Hope you got your fill playing the best game of 2020, aka Hades, because the next wave of Xbox Game Pass games are upon us and alas, some games are leaving, too. Although this month’s lineup of games is short on big-budget blockbusters, it has a few sleeper hit indie games you’d be wise to check out. Without further ado, here’s what’s coming to Microsoft’s games-on-demand service in the coming weeks.
August 16
- Coffee Talk (cloud, console, and PC)
August 23
- Midnight Fight Express (cloud, console, and PC)
August 25
- Exapunks (PC)
- Opus: Echo of Starsong – Full Bloom Edition (console and PC)
August 30
- Commandos 3 – HD Remaster (cloud, Console, and PC)
- Immortality (cloud, PC, Xbox Series X|S)
- Immortals Fenyx Rising (cloud, Console, and PC)
- Tinykin (console and PC)
And here’s the full list of games leaving as of August 31:
- Elite Dangerous (cloud and console)
- Hades (cloud, console, and PC)
- Myst (cloud, console, and PC)
- NBA 2K22 (cloud and console)
- Signs of the Sojourner (cloud, console, and PC)
- Spiritfarer (cloud, console, and PC)
- Twelve Minutes (cloud, console, and PC)
- Two Point Hospital (cloud, console, and PC)
- What Remains of Edith Finch (cloud, console, and PC)
- World War Z (cloud, console, and PC)
Read More: Playing Coffee Talk Reminds Me Of The Quiet Joys Of Being A Barista
The one “big” game on the list, Ubisoft’s open-world, Breath of the Wild-esque Immortals: Fenyx Rising, struck our own Zack Zwiezen as “a welcome streamlining of large-scale Ubisoft game design, full of great puzzles and amusing storytelling.” But indie gems dominate this month’s additions, so let’s talk about those. Coffee Talk, developed by Toge Productions, is exactly what it sounds like: a game in which you make coffee and you chat with customers. However, strange things are brewing at your alternative-Seattle cafe, as your patrons include “fantasy-inspired” people with “modern problems,” so serve responsibly. Similarly to VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action, you’ll be tasked with remembering customers’ orders and mixing their caffeinated refreshments before they tackle the day. In Kotaku’s review of the game, Harper Jay said it was the first game they’d played in months that genuinely relaxed them.
Then there’s the sci-fi visual novel, Opus: Echo of Starsong, which Kotaku’s Sisi Jiang described as a game that would satiate the hunger of Destiny’s most diligent lore hunters. Toss in the other offerings, including the intricate, technical cult hit puzzle game Exapunks from Zachtronics, and there may just be enough here to make you forget that Hades is leaving. In any case, you’ve got yourself a bountiful helping of indie games to try out in August. Happy playing.
Leave a Reply