It’s fairly common for Game Pass to bring multiple new games to its service on day one over the course of a month, but it’s rare to see it happen on a single day. Well, that’s exactly what’s going down today, as Thursday, July 18 sees two very different RPGs hit PC Game Pass at launch: Flintlock The Siege of Dawn, and Dungeons of Hinterberg.
Already this month, we’ve seen a few contenders for a spot on our best Game Pass games list arrive on the subscription service. There’s the charming Tchia, the pixel art platformer Magical Delicacy, and one of our favorite FPS games, Neon White. Now we have two more potential candidates which are offering themselves up for free to Game Pass subscribers straight out the gate.
Let’s start with our top pick of the duo, Dungeons of Hinterberg. As the name suggests, this RPG mixes a vibrant art style, Zelda vibes, and enjoyable action combat while constantly making you feel like a true explorer. In the Austrian Alps, you explore 25 magical dungeons with various traversal methods and puzzle solving.
Despite its generally pleasant vibes, there’s a surprisingly compelling story weaved into it, and there are plenty of interesting characters to interact with. Our very own Ken has just given it a very impressive 9/10 in his Dungeons of Hinterberg review, so Game Pass subscribers are really getting an excellent new title here.
Then there’s Flintlock The Siege of Dawn, which is certainly a tonal shift. Developer A44 has a track record of taking the typical formula of soulslike games and twisting it into something unique, and it’s certainly replicated that with Flintlock. While not a full open-world experience (there are two decently-sized, distinct maps) exploration and world building is excellent, with smart traversal, compelling environment design, and an aesthetic that feeds into its ‘gunpowder fantasy’.
While we were a touch disappointed by its combat, Flintlock prides itself in every other aspect on quality over meaningless quantity. It is definitely worth checking out, and you can read Nat’s 7/10 Flintlock The Siege of Dawn review here.
On top of all this, tomorrow you’ll be getting yet another day-one addition to Game Pass in the single-player strategy game Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. Its tactical gameplay and epic boss encounters enamored Lauren in her 9/10 Kunitsu-Gami review, so the top-tier new releases just keep coming.
July is certainly a purple patch for Game Pass, and while the recent news that it would be hiking up prices is a shame, it still represents unbelievable value for those wanting to play a wide range of both old and new PC games. Already this year we’ve had hits like Palworld and Still Wakes the Deep join on day one, and there are still upcoming Game Pass games like Avowed and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to look forward to as well.
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