New to Xbox Game Pass – February 2022 Wave 1

Although the previous wave of games coming to Xbox Game Pass may have gone under the radar of many due to Microsoft’s industry-shaking acquisition, the same has almost happened again as everyone is talking about Sony’s plans to acquire Bungie. That’s not going to stop me from going over what you can look forward to being added to the service over the next two weeks.

The first set of games heading to cloud, console, and PC on February 3rd are Dreamscaper and Telling Lies. Dreamscaper is an action roguelike that allows you to advance the story and unlock upgrades during the day while taking on negative emotions and nightmares through permadeath lucid dreaming at night. Telling Lies is a spiritual successor of the award-winning Her Story, with the game being based around four different characters and the secretly recorded conversations they’d had.

Accompanying these games on cloud and console is Contrast, a puzzle platformer that sees a girl named Didi exploring a noir-aesthetic world by shifting within and out of the shadows. It’s the first game from developer Compulsion Games who are more popularly known for their game We Happy Few.

The bulk of the games coming out in this wave are set to be available on February 10th. A day-one release for its console ports and coming to cloud, console, and PC is Edge of Eternity. The JRPG-inspired game combines a world of fantasy, magic, and science fiction along with a soundtrack arranged by famous Japanese composer Yasunori Mitsuda. Another day-one release just on console is CrossfireX. It’s the first time the popular Crossfire series will be available on console and will come with a single-player campaign developed by Remedy Entertainment.

One of the biggest additions is last year’s popular Skul: The Hero Slayer, which will be available for cloud, console, and PC. The rogue-lite features the eponymous protagonist who is the only survivor after the heroes defeat the demon army. A couple of months ago the character was referenced in the Dead Cells: Everyone is Here! crossover update. If you’ve been curious about the game since then it will be easy to give it a try come February 10th.

If you or a young one in your family is a fan of The Last Kids on Earth book series or the Netflix adaptation, there may be some fun to be had with The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom. It follows its own story through a semi-open world action RPG style and allows for up to four players to survive together with couch co-op.

Rounding out the February 10th releases is a game preview of the popular physics-based puzzle and building game Besiege. It will release through cloud, console, and PC. Although the game was released on the PC platform in 2020 after a lengthy early access period, this release is the exclusive debut to consoles on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. Many features have been reworked to provide a more optimal experience with a controller.

The final games in this wave will come out on February 14th for cloud, console, and PC. For those of you who have never experienced the intensity of taming dinosaurs to survive on an island, Ark: Ultimate Survivor Edition will provide the best way. All of the expansions are included and a large influx of other new players is to be expected thanks to it being available on Xbox Game Pass. Along with this will be the day-one release on Infernax. The gory and over-the-top side scroller follows a knight who seeks to destroy the source of the unholy magic in his homeland, with or without morals.

That leaves us with the games that will be leaving on February 15th. There are some pretty big departures this time around and I highly suggest giving them a shot if you haven’t already. The leaving games are Control, Code Vein, Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age, The Medium, Project Winter, and The Falconeer.