What’s on Game Pass? May 2022

I suppose it would be wise to mention both NBA 2K22 and MLB The Show 22, but that would be too obvious.

Having the opportunity to play games that I wouldn’t usually play is the reason I enjoy Game Pass so much. Strangely, I don’t watch new films/series on Netflix or any other streaming service; instead, I tend to stick to what I know. 

Why then, do I install random titles I’ve never heard of on Game Pass? There’s far more content on streaming services, which means it makes sense to condense the watchlist into shows that I want to watch. The Game Pass library is decidedly smaller and features fewer must-play titles. Therefore, in order to get my money’s worth, I install and play everything, like hands that won’t stop using sanitiser.

Chinatown Detective Agency

A beguiling beginning is enough to put most players off. It’s slow, includes many a line of dialogue (much of which is waffle), and sets a scene that whilst interesting, isn’t enough on its own to urge a player on.

However, it was enough for me and play through the game I did. The setting is unabashedly dystopian, verging on cyberpunk — it seems there aren’t enough mega-corporations for full-on societal decline just yet — and takes the player on a journey through the decaying cities of the world. Is London here you ask? Of course it is. Play a noob Private Investigator whose first case has just walked through the door…

Weird West

This reminded me so much of OG Fallout; perhaps not the gameplay, but the feel of the world and of course, the dusty, sandy environment. The loquacious writing affects the intriguing atmosphere that the game tries to build. Initially, the gameplay feels excellent until it quickly doesn’t; enemies run at you head-on and proceed to shoot you in the face. That in itself is fine, they’re an enemy after all, but people don’t do that with guns because they get killed. What I mean to say is, the game displays poor AI. Overall, this can be a wonderful game if it receives a few fixes.