Xbox Game Pass Day One Freebie is a 9/10 Soulslike, Yours Now

Xbox Game Pass has three new games out today, each one a Day 1 release for the system.

This month’s batch of Xbox Game Pass has already brought us 9/10 horror Routine, which many players are enjoying, and now we have three more Day 1 releases to enjoy.

In terms of what is a rather stacked month for the platform, these games should provide you with enough enjoyment to see you through to the holidays.

The three games being added to Xbox Game Pass today are Death Howl, Dome Keeper, and A Game About Digging A Hole.

While Death Howl is a Day 1 release across all platforms, the latter two are also debuting on Xbox consoles for the first time which technically also makes them Day 1 releases.

Death Howl, 11 bit studios

Three Free Games Added To Xbox Game Pass on 9 December

Death Howl is a new turn-based game that combines soulslikes and deckbuilding, where you explore a mythical world to find your son and bring him back from the dead. It’s available today on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.

As I wrote in my review from earlier this week, my experience with Death Howl was “a wonder to slowly piece together how The Outer Zone managed to fit two rather opposing genres in a way that feels tangible and engaging.”

On the other hand, Dome Keeper was originally released on PC back in 2022, but it launches on Xbox Series X/S today (9 December) and will be available on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass.

This is a roguelike action miner where you’re tasked with protecting a dome from waves of alien monsters, where you need to go digging for resources and collect useful equipment to help you achieve this.

Death Howl, 11 bit studios

Finally, in keeping with the mining theme here, there’s A Game About Digging A Hole. Yeah, this one does exactly as it says on the tin.

It’s a game where you dig a massive hole in your garden, find buried items, sell them, and upgrade your equipment.

It’s a rather simple game with an oddly satisfying gameplay loop. It was released on PC earlier this year, but is now available today on Xbox. It’s also on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass.

That just about does it for today. In the coming weeks, Xbox Game Pass will also add Mortal Kombat 1 and Bratz: Rhythm & Style. I’d wager there’ll be a few stuff that appears on the service in the second half of the month as well, especially just before the holidays.