Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II highlights the next round of May Game Pass titles

Microsoft has unveiled the next round of Xbox Game Pass arrivals. The marquee attraction is Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, which launches as a day-one Game Pass title on May 21. But the second May batch also includes Humanity (one of the best PlayStation games from last year), hockey sim EA Sports NHL 24, magical first-person shooter Immortals of Aveum, the heartfelt classic Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and more.

First up is Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, the 2013 puzzle-adventure game that returns to Game Pass today after several years off the platform. Engadget’s review from yesteryear described the game as “an essential treasure” that makes up for its bland and redundant title with a unique control scheme (a thumbstick for each bro), beautiful visuals (although dated today), clever puzzles and a touching story that weaves together nicely with its action. The game is available for Game Pass members today (Tuesday) for console, PC and cloud players.

The long-awaited Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II arrives on Game Pass on May 21. Announced way back in 2019 alongside the Xbox Series X, the game sends the hero to Iceland, where she tries to find the Vikings who have invaded her hometown. Developer Ninja Theory promises more “perception puzzles led by [Senua’s] experiences of psychosis,” one of the highlights of the 2017 original. You can play it on the cloud, PC and console (Xbox Series X / S) when it lands on Game Pass next week.

Humanity, the innovative puzzler that launched on PlayStation and Steam in 2023, heads to Game Pass on May 30. From Rez creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the game puts you in charge of a Shiba Inu guiding herds of Lemmings-like humans across an impressive 90 stages, including boss fights. It also includes a level-creator tool that lets you make your own or try others’ constructions online.

Meanwhile, Immortals of Aveum borrows first-person shooter mechanics but swaps guns for a little hocus pocus. The single-player, narrative-driven game comes from independent developer Ascendant Studios but manages to look and feel like a big-budget game. Wield otherworldly magic at your fingertips as you step into the Everwar, taking on the Rasharnian Army. The 2023 game comes to Game Pass (cloud, PC and current-gen consoles) on May 16.

Other titles arriving in the second half of May and beyond include the 2014 action RPG Lords of the Fallen (May 30 - cloud, PC, console), EA Sports NHL 24 (May 16 - Xbox Cloud Gaming via EA Play!), puzzle-adventure title Chants of Sennar (May 15 - cloud, console, PC), Moving Out 2 (May 28 - cloud, console, PC) and Firework (June 4 - PC). Several day-one launch titles coming to Game Pass soon include Galacticare (May 23 - cloud, PC, console), Hauntii (May 23 - cloud, console, PC), and Rolling Hills (June 4 - cloud, console, PC).