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Next Week on Xbox – New Games for January 30 to February 3

Welcome to Next Week on Xbox! In this weekly feature we cover all the games coming soon to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows, and Game Pass! Get more details on these upcoming games below and click their profiles for further info (release dates subject to change). Let’s jump in!

BackFirewall – January 30

A first-person tragicomic adventure that takes place inside a smartphone. As the update assistant, you hold the fate of the system in your hands. Will you counter the update and save the chatty operating system OS9 from deletion?

Roboquest (Game Preview) – January 30
Game Pass

Blast your way through hordes of evil bots in procedurally generated environments in solo or 2-player co-op, upgrade your build as you progress, and defeat powerful bosses. Be ready to dive into the futuristic world of Roboquest and help mankind find the mysterious and long-forgotten Haven-City.

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition Box Art

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition – January 31
Game Pass

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is one of the most beloved strategy games ever made and is coming soon to Xbox consoles. Enjoy a new way to play this much-loved game on console including optimizations for playing with a controller and new tutorials to get you into the fun quickly. Available on Cloud and Console.

Inkulinati – January 31
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Game Pass

An ink-based strategy game straight from medieval manuscripts, where a rabbit’s bum can be deadlier than a dog’s sword. Take your turn in duels filled with unexpected tactical depth (and humor). Embark on an ever-changing journey, build your own bestiary, defeat medieval superstars and collect perks to unleash special powers. Available on Cloud, Console, and PC.

ReactorX2 – February 1

As an android mechanic, restore power to your spaceship after a pirate attack. Navigate five sectors, solve 30 levels, and use new arm-magnet and wrench mechanics to succeed in this unique sci-fi puzzle game.

Albacete Warrior – February 1
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Embark on a bizarre martial arts adventure as a Spanish ninja and his buddy chicken! Take the role of Spanish ninja Benito, his chicken pal Pepito and his sensei Paco as they embark on a bizarre adventure across the globe! Presented in a mix of 3D environments and 2D pixel art sprites, Albacete Warrior takes traditional side-scrolling beat ‘em up combat into a new dimension.

ExitMan Deluxe – February 1

The sky is falling! Quickly run into the gap as the ceiling comes crashing down from above. If you make it in time the ceiling will rise again and then crash down again and again, each time with the gap in a random place. How long can you survive?

Rhythm Sprout – February 1
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Rhythm Sprout is a handcrafted rhythm action with original music and a wacky story mode. Follow Sprout – the Chosen Onion – on his lightweight and self-aware adventure between music levels. Make funny dialogue interactions, full of silly jokes and pop culture references. Help the adorable inhabitants of the Vegetable Kingdom and face a charming cast of Sweet Villains on this memorable adventure.

Deliver Us Mars – February 2
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Sequel to the award-winning Deliver Us The Moon, Deliver Us Mars is an atmospheric sci-fi adventure offering an immersive astronaut experience. Explore new frontiers on a suspense-fueled, high-stakes mission to recover the ARK colony ships stolen by the mysterious Outward.

Fashion Police Squad – February 2
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Grab your Belt of Justice and your Tailormade Sewing Machine — we’ve got some fashion justice to dispense! Fashion Police Squad is a humorous retro FPS where you fight against fashion crime using attire enhancing weaponry. Clean the streets of socks in sandals and experience a single-player story full of fabulous characters, dazzling encounters, and fierce runway shows!

Heirs of the Kings – February 2
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

When Laura, a girl who has lost her memory, is being pursued by unknown soldiers, Grant jumps into action to protect her only to find out about the danger the world is in from the Forces of Darkness and sets off on an epic journey.

Speedway Racing – February 3
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Get ready to feel the speed! In Speedway Racing, you will enjoy the fastest, most spectacular races at over 350 Km/h, avoiding multiple collisions against 20 rivals. There are several modes available, including Championship, Arcade, and 4-player multiplayer.

Bond is Back! GoldenEye 007 Arrives on Xbox Game Pass

Summary

A gaming icon returns, complete with new Xbox features.
Enjoy a timeless classic back in action for the modern age.
Available now as part of Xbox Game Pass.

GoldenEye 007 took the world by storm when it originally launched in 1997, drawing console gamers into a thrilling tale of espionage, gadgets and explosive action as they led James Bond through one of his most celebrated missions. Today, GoldenEye 007 launches globally on Xbox Game Pass, allowing a new generation of gamers to experience this beloved classic and veteran players to enjoy Bond’s unforgettable adventure all over again.

In the game’s campaign mode, players are free to approach objectives as they see fit – using silenced weapons, setting traps and being sure to remain unseen, or choosing to charge headlong into danger and rely on their skill and nerve to make 007’s mission a success.

Harder difficulty settings add entirely new objectives to Bond’s dossier and require mastery of every exotic location to succeed, while game-altering cheats can be unlocked by spies who are speedy enough. Equally memorable is the local split-screen multiplayer mode, where players go head-to-head across a series of iconic arenas. Just remember it’s all in good fun…

GoldenEye 007 will be instantly familiar to anyone who played the original, with faces and places just as you remember them. And for its Xbox Game Pass debut, the game now offers modern control options (including support for dual analog sticks) and a consistent refresh rate, running at a native 16:9 resolution up to 4K Ultra HD (where supported). There’s also a full roster of Xbox achievements to strive for, some of which are sure to test the mettle of proficient 00 Agents.

Now available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S as part of Xbox Game Pass (and across multiple devices via Xbox Cloud Gaming), GoldenEye 007 joins a distinguished lineage of shooters spanning the whole history of gaming. As our way of saying thanks to Rare fans old and new, players who’ve purchased a digital copy of Rare Replay on their Xbox account (unfortunately physical copies don’t work in quite the same way) will also be able to download and enjoy GoldenEye 007 free of charge, with or without an Xbox Game Pass subscription.

As the studio behind the game’s original 1997 release, we’re thrilled to be able to bring the game to you again in a way that remains faithful while delivering a smooth HD experience. We hope you enjoy stepping back into this legendary world – 007 and his life-or-death mission are waiting for you!

GoldenEye 007

Rare Ltd

☆☆☆☆☆
1

★★★★★

Get it now

James Bond returns! More than 20 years after the classic that introduced a generation to stealth-based shooter gameplay first hit the shelves, GoldenEye is back to thrill players old and new. Beginning in the heavily guarded chemical weapons facility at the Byelomorye Dam, you’ll guide Bond on a global covert operation to stop the devastating power of the GoldenEye satellite from being unleashed upon the world.

With 20 campaign missions to master at a range of difficulty levels, unlockable cheat modes and a truly classic split-screen multiplayer mode for up to four players, GoldenEye preserves all the action and excitement of the original game – while adding Xbox achievements and a raft of new features that enhance its timeless gameplay for the modern day.

Whether you’re a veteran player or a rookie agent taking on this genre-defining mission for the first time, GoldenEye is a legendary gaming experience not to be missed.

Clunky Hero, the Bizarre Anti-hero, is out Now for Xbox

Chaosmonger Studio from Estonia is proud to announce the release of its anti-hero Rufus, protagonist of Clunky Hero. Out now for Xbox.

“Monty Python” meets Hollow Knight!

Rufus is just a simple peasant. He works on a farm, is somewhat insolent and he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed. An ordinary man, who one day has to become a hero to save his wife and his village from the Evil One, whose name shall stay unpronounced. His wife, Brunilde, is also not the classical attractive princess of video-games, in fact she is pretty much the opposite. But the love between the two is stronger than anything else and that’s why Rufus armed himself with broom and bucket (the first to be used as a weapon, the latter a helmet) to go and rescue her.

Yes, at the start of the game, the protagonist of Clunky Hero will fight foes simply using only a broom. But more crazy weapons will be available later on, like a very long banana or a frozen eel, as well as grotesque enhancement items and powerful, yet bizarre, special skills.

Despite the humoristic tone, which is also a parody of the fantasy RPG genre, Clunky Hero has a solid metroidvania gameplay, with nearly 50 levels, set in nine different areas. The exploration of the big maps is therefore a crucial aspect of the game, which will need special abilities, usually gained after defeating a tough boss. Absurd enemies and friendly NPCs fill the multitude of levels, created with detailed backgrounds. The colorful graphics are a mix of 3D and hand-drawn looking elements, while the game-mechanic is typical of an arcade side-scroller.

Arcade is also pretty much the game-style of the combats, which aims mostly to the fun quick slashing of many enemies, rather than having fewer elaborated fights. Bonus items can be bought from NPCs in the various shops scattered around, found inside hidden chests, or in the many, yet elusive, secret rooms.

Developer Nicola Piovesan says: “I wanted to create a truly fun game, not only in its bizarre elements and hilarious dialogues, but also in its playability. It’s a metroidvania game for everybody.”

Have fun with Clunky Hero, out today for Xbox at a very friendly price!

Clunky Hero

chaosmonger studio

☆☆☆☆☆
6

★★★★★

$14.99

$11.99

Get it now

Clunky Hero is a story-driven, platformer metroidvania, with a touch of RPG, Hack’n’Slash and tons of humor. If you’d love a platformer game where you have a funny storyline, can talk with characters, solve side quests, find and buy items, change weapons and wearables, with great hand-drawn-looking backgrounds, presented in a very comical way, then Clunky Hero might be the game of your dreams!

STORYLINE
In a village far, far away, a dull peasant named Rufus was living an ordinary life. The boss of the house was his wife, Brunilde, a boisterously smart and funny woman that you wouldn’t exactly call “pretty”. Life was nice and happy in the village, until one day, awakened by some magical mistake, the Evil One started to spread his minions around town, performing hideous acts against the people. The worst of which was the kidnapping of Brunilde. She was torn from Rufus’ hands and put in a prison at the Evil One’s castle. Transformed into a blondie duck-faced doll girl, she now spends all her time staring at herself in a small handheld mirror.

Determined to win her back, Rufus made a helmet out of a bucket and picked a broom as a weapon. Everybody now calls him the CLUNKY HERO, but he might be the only hope to defeat the evil one that no one wants to call by name. Rufus is now on his journey to save his wife and the whole village!

SteamWorld Takes on a Whole New Genre, Coming to Xbox This Year

Hi Xbox fans, I’m Brjann Sigurgeirsson, the director of the SteamWorld Universe and Franchise. I’m happy to share some exciting news with you today, especially with all the SteamWorld fans out there. We have just announced the next instalment of the series and we’re jumping genres again! It’s called SteamWorld Build and will be available on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One in 2023!

Before I dig deeper into the latest entry in the series, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on its varied predecessors and how they have influenced what we are doing this year with SteamWorld Build. I’ve been with the series since the very beginning, all the way back in 2010 when SteamWorld Tower Defensewas released. With our debut SteamWorld title we put players in control of an army of steam-powered robots in a – well, you guessed it – tower defence-style gameplay.

With SteamWorld Dig, which came to Xbox One in 2015, the engine really started chugging. In that game, we combined elements of Spelunky, Boulder Dash, Dig Dug and Metroidvanias. This created a satisfying loop of exploration, mining, combat and upgrading that you all really got behind and helped make our small series into an indie superstar. Then we returned to that story with SteamWorld Dig 2 in 2017, our attempt at a full blown metroidvania which you Xbox fans loved!

One of the reasons I wanted to briefly walk you through the genre-switching history of SteamWorld is to re-emphasize what SteamWorld is and how you can expect a continuation of this in SteamWorld Build later this year. SteamWorld is a universe that we’ve purposely cultivated to give us the creative freedom to take in any direction we want. With each genre we take on, we try to distil the gameplay down to its core essence, and then add our own unique twist to make it feel fresh again.

This leads us onto the game I know you’ve all been eagerly waiting to hear about: SteamWorld Build! We’re again taking SteamWorld in a whole new direction, fusing our beloved steam-fuelled robots with the city builder genre. In our upcoming game, you will not only build and manage a city above ground, but dig below as you mine for materials to manage and optimise your resource chains to ensure the city thrives. I’ve lost enough hours in this game already to tell you that the gameplay loop of this multi-level approach is incredibly rewarding!

To a degree, it’s a loop that builds on what we’ve done with the Dig games. You explore, mine, collect, and then return to the surface to build, upgrade and improve. In the case of SteamWorld Build, there are multiple mine levels to uncover and explore. While each depth yields more precious resources, there are also more dangers for you to deal with. Your guards are going to deal with giant bugs, creepy crawlies, and other living threats.

With all the different SteamWorld titles released in the past, we showed how we were able to give new players an accessible entry point to a complex genre without stripping away strategic richness for veterans of the series. That’s a key part of the SteamWorld formula and something we are doing again with SteamWorld Build. Built for console from the outset, we are inviting newcomers and genre-devotees alike to follow a story that leads the steambots down into dangerous depths and find ancient technology that may help them take off into space and escape earth before it completely collapses.

Having worked on the SteamWorld series from the very beginning, I’m really excited for this next step in the franchise and hope you will all join us on a journey that will see the SteamWorlduniverse expand in new and exciting directions. I’m looking forward to telling you more about SteamWorld Build, as well as the other SteamWorld titles we have in development, via the standard version of SteamWorld Telegraph, which will become a regular community show later this year.

Thank you for reading this Xbox Wire post. I’m happy to welcome back our fans, old and new, and we will see you later this year for the release on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. You can follow the game on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.

Add Deadpool to Your Midnight Suns Roster Today!

By now you might already have your go-to Midnight Suns team for Tactical Missions, but have you considered the benefits that the katana-wielding, grenade-tossing, self-healing, chimichanga-loving mercenary Deadpool might bring to the battlefield? The first Marvel’s Midnight Suns DLC—The Good, the Bad, and the Undead—is now available on Xbox Series X|S, adding Deadpool to the Midnight Suns roster* along with a delicious Food Truck upgrade for the Abbey.

This DLC also introduces new story missions in which the Hunter comes to Deadpool’s aid after he fails to liberate a powerful artifact from Red Skull’s private collection and runs afoul of Hydra forces as well as some particularly bloodthirsty vampyres. Deadpool’s storyline is separate from the events of the main game, but once he joins the Midnight Suns you’re free to include him when assembling a team for any mission.

Marvel's Midnight Suns - Deadpool screenshot

Deadpool’s ability to passively heal a percentage of his health each turn makes him a resilient fighter, while his unique En Fuego resource makes him more powerful any time he KOs an enemy. The benefits of having Deadpool park his Food Truck outside the Abbey go beyond the good eats: the new ability to discard a card in return for an additional move once per encounter can be a lifesaver!

The Good, the Bad, and the Undead, which is now available purchase separately, is the first of four DLC packs included in the Marvel’s Midnight Suns Season Pass.

* The Good, the Bad, and the Undead is included with the Legendary Edition of Marvel’s Midnight Suns and is included as part of the Marvel’s Midnight Suns Season Pass. Also available for individual purchase. Base game required.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns Legendary Edition

☆☆☆☆☆
431

★★★★★

$99.99

Get it now

DARKNESS FALLS. RISE UP!

Customize the look of the Midnight Suns team and extend your adventure with the Marvel’s Midnight Suns Legendary Edition!

The Legendary Edition includes:
– Marvel’s Midnight Suns base game
– Marvel’s Midnight Suns Season Pass, which includes 23 premium skins available at launch and four post-launch DLC packs

The four playable post-launch DLC heroes included in the Season Pass are:
-Deadpool
-Venom
-Morbius
-Storm

Season Pass Premium Skins available at launch:
-Captain America (Future Soldier)
-Captain America (Captain of the Guard)
-Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell)
-Captain Marvel (Medieval Marvel)
-Magik (Phoenix Five)
-Magik (New Mutants)
-Nico Minoru (Sister Grimm)
-Nico Minoru (Shadow Witch)
-Wolverine (X-Force)
-Wolverine (Logan)
-Blade (Demon Hunter)
-Blade (Blade 1602)
-Iron Man (Iron Knight)
-Iron Man (Bleeding Edge)
-Ghost Rider (Spirit of Vengeance)
-Ghost Rider (Death Knight)
-Doctor Strange (Strange Future Supreme)
-Scarlet Witch (Boss Witch)
-Scarlet Witch (Fallen Scarlet Witch)
-Spider-Man (Symbiote Suit)
-Spider-Man (Demon Spider)
-Hulk (Fallen Hulk)
-Hulk (Maestro)

With the inclusion of the Season Pass, the Legendary Edition lets you keep the pressure on Hydra and the forces of Lilith, and expand your roster of Marvel heroes. This extra dose of vengeance includes four post-launch DLC packs, each introducing a new fully playable hero, new missions, new enemies, and more. The Season Pass also includes 23 Premium Skins at launch so you can customize the look of the Midnight Suns team.

Note: Premium skins must be used with the equivalent in-game character. Characters may require unlocking through gameplay. Post-launch Season Pass content and the premium skins will be automatically delivered in-game upon release. DLC release timing for post-launch DLC will be revealed at a future date. Terms apply.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns Enhanced Edition

☆☆☆☆☆
441

★★★★★

$69.99

Get it now

DARKNESS FALLS. RISE UP!

Fight the legions of Lilith in style with the Marvel’s Midnight Suns Enhanced Edition!

The Enhanced Edition includes:
– Marvel’s Midnight Suns base game
– 5 Premium Skins

Premium Skins include:
– Captain America (Future Soldier)
– Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell)
– Magik (Phoenix Five)
– Nico Minoru (Sister Grimm)
– Wolverine (X-Force)

Note: Premium skins must be used with the equivalent in-game character. Characters may require unlocking through gameplay. Premium skins will be automatically delivered in-game by 1 December 2022. Terms apply.

UNLEASH THE DARKER SIDE OF MARVEL

When the demonic Lilith and her fearsome horde unite with the evil armies of Hydra, it’s time to unleash Marvel’s dark side. As The Hunter, your mission is to lead an unlikely team of seasoned Super Heroes and dangerous supernatural warriors to victory. Can legends such as Doctor Strange, Iron Man, and Blade put aside their differences in the face of a growing apocalyptic threat? If you’re going to save the world, you’ll have to forge alliances and lead the team into battle as the legendary Midnight Suns.

With an array of upgradeable characters and skills allowing you to build your own unique version of The Hunter, you will choose how to send Lilith’s army back to the underworld.

How Minecraft Legends Twists Classic Minecraft Ideas Into All-New Shapes

Summary

Minecraft Legends is a new game that brings an action-strategy experience to the Minecraft universe.
Minecraft Legends recontextualizes familiar mobs and tools and gives you new ways to use them.
We spoke to two Producers on the game to learn more ahead of launch on April 18

At first glance, Minecraft Legends may seem like a bold pivot in a new direction, but rest assured that this new strategy title still includes all of the familiar elements of the epochal survival title – you just might not notice right away. You can expect to see all of your favourite resources, mobs and tools, but in a brand-new strategy game setting – and even in a 4v4, PvP mode, which was introduced in today’s Developer_Direct showcase.

So what is Minecraft Legends? The new title, developed by Mojang Studios with partner Blackbird Interactive, offers a brand-new story campaign, and a fresh new PvP mode. Take on the campaign alone or with friends, or hop into a 4v4 match to take down the enemy team by destroying their base, while building your own. It sounds very different to the original Minecraft, but – if you’ll forgive the pun – it’s built out of many of the same blocks.

Of course, key to Minecraft is its procedurally generated maps, which offer up a unique experience every time you jump into a new game. Minecraft Legends is no different, generating new maps to conquer for each new battle. Traditionally, everyone is on the same side in a classic Minecraft server (or, at least, they should be), but in Minecraft Legends, the twist is that the map’s resources are competitive, and its terrain is key to how you progress — both must be used to triumph against the enemy team.

Speaking to Xbox Wire, Minecraft Legends Executive Producer Dennis Ries and Blackbird Interactive Producer Lee Pederson explain how Minecraft Legends uses randomly generated maps in both its campaign and multiplayer modes to shake up the traditional PvP experience:

“It’s not like your traditional multiplayer situation where you have a set few maps. Every time you go to play PvP, the strategy that you want to use to win could be different than it was the game before,” Ries says. “When we had the added this procedurally generated dynamic with the variety, it really started to feel like Minecraft. The chaotic fun really shone through and we wanted to embrace that chaos.”

Being Resource-full

When each multiplayer map is generated, resources that you can use in battle will appear in random areas, and some are more unique and useful than others. You’ll have to decide which strategy is best to take on the enemy team based on where you build your base, and the resources around it.

“Every game is a new scene, and there’s different environmental challenges,” Pederson explains. “So when building your base, you can take advantage of being on a mountaintop for example, or build a tower behind one to hide it. You’re going to have to really tune your strategy based on what the world is generating for you.”

Ries adds that this could be a Redstone strategy, a Diamond strategy , or an Iron strategy – each resource offers different units and upgrades to build, and which you happen to have can fundamentally alter how you gain an advantage over an enemy. You’ll need to change up how you proceed through the game based on what you can secure to get ahead in those early game moments.

“You just don’t know what’s going to happen, so with that, you might shift your strategy and go with say, a Redstone strategy because that’s what’s closest to you,” he adds.

Mob Rule(s)

It’s not just the environment that can provide resources either. Minecraft Legends features many familiar mobs, from the classic Creeper to the Nether-native Piglins, who will attack anyone that passes through their territory. They all carry important items, and they can be used to plot your win in a number of ways.

Some Minecraft enemies such as Skeletons and Zombies are also here but, this time, they’re on your side, and you can take advantage of their abilities too. Seasoned Minecraft players will have a sense of how all of these mobs will act (and attack), but will need to readjust to how useful they can be in this brand new context.

“Creepers are always going to explode, but now you have the ability to actually use a Creeper […] and pinpoint it to go in a certain direction,” Ries explains. “In PvP, the Piglins are an annoyance, but they’re necessary because they have items that you need to [use to] upgrade. On another hand, they can attack you, so while you’re off implementing your strategy, they can disrupt it if you’re not careful.”

While combat is at the forefront of Minecraft Legends, there’s a role for every kind of player, from planning huge sieges against the enemy or simply exploring the map. Ries adds that you may naturally gravitate towards a certain role in a team of four, and you can choose what to do based on your own personal preference, whether that’s swinging swords at enemies or hunting down a specific resource for your base.

All About That Base

As you might expect by this point, just like classic Minecraft, building things is a truly enormous part of your time spent in Minecraft Legends. Building up your base and ensuring it can withstand enemy attacks is just as important as besieging the enemy. Once you’ve built a basic structure, it’s time to get creative with ways to deter your attackers. Build additional walls that enemies must navigate through, place hidden traps, or set up mobs to keep your base safe. Be sure to lay down your upgrade tower in a good spot too, so your base can be upgraded to withstand even the heftiest assaults.

Setting up your base in Legends serves a new purpose, but it shares many of the components of classic Minecraft building. You need to collect wood, stone and other world resources to stack up walls, towers and gates block-by-block, and adventure for ores and hidden treasures that’ll help your team level up. The difference is you’ll need to craft with a little more thought into how your base functions, rather than how it looks in the sunset. Winning with a cool looking base is an obvious flex, though.

While there’s a lot of freedom in how you plan your battles (and your defences), Pederson adds that the PvP experience is designed to be approachable for new players, and you don’t need a grand strategy or a ton of experience to hop in. “Because the maps are procedurally generated, you don’t have people who have mastered a map who are then dominating newer players who are coming in,” she adds.

And this really is the crux of how Minecraft Legends can feel so akin to Minecraft, despite being part of a totally different genre. Like the original, Legends doesn’t just feature random elements – it builds its whole identity around them, rewarding players for working with what they’ve got, rather than doing the same thing every time.

Pederson puts it in very simple terms – terms that feel almost like a mantra for the game’s design as a whole: “Everyone is coming into a new experience each time.”

Minecraft Legends launches April 18 on Windows PC (day one with PC Game Pass), Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One (day one with Xbox Game Pass), Xbox Cloud Gaming, PlayStation, Steam, and Nintendo Switch.

Minecraft Legends

Xbox Game Studios

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Discover the mysteries of Minecraft Legends, a new action strategy game. Explore a gentle land of rich resources and lush biomes on the brink of destruction. The ravaging piglins have arrived, and it’s up to you to inspire your allies and lead them in strategic battles to save the Overworld!

Learn the story of Minecraft Legends and explore its new, yet familiar world, while experiencing the Minecraft Universe in an exciting new way in this new action strategy game.

Explore a beautiful land, both familiar and mysterious, full of diverse life, lush biomes, and rich resources needed to build your defenses and defeat the piglin invasion.

Inspire unexpected friends to form valuable alliances and lead them in strategic battles to protect their home. Take the fight to the piglins before their Nether corruption devours the Overworld!

Challenge your friends –or team-up with them – in exciting battles as you defend your village and lead your allies to defeat your opponents.

What Is Hi-Fi Rush, the Surprise Game Out of Developer_Direct?

I’ll put it out there – as surprised as I was that Tango Gameworks had secretly made and released a new game, I was more surprised that it very quickly had me fighting a giant, cel-shaded robot to the beat of Nine Inch Nails’ ‘1,000,000’. Because Hi-Fi Rush is something practically unique: a rhythm-action game in the most literal sense — a classic action game driven by rhythm.

While the initial shock might be that it’s available to play on Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC today (and free to those with an Xbox Game Pass or PC Game Pass subscription), the follow-up feeling will be surprise that this is a Tango Gameworks production. For a studio best known for its horror leanings – having created The Evil Within series and last year’s Ghostwire: Tokyo – this is a much warmer, funnier, weirder new game than we could ever have expected.

If you’re still trying to get your bearings, let me give you a rundown based on just the first hour of the game (so no spoilers here!):

Perfect Sound Forever

Think of this as a game-length concept album, telling the story of Chai – a wannabe rockstar who just wanted a sweet robotic arm from the Vandelay corporation – who gets caught up in a tech company conspiracy when his music player is accidentally embedded in his chest, and begins syncing the wider world up to his own personal playlist. He’s quickly deemed a defective model, and scheduled for violent decommission – and you’ll be guiding him through his escape.

Hi-Fi Rush is something like the ‘Baby Driver’ of video games. It’s not just a game set to music, but a game driven by it in every respect. Combos need to be hit in time to the music for the highest scores, enemies telegraph their attacks more with sound than animation, and platforming challenges rely on you being able to read the music as much as the environment. Hell, Chai’s idle animations see him finger-snapping along to whatever you happen to be listening to at the time.

All of this is driven by a guitar-heavy soundtrack worthy of the most well-curated dive bar jukebox. The bulk of levels are underpinned by music created by Tango Gameworks itself, shifting as you progress, and beautifully growing in tandem with your own combat prowess. The more damaging and in-rhythm your combos are, the more stems you’ll add to the track itself. Once you hit an S-level combo, the soundtrack will be in full force, driving you to keep fighting with finesse just to hear more of the song.

But hit a major story moment or a boss battle, and things kick into high-gear with the addition of licensed music. The opening of the game features an intro set to The Black Key’s ‘Lonely Boy’, and ends with a boss battle set to the aforementioned Nine Inch Nails cut. The feeling of driving some classic tracks by sheer force of your action game prowess is something to behold – and doing it through combat is a fresh new way to recreate the joy of the plastic instrument era of rhythm games. I cannot wait to find out what else the playlist has in store.

The Look of Love

As all great bands know, however, your sound is only part of the appeal, and Hi-Fi Rush has the looks to match its tracklist. This has the vibe of some lost ’90s Saturday morning cartoon, with an eye-searing neon color palette, thick lines, and over-the-top animations. Cutscenes are a treat, driven by some lovely facial animation tech that brings Chai to life, and instantly marks its cast of villainous bureaucrats as love-to-hate nemeses we’ll be butting heads (and metallic guitar-clubs) with over the course of the whole game. It backs up that look with a story tone as warm as its visuals – this is a comedy first and foremost, and it’s delivering visual gags from minute one.

All of that’s augmented by some lovely comic book-like touches that bring to mind ‘Into the Spider-Verse’ – onomatopoeic words pop up around you, major moments (delivering the final blow to a boss, for instance) are given a splash page-like redraw, and you can even see Ben Day dots making up some of the textures in the backgrounds of scenes.

Vandelay Technologies, the tech campus-turned-prison that makes up the game’s world, is a jagged, futuristic skyline set under perfect blue skies, and its twisting corridors are built to hide hidden collectibles, humorous lore drops and mountains of loot – all of which will come in handy once you reach your hideout hub base. This is where the game’s more traditional action chops (not a huge surprise, given Tango’s connection to legendary action designer Shinji Mikami) begin to show themselves, offering the ability to tweak your fighting style to your needs, and up those combo scores.

It’s that final point that has me truly excited to play more. Within the first hour, I already knew that Hi-Fi Rush’s unique premise would work for me, and that its looks had charmed me. But that promise that there’s so much more under the surface – the churning mechanical works of action game mechanics we’re more used to from the likes of Vanquish or Devil May Cry – is what I’ll want to dig into as I undoubtedly set this particular playable playlist on repeat.

Hi-Fi Rush is available today for Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC. The game is free to download with an Xbox Game Pass or PC Game Pass subscription.

Xbox App January 2023 Update

The Xbox app for Windows PC lets you discover and download new games with Game Pass, play console games on your Windows PC with cloud gaming, and chat with friends across PC, mobile, and Xbox console. Below you’ll find the latest updates and patch notes for the Xbox App on PC for January 2023 – this update is now available for download from the Store. Always be sure to keep your app up to date for the latest improvements and bug fixes. You can learn more about the Xbox App for PC here.

January release (2301.1001.5.0)

New UX

The installed games list in the sidebar now provides extra data such as pending invites and achievement completion percentage.
Enhanced made to the ‘Coming Soon to Game Pass’ module on the Game Pass page.
Added a new module to the rotation that showcases available EA Game Trials. You will sometimes see this module on Home, and you can always find the list through the dedicated EA Play hub in the app.

Bug Fixes

Adjusted the size and weight of some fonts on game pages for better readability.
Fixed an issue where install sizes were not present after recently installing a game.
Fixed a bug where some devices would fail to load content on the Game Pass tab.
Fixed a bug where your ‘Cloud Gaming Jump Back In’ list would infinitely load when on an ARM device.
Fixed certain scenarios that would leave you stranded, and need to restart the app.
Fixed several Vietnamese and Philippines localization issues.

Known Issues

While using the ‘Desert’ high contrast theme, the ‘guide button’ and ‘show stream menu’ icons in the upper left corner of remote play will disappear. Other high contrast themes do not exhibit this issue.

GoldenEye 007 Gets Release Date on Xbox Game Pass

Summary

James Bond will return to consoles on January 27.
Groundbreaking gameplay brought to a new audience, with a few modern touches.
Available to Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S players via Xbox Game Pass.

Back in September last year, it was announced that the Rare-developed ’90s smash GoldenEye 007 would be returning to consoles at last, for experienced players to enjoy all over again and a new generation to investigate for themselves.

Today we can announce a date for GoldenEye 007’s arrival on Xbox Game Pass, and you won’t have to wait long: the global launch date is January 27, 2023, just two days from now. In fact the rollout begins late on January 26 in some territories, becoming available to players all over the world by January 27.

The version of GoldenEye 007 set to appear on Xbox Game Pass is the classic game that made waves in 1997, based on the movie that introduced audiences to a thrilling new era of James Bond. It comes packed with objective-based stealth shooter gameplay and, of course, a legendary local multiplayer mode for split-screen showdowns with friends. It also offers a few key additions for a modern audience, including alternative control options, achievements to unlock and native 16:9 resolution up to 4K Ultra HD (where supported).

GoldenEye 007 will be available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S as part of Xbox Game Pass. Additionally, players who own a digital copy of Rare Replay, the 30-game compilation of Rare games made to celebrate the studio’s 30th anniversary, will be able to download and enjoy the game free of charge. Watch for it breaking cover on January 27!

How to Watch the Xbox & Bethesda Developer_Direct on Wednesday

Do you want to be the first to learn about some of the biggest titles coming soon to Xbox, PC and Xbox Game Pass? This Wednesday, the Developer_Direct will have all the details (and gameplay) you’ll need.

Presented together by Xbox and Bethesda, the Developer_Direct will share new, extended gameplay for Redfall, Forza Motorsport, Minecraft Legends and The Elder Scrolls Online and provide all the latest news straight from the teams at Arkane Austin, Turn 10 Studios, Mojang Studios and ZeniMax Online Studios. Immediately following the Developer_Direct will be a full, standalone ESO Global Reveal Event, hosted by ZeniMax Online Studios.

When is the event? Wednesday, January 25, at 12 pm Pacific Time/3 pm Eastern Time/8 pm British Time

How do I watch? The Developer_Direct will be streamed live on the official Xbox and Bethesda channels, below:

The show will also be streamed out simultaneously on regional Xbox and Bethesda channels around the globe, as well as on Steam and China’s Bilibili.

Important note: the show will be streamed in 1080p at 60fps. For a more representative look at the visuals contained in the showcase, we recommend watching the 4K / 60fps rebroadcast of the showcase on the Xbox YouTube channel, which will be available after the conclusion of the premiere.

Is the event available in languages other than English? We will be providing subtitle support and/or audio dubbed translations in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Persian (Farsi), Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Slovak, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latin America), Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukranian, and Vietnamese. We expect to have all languages available with the show’s live broadcast but it is possible that select languages may need to be added in the days following the broadcast if they have not finished translating.

The easiest way to find your preferred language is to check out your country’s Xbox page on Facebook or by viewing on the official Xbox YouTube channel and clicking the gear icon in the lower right corner.

Is the show going to be Accessible to those with low/no hearing or low/no vision? There will be a version of the show with Audio Descriptions (AD) in English on the Xbox YouTube channel, and American Sign Language (ASL) on Xbox’s YouTube channel and the new /XboxASL Twitch channel.

I’m not going to be able to watch, where can I find out what was announced? As announcements roll out during the broadcast, the Xbox Wire team will be publishing detailed blog posts containing key announcements right here on Xbox Wire (including localized versions in Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, LATAM Spanish, and Japanese).

Notes for co-streamers and creators: We at Xbox greatly appreciate any co-stream efforts and aim to ensure you have a smooth experience if you choose to do so.

However, due to forces beyond our control, we cannot guarantee that glitches or disruptions by bots and other automated software won’t interfere with your co-stream.

Video on Demand (VOD): For those planning to create full post-show breakdowns in the form of VOD coverage, we recommend you do not use any audio containing copyrighted music to avoid any action by automated bots, and to also consult the terms of service for your service provider.

Will there be an Extended Stream? The Elder Scrolls Online team will continue the livestream with a standalone Global Reveal Event immediately after the Developer_Direct. A standalone show for Bethesda Game Studios’ Starfield is also in the works – we’ll have more to share soon.

We’ll see you at the Developer_Direct on January 25!