After some not-so-subtle teasing, Microsoft has confirmed that Remedy Entertainment’s Control will be coming to Xbox Game Pass on December 3rd. It will be available for console players and also playable on Android. The Game Bakers’ RPG Haven will be out on the same day for console and PC subscribers. PC subscribers will also finally get their hands on DOOM Eternal.

Other titles slated for the same day include RAGE 2 for Android, Slime Rancher for consoles and Android, Va-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action for PC, and Yes, Your Grace for all three platforms. Dragon Quest 11 S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition arrives on December 4th for console and PC subscribers. Next week sees the release of Call of the Sea for console, PC and Android.

Monster Sanctuary will be exiting Steam Early Access on the same day and available to console and Android players on Game Pass. The recently announced Unto The End will be available on December 9th for console and PC subscribers. On December 10th, Assetto Corsa, Gang Beasts, Superhot: Mind Control Delete, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, and GreedFall will be added to the service. Overall, it’s a very packed month for subscribers – stay tuned for updates on other titles as they’re added.

Monomi Park’s Slime Rancher is now available for free on the Epic Games Store. Head over to the store and simply add it to your library. You will need an Epic Games account and to download the Epic Games Launcher to play. The game is available for free until March 21^st.

Slime Rancher is a part-farming, part-adventure game. It’s set in the far future, where Beatrix LeBeau inherits a ranch. From there, it’s a journey to collect Slimes and raise them. Upgrading the ranch and building better tools is also important, but you can hone your craft over three game modes – Adventure, Casual, and Rush.

There are 150 different hybrid Slimes, daily requests, and a large world to take on with the help your vacpack. Of course, in keeping with the farming aspect, you’ll be growing crops and feeding them to the Slimes, among other things. Slime Rancher is also available for Xbox One and PS4, along with PC. You can also pick it up on Steam.

You might have caught the news about Terrible Toybox’s Thimbleweed Park being free on the Epic Games Store. From Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick of Maniac Mansion fame, the retro point and click adventure will be free for all Epic Games account holders until March 7th. However, its replacement has already been announced: Monomi Park’s Slime Rancher.

Available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC, Slime Rancher is an incredibly interesting game. It takes place in the first person perspective of Beatrix LeBeau, who inherits a ranch on a planet light years away from Earth. The objective is to collect and raise Slimes while expanding the ranch. Daily requests, upgrades for the ranch, Slime Science to research superior tools, and much more will be the key to success.

Along with 150 hybrid Slimes and three different game modes – Adventure, Casual, and Rush – Slime Rancher offers a huge world to explore. It will be available for free from March 7th to 21st on the Epic Games Store. Once again, you need an Epic Games account – and, of course, the Epic Games launcher – to play the title.

Team Cherry’s beloved indie title Hollow Knight, which saw immense success on the Nintendo Switch this year, will be releasing for Xbox One and PS4 in Spring 2019 thanks to Skybound Games. That’s not all though – the publisher also announced that Death’s Gambit from White Rabbit will head to Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in late 2018/early 2019.

If that weren’t enough, both titles will receive physical releases for all three consoles. Skybound will also release a physical edition for Lab Zero Games’ Skullgirls 2, which is currently without a release date. Speaking to Variety, Skybound Games CEO Ian Howe stated, “Hollow Knight and Death’s Gambit represent the very best of independent game development. I’m thrilled to partner with Team Cherry, and Adult Swim and White Rabbit to bring them to retail.”

Team Cherry also issued a statement, noting that, “Skybound immediately impressed us with their experience and their focus on quality. And we can’t wait for them to deliver the definitive version of Hollow Knight into players’ hands.”

Jeff Olsen, VP of Digital and Games at Adult Swim, further added, “Death’s Gambit has a passionate fanbase, and we know that a physical release from Skybound will be welcome news to them.”

Skybound Games is still relatively new, and is a division of Skybound Entertainment, founded by The Walking Dead graphic novel creator Robert Kirkman. Titles like The Long Dark and Slime Rancher will also receive physical editions in September courtesy of Skybound Games.

You can read our review of Death’s Gambit through here, and our review of Hollow Knight through here. Both games come highly recommended, though one much more so than the other.

Paradigm

The number of adventure games that hinge on having outlandish premises is too high and it feels like Paradigm is in the same vein. The story revolves around a mutant named Paradigm cast out by his creators, only to develop a love for electronic music. It isn’t long before a candy spewing sloth comes calling and Paradigm must save the world. For all its quirks and retro-futuristic tendencies, it’s actually an extremely solid adventure packed with hilarious writing.