In one of Xbox Game Pass’ finest days yet, seven new games are available today: Age of Empires IV (PC), Backbone (Console), Project Wingman (Cloud, Console and PC), Alan Wake’s American Nightmare (PC and Console), Bassmaster Fishing 2022 (Cloud, Console and PC), Nongunz: Doppleganger Edition (Cloud, Console and PC) and Forgotten City (Cloud, Console and PC).
The highlight is undoubtedly Age of Empires 4, but Xbox players are left in the cold on this one. You’re going to need a PC to experience the latest in the landmark series. It zeroes in on the Middle Ages, offering four different campaigns, including the Norman conquest of England, and the Hundred Years War.
A couple of the titles releasing on Game Pass today launched earlier this year on the Xbox Store, and received strong verdicts from TheXboxHub. Nongunz: Doppleganger Edition got a 3.5/5 in our review and Forgotten City – originally a Skyrim mod – earned itself a 4/5. Alan Wake’s American Nightmare was released way back in 2012, would you believe it, but its launch on Game Pass coincides nicely with the remaster of his original adventure.
On the new game fronts, we have Backbone. There seems to be an odd spate of ‘noir games with animals as the lead characters’ following Chicken Police: Paint It Red and Blacksad: Under the Skin, and we can add Backbone to that list. It’s a beautiful 2D linear narrative game where you play a raccoon in an alternate version of Vancouver. It borrows a fair amount from old-school CRPGs and it’s already gaining some plaudits.
Project Wingman sidewinded us a bit, which is appropriate as this is a flight combat sim. If you’re a fan of Ace Combat, this might satisfy your Top Gun urges. You get to dogfight in an alternate history of Earth, with an exotic arsenal that includes railguns and geothermal armaments. We’ll give you the verdict as soon as we have it.
Finally, we’ve woken up our resident fishing fan, Paul Renshaw, to cast his lure over Bassmaster Fishing 2022. Who knows? He might even have to update his ‘5 of the best fishing games on Xbox One’ article.
We’re awaiting an announcement from Xbox about November’s Game Pass games, but some things are dead certs: you can expect Forza Horizon 5 and Evil Genius 2: World Domination, which would fill most people’s schedules alone.
On October 31st, the following games leave Game Pass: Carto, Celeste, Comanche, Eastshade, Five Nights at Freddy’s 1, 2, 3 and 4, Knights and Bikes and Unruly Heroes.
In the meantime, let us know what tickles your tastebuds on Game Pass in the comments below.
