There are three courses of gaming being offered up on Game Pass today. Cooking Simulator (Cloud, Console and PC), Expeditions: Rome (PC) and Offworld Trading Company (PC) are your starter, main course and pudding, respectively.
Cooking Simulator may be the least imaginative title we’ve come across in some time. It’s also one of the least appealing cooking games that you can find on the big black box. When we reviewed it in 2019, we gave it a 2/5 and said “it doesn’t matter how hungry you are, Cooking Simulator won’t satisfy your appetite”. Oof.
The pitch is that Cooking Simulator is a first-person, POV simulator, with real-world physics to make even the most basic slice and chop a challenge. We’re not talking Surgeon Simulator-style silliness, but there’s an intentional clumsiness that needs to be overcome as you play Cooking Simulator. Making an edible meal isn’t as easy as it sounds. The problem, in our view, is that it isn’t as fun as it sounds, either.
More promising is the equally literal Expeditions: Rome (it’s the one thing that connects all the titles arriving today: boring titles). This turn-based RPG was released in January of 2022, so it should be fresh in the memory and high on wishlists. It also sits at ‘Very Positive’ on Steam and has some glowing reviews. Unfortunately, none of those reviews came from us, as Expeditions: Rome is a PC-only title.
Expeditions: Rome simulates the frontline of various Roman invasions. You’re surprisingly close to the action, as you control an individual legion of Praetorians as they move from skirmish to battle. Your efforts on the ground affect the longer war, and there’s plenty of options to ensure any failure is entirely on you.
Finally, Offworld Trading Company comes to PC Game Pass, having been released way back in 2016. This RTS from Civilisation VI’s lead designer was a modest success, and spawned a chunk of DLC, so there must be an audience for its intricate tactics. What makes Offworld Trading Company special is that all of its systems sit atop a marketplace, where resources shift in price. Building a base now might be more expensive in the future, so you are constantly amending your approach based on the whims of the market.
All that remains to be revealed is the list of titles that are leaving Game Pass this month. On the 15th of August, you will have to make do without Boyfriend Dungeon, Curse of the Dead Gods, Library of Ruiner, Starmancer and Train Sim World 2 – but that’s fine because Train Sim World 3 is coming round the bend. There’s still time to play them before they go.
Are you a PC Game Pass player who gets the most out of this three-course drop? Let us know in the comments or on our social channels.
