Xbox Game Pass is adding a ton of indies this month

By Otto Kratky September 14, 2021

Xbox Game Pass’ library of games is getting an infusion of a different sort in September. While other monthly updates for the subscription service have tended to focus on AAA releases, this one’s all about the indies. September’s update for Xbox Game Pass includes both established indie hits and unreleased titles that have earned their share of early attention.

Starting September 16, Game Pass users can download a slew of sizable indies, including I Am Fish, Skatebird, and Superliminal. The two animal-themed games are fairly straightforward, with I Am Fish having players help an aquatic pet escape to the ocean, while Skatebird is, naturally, about a bird that can skateboard. Superliminal, meanwhile, is a perspective-bending puzzle title that requires players to think outside of their typical notions of scale.

Just days later, on September 23, another sizable group of titles will launch on Game Pass, including the incredibly stylish Sable, in which players adventure across a cel-shaded world to guide Sable through an ancient rite of passage.

Also coming on September 23 are Lost Words: Beyond the Page and Tainted Grail: Conquest, a roguelike deck-builder filled with grotesque monsters and strange allies. The Subnautica sequel Subnautica: Below Zero will likewise be making its Game Pass debut on September 23, taking players from a tropical alien planet to one that’s frozen over.

As always, a select group of titles will also be leaving Game Pass at the end of this month. On September 31, Drake Hollow, Ikenfell, Night in the Woods, Kathy Rain, and Warhammer: Vermintide 2 will all be leaving the service. Anyone who isn’t ready to say goodbye just yet can purchase any of those titles for 20% off.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…

Gaming

The best external hard drives for Xbox Series X

xbox all access price pre orders retailers 2

The Xbox Series X's 1TB sounds excellent on paper, but in reality, Microsoft's console only offers about 802GBs of storage due to updates and the operating system. You may find yourself filling up your space quickly, especially if you're looking to download every new title that becomes available on Xbox Game Pass. Let's face it, Call of Duty alone takes well over 100GBs of storage — and with the system targeting 4K resolution, games are only growing in size.

The Xbox Series X is compatible with any external hard drive up to 16TB of storage. Games optimized for the Xbox Series X can only be stored on, but not played from, an external drive due to the games being designed to take advantage of faster loading speeds and Xbox Velocity Architecture. However, when it comes to storage for your Xbox Series X, there are many options to choose from as your game library expands. We have compiled a list of external drives that will make your gaming experience seamless. Note that they will come with the proper cables needed to connect to your Xbox console.
Seagate Storage Expansion Card

Gaming

April’s most anticipated RPG is coming to Xbox Game Pass

Key art for Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes.

We've learned about the titles that will come to Xbox Game Pass throughout the back half of April, and several of them are games getting added to the catalog the day they launch. Of those, the most notable is Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.

While that name is a mouthful, RPG fans will want to pay attention to Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes as it is a spiritual successor to the long-dormant Konami RPG series Suikoden. Many of the developers who worked on the original Suikoden games worked together to reimagine the concept for the modern era, creating an RPG with over 100 recruitable party members, engaging combat, and a gorgeous pixelated art style that gives Square Enix's HD-2D games a run for their money. Prequel game Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is already on Xbox Game Pass too, so Microsoft seems all-in on backing this Suikoden successor as we wait for Konami to release remasters of those titles or a new game in the series.

Gaming

If you love Amazon’s Fallout, play the series’ best games on Game Pass and PS Plus next

Two characters in power armor in Fallout 4.

The Fallout TV series just released on Amazon Prime, and it's one of the best video game adaptations out there. It perfectly captures the tense, humorous feel of the postapocalyptic video game series while telling a new story with original characters. If you've just watched the show, you're probably itching to play a Fallout title again or check out one of the games the series is based on for the first time. Thankfully, if you're subscribed to one of the major video game subscription services, that's very easy to do.

Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76 are all on at least one gaming subscription service. While PC and Xbox players will be looking to Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation owners can get in on the fun with PS Plus Extra's game catalog. We've combed through what's available on PC Game Pass, Xbox Game Pass, and PS Plus Extra, and there's no shortage of options. Here are the best starting points on each service.
PC Game Pass