If you’ve kept your Xbox Game Pass subscription following the recent changes, you’ll be in for plenty of ninja action this October. Plus, indie baby Guardian is also unavailable today and Outer worlds 2 will be on the way later this month. Still, the current Game Pass offering may not be enough for some subscribers (especially since Game Pass Ultimate costs $30 per month). If this is your case, check out our guide on how to change or cancel your Game Pass subscription.
While the up-to-date stuff is great, this week is mostly just catching up. These include a literally laid-back survival simulator, an anime fighter from almost a decade ago, and a popular RPG from 2025. Polygon staff should seriously feel embarrassed that they haven’t finished by now.
Frostpunk 2
Fall has finally arrived around my neck and the weather is getting colder. I know this both because I turned on the heat in my apartment and because I made the mistake of going out in a delicate jacket last night. It was frigid there! So maybe that’s why I’m thinking about it Frostpunk 2 right now. A strategy game released last fall in which players manage a civilization in a frosty tundra. Your task is, of course, to build a lively city, but also to keep it balmy. This description makes it sound cozy, but the Frostpunk series is known for its pitch-black tone that forces players to make impossible choices to survive. When you consider the benefits of child labor or throwing the dead into a mass grave, ethics are thrown out the window. This sounds like the perfect game for the upcoming frigid wave, right? —Giovanni Colantonio
Dragon Ball XenoVerse 2
Dragon Ball Sparking Zero he may have just celebrated his first birthday, but this weekend I want to get through the backlog of 2016 Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. Like its predecessor, you create your own custom character to take part in time-travel adventures and correct distortions in Dragon Ball history. These missions make the story of Dragon Ball feel fresh in a up-to-date way, such as fighting the Great Ape Nappa during the Saiyan Saga or fighting Frieza and Cooler together on Namek. The gameplay may not be as deep as Sparking Zero Or Dragon Ball Z warriorbut the novelty of having a unique character fighting alongside your Dragon Ball favorites never wears off. —Austin Manchester
Chiaroscuro: Expedition 33
I know, I know. But I have to admit it – me Still I didn’t finish Chiaroscuro: Expedition 33! I dodged and parried my way into Act 3 (not just through This turn, but also the other one twist) and then it just… stopped playing. Don’t get me wrong, Sandfall Interactive’s debut is equal parts stunning and inventive. Combining real-time parrying with turn-based combat challenges, it’s a test of both reflexes and tactical thinking. And the cast puts on one of the best video games playing this side of Troy Baker, all in service of a story I really cared about. But the guided structure of the first two acts gave way to a third act that was a little too free-form for my taste, and the moment this tightly plotted play began to waste my time, I jumped. That said, Game of the Year season is upon us and I’ve already heard its ending Expedition 33 there are bananas. I really should see how this goes. —Ari Notis
