The best Game Pass additions of 2022: July

For our next Game Pass 2022 recap, we’re casting a beady eye on July, which saw games such as Far Cry 5, Watch_Dogs 2, and Inside join the already stacked roster of titles in the Game Pass library.

July brought in a bumper crop of titles to Game Pass and some rivals for our best games on Game Pass list. In total, 18 games joined the service, including two big Ubisoft games, some indie darlings, a simulator about power washing, and a game about the most irritating pig the world has ever seen. We also saw three games rejoin the service after a brief absence: Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, and Yakuza Kiwami 2 all sauntered their way back onto Game Pass to the delight of many with incomplete achievement lists.

Escape Academy

Puzzle game Escape Academy brought something somewhat unique to Game Pass in July. Aiming to recreate physical escape rooms in a virtual space, Escape Academy features over a dozen rooms that were designed by actual escape room experts and can either be played alone or with pals in co-op. Ideally, you’ll want to play this with some friends, as that’s where the magic really comes alive with Escape Academy.

Escape Academy

Welcome to Escape Academy. Train to become the ultimate Escape Room master. Solve Puzzles. Hack Servers. Meet the Faculty. Brew the perfect cup of tea. Entirely playable in single player or co-op with a friend – local or online!

Far Cry 5

The first of two big Ubisoft titles to join Game Pass in July, Far Cry 5 saw players taking a trip to Hope County to take down doomsday cult Eden’s Gate and its charismatic leader Joseph Seed. Although it is an older title that came out in 2018, it still holds up today and generated quite a buzz when it dropped into Game Pass at the start of the month. Here on TrueAcheivements, the open-world FPS sits with an excellent 4.18/5 community rating from nearly 6,000 votes. A good get for Game Pass? We certainly think so!

Far Cry® 5

Far Cry comes to America in the latest installment of the award-winning franchise.

Hope County, Montana, has been overrun by a fanatical doomsday cult – The Project at Eden’s Gate – led by Joseph Seed and his siblings, the Heralds. Upon your arrival, you must spark the fires of resistance to liberate the community. Pre-order now to get the Doomsday Prepper Pack!

Inside

Inside needs absolutely no introduction. One of the best action-adventure puzzle games out there, Playdead’s Inside was a big win for Game Pass subscribers out there who hadn’t already experienced this dark narrative-driven game. The successor to Limbo, Inside sees you control a young boy who is being hunted down in a dystopic world. While trying to avoid the various things in this world that won’t hesitate to kill you, you’ll need to solve environmental puzzles to advance and further the story. If you’re yet to play Inside and you’re a Game Pass subscriber, definitely give this one a go. It’s a relatively short game and has an easy achievement list if you’re willing to follow a guide.

INSIDE

Hunted and alone, a boy finds himself drawn into the center of a dark project.

Watch_Dogs 2

The second big Ubisoft title to join Game Pass in July was the best Watch Dogs game: Watch_Dogs 2. Set in the sunny San Franciso Bay Area, you play as young hacker Marcus Holloway who teams up with hacker group Deadsec to bring down an operating system that’s monitoring and manipulating people around the city. While Watch_Dogs and Watch Dogs: Legion are good games, Watch_Dogs 2 stands above them both, thanks to its engaging story, interesting characters, and vastly superior setting. Tonally, Watch_Dogs 2 is brighter and less of a tough hang when compared to the dour Chicago in the first game and the oppressed London in Legion, which is why we were glad to see the second game in the series join Game Pass in July over the other games.

Watch Dogs®2

Welcome to San Francisco. Play as Marcus, a brilliant young hacker, and join the most notorious hacker group, DedSec. Your objective: execute the biggest hack of the history.

As Dusk Falls

Another somewhat unique addition joined Game Pass in July with As Dusk Falls. Developed by Interior/Night and published by Xbox Game Studios, As Dusk Falls is billed as an “interactive drama” that tells the story of two families whose lives become intertwined when a robbery in small-town Arizona goes wrong. The narrative that spans a 30-year time period is engaging and filled with tense, pivotal moments that will have you gripped in your seat as you wrestle in your head with what choice to make, and while the story is a highlight, the excellent rotoscoped animation style and superb voice acting from the likes of Jane Perry and Ryan Holt really sell the experience.

As Dusk Falls

As Dusk Falls is an original interactive drama from INTERIOR/NIGHT that explores the entangled lives of two families across thirty years. Starting in 1998 with a robbery-gone-wrong in small town Arizona, the choices you make have a powerful impact on the characters’ lives in this uncompromising story of betrayal, sacrifice and resilience. Drive the lives and relationships of multiple characters in a decades-spanning story told across two intense books.

Torment: Tides of Numenera

InXile Entertainment’s story-rich isometric RPG Torment: Tides of Numenera also joined Game Pass in July. Thematic successor to one of the best RPGs out there, Planescape: Torment, Torment: Tides of Numenera has a pretty wild story where you explore Earth one billion years in the future after numerous civilisations have risen and fallen over time, leaving behind strange relics. For those who are after a deep RPG with an epic story, interesting companions, and choices that actually mean something, definitely give this one a go.

Torment: Tides of Numenera

Explore Earth one billion years in the future in the science-fantasy setting of Numenera. Discover the Ninth World built on the bones of extinct, hyper-advanced civilizations and leave your own mark on it. Make thousands of essential choices, face the consequences, and meet death incarnated as you seek the answer to the ultimate question: What does one life matter?

We’ll be revisiting the best Game Pass additions of each month in 2022 over the next several days. Which of these games were your favourite additions to the Game Pass library? Let us know!