Game Pass is having an indie moment today, with three acclaimed titles that aren’t from the big studios. Launching day one on Game Pass is Dreamscaper (Cloud, Console and PC), which makes it the headliner we reckon, but we shouldn’t neglect the award-winning Telling Lies (Cloud, Console and PC), as well as a game that’s been around so long that it was a launch title for the Xbox One, Contrast (Console and PC).
Dreamscaper has been out for a couple of months on Nintendo Switch, receiving some rosy reviews. You can be sure we are following suit and getting on the review bus too. It’s a roguelike action-adventurer, which we are definitely not short of, but it’s abundantly clear that Dreamscaper isn’t here to conform. For one, it’s got a nifty duality, where you explore a town during the day, so that you are better prepared and outfitted for the night, when the dreamscape becomes real. It’s also rather fantastic to look at, so there’s that.
Telling Lies is from Sam Barlow, maker of Her Story, and takes a similar approach to his breakthrough game. This is an FMV game, where you interact by making entries into a search engine. If the word that you type in matches those in the game’s database, then it will dig out some more videos, so you can piece together the larger story. It’s got plenty of familiar faces, including Upgrade’s Logan Marshall-Green and it’s an experience that is well worth exposing yourself to. A note that, at time of writing, this wasn’t on Game Pass yet, but will surface later in the day.
Contrast, while a little old now, is also worth a play. It’s a puzzle-adventure game that uses light and shadow to create headscratching scenarios. Probably it’s greatest asset is its art style, which incorporates Belle Epoque and Art Nouveau styles to create something incredibly French and regularly gorgeous. It’s not long, either, so you can have a short, sharp shock of puzzling and then get back to your other games.
Game Pass’s first half of February has now been announced too, so we can be sure of what we’re getting. On February 10th is Besiege (Cloud, Console, and PC), CrossfireX (Console), Edge of Eternity (Cloud, Console, and PC), Skul: The Hero Slayer (Cloud, Console, and PC) and The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom (Cloud, Console, and PC). Meanwhile, on February 14th, we will all be receiving Ark: Ultimate Survivor Edition (Cloud, Console, and PC) and Infernax (Cloud, Console, and PC).
Naturally, games coming also means that games are leaving. Disappearing on February 15th are Control (Cloud, Console, and PC), Code Vein (Cloud, Console, and PC), Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age (Console and PC), The Medium (Cloud, Console, and PC), Project Winter (Cloud, Console, and PC) and The Falconeer (Cloud, Console, and PC).
Where do these land on your gaming backlog? Let us know by popping a comment below or do the same on social media.
