The release date announcement for SNES-style RPG Chained Echoes confirms that the game will be debuting on the Xbox Game Pass subscription service as a day one release in December 2022. Microsoft will likely wait until the beginning of December to reveal all the games coming to Xbox Game Pass in the first two weeks of the month, but in the meantime, subscribers already know of a couple of games they can look forward to playing ahead of the Christmas season.
On December 6, Xbox Game Pass subscribers can check out Hello Neighbor 2, the sequel to the popular stealth horror game where the goal is to evade a suspicious and deadly neighbor. Then on December 13, Xbox Game Pass subscribers can play the new first-person shooter game High on Life, which comes from the mind of Rick and Morty creator Justin Roiland. High on Life trailers have shown off the game's impressive graphics and have made it clear that its humor should be right up the alley of any Rick and Morty fans out there.
Sandwiched between Hello Neighbor 2 and High on Life is Chained Echoes, launching as a day one Xbox Game Pass game on December 8. Chained Echos is directly inspired by Super Nintendo-era JRPGs, with a retro art style and old-school gameplay tendencies. It's coming to PlayStation, PC, and Switch as well, but those that want to play it at launch without paying the full $24.99 price can do so through their Xbox Game Pass subscription.
Chained Echoes may be of particular interest to old-school Final Fantasy fans, as the game looks to blend sci-fi steampunk tech and fantasy elements in a way not unlike Square Enix's flagship franchise. Dragons and mechs co-exist in the world of Chained Echoes, while the world itself looks like a classic medieval fantasy land. Whether the game lives up to the high bar set by its inspirations remains to be seen, but curious Game Pass subscribers can find out for themselves next month.
Before Xbox Game Pass subscribers start worrying too much about the new Game Pass games for December 2022, they should keep an eye on the titles coming to the service in November. The new Xbox Game Pass games for November 2022 have already included a couple of day one games, and even more are on the horizon. Come November 15, Xbox Game Pass subscribers can look forward to the addition of Pentiment and Somerville, while games like Gungravoe GORE and Evil West are coming to Game Pass on day one in the second half of the month.