It’s a new month — one where big showers may lead to big flowers — and both Microsoft and Sony are ready for a downpour of big games on their prospective services.
Starting off strong, Microsoft announced that indie darling Loop Hero — an endlessly replayable card-based RPG — is now available on Game Pass. Also ready to download today is Goat Simulator, the 2014 comedy game where players control a goat through increasingly zany situations. Its sequel, Goat Simulator 3 (no, there was never a Goat Simulator 2, why do you ask?), released in November of 2022.
Headlining the rest of the month for Game Pass is Ghostwire: Tokyo — the former PlayStation exclusive developed by Microsoft subsidiary Tango Gameworks — which arrives April 12 alongside the free Spider’s Thread update that includes new areas to explore, new cutscenes, and other quality of life updates. Then there’s Minecraft Legends, the action-strategy game from Mojang which promotes base-building and teamwork to take down an opposing team. Let’s not forget Coffee Talk Episode 2, the sequel to 2020’s cozy visual novel about making drinks and solving the problems (not necessarily in that order) of your magical clientele. Rounding out the Microsoft Game Pass joy is The Last Case of Benedict Fox, a cosmic horror Metroidvania romp through the minds of the dead where the titular detective attempts to solve an impossible mystery.
Sadly, when games arrive on Xbox Game Pass, that means others must leave. Making their exit with grace on April 15 are the following titles: Life is Strange: True Colors, Deck Nine’s wonderfully emotional reinvention of the choice-based narrative series; voxel life-sim and relaxer Moonglow Bay; and survival horror game The Long Dark, among others. It’s not impossible for them to return to the service, but if any of them tickle your fancy, download and play them before the middle of the month.
Jumping consoles, Sony continues their surprising hot streak for free PS Plus games. This month, players will get access to PlayStation 5 launch title (and general blast) Sackboy: A Big Adventure, rodent-slaying epic RPG Tales of Iron, and Meet Your Maker, a post-apocalyptic first-person building-and-raiding multiplayer game focused on player creation and interaction from the developers of Dead by Daylight. Sony is attempting to yet again recreate the success of the launches of Fall Guys and Rocket League. The strategy isn’t foolproof — first-party car destroyer Destruction All-Stars was dead on arrival — but giving the game away for free provides it a better chance of surviving than asking full price.
More games are likely to be added to the PS Plus catalog — remember, PS Plus Essential provides only three free monthly games, PS Plus Extra opens into a library of PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 titles, and PS Plus Premium allows PlayStation 3 games to be streamed — but they have yet to be revealed.
A fun little bonus, Nintendo also announced that beloved Nintendo 64 mini-game collection (oh, and 3D pocket monster battler) Pokémon Stadium will join their service, Nintendo Switch Online, on April 12. The collection also recently added Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games, slowly becoming more and more worth the price with each passing year.
