Wrap your mind around some great puzzle games and visual novels.
August 16 (Cloud/Console/PC)
Developer Toge Productions describes its visual novel Coffee Talk as a “talking simulator.” You play as a barista serving up coffee and affirmation for your regulars, all set to a soothing lo-fi soundtrack.
August 23 (Cloud/Console/PC)
Midnight Fight Express is a brand-new brawler hitting Game Pass on launch day. Written by a Destiny 2 co-writer, it’s an isometric action game with tons of spectacular set pieces.
August 25 (PC)
Exapunks is the third Zachtronics game to join Game Pass in recent weeks, following Shenzhen I/O and the studio’s swan song, Last Call BBS. It’s a brain-twisting programming puzzle game about hacking to pay for your life-saving medicine. Fun!
August 25 (Console/PC)
Opus: Echo of Starsong is probably the best game you missed in 2021. It’s a gorgeous sci-fi visual novel that’s equally relatable and epic.
August 25 (Console/PC)
Commandos 3 — HD Remaster updates the nearly 20-year-old real-time strategy game Commandos 3 with improved controls and new gameplay options on top of its 4K makeover.
August 30 (Cloud/Console/PC)
The latest from Sam Barlow’s Half Mermaid Productions continues the studio’s trend of engrossing investigative games. Like Her Story and Telling Lies, Immortality lets you assemble the truth from a trove of video footage.
August 30 (Cloud/Console/PC)
Confusing name aside, Immortals Fenyx Rising is something like a cutesy crossover of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Breath of the Wild. Its Greek myth-inspired world is lots of fun to explore and combat is satisfying without being too hard.