Game Pass gets three new surprise games on Xbox, PC, and Cloud
Microsoft is bringing in 2022 in style with three surprising new additions to the Xbox Game Pass offering: Gorogoa, Olija and The Pedestrian.
Because Microsoft clearly didn't think that its Xbox Game Pass offering was decent enough already, the company has just added a surprise three more games to the service in the form of the gorgeous, hand-drawn puzzles of Gorogoa, the shipwrecked action-adventure of Olija and the 2.5D side-scrolling puzzle-platforming of The Pedestrian.
Let's go through them one by one: first up, it's Gorogoa, a puzzle game from Annapurna Interactive that sells itself as "an elegant evolution of the puzzle genre, told through a beautifully hand-drawn story designed and illustrated by Jason Roberts."
The gameplay of Gorogoa is wholly original, comprised of lavishly illustrated panels that players arrange and combine in imaginative ways to solve puzzles. It comes off as impeccably simple, yet satisfyingly complex.
Check out a trailer below and see its Microsoft Store listing here.
Next, there's Olija: 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," reads a blurb.
"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."
The title is inspired by swashbuckling tales and cinematic adventure games of generations past, so if you're into old LucasArts games, for example, this may be one for you.
Check out the game's Microsoft Store page here, and clock a trailer below.
Finally, The Pedestrian asks you to rearrange and reconnect public signs in order to explore and advance through each engaging environment.
It's been a strong few months for stealth drops on Xbox Game Pass; towards the end of last year, we also got confirmation that Aliens: Fireteam Elite was joining the service ahead of its big Season 2 update, Generation Zero landed out of nowhere, and indie gem Townscaper arrived on Xbox and PC, too.
If you've managed to snag yourself a new Xbox Series S/X, or a decent PC, over the holidays we say godspeed to you in trying to keep up with all these games.