It’s the last week of January and Microsoft is finishing up with a bang for Xbox One players and Xbox Game Pass owners. This week marks another one packed with tons of games that will appeal to nearly anyone. In one of the most notable releases, the entire back library of Yakuza Remastered games is coming to both console and PC in the latter half of the week. See what else you can get your hands on from January 25-29, 2021.
Tuesday, January 26
Cyber Shadow (Xbox Game Pass)
The world has been taken over by the evil Dr. Progen and his merciless synthetic army. A desperate plea for help sets Shadow, the sole survivor of his clan, on one last mission to uncover what started the path to perpetual ruin. Your robotic companion, L-Gion, is your only guide through the ruins of Mekacity. How far will Shadow go to protect his clan and the one he loves? Is there more to their bond than meets the eye? Only you can unlock the secrets to your clan’s ancient powers. Hurry before you run out of time! The road to redemption awaits in Cyber Shadow, the quintessential Ninja Action game.
Dead Cells: Fatal Falls DLC
Try not to fall as you wind your way along the sheer cliffs of the island’s coast. Explore floating shrines, infiltrate the lair of an outlawed secret society and learn the tells of a new boss. This is new mid-game content for people looking for alternatives to the Stilt Village, Clock Tower, and Time Keeper areas and their parallels. The Fractured Shrines: Breathtaking views, kamikaze crows, spear-wielding snakes, sadistic new traps, and an endless fall if you slip. What more could you ask for?
The Sims 4: Paranormal Stuff Pack
Spectral guests cause mischief and mayhem on Haunted House Lots, leaving behind accursed objects and scaring innocent Sims. With spooky activity on the rise, it’s up to you to put a stop to it. Luckily, Guidry the Ghost is happy to offer advice for sending these ghastly roommates packing. Perform séances, clean up the lot, and commune with the dead to clear them out. Once the lot is back to serenity, consider a career as a Paranormal Investigator to help other Sims! Requires The Sims 4.
Wednesday, January 27
Butterfly
Platformer puzzle game with an interesting gimmick. You can’t jump, so you need to bounce off your enemies or use tubes to your advantage. Both platformer skills AND logic are required to complete 40 challenging levels! Deft fingers and quick reactions are required. Sweaty neck guaranteed.
The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav
In Andergast, whose inhabitants are considered to be notoriously superstitious, King Efferdan awaits a state visit from high-ranking dignitaries. For centuries the kingdom has been at odds with neighboring Nostria, but now first steps are being undertaken toward a lasting peace. But a plague of crows troubles the king, for the birds are acting with unusual aggressiveness, even attacking humans. Moreover, there are those among the citizens of Andergast who swear that the crows are bringing them dark nightmares. As the belligerent creatures infiltrate even the castle itself, the king seeks a skilled bird catcher – an opportunity for young Geron to prove that the reputation for ill luck that has followed him since childhood is undeserved. Following an audience with the king, the prestigious task is assigned to him. However, not only does his task prove unexpectedly difficult, but it also turns out to be the first step of the greatest adventure of his life, which will lead him to the borders of the charted lands of Aventuria and beyond.
The Dark Eye: Memoria
Two stories, two main characters, one epic experience: in Memoria, players travel through different time periods, while following two distinct protagonists: Sadja, a southern princess who wants to be a war hero, and Geron, a bird catcher who wants to lift a curse from his girlfriend. The game combines point & click gameplay with unique magic skills.
Hyposphere: Rebirth
Hyposphere is not simply a classic “marble” platformer, it may also be the most beautiful and one of the most hardcore marble ball game ever! A cunning artificial intelligence, along with the help of a clever virus, has taken over every computer in the world! There is only one chance to fight back: pass the tests generated by this dastardly digital demon! Dare you accept the challenge and prevent the coming of the end of the information age?
Project Starship X
Project Starship is back with a wacky take on cosmic horror. In this rogue-lite shooter, you’ll take the role of the tentacled-yet-hip Swagthulhu as you CRASH-KILL comical abominations in flashy 16-bit style! With multi-purpose dodge mechanics and tons of crazy pick-ups, you’ll be able to crash your ship straight through the enemy and emerge unscathed. Project Starship X celebrates genre conventions by turning them upside-down!
Vera Blanc: Ghost in the Castle
Vera Blanc is a mystery/detective game. Take on the role of Vera Blanc, a young woman with the ability to read other people’s minds. The game is a mixture of visual novel and adventure game with a collection of challenging minigames, you can also play as a pure visual novel. In this episode, our heroine travels to a small village in central Italy. The town’s legendary ghost seems like nothing more than a quaint story, but a string of murders and suicides all point to the castle’s ghost, and locals are getting scared.
Thursday, January 28
Golden Force
The Demon King has set his sights on Muscle Island, a hitherto heavenly and peaceful place where life was good. The dark figure has installed his army there and persecutes the population with the help of his generals. Wasting their last coins in taverns, the mercenaries of the dreaded Golden Force take advantage of their last vacation moments when they receive a new contract: to defeat this evil new ruler and reclaim the mountain of gold in his possession. When there is gold and the promise of a good fight, you can count on the Golden Force to save your loaves!
The Medium (Xbox Series X/S and PC, Xbox Game Pass)
Become a medium living in two different worlds: the real one and the spirit one. As a medium with access to both worlds, you have a wider perspective and can see more clearly that there’s no one simple truth to what others perceive. Nothing is what it seems, everything has another side. The Medium features a “dual” soundtrack by Bloober Team’s Arkadiusz Reikowski and legendary composer Akira Yamaoka of Silent Hill fame.
Olija
Olija is a game about Faraday’s quest, a man shipwrecked then trapped in the mysterious country of Terraphage. Armed with a legendary harpoon, he and other castaways try to leave this hostile country to return to their homelands. Through adventurous exploration, narration, and razor-sharp combat, the player will discover a strange world and its inhabitants, including Olija, an enigmatic lady that Faraday finds himself bound to over time. Inspired by swashbuckling tales and cinematic adventure games, Olija is a story about facing the unknown in adversity.
Royal Tower Defense
Lands of orcs have expanded in the last few decades and defined new borders. New borders which are dangerously close to us… They depleted resources on theirs lands and it’s only a matter of time before they try to put their hands on our Kingdom. Diplomats were already sent to peacefully ask orcs to back off, but they’ve never returned. The sign was clear – there is no place for negotiations…
Sword of the Necromancer
What would you do to bring back someone you love? Sword of the Necromancer is a dungeon-crawler action RPG with Rogue-like elements where you can revive your defeated enemies to make them fight alongside you. Turn your foes into allies using the forbidden powers of the Sword of the Necromancer and help Tama reach the dungeon’s depths in order to gain enough power to bring Koko back from the dead. Gather a little army of monsters, equip yourself with weapons and relics and level up to take on the guardians that stand between you and your objective.
Tohu
Experience a brand new adventure game set amongst a world of weird and wonderful fish planets. Explore beautiful environments, solve intricate puzzles and discover the truth about a mysterious little girl and her mechanical alter-ego, Cubus.
Yakusa Remastered Collection
Experience the action, drama, and genre-defying hilarity of the Yakuza series for the first time on Xbox. Follow the story of Kazuma Kiryu as he fights against impossible odds to protect the ones important to him. Yakuza features a gritty, realistic world, high-intensity action, a wealth of colorful characters, and hilarious minigames and substories to keep you coming back again and again.
Friday, January 29
Another Dawn
A quiet holiday on a tropical island suddenly becomes your worst nightmare when a ruthless criminal organization kidnaps your family. Battle against hunger, thirst, unscrupulous mercenaries, and wild creatures in order to stay alive and save your beloved!
Bonkies
Bonkies is a jolly party game about cooperation, space construction, and the joys of colonizing the solar system as a team of monkeys. You and your prime mates will be tasked with raising all sorts of quirky constructions on distant planets, by stacking blocks so they fit a given outline. To do so, you will have to team up with other space-faring animals and master the use of your trusty equipment – a banana-fuelled jetpack and a powerful robo-arm.
Caves and Castles: Underworld
Find adventure beyond your imagination and riches untold as you descend into the caves beneath an ancient castle! Match gems to remove obstacles, collect keys to unlock new passages and build your strength as fast as you can to break through barriers in Caves and Castles: Underworld, a sometimes relaxing, sometimes heart-racing match-three game!
Crashlands
Play as Flux Dabes, a galactic delivery truck driver whose latest shipment gets interrupted by a megalomaniacal alien named “Hewgodooko” who tears her ship to pieces looking for useful tech. Crashlanded on Woanope, you must fight, tame, craft, quest, bossfight, and adventure your way to domination of all the things so that you and JuiceBox, your trusty sidekick/supervisor/robotic cargo palette, can send a message to the Bureau of Shipping and get those packages delivered!
Gods Will Fall
The gods’ torturous rule over humanity has lasted for millennia. Bent on cruelty and suffering, they demand to be served with blind worship through an oath of fealty pledged from every man, woman and child. To those who don’t submit to the gods’ will; a slow and merciless death awaits. Experience the brutal trials of a venturous band of warriors in their desperate plight to sever the gods’ callous grip on humanity. Every man and woman who can muster a blade, having suffered the brutality of the gods’ reign for too long, will be called upon to form your clan of 8 Celtic survivors and rise up to take on the legions of horrific beasts and minions that dwell in each of the gods’ hellish realms. A personal tale emerges with every decision made. Succeed and see legends born. Fail, and watch lives turn to dust.
Rack N Ruin
Join Rack on an epic adventure across a world filled with magic and wonder. Then watch in astonishment as Rack befouls, corrupts, slaughters, and brings about a general air of misfortune to everything and everyone he confronts. Chaos reigns in this top-down action adventure rpg that’s infused with the intensity of a classic shoot ’em up.