Xbox announced the rest of this month’s Game Pass titles in an August 15 blog and, as per usual, players can expect to play a number of glittering indies, including summer slasher The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Gun Interactive’s true-to-movie asymmetrical horror is its first release since 2017 cult-favorite multiplayer Friday the 13th, which will be delisted from all platforms on December 31. I’ve gotten the chance to play Texas ahead of its August 18 release, and it’s…okay (I’ll tell you more about that in another post).
Dead by Daylight fans will feel at home in its wonky 3v4 set up, running away from guys who should not have as many knives as they do, but its lack of bot games otherwise make for a steep learning curve. Still, its sunset Texas maps—which even have seasonally accurate Southern bird calls, game art and audio director and Gun CEO Wes Keltner told me in an interview earlier this year—feel drenched in enough nostalgia and orange juice-colored death, like your life flashing before your eyes, to turn Texas into a definitive summer horror game.
Read More: New Texas Chain Saw Massacre Game Could Redefine Asymmetrical Horror
Xbox Game Pass end of August 2023
Otherwise, sci-fi shooter Everspace 2 is now available on cloud gaming and Xbox Series X/S, and, like Texas, The Messenger prequel Sea of Stars is also making it to Game Pass on its day one, August 29.
While Starfield is absolutely not a hidden indie gem, Game Pass members should also know that they can play Bethesda’s cosmic magnum opus on Series X/S and PC starting on September 1—that’s five days earlier than its scheduled September 6 release date.
Only Starfield’s standard edition is coming to Game Pass, but subscribers are eligible for a 10 percent discount and some order bonuses related to its Premium edition, including receiving the Shattered Space Story Expansion on release after upgrading a Standard Edition Starfield copy to Premium.
Here’s everything you can expect from Game Pass this month:
- Everspace 2—“Embark on a sci-fi adventure where massive, handcrafted areas are packed with secrets, puzzles, and perils”; out now on cloud and console
- Firewatch—“Firewatch is a single-player, first-person mystery set in the Wyoming wilderness, where your only emotional lifeline is the person on the other end of a handheld radio”; play it on cloud, console, and PC August 17
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre—“Take on the role of one of the notorious Slaughter family, or their victims, in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, a third-person asymmetrical horror experience based on the groundbreaking and iconic 1974 horror film”; coming to cloud, console, and PC on day one, August 18
- Sea of Stars—“A turn-based RPG inspired by the classics”; arriving on cloud, console, and PC day one, August 29
- Gris—“[Gris’] journey through sorrow is manifested in her dress, which grants new abilities to better navigate her faded reality”; it’ll be on cloud, console, and PC September 5
What game are you most looking forward to?