The common thread between today’s new Game Pass additions is strategy, depth and RPG nerdiness. Get in the Mountain Dew and Doritos, as this is going to be a long night’s gaming.
The known quantity is Ring of Pain, which has done the rounds on Switch and PC. It’s available to play now on Xbox, Cloud and PC.
Ring of Pain is a novel take on the collectible card game, as you’re playing not on a board, but with a ring of cards. These represent a dungeon, and they are a mix of your cards and enemy cards. Various monsters punctuate the ring, and you’ve got to choose whether you fight them head-on with the cards that are next to them, or whether you stealth past them.
Reviews on PC through Steam and Switch have been ace for Ring of Pain, complimenting its depth and originality. There are hundreds of cards to play with, including 180 treasures to seize, making Ring of Pain the definition of moreish. It’s now available to play on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S too.
Very different, but still particularly strategic, is The Riftbreaker. Factorio and Command & Conquer fans, gird your loins, as this seems to be bringing RTS, survival and base-building joys to the Xbox Series X|S, PC and Cloud. We don’t get many RTS games round these parts.
You play Ashley S. Novak, a scientist in a mecha-suit (affectionately named Mr Riggs) who has jumped through a one-way portal to a world that may support life. Your task is to gather resources, build structures, and reach the point where you can construct a portal back home, saving the human race from extinction. It’s like The Martian, but swapping Matt Damon for a talking mech.
Reviews are in the offing for both of these games, so return to our site soon to find out whether these two games are worth playing.
The only announced Game Pass game yet to hit in October is The Good Life, which is appearing on Cloud, Console and PC on October 15th. We’re due an announcement on further Game Pass games any day now.
Not everything is sticking around, as games are also leaving Game Pass on October 15th, with Heave Ho (PC), Katana Zero (Cloud, Console, and PC), Scourgebringer (Cloud, Console, and PC), Tales of Vesperia HD (Console and PC) and The Swords of Ditto (PC) all exeunting left.
For now though, let us know what you are playing through the power of Xbox Game Pass. Surely The Riftbreaker and Ring of Pain are going to be on your rotating list?
