Game Pass's new games for June include Octopath Traveler 2 and the return of the original
Alongside the new Chinese Room joint
It's a new month, which means Microsoft have detailed a new batch of games arriving on Game Pass. Not all of the games themselves are new, mind you: they include Octopath Traveler, the HD-2D RPG released in 2018, and its sequel.
Here's the complete list coming in the first half of June 2024:- Octopath Traveler - Available now
- Octopath Traveler 2 - Available now
- Depersonalization – June 12th
- Isonzo – June 13th
- The Callisto Protocol - June 13th
- Still Wakes The Deep – June 18th
The original Octopath Traveler came to Game Pass back in 2021 and left in March last year, and it returns now to coincide with its release on PS4 and PS5. Octopath Traveler 2 is a first-time addition to the subscription service. Katharine reviewed the sequel when it released last year and found it extremely similar, and similarly flawed, to the original:
Despite knowing this moment is almost certainly in my future, and despite the slightly incredulous realisation that I’ll have spent another 80 hours playing almost exactly the same game I did four years ago, I've still had a good time with Octopath Traveler 2. There’s something innately enthralling about it, and while, deep down, there's still lots of things I dislike about it, cor, those battles are just the absolute business. It remains one of the most captivating combat systems in the entire JRPG genre, and it really does feel good to be back in its gorgeous HD-2D world again, reheated story leftovers and all (and I swear I’m not just saying that because we get another stonking Nishiki score to admire in the process, honest).
Among the other new joiners, the most interesting to me is the launch day arrival of Still Wakes The Deep on June 18th. It's the new game from The Chinese Room, thems what made Everybody's Gone To The Rapture, and thems what are making Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2. They're a very different studio from their indie days and I'm curious what they'll produce.
As always, new joiners mean a similarly sized batch of leavers. The games departing Game Pass on June 15th are Bramble: The Mountain King, High On Life, Rune Factory 4 Special, Spacelines From The Far Out, and The Bookwalker.