Xbox and PC Game Pass June 2022 includes Need For Speed, Arcade Paradise

EA Play and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers get a chance to play 2022’s most overlooked racing game, Need for Speed unboundBoth services will receive an update this week.

Need for Speed unbound launched in early December, after the glut of holiday-shopping-season AAA releases. It caught eyes by putting anime-style characters (and vehicle flair) on the series’ usual photorealistic fleet, but on the whole, Criterion’s first NFS game in a decade was a solid recovery for a series that seemed to have lost its way in the interim. It was awarded a Polygon Recommends for its realistic driving performance and solid gameplay. This allows the player to spend more time with their favourite car than simply collecting fleets of unlocks.

Need For Speed Unbound The EA Play Library, which comes as part of Game Pass Ultimate (the highest level service) that gives you access to all content, including PC, consoles, and cloud streaming, is also available. The service will be available for both subscriptions starting June 22.

In addition, UnboundSubscribers to Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass will have access:

• Bookwalker (Console and PC) — June 22. It is also available for PC on Steam, GOG or the Epic Games Store as well PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 and Game Pass. This narrative adventure is turn-based. The player takes on the role of a writer with the ability to jump into the worlds he writes and reads. The treasures include legendary artifacts, such as Mjolnir (the hammer of Thor) and Excalibur.
• Mountain King: Bramble (Cloud, Console, and PC) — June 27. A “grim adventure set in a world inspired by dark, Nordic fables,” Bramble Launched in April for Nintendo Switch as well as PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Windows PC. Xbox One Series X, Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
• Shadow Torch Fist (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X) — June 27: This puzzle-platforming Metroidvania was announced in the summer of 2020 and launched in the fall of 2021. Rayton the rabbit is a player character who aims to protect his fellow animal companions from machines that have taken over their city. FIST is making its Xbox debut here; it’s also available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Windows PC.
• Friends of Mineral Town: A Story of Seasons (Console and PC) — June 29: In this cozycore farming sim that launched in 2020, players take over their late grandfather’s farm to restore it to its former, abundant glory. This game was added to PlayStation Plus Extra in May.
• Arcade Paradise (Console and PC) — July 3: We called Arcade Paradise a “love letter to management sims and ’90s arcades” in our August 2022 review. In it, the player is in their late teens, tasked with managing their father’s laundromat. The game is awash with excitement as they transform it from a boring washer-and dryer shop into an arcade where every cabinet can be played. It is available via Steam on Windows PC, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
• Sword and Fairy – Together Forever (Console and PC) — July 5: This Chinese-made role-playing game first launched in 2021, and is a party-based adventure in which players explore the stories and rivalries among three factions: Human, Deity, and Demon. It’s also available on PlayStation 4 and PS5.

As a result of the new titles joining, older games will leave on June 30. The games are:

• DJMax Respect 5
• Empire of Sin
• Matchpoint — Tennis Championships
• Olija
• Omori
• Road 96

Xbox Game Pass costs $9.99 per month, as does PC Game Pass. PC Game Pass also includes EA Play, which gives you access to 70 more PC games. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, at $14.99 per month, gives subscribers access to everything — the PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass libraries, EA Play on both console and PC — as well as Xbox Live Gold membership, which is needed for online multiplayer.