August seems to be a quieter month for Xbox Game Pass, after a July full of heavyweights like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, The Fall of the Golden Idol, Neon WhiteAnd Hinterberg Dungeon. So this month it’s worth paying attention to which games are leaving the service rather than which are joining. On August 15, some great games will be leaving Xbox Game Pass for Microsoft’s gaming subscription service after a year or more. That should inform what you want to play this weekend, as you’ll need to buy these three games outright if you want to play them after August 15.
Shadow Warrior 3: Definitive Edition
If you like exciting first person shooters, then you should Shadow Warrior 3. It’s the latest entry in a series developed by Flying Wild Hog and Devolver Digital in the early 2010s before the revival of the Doom series and the rise of indie boomer shooters. Still, it’s a throwback to those old-school shooters, with a ridiculous story, over-the-top action and set pieces, and an irreverent tone. There’s something very satisfying about switching between obliterating enemies with a variety of weapons and slicing through them with a powerful katana. This is also a fairly short game, so it’s definitely possible to beat it Shadow Warrior 3: Definitive Edition on PC, Xbox One, or Xbox Series X/S before it leaves Game Pass next Thursday. It’s also available on PlayStation 4 and PS5.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
After Dead by daylight became popular, many iconic horror franchises have gotten their own asymmetric multiplayer games. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre by Sumo Digital and Gun Interactive is one of the better attempts. It’s a 3v4 multiplayer game where four victims try to escape slowly and stealthily while three family members fortify the exits and possible escape routes, while also collecting blood from victims and blood bags to feed their grandfather. It’s one of the most stressful and tense multiplayer games I’ve ever played, and very true to the horror classics it’s based on. The PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S versions of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Leaving Xbox Game Pass on August 15, but you can also play the game on PS4 and PS5.
Airborne Kingdom
Finally, we have Airborne Kingdomthe first choice for fans of city building games. Airborne Kingdoms A unique twist on the formula is that players build a flying city that travels through the air while gathering resources and interacting with the kingdoms still active on the planet’s surface. This game offers the rewarding sense of growth that all city-building games offer, but stands out for the novel way it is presented. Although Airborne Kingdom is available on console, I recommend trying it on PC. It feels much better to play with keyboard and mouse than with a controller. Airborne Kingdom is playable on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S via Xbox Game Pass. It is also available for PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch.
