Xbox Game Pass, July 2021: The second batch of games for subscribers

Xbox Game Pass, July 2021

This last glimpse of July 2021 on Xbox Game Pass will probably be remembered as one of the best periods for a few months now, given the arrival of several highly interesting titles concentrated in these two final weeks of the month. In general, a second half of 2021 kicks off that looks set to offer a lot more excitement to Xbox Series X | S users than we've seen so far, as weight exclusives are finally starting to arrive and should continue, if all goes well. well, until the end of the year.

The highlights of this send are certainly Microsoft Flight Simulator and The Ascent, but among the various releases you can find really a lot of different stuff for many tastes, as we go to see below.

Battlefield V - Cloud, July 20

Battlefield V stages various fronts of the Second World War Already available for some time on consoles and PC through the EA Play subscription, Battlefield V is now also playable through cloud thanks to the update applied by Microsoft and made available a few days ago, which allows you to take part in the battles on the various fronts of the Second World War practically anywhere, directly from your smartphone or browser. The characteristics of the gameplay are those typical of the series, which sees multiplayer as a key element, within maps of generous dimensions and with the possibility of using vehicles and different skills of the characters. Here everything has a certain historical characterization, but there are the various game declinations such as Grand Operations with multi-maps and single player campaign-style War Stories.

Cris Tales - PC, Xbox and Cloud, July 20th

Cris Tales takes up the tradition of the classic JRPG but with its own style. Among the debuts directly in the Xbox Game catalog Pass there is Cris Tales, one of the protagonists of this new summer release of indie games that demonstrates a remarkable florilege of ideas. In this case, the starting point are the classic JRPGs, but the development of the concept leads to rather original results, starting from the particular graphic style adopted.

Crisbell, protagonist of the story, is a sorceress able to interact with the passage of time and thanks to this power she is able to show us past and future at the same time, allowing us to act to change the flow of events and putting us in the face of various possible ramifications of history.

The construction of a varied party and the turn-based combat system is linked to the tradition of the reference genre, for more information we refer to our recent review of Cris Tales.

Atomicrops - PC, Xbox and Cloud, July 22

Between agricultural simulation, shooter and roguelike, Atomicrops is a real madness Among the most bizarre ideas that happened to see recently in the gaming market, Atomicrops is certainly in a position of relief. The idea is to put together the agricultural simulation with the shooter and the roguelike, putting everything inside a crazy post-apocalyptic setting where we are dealing with post-atomic mutant creatures.

The management of the vegetable garden thus becomes a matter of extreme survival, in a 2D shooter with an overhead view that sees us busy keeping at bay the terrible hordes of mutants that emerge from every direction and force us to use different weapons and gimmicks to try to protect our precious crops. In full "peasant simulation" style, here too we can get married and the marriage will bring double firepower to exterminate enemies in this bizarre game.

Raji: An Ancient Epic - PC, Xbox and Cloud, July 22

Raji: An Ancient Epic takes up Indian mythology and uses it as a background for an action Indian mythology is not exactly one of the most discussed topics in video games, especially when it comes to rather dynamic action adventures as in this case, so there are several reasons to look with interest at Raji: An Ancient Epic.

The story tells of the young Raji, chosen by the gods to face the demons who have invaded the kingdom of humans and possibly even rescue her younger brother. The mission is to face Mahabalasura, the demon lord, furious at the defeat he suffered a thousand years earlier for having challenged the gods. Raji has to go through different levels inspired by Indian settings between natural landscapes and typical classical architecture, fighting through an action gameplay focused on the use of weapons and special skills. Beyond the typical third-person action dynamics, what is striking is clearly the unusual atmosphere.

Last Stop - PC, Xbox and Cloud, July 22

Last Stop is a narrative adventure that looks like a TV series For those looking for a more purely narrative experience, Last Stop, by the authors of Virginia, can represent the perfect choice in this part of the videogame summer. It is a sort of interactive TV series, for directorial choices and atmospheres, which stages a strange story intertwined between the events of three protagonists in a modern London upset by a supernatural crisis.

We therefore find ourselves following the events of John, Donna and Meena within this strange situation that substantially modifies their lives and connects them in an unexpected way. As in any narrative adventure, also in this case it is a question of making choices that have consequences in the development of the plot, leading to different paths and with interactions in the form of various mini-games.

Blinx: The Time Sweeper - Xbox and Cloud, July 26

At this point Blinx: The Time Sweeper is somewhat dated, but still demonstrates elements of originality. good old Blinx: The Time Sweeper, released way back in 2002 on the first Xbox and considered at the time almost a mascot for the Microsoft console, although it did not achieve the desired success.

However, it remains an interesting 3D platformer, coming directly from an era in which this genre was also used to experiment with different ideas beyond the simple action between platforms, as demonstrated by Blinx himself. The peculiarity of the game, in addition to having an anthropomorphic cat as its protagonist, is in fact the possibility of acting on the levels by changing the passage of time in various ways. The gameplay is based on the "cleaning" of various levels in the shortest possible time, using the particular "vacuum cleaner" and the time management skills of Blinx, in an outdated but still interesting platformer.

Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge - Xbox and Cloud, July 26

Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge after many years is still remarkable and deserves a sequel The nostalgic celebrations for Xbox's 20 years continue with Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, which has become a real cult for many players. While arguably not one of the most popular games in the Microsoft stable, Crimson Skies has become one of the most cherished memories for many Xbox users, who have long requested a sequel to the series without ever getting it since 2003.

Developed by the first party team FASA Studio, it is an aerial shooter with a somewhat arcade setting, centered on a particular setting that stages an alternative 1930s America in which airplanes and airships have become the main means of locomotion and obviously of war, putting us in the shoes of Nathan Zachary, pirate of the skies. The game features a single player Campaign with a remarkable narrative progression and quite varied missions, as well as various multiplayer modes.

Microsoft Flight Simulator - Xbox Series X | S, July 27

The most important event of this July 2021 on Xbox Game Pass is certainly the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator for Xbox Series X | S, the console version of the amazing flight simulation by Asobo Studio and Microsoft released last year on PC. This is, to all intents and purposes, the highest technological evolution seen so far with regard to this type of "games" and more, since it uses a series of particularly advanced solutions to simply stage the entire world as explorable environment.

It is also a very faithful reproduction, based on the real maps of Bing reworked through various systems in order to return the perfect reproduction of the flight on the screen, thanks also to the realistic simulation model applied to the numerous usable aircraft. Not really a game in the standard sense of the definition, but a truly unmissable experience for all owners of next gen Microsoft consoles. In case you're interested, this is our Microsoft Flight Simulator review.

Lethal League Blaze - PC, Xbox and Cloud, July 29

Lethal League Blaze is a futuristic poison ball and violent A nice action specifically focused on multiplayer could not be missing, in this case a sort of futuristic and arcade sports with Lethal League Blaze, which takes up the tradition of Speedball and the like by proposing a sort of great-grandson of the poisoned ball but in an ultraviolent version. Between setting and gameplay, this Team Reptile title seems more related to Windjammers, but still manages to be decidedly original, between graphic style and game structure.

In this case, the opponents face each other inside an arena by throwing themselves against a ball and trying to hit each other: to reach the goal it is necessary to catch your opponent unprepared, because otherwise the latter will do bounce the shot making it return to the sender even faster, with the pace of play that progressively rises more and more. If you add four-player multiplayer to this, you understand what levels of madness and speed you can get in a game.

Omno - PC, Xbox and Cloud, July 29

Omno is a fascinating single player adventure in a world full of wonder Another absolute debut on Xbox Game Pass, Omno is a third-person action adventure that takes us to explore a fascinating and mysterious ancient world, full of puzzles, secrets and obstacles from exceed. The wonder of discovery is the engine that leads us to explore the various settings of this world, with the possibility of moving in various ways thanks to the power of a lost civilization that allows us to discover new ways of crossing the settings.

Forests, deserts and tundras, but also skies and clouds are the scenarios that we can navigate, discovering the mysteries of this strange world. The protagonist of Omno is a small character with a magic stick that he can use in various ways to explore the environments, for example also to glide and fly low to the ground. Developed by Studio Inkyfox, the game is above all the fruit of an idea by Jonas Manke, an experienced animator who has worked for television and the world of cinema.

Project Wingman - PC, July 29

Project Wingman combines shooter and simulation elements in a mix close to Ace Combat This Xbox Game Pass send is confirmed to be dominated by the theme of flight, it seems: after the real simulation of Flight Simulator and the arcade shooter with Crimson Skies , here is an intermediate game solution between one genre and another, that is Project Wingman. It is an aerial shooter with some simulation elements, especially as regards the realistic reproduction of aircraft and weapons, but much more action dynamics, which rather closely resembles the tradition of Ace Combat.

Developed by Sector D2, the game features a series of missions in various war zones of an alternate Earth, where even natural environments are devastated by disasters and cataclysms, as well as being the scene of extremely intense battles. Within this chaos, we find ourselves fighting in various game modes between dogfights and adrenaline-pumping ground attack missions.

The Ascent - PC, Xbox and Cloud, July 29th

The Ascent stages a cyberpunk shooter RPG in an incredibly detailed scenario The other most important event in this Xbox Game Pass release, but not only, is certainly the release of The Ascent, arriving right at end of month. The particular cyberpunk action RPG has been a special sight since its first public appearance, during that first and discussed Xbox Series X event entirely dedicated to indie games.

Despite the various (unjust) controversies that arose that evening, The Ascent nevertheless conquered everyone, and confirmed the expectations also all the other times in which it returned to be seen, including trailers and various demonstrations. We have finally arrived at the definitive version of the game and therefore all that remains is to try this fascinating and raw science fiction world created by Neon Giant, which places us in the throes of a world adrift in the aftermath of the collapse of a giant mega-corporation. Between RPG and twin stick shooter, The Ascent promises a great experience in single or cooperative multiplayer.

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