2 critically acclaimed indies are coming to Game Pass this month

Xbox is kicking off October with three new games coming to Game Pass, along with two from the Ultimate tier getting added to the Standard tier, the first time the company has had to make that distinction.

Inscryption and Sifu, two standout indie titles from 2021 and 2022, respectively, are absolutely worth checking out when they hit Game Pass this month. Sifu, coming on October 2, is a third-person beat ’em up with a twist: every time you die, you get resurrected as an older version of yourself. This brings some advantages, like new skills, but your health decreases. Sifu is less about defeating waves of enemies and more about improving as you go, becoming something of a kung fu master.

Then there’s Inscryption, a combination deckbuilder, roguelike, and escape room where you’re stuck in a cabin playing against a mysterious gamemaster. It’s tough to explain what’s going on here without spoiling the experience, but we’ll say it’s also a great game for the Halloween spooky season. Check it out when it drops on to Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Standard on October 10.

• Xbox has added the first six Final Fantasy games to Xbox, PC
• Xbox is getting rid of its standalone Game Pass app
• Xbox Game Pass’ new Standard tier is missing some big games

Arguably the biggest game featured in Tuesday’s announcement is MLB The Show 24, which will now be available for the new Game Pass Standard tier. Ultimate will still get new titles day one, but they might hit Standard eventually after several months. Open Roads is the other title that was previously on the Ultimate tier that’ll now be on Standard; both will be available on October 2.

Here’s the full list of Game Pass changes for the first half of October, including what was announced at the Tokyo Game Show over the weekend.

• MLB The Show 24 (console): Game Pass Standard on October 2
• Open Roads (console): Game Pass Standard on October 2
• Sifu (cloud, console, and PC): Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard