the war-torn environments of a contemporary conflict through a series of intense co-op and PvP multiplayer modes. Feel every bullet and fear every impact in fierce close quarters combat as your team fights toward victory.

Soccer Story (Cloud, Console, and PC) – November 29
Available on day one with Game Pass:
Soccer Story is a physics-driven adventure RPG, where every problem can be solved with your trusty magic ball. Along the way, you’ll need to best bad guys in 1v1s, compete in a range of sports (with your soccer ball, of course), and solve puzzles with your brain and your balls!

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (PC) – November 30
Available on day one with PC Game Pass:
Take back the city of Tertium from hordes of bloodthirsty foes in this intense and brutal action shooter. Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is the new co-op focused experience from the award-winning team behind the Vermintide series. As Tertium falls, Rejects Will Rise.

Leaving November 30


The following games will be leaving the Game Pass library soon. Be sure to jump back in to wrap up any loose ends, or you can also use your membership discount so save up to 20% to keep them in your library.

  • Archvale (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Deeeer Simulator (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Console and PC)
  • Mind Scanners (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Mortal Shell (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Undungeon (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Warhammer 40,000 Battlesector (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Soccer Story

Based on the description I was excited to see the Golf Story sequel on Game Pass. Nope. That’s Sports Story. I’ll still check this one out.

Linking the latest Game Pass update posting because it has other good info, such as touch controls added to the following games:

Amnesia: Collection
Ghost Song
Amnesia: Rebirth
Immortals Fenyx Rising
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Opus: Echo of Starsong
Assassin’s Creed Origins
Pentiment
DC League of Super Pets: The Adventures of Krypto and Ace
Scorn
Disney Dreamlight Valley
Soma
Football Manager 2023 Console
You Suck at Parking
Fuga: Melodies of Steel

You need to confirm with A to get these changes to stick. It doesn’t tell you that :)

Though I stayed at Medium to try and calm my GPU fans down :/

I was impressed by Football Manager 23’s touch controls. It’s effectively a mobile game.

FF 13-2 & Organ Trader were great. I really enjoyed those games. I’m going to try to replay Final Fantasy for achievements before it goes. Highly recommend checking a guide while you play. Some of the side content is ridiculous.

Deeeeer is intentionally bad. YMMV if you enjoy that (I didn’t), but it’s very quick to play through if you do.

I put an hour into Penitent, a very stylized experimental game from Oblivion. You explore zones like kings quest and talk to people. There’s occasional hyperlinks that zone out to the margins explaining what the hursite wars for example.

It is however very slow because of the same atmosphere. The text scrolls by slowly to match the quill scratching the parchment. I lost patience. Maybe the game opens up later.