Tuesday is an exceptionally busy day next week, with Hellblade 2, System Shock, and Ubisoft’s free-to-play first-person shooter XDefiant all launching on May 21. Elsewhere, two new Game Pass titles, Hauntii and Galacticare, release on May 22.
Here’s a breakdown of everything coming to the world of Xbox next week. Let us know which of these you’re planning on picking up in the comments!
May 21
Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows
It was there that they found the “Ashen Goddess”, who trapped them in a deep sleep capsule. By the time they awoke, 2 years had already passed.
The latest smartphone, the “rPhone”, dominates the market.
Neptune has been missing since her mission to the PC Continent, and in the absence of its Goddess and Candidate, Planeptune was ravaged by a strange new phenomenon, the Trendi Outbreaks.
Suddenly finding herself robbed of home and family, Nepgear falls into a deep depression.
This is a story about finding hope in the midst of despair, and the rebirth of a Goddess in the wake of destruction.
Key Features
C-C-C-Combo Maker! – As you make your way around the lands of Gamindustri, you’ll encounter a multitude of enemies – it’s time to fight! Employ combos and chain your attacks together in real-time. Take control of the battlefield in a unique tactical action battle system!
Get the Planeptune Look – Throughout the game you’ll discover fun accessories to deck out and customize your party members. After completing the game for the first time, you can show off your style in the new Photo Mode! You’ll also unlock two BRAND NEW characters created by two legendary game developers – Higurashi from Ryukishi07 and Shanghai Alice from ZUN!
Do You Hear the People Chirp? – In the wake of the devastation wrought by the Trendi Phenomenon, the vast majority of the population has turned to the rPhone for all manner of daily life, including communication. On your journey, connect to the Chirper social network to take on a variety of side quests put out by those in need and earn special rewards!
Match Game ’23 – On the battlefield you can have three party members out at a time. Match up your team members with a partner for stat increases and elemental bonuses. The stronger the bond, the better the bonus!
Paper Trail — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Paper Trail is a top-down puzzle adventure about leaving home, set in a foldable, paper world. You play as Paige, a budding academic, leaving home for the first time to pursue her studies. On the journey, you learn to fold the world, merging two sides to solve puzzles, explore new areas and uncover long-lost secrets.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II — Xbox Series X|S, Windows
The sequel to the award winning Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Senua returns in a brutal journey of survival through the myth and torment of Viking Iceland. Intent on saving those who have fallen victim to the horrors of tyranny, Senua faces a battle of overcoming the darkness within and without.
System Shock — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
A first-person fight to the death in the depths of space!
SHE IS SELF-AWARE AND AWARE OF YOU
Meet SHODAN: The psychotic AI has taken control of Citadel Station and turned the crew into an army of cyborgs and mutants; She now plans to do the same to Earth. You must explore and battle your way through the depths of a space station gone to hell. Stop SHODAN and avert humanity’s destruction.
HER TERMINATION IS OUR SALVATION
XDefiant — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Join an always-evolving experience with regular updates bringing new playable factions and a growing collection of maps, weapons, and game modes. With cross-play, you will be able to join your friends across available platforms.
May 22
Doug’s Nightmare — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
What is a banana to do when he’s haunted by anxiety and inner demons? Doug’s Nightmare is a cartoony, hand-drawn bullet hell where your job is to help Doug the banana overcome his worst fears by pounding them into oblivion! Part top-down twin-stick shooter and part beat ’em up, Doug’s Nightmare pits you against swarms of bugs, mushrooms, floating brains and more!
Doug can punch when disarmed or pick up a wide variety of weaponry to fend off foes, from slimy squirt guns to spiky clubs. He can don shoes, gloves, cloaks, sunglasses and a wacky wardrobe to improve stats and look stylish as he gains the confidence he’ll need to take on the biggest baddies! Can you guide him to victory?
Survive on Raft — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows
Build your raft. Fight with the shark. Craft a hook and tools. Construct your base. Explore islands. Trade with merchant npc. Team up in 5-player multiplayer. Customize your character. Survive the endless ocean after a plane crash!
Ultra Foodmess 2 — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Shoot donuts at your foes in Hollywood, play Foodball in Brazil, avoid soy sauce beams in Japan… and more, in 10 wacky game modes!
Good luck… And have fun!
May 23
Cat Pipes — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows
Welcome to the enchanting world of Cat Pipes! A game that will challenge your mental skills as you help adorable cats find their way through soothing and captivating puzzles.
Rotate the pieces and create the perfect path for the cats.
Rotate the puzzle pieces to create a safe path for the cats to reach their destination. Use your logic and creativity to find the ideal solution at each level.
Click on the piece to rotate and complete the path to the cats.
A simple click is all you need to rotate the pieces and form the perfect path. Easy to play, yet challenging enough to keep you entertained for hours!
The important thing is to complete the path and reach the cats.
No rush! The main goal is to ensure the cats find their way safely. Have fun solving the puzzles and relaxing in this enchanting world.
Explore 45 exciting levels.
With 45 unique levels, each one more intriguing than the other, you’ll have many hours of fun ahead. Cat Pipes is a game that will keep you entertained for a long time.
Crown Wars: The Black Prince — Xbox Series X|S
The War of Crowns rages on. Knights, brigands and a mysterious evil force run rampant throughout the land, sowing destruction. Lead your domain into battle in this turn-based tactics and strategy game.
Eternal Threads — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
As an operative tasked with fixing corruption in the timestream, you have been sent to the North of England in May 2015, where six people died in a house fire. Prohibited from simply stopping the fire, you must instead manipulate the choices made by the housemates in the week leading up to it so that they all survive the event.
From the outset, you have free and complete reign to explore the seven day timeline before the fire. You can watch and alter the significant events from the entire week as many times as you like and in whatever order you wish. Some decisions will have only minor effects on the timeline, moving objects around the house or revealing deeper stories and secrets. Major changes however, rewrite the timeline by changing existing events, adding new events and even replacing other events entirely.
You must traverse up and down this timeline, changing decisions at different moments throughout the week so that their effects interact and combine together to save all six housemates.
However, it is not just the housemates who have choices. Each of them can be saved from the fire in multiple ways, with each outcome having a profound effect on their lives in the future. Will you just search for the quickest and easiest solution, or can you find the best possible outcome for everyone?
Ultimately, everything is about choices and consequences.
Features
Choose how you want to follow the game’s story.
The complete narrative follows the six main characters through multiple decisions across multiple timelines and you can experience these in any way you choose.
You can concentrate on just one particular character’s storyline at a time, following their choices across the timelines and then go back to the start and follow another character.
You can approach the story like a forensic detective, observe the final outcomes of the story and then work backwards along the timeline – essentially observing the effects and then determining their cause.
Or you can just watch things in chronological order, experiencing the timeline unfold as you observe and change the decisions that the characters face as the week progresses.
Watch and change things as many times as you like
Can’t remember exactly what happened in an event? Changed a decision and you’re not sure you like the consequences? That’s fine. Just pop back along the timeline and watch and change whatever you like, whenever you like, as many times as you like.
Change the past to affect the future
Setting up temporary base in the house mere hours after the fire, provides a unique perspective on events. As you look back through the timeline, past events play out in front of you in ghostly form, with the smoke and fire damaged house a constant reminder of what is to come. In addition, as you manipulate the past, the environment can be reset around you to match the changes taking place. Some new objects will appear, others will move around the house and the contents of rooms can change substantially as you change the past.
Galacticare — Xbox Series X|S
Galacticare takes you on a colourful and bizarre journey – from humble beginnings orbiting 23rd-century Earth, to the internal world of an extra-dimensional deity.
It’s time to save the galaxy – one patient at a time!
Hauntii — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows
A beguiling adventure in which you uncover the secrets of an expansive and mysterious world – haunting both the environment and its denizens to craft ingenious solutions to the many challenges that await.
Morbid: The Lords of Ire — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
From the creators of Morbid: The Seven Acolytes… experience a blood-soaked action adventure with souls-like elements. Face vile monsters and wade through oceans of gore as you battle to defeat the Lords of Ire in a grim world of pain & suffering.
Rocket Rumble — Xbox Series X|S
Rocket Rumble is a 1-4 player party racing brawler. Pick your favorite animal, blast off in a jetpack, and compete across 7 ever-changing obstacle courses. Play online or on the couch in the ultimate party game!
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
The first party-based RPG video game ever released, Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord was a direct inspiration to series like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. Digital Eclipse’s revival preserves the appeal of the classic, with many upgrades for modern role-playing game fans.
May 24
Hand in Hand — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Hand In Hand is a 2D split screen puzzle platformer, where the player can control two characters at once, or two players can play in co-op mode on one device.
The Glass Staircase — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
This old house has never treated you wrong, now has it? Now be good girls, all of you. The Master will need you to be strong during these troubling times.
Remember: Good girls take their medicine. Good girls do their chores. Good girls go home.
Paper Dash – City Hustle — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
![Paper Dash - City Hustle](https://www.trueachievements.com/imgs/148905/paper-dash--city-hustle.jpg)
Embark on a relaxing adventure as you take on the role of a courageous paper plane hunting down evil ghosts that haunt vibrant worlds across dimensions. Soar through captivating landscapes, from mystical forests to scary mansions, in search of these malevolent spirits. Utilize your flying skills and shoot all the ghosts, restore peace, and bring harmony to the realms in this visually stunning game. Paper Dash – City Hustle is an interactive game experience that is designed to ease your mind and have fun finding and shooting little ghosts. Fast, relaxed, chaotic – You are free to enjoy the game any way you see fit, as the only enemies of the game are ghosts that stay in place floating ominously. The movement is fast, but the world itself is somewhat peaceful. This enables you to lean back and enjoy the different levels and the sensation of flying. It is an excellent game for relaxing and blowing off some steam after an exhausting day of hassle.
TP Bullet — Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
![TP Bullet](https://www.trueachievements.com/imgs/149045/tp-bullet.jpg)
As a secret agent marksman, you are the only hope against the evil Skeleton King and his minions who attack the city in this puzzle platformer where you need to shoot your one shot to solve each puzzle and clear the level.