Ori And The Will Of The Wisps was meant to be released last month - but that’s ok, because we’d all rather have it a bit late than rushed, and now we can play it on Game Pass on as soon as it launches. There’s lots to look forward to with the next Ori installment, too. I’m personally excited to hear more of the game’s lovely music, which Matthew found out more about when he had a chat with the game’s composer, Gareth Coker. “[The soundtrack] is darker. It’s a reflection on the fact that Ori isn’t a kid anyone. He’s done some stuff. He went through quite a ride in Blind Forest and the music reflects that,” he said. “For example, we have chase sequences in the game again, but where in the first game the chases are a terrifying thing for Ori, these chases sequences are more ‘oh I’m doing this again’. It’s a subtle change in how the music makes you feel.”
As well as Ori 2, the dystopian puzzler Pikuniku will be making its way to Game Pass soon as well. I liked Pikuniku, the co-op reminded me a bit of SnipperClips when I played it, except it gets progressively more odd as you go on. You play as a little red blob with brilliantly wiggly legs, solving puzzles and doing platforming. If you play it with a friend they get to play as a little orange blob with equally wiggly legs. It’s great. John Walker thought it was pretty great in his Pikuniku review, too.
The last three are The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game, Train Sim World 2020 and Mother Russia Bleeds. While I can’t speak for that last one myself, Brendy did the Mother Russia Bleeds review, and it sounds like the game is a bit too nostalgic for its own good. “If you’re the kind of person who wishes it still was the eighties and likes the idea of revisiting a button-mashing romp, warts and all, you’ll find a lot to like about this one,” he wrote. “But even so, you might find it wearing thin after a while.” The makers of The Lord Of The Rings: Adventure Card Game shut down last month, so it’s a bit strange seeing that one crop up here. Still, we reckon it’s one of the best board games on PC so it’s probably worth checking out if you have a subscription. You can read more details on that lot over on the Xbox blog. As usual with this Game Pass stuff, Microsoft haven’t actually told us when these games are coming (except Ori, of course), so keep an eye on Twitter to make sure you catch those dates. And in case you missed it, they put Halo: Combat Evolved on Game Pass the other day, which is also a pretty cool addition.
