If you haven’t played Yoku’s Island Express yet, don’t miss out — it’s charming as hell
I try not to oversell the promise of any given month for any given subscription service, but I think that Xbox Games with Gold is bringing out somesurprisingly good stuffin May. It helps when you’ve heard of most of the featured games, and the “wild card” under-the-radar title actually looks cool. That’s the sort of mix I’m looking for most months.
For May 2022, Xbox Games with Gold is giving out:
As usual, you’ll need an Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to redeem these games, and you can follow those links directly to their Xbox store pages when the time comes. Claim ’em, and keep ’em. That’s theNecromongerway.
The highlight for May is definitelyYoku’s Island Express, a cheerful metroidvania-meets-pinball game starring a dung beetle. If you’re kind of burnt out on the genre due to sheer repetition, the pinball mechanics area nice shakeup. It’s very unique — in a good way.
Hydro Thunder Hurricaneis an extreme boat racing sequel. I feel like I enjoyed it at the time, but it’s been a dozen years, and it’s hard not to just pine for the original arcade classic.
Then there’sThe Inner World – The Last Wind Monk, a more family-friendly adventure game about the “flute nose dynasty.” I’ve never heard of this before, but the screenshots seem cozy enough. I see a lot of things I’d try to interact with. It’s worth noting that this is a sequel, but “you don’t need to know the first part,” according to developer Studio Fizbin.
As forViva Piñata Party Animals, this is your reminder that there was onceaViva Piñatakids show. This is a mini-game romp, not a serene garden-building ecosystem simulator, so don’t get your hopes up. You know, it sure would be nice to see Xbox revive this series one day. Even now in 2022, there’s still nothing else likeViva Piñata. It bums me out!
