Category: Archive

Patch Notes – July 2026

Noob.exe 2.0.08.02

Happy August everyone! As July has come to a close I am taking a moment to reflect on the games – and the other things – that filled up my time and mind during this hot, hot summer month.

Video Games

Games played

Chants of Sennaar [finished]: I love this game. Chants of Sennaar is complete and I enjoyed the entire process – playing a game that felt so especially made for my brain, and recording it too. I didn’t expect to almost shed a tear at the end but it managed to come together nicely. It took a rare spot in my favourite games of all time list, and I am trying to be grateful for the experience rather than sad it is over, because I feel like I could have climbed another 100 levels of that tower if they were available to me.

Valheim [playing]: We spent this month expanding our operations. After successfully setting up a mining production line and securing our pigs with only a minor mishap (the great boar escape of 2026), we have ventured beyond the homely Midsummer and trekked over swamp, ocean and plains to settle into an abandoned village. Upcycling complete in the settlement dubbed Ravenhall, we now are neighbours with some merchants and are in the process of taming some Lox. After mistaking a tar pit for a hot spring, I aquired some new building materials and we have a few leads on what we would like to do next.

Baba is You [playing]: I solved one puzzle this month. I am stuck on around four more. I am very tempted to drop this one as I feel the only way I will progress is with a guide, and that isn’t really the vibe that I wanted for the game. I hoped it would be the type of game that would give me that hit of dopamine upon puzzle revelations, but more often it makes me feel dumb for not understanding why what feels like my perfectly reasonable logic is denied. I will give it one more shot and see how I feel.

Baldur’s Gate 3 [playing]: I have reached Act 3! I have 97 hours on my save file and I have heard that Act 3 is as big as the other two acts combined 😅. This remains probably the biggest game I have ever played. I hit an enjoyment wall near the end of Act 2 but now that is out of the way and I have made it to the outskirts of the city, I am eager to see wat Act 3 is all about. I just need a chunk of time with enough energy to completely immerse into the new, denser area now that I have a clearer understanding of what we are working towards.

Demos played

This month I only played 1 demo.

  • Sovereign Tower

Content corner

FOMO corner

Six One Indie Demo Days happened on 31 July and I have yet to have a chance to take a look. Considering I still have so many demos from Summer Game Fest season to check out and beyond, I still have a hard time accepting that I can’t cover everything the way I wish I could.

New to the Backlog

Game Services
  • Ps Plus
    • Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
    • Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
  • Steam Giveaway
    • The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante

Backlog 2026 Progress

This month: ❌
Total: 5 of 31 complete ✅

Noob life

Other media | playing | watching | listening

Tabletop

Obsession [new]: I haven’t played many 4 player board games but Obsession is the latest. It is complex enough that we had a session specifically for learning the game, and during that session with only 3 playing and one teaching, we only made it half way through the game. You play as a stately family balancing your finances, reputation and staff to be the most enviable in Derbyshire. Unfortunately, I was playing the long game and got absolutely thrashed on points, but I like to think I could have made a comeback… This feels like the perfect game for a summers day, with breaks to step outside for a BBQ and a spot of Pimm’s.

Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion [ongoing]: We have reached scenario 5 of Gloomhaven with a success by the absolute skin of our teeth. It was clutch session and I believe it graduates us from the tutorial book of the campaign. I am playing the demolitionist and I named her Atom. I am still finding the game thoroughly enjoyable, deck building has just been introduced, and I really look forward to playing more.

DnD [ongoing]: DnD continues and we are making our way through a dungeon, likely approaching the climax of part 1 of the campaign. We now have a Dwarf Fighter named Ulrich that has joined the crew that we share, giving us a bit of balance to our party with someone who can make, and take, a hit.

Movies

The Prestige [prime]: I simply don’t know how I got this far in life without seeing this movie. Rivalry, more ‘oh shit’ moments than I can count, low key tragedy, beautiful pacing, twists and turns, irony, lingering on my mind. Just everything that I could want from a movie. I put it off because I wasn’t sold on the concept of rival magicians, but it is so much more than that. I urge you to watch it if you haven’t already and want to be absorbed for an evening. It is one of the good ones.

Books

The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga [audiobook/finished]: I really did not enjoy this book, at all. I wanted to finish it just in case there was some lesson in there that was going to change my life, but so much about it rubbed me so much the wrong way that I would honestly find it hard to recommend to anyone.

Happy by Derren Brown [audiobook/finished]: I am only an hour or 2 into this one so far but it feels really promising. I already am onboard with a few of the ideas being talked about, and Derren reading the audiobook himself is the icing on the cake as his voice is so soothing and easy to listen to.

Events

Derren Brown – Only Human: Unfortunately I can’t say the same about this show as I did about the book. It was the first time I have seen Derren live on stage and my expectations were, maybe unfairly, high. He absolutely is the charismatic showman, but the tricks didn’t impress me, the theme didn’t feel cohesive and the squishy, overpriced venue didn’t compliment the experience at all. I went in expecting awe, but left feeling an unprecedented underwhelm.

Other hobbies | achievements

Farne Islands: If you are ever in the North East of England and you love nature, you absolutely must take a trip to The Farne Islands. If it is May-July (nesting season) then a landing trip to Inner Farne is an absolute must. You can see the puffins, guillemots and razorbills up close, and experience the fierce protective dive bombing of the wonderful Arctic Terns. It is a beautiful, special place.

Crochet: My bag is still ongoing.. it is taking a WHILE. But I did reach the colour change and I am hoping to get it finished next month so that I can begin making my smaller bag, so that I can finally start some other projects.

BJJ: I recieved my first stripe on my purple belt!

What’s Next?

I haven’t got anything else cooking currently, content wise, except the shorts series that I mentioned in last months post. I am going to try to prioritise that before I start recording anything else, as well as catching up on some IRL admin that I had been putting off. I wouldn’t expect anything ready to go by the time Chants of Sennaar finishes. However, I do think that my next Let’s Play could be Cocoon, provided that I can get the recording to work from the PlayStation.

Within games, I would love to make some good progress on Baldur’s Gate 3 now that I am in Act 3, which I would also like to balance with playing more demos. I am also going to aim for playing a shorter game each month, this month being Crow Country.

Finally also anticipating 2 cinema trips, for The Odyssey and Spider-Man, and have rented The Prestige audiobook from the library!

Stay safe and have a wonderful August ✌🏻

Patch Notes – June 2026

Noob.exe 2.0.07.01

Hi all! Let’s jump straight in shall we?

What is this?

I used to write monthly updates about my content and gaming, which I named Patch Notes, on my Buy Me a Coffee page. Creating these posts was always an interesting exercise for me. It encouraged me to be more mindful of my time and my progress, and often surprise myself at how much I did either get done, experience, or sometimes overestimate that I would get done in a month. Sometimes I find that I can blink and months have passed me by and the older that I get, time has become an unfathomable blur. Tangibly gathering what I have been up to helps with combating that feeling and reminding me what I did do in that time.

I have noticed that I really enjoy consuming monthly catch-ups myself, that is another reason that I started my Patch Notes in the first place. More recently, seeing Luna’s Monthly Logs and listening to No Small Games Indie Game Round Ups has stirred something in me that I want to join in too, so it makes sense to bring Patch Notes back, directly to the blog.

Although my streaming/video content is on (if I am honest, a pretty much indefinite) hiatus, I have still been getting up to plenty within the game space lately, and outside of it too. While I used to use these posts to share plans and set goals, the new format is just going to serve as record of the past and present. For now at least.

The first one is a little tricky because I don’t generally keep track of weeks, never mind months. So this post will likely be longer than average, but I am treating it as a bit of a start marker, then I know exactly where I am starting from next time!

Video Games

Games played

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden [playing] : I can’t say I am loving Banishers, but I am making my way through. The story and hauntings feel interrupted by traversing the sprawling world and repetative combat, rather than complimented by it. I have had to kill off my compulsive exploration in favour of getting through the game as quickly as I can before I lose interest. There have been some lovely plot twist moments, but I am currently not convinced that the narrative is going to make up for the lack of fun that I am having doing everything else. So far I am commited to seeing it through, I believe I am over half way so I should hopefully finish it off next month.

Valheim [playing]: Me and a friend are playing on a passive enemy, no build cost world of Valheim. My prior experience of Valheim was not complimentary, but I was always curious of the fun my friends were having in their shared server. Playing in this way is suiting me a lot better, having creative freedom to dive into stupid projects, while still having elements of progression through exploration, tools and upgrades.

This month we expanded our home base, creating a Central Portal Station to make our future travels easier, and a lovely homely tavern for all of our cooking, brewing and chilling needs.

Baba is You [started/playing]: I bought and started Baba is You on a bit of a whim, I am not sure if it was this month or last but I will include it anyway. It was supposed to serve as the game that you pick up when you have 10 minutes before you need to do something. And I can see it serving that purpose once I stop having this newly developed aversion to my PC. So far it is cool. It is difficult, as promised, and I am going to try to step away when I get stuck rather than jumping immediatly to guides. I currently have 32 dandelions. Wish me luck!

Chants of Sennaar [started/playing]: Gratefully recieved in the Tales from the Backlog Summer Swap. Chants of Sennaar has been at the top of my Wishlist since 2023 when I originally played the demo. I am now 2 hours in and absolutely thriving. I am certain that I would have finished it by now if I hadn’t made the spontaneous decision to record it. This is one of those legendary anticipatory status games, and seemed so made for me that it felt illegal not to share it in some capacity. More on that later.

Demos played

This month I played 8 demos, of which I wrote 4 impressions posts.

Content corner

All of the content that I have created recently has been on the blog. As well as the demo impressions above, here all of the posts I have published since dusting off my keyboard:

I also have 2 series cooking for YT. A shorts series named Backlog Log, where I do a quick video for every game that I tick off of my Backlog Resolutions 2026 list. And the Chants of Sennaar Let’s Play which will start going out once I have finished the full series! They are in the slow cooker on low, so I wouldn’t expect anything anytime soon.

New to the backlog

I have always been a low budget gamer, mostly due to life circumstances, but recently I have been dabbling in a few purchases!

Purchases
  • The Complete Inkle Library [Humble Bundle]
  • Baba is You
  • Summer Game Swap [Thanks to Dave Jackson for organising and Yorkie for my gifts!]
Game Services

One of the ways I managed to continue playing games through low budget times were through game services. Ps Plus, Game Pass, Epic Games free games, Prime Games etc. For the monthly logs I will just include any games that I gain access to that I am interested in playing.

Backlog resolution 2026 Progress

This month: ❌
Total: 5 of 31 complete ✅

Noob life

Other media | playing | watching | listening

Tabletop

Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion: My first foray into Gloomhaven. It has been a long time coming. It is probably the most classic board game that I have had the most curiosity about, and I am so impressed! From what I am told, Jaws of the Lion is a much more condensed, accessible campaign compared to the big one, and it feels like the perfect entry point. Mechanics feel intuitive, the system for difficulty scaling is impressive, and I look forward to seeing how it unfolds.

DnD: We have an ongoing campaign where I play a Sun Elf Wizard named Pandora. She is very magically competent, less so with people. Many accidental shenanigans later and we are level 4, divination subclass and I love her very dearly. We also have a Dwarf War Cleric named Hafthor, who finds Pandora as irritating as you would expect from a straight laced veteran, and a Dragonborn Druid named Akra, who turned into a giant badger and castrated a hobgoblin.

Movies

Disclosure Day: Oh no. This was a dissapointment. For the first third I was enjoying it, despite feeling like I was watching two different movies at once. Emily Blunt and Wyatt Russel together were great and I could have watched a movie just about them. But as it progressed, my dissapointment became so strong that I could write a full post in itself. To spare you that, I will just say that it was not for me.

TV/YT

I have picked back up the WoolieVersus Disco Elysium playthrough as some lovely background shenanigans while I crochet. I have been watching the playthrough for years at this point. I am 74 episodes in and it is nice to watch others enjoying the pace at as slow of a pace as I did, giving me a lovely comfort show to watch in the process.

Books

Why Can’t I Just Enjoy Things?: A Comedian’s Guide to Autism by Pierre Novellie [audiobook/finished] : I have become quite partial to non-fiction audiobooks. For context, I am diagnosed ADHD and on a waiting list for an Autism assessment. I was having a particularly strugglesome week and had a browse on my librarys Borrowbox in the self help section. While I often relate to neurodivergant stories, I don’t particularly enjoy learning about the topic and have avoided a deep dive for the longest time. I am so grateful to have stumbled upon this book. I have never ever heard my thought process explained so perfectly, in a way that I wouldn’t have even been put into words myself. I was in the midst of what I can now recognise as an autistic burnout and my new insight on the topic helped me not only name it but accept it and get through it. I highly recommend to anyone who is autistic, suspects they may be, or to anyone who knows anyone that is autistic. So, basically what I am saying is, everyone should give this a read/listen. The relatable commentary and dry humour was exactly the format that I needed to finally pursue the topic.

The Non-Designer’s Design Book by Robin Williams [paperback/ongoing]: I am 5 chapters in trying to read a chapter a week. Having dabbled in graphic design, both in my game content work and my day job, I have always been hyper aware of the gap in my knowledge of having no formal training. I stumbled upon this book and decided that it will be a nice entry into further studies that I hope to incorporate into my life. What I am loving about this book is how visual it is [insert surprised pikachu]. Each concept has multiple examples, compares and contrasts why one design is instantly more readable/attractive than another, and revisits the same designs in different context as further principles are explained.

Podcasts

I listen to a lot of Podcasts. I am only going to use this section to shout out new ones that I get into in the future, as I do listen to a lot of the same ones. But for the first post I might as well shout out my current regular rotation!

Current regular rotation:

  • Date with Us: A Dating Sim Podcast
  • Geeks & Grounds
  • No Small Games
  • Nostalgium Arcanum
  • Play Along Podcast
  • Tales from the Backlog
  • Underplayed
  • Watch Out for Fireballs!
  • There are more but some I have to dip out on for a while if I haven’t played the games!

New this month:

The Good, the Bad, and the Backlog: Unfortunataly no longer active, I have absolutely powered through the backlog of this show and they kept my spirits up through a tough month! Great fun, great banter between hosts and I am sad to have caught up with the episodes of the games that I have played.

Events

This won’t be a regular section but I have been to a few gaming adjacent events over the last few years and this will be a good space to talk about them!

BAFTA Games in Concert: I saw Disco Elysium and Ori on the line-up and knew immediatly that I had to go to this show. Whilst I was slightly distracted by the conductor being the doppelgänger of one of my training partners, to the point that I wondered how the heck I had missed that he moonlights as an orchestra man, the show was a wonderful environment to just sit back, relax and be absorbed in the sounds.

Slide 6 on the Instagram post shows the most goosebump inducing moment of the night for me and easily my favourite live music moment of my life so far.

I continue to find it jarring and, I hate to admit it but slightly unpleasant, when game music shows interweave gameplay footage and theming with live action footage of musicians. But other than that, it was absolutely worth going to and I hope to see more in the future (GIVE ME SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS, PLEASEEEE).

Other hobbies | achievements

Crochet: I made my first free hand/patternless crochet project, which was a pouch for my crochet hooks. I don’t quite have enough experience to know how to finish that neatly yet but it is fit for purpose! After a few small projects I wanted to try my hand at something bigger, so I am making myself a project bag. This will store my ongoing large projects, the next of which will be a smaller project bag, to store my ongoing smaller projects. It is coming along well!

Cycling: This month I bought a bike that actually fits me, did my first 9 mile bike ride, and my first gym commute (which is the reason I started learning, yay for reaching goals). I am still not great on the roads (or the paths really) but I don’t know how else I am going to learn other than just getting stuck into doing the commute. Considering I couldn’t even ride a bike in March and I am just learning at 32 years old, I am really happy with my progress! I have already seen more bikes I want to purchase…

What’s Next?

As I mentioned up top, I want to steer clear of turning this into a goal setting post, because everything I do now-a-days is subject to change and I am trying to be more flexible with my time. However, I would certainly like my Patch Notes to become a regular thing. I will continue to spruce up the format as I go to keep it as readable and digestible, yet scannable as possible. So if you have enjoyed this, thank you for reading and keep an eye out for a post at the start of each month!

Noob Blog 2.0

There have been some changes around here so I thought I would write a little summary.

In my effort to simplify my website, I have added many pages. Originally, the idea was to add filter functions to pages so that you can easily find the posts that interest you within the correct section. Unfortunataly that is not allowed on the plan that I am on so I did the next best thing, which was make some new categories and organised them myself!

So what’s new?

Navigation

The biggest change is the updated menu across the top of the site (or using the little menu box on mobile). Categories now make a lot more sense and have subsections to allow you to find exactly what you are looking for. 

Impressions

Impressions is an entire new section dedicated to demos and first looks at games. Now, anytime that a game enters my radar I have a place to shout about it straight away.

Features

Features is a place for a lot of the content that I was already making that aren’t reviews or impressions.

Indie Gaming

Anything across the site that contains any indie content will be gathered here, as well as easy access to past game festival coverage.

Other Content

This is for all of the posts that I make relating to my non-written content like Twitch and YouTube.

Blog Archive

Blog Archive contains every post in one place, plus sub-sections of retired series so that I don’t completely erase them from existance

Home Page

I have simplified the home page so that content is the first thing you see. The plan is to add in temporary segments whenever there is a special occasion like the Steam Next Fest.

Game Service section has gone

Because the new categories collectively cover everything I make, I re-distributed all of my Game Service posts into the relevent places.

Search Bar

I have added the search bar as the best compromise to the filter issue I mentioned earlier. Search for a game title, genre, service etc and you should be able to find any coverage that I have done easily.

Sign up now to stay up to date with the latest posts!

Game Service Roundup – June 2023

Hey everyone! This is a round up of the games entering and leaving a variety of Game Services throughout the month, as well as free game giveaways that have been available throughout.

I like to try to keep track of what is coming and going in the world of game subscriptions but it is hard to find a singular place that does that, so I thought I would give it a go myself. I am going to trial it for a couple of months and see how it feels, whether I would like to add things and so on. Having it all in one place means that you can scroll to see if anything catches your eye, or you can Ctrl+F to whichever service it is that interests you.

Disclaimer: Sometimes dates aren’t announced and surprises are thrown in. I will do my best to make sure the information is as accurate as possible!

PlayStation Plus is Sony’s subscription service for PlayStation consoles. The service is split into three tiers. ‘Essential’, ‘Extra’ and ‘Premium’.

PS Plus Essential

‘PlayStation Plus Essential’ is the cheapest tier. This is the tier that is the closest to what PS Plus used to be. When you are subscribed, you get access to online play. Additionally, Essential offers 3 monthly games*. If you claim them during that month then they are yours to play for as long as you have a PS Plus Essential subscription. If you drop your subscription then you will lose access, but they will still be on your account ready for the next time you subscribe. The monthly games get revealed on the final Wednesday of every month. They are then made available to add to your library and play on the first Tuesday, replacing the previous months games. The games offered occasionally vary by region.
* Occasionally there will be more or less.

June PS Plus Essential Games | Available to claim from Tuesday 6th June 2023 – Monday 3rd July 2023
  • Jurassic World Evolution 2 (PS5/PS4)
  • NBA 2K23 (PS5/PS4)
  • Trek to Yomi (PS5/PS4)
July PS Plus Essential Games | Available to claim from Tuesday 4th July 2023
  • Alan Wake Remastered (PS5/PS4)
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (PS5/PS4)
  • Endling – Extinction is Forever (PS5/PS4)

PS Plus Extra/Premium

‘PlayStation Plus Extra’ and ‘PlayStation Plus Premium’ are the next two tiers of PS Plus above Essential. They include everything that you get with Essential plus other benefits.
PlayStation Plus Extra – Extra is the middle tier and allows you access to a catalogue of games, available to play on your console. New games get added to the service part way through each month and stay for an unknown amount of time. Games also leave regularly and it isn’t always communicated well so it is worth checking when you are deciding what to play.
PlayStation Plus Premium – Premium is the most expensive tier. As well as giving you access to the Extra catalogue, it also has it’s own benefits. There is an extended catalogue available as Premium also includes ‘Classics’ – a seperate collection of games from older generations. In addition, game trials and cloud streaming are some more benefits to this tier.
You can find a full breakdown of the benefits here.

June 2023 PS Plus Extra Game Additions | Available from Tuesday 20th
  • Soulstice (PS5)
  • Conan Exiles (PS5/PS4)
  • DC League of Super-Pets: The Adventures of Krypto and Ace (PS5/PS4)
  • Elex 2 (PS5/PS4)
  • Far Cry 6 (PS5/PS4)
  • Hundred Days: Winemaking Simulator (PS5/PS4)
  • Inscryption (PS5/PS4)
  • MX vs ATV Legends (PS5/PS4)
  • My Friend Peppa Pig (PS5/PS4)
  • PAW Patrol Mighty Pups: Save Adventure Bay!(PS5/PS4)
  • Redout 2 (PS5/PS4)
  • Rogue Legacy 2 (PS5/PS4)
  • The Talos Principle: Deluxe Edition (PS5/PS4)
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (PS5/PS4)
  • A Hat in Time (PS4)
  • Carto (PS4)
  • Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PS4)
  • Dodgeball Academia (PS4)
  • Forager (PS4)
  • Killing Floor 2 (PS4)
  • Lonely Mountain: Downhill (PS4)
  • Tacoma (PS4)
  • Thief (PS4)
  • Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York (PS4)
  • The Wild at Heart (PS4)
June 2023 PS Plus Premium Game Additions | Available from Tuesday 20th
  • Coded Soul (PS5/PS4) (Asia Region)
  • Herc’s Adventures (PS5/PS4)
  • Killzone: Liberation (PS5/PS4)
  • Worms (PS5/PS4)
  • Game Trial – WWE2K23
Games that left PS Plus Extra/Premium in June 2023
  • 9 Monkeys of Shaolin
  • Agents of Mayhem
  • Ash of Gods: Redemption
  • Black Mirror
  • Defense Grid 2
  • Descenders
  • Fire Pro Wrestling World
  • Gods Will Fall
  • Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf
  • John Wick Hex
  • KeyWe
  • NSR: No Straight Roads: Encore Edition
  • Party Hard
  • Redeemed
  • Red Faction
  • Red Faction II
  • Wytchwood
Games leaving PS Plus Extra/Premium in July 2023 | Dates may vary
  • Bioshock Remastered
  • Bioshock 2 Remastered
  • Bioshock Infinite
  • Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
  • Fluster Cluck
  • Marvel’s Avengers
  • Raiden V Directors Cut
  • Rogue Stormers
  • Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell
  • Stray

Game Pass is Microsoft’s game subscription service. It is split into three different types. ‘PC’, ‘Console’, and ‘Ultimate’. I will currently only be covering ‘Game Pass for PC’.

Game Pass For PC

Game Pass for PC and for Console are seperate subscriptions but are very similar, they just work on different machines. They have their own slightly different catalogues but function the same. Game Pass grants you access to a library of games on your platform of choice. They are then available for you to play as for as long as you have a subscription or as long as they are on the service.
Game Pass Ultimate combines the two, allowing your account access to the service on both PC and Console, along with more perks including XBOX Live Gold.
You can find a full breakdown of the differences here.

June 2023 Game Pass for PC Additions
  • The Big Con
  • Car Mechanic Simulator 2021
  • Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer
  • Hypnospace Outlaw
  • Amnesia: The Bunker
  • Rune Factory 4 Special
  • Dordogne
  • The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales
  • Need for Speed Unbound
  • Bramble: The Mountain King
  • F.I.S.T: Forged in Shadow Torch
  • Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
July 2023 Announced Game Pass for PC Additions | Available from various dates
  • Wednesday 5th July – Sword and Fairy: Together Forever
  • Friday 14th July – Exoprimal
Games that left Game Pass for PC in June 2023
  • Thursday 1st June – Europa Universalis IV
  • Thursday 1st June – Evil Genius 2: World Domination
  • Thursday 1st June – Fifa 21
  • Thursday 1st June – Floppy Knights
  • Thursday 1st June – Lawn Mowing Simulator
  • Friday 16th June – Bridge Constructor Portal
  • Friday 16th June – Chorus
  • Friday 16th June – Maneater
  • Friday 16th June – Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition
  • Friday 16th June – Serious Sam 4
  • Friday 16th June – Total War: THREE KINGDOMS
Games leaving Game Pass for PC in July 2023 | 1st & 16th of the Month
  • Saturday 1st July – DJMAX RESPECT V
  • Saturday 1st July – Empire of Sin
  • Saturday 1st July – Matchpoint – Tennis Championships
  • Saturday 1st July – Olija
  • Saturday 1st July – OMORI
  • Saturday 1st July – Road 96
  • Sunday 16th July – Exo One
  • Sunday 16th July – Paw Patrol The Movie: Adventure City Calls
  • Sunday 16th July – Spelunky 2

A lot of people do not realise that included in an Amazon Prime subscription is access to Prime Gaming. Not only does this get you a free subscription to a streamer of your choice on Twitch, they also give away free weekly games and other perks. The difference with this service is that often the games are for different launchers. Some are for Amazon Games, but they also give codes for Epic Games, GOG and more. The best part? As far as I can tell – you get to continue playing the games you have claimed after your subscription has ended.
You can claim your games here.

Amazon Prime Games | June 2023 | Weekly on Thursdays
  • Thursday 1st June – Mutation Nation (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 1st June – Sengoku (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 8th June – Over Top (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 8th June – Soccer Brawl (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 15th June – SteamWorld Dig 2 (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 15th June – The Super Spy (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 15th June – Top Hunter (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 22nd June – Autonauts (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 22nd June – Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 22nd June – Revita (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 29th June – Once upon a Jester (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 29th June – Roguebook (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 29th June – Gems of Destiny: Homeless Dwarf (Legacy Games)
  • Bonus game – Beasts of Maravilla Island
  • Bonus game – Calico
  • Bonus game – DKO: Divine Knockout (Amazon Games)
  • Bonus game – Double Kick Heroes
  • Bonus game – Shattered: Tale of the Forgotten King
  • Bonus game – Tandem: A Tale of Shadows (Amazon Games)
  • Bonus game – Tiny Robots Recharged
  • Bonus game – Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion
Additional Prime Day Games
  • Wednesday 21st June – Prey (GOG)
  • Tuesday 27th June – Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 6th July – Shovel Knight: Showdown
  • Monday 10th July – Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Amazon Prime Games | Announced for July 2023
  • Thursday 6th July – Cook, Serve, Delicious 3
  • Thursday 13th July – Nairi: Tower of Shirin
  • Thursday 20th July – Wytchwood
  • Thursday 27th July – Lunar Axe

Ever since its inception, the Epic Game Store has offered free games to all. All you need is an account. Every Thursday at 4pm UTC at least one title will be set to ‘free’ and next weeks game/s will be revealed. All you have to do is log in and add it to your library while it is free if you would like to play it in the future. If you miss the window then there is nothing that you can do but you have a whole week to do it. Unlike the services above, you do not need a subscription to claim these games.
You can check out the Epic Game Store here.

Free Epic Games | June 2023 | Must claim in the timeframe
  • Midnight Ghost Hunt (June 1st – June 8th)
  • Payday 2 (June 8th – June 15th)
  • Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (June 15th – June 22nd)
  • Guacamelee! 2 (June 15th – June 22nd)
  • Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms (June 22nd – June 29th)
  • theHunter: Call of the Wild (June 22nd – June 29th)
  • The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk (June 29th – July 6th)
Free Epic Games | Announced for July 2023*
  • GRIME (July 6th – July 13th)

*These games are announced one week in advance so you will need to check on the Epic Store weekly if you don’t want to miss out. Alternatively, I do always try to post them in my discord server.

I may add new sections as I go but for now, this section is for any other give-aways or notable deals that I come across in the given month. Most of these will have been and gone already but it is interesting to see what games have been given.

Steam Giveaways | June 2023
  • Tell Me Why
  • Field of Glory II
GOG Giveaways | June 2023
  • Sunblaze
  • Sigma Theory: Global Cold War
  • Eschalon: Book II
  • Hell Division
  • Ancient Enemy
  • Beholder 2

If you have found this helpful please consider sharing on social media or with a friend. You could also check out my other work on the blog, YouTube and Twitch, and/or sign up to get posts delivered into you inbox below. Finally, you could consider becoming a member, where you can financially support me and stay up to date with my work as CtrlAltNoob.

Sign up now to stay up to date with the latest posts!

Game Service Roundup – May 2023

Hey everyone! This is a round up of the games entering and leaving a variety of Game Services throughout the month, as well as free game giveaways that have been available throughout.

I like to try to keep track of what is coming and going in the world of game subscriptions but it is hard to find a singular place that does that, so I thought I would give it a go myself. I am going to trial it for a couple of months and see how it feels, whether I would like to add things and so on. Having it all in one place means that you can scroll to see if anything catches your eye, or you can Ctrl+F to whichever service it is that interests you.

Disclaimer: Sometimes dates aren’t announced and surprises are thrown in. I will do my best to make sure the information is as accurate as possible!

PlayStation Plus is Sony’s subscription service for PlayStation consoles. The service is split into three tiers. ‘Essential’, ‘Extra’ and ‘Premium’.

PS Plus Essential

‘PlayStation Plus Essential’ is the cheapest tier. This is the tier that is closest to what PS Plus used to be. When you are subscribed, you get access to playing games online and instant access to the PS Plus collection*. Additionally, Essential offers 3 monthly games**. If you claim them during that month then they are yours to play for as long as you have a PS Plus Essential subscription. If you drop your subscription then you will lose access, but they will still be on your account ready for the next time you subscribe. The monthly games get revealed on the final Wednesday of every month. They are then made available to add to your library and play on the first Tuesday, replacing the previous months games. The games offered occasionally vary by region.
* PS5 Only.
** Occasionally there will be more or less.

⚠ The PS Plus Collection ended on May 9th.

May PS Plus Essential Games | Available to claim from Tuesday 2nd May 2023 – Monday 5th June 2023
  • Chivalry 2 (PS5/PS4)
  • GRID Legends (PS5/PS4)
  • Descenders (PS4)
June PS Plus Essential Games | Available to claim from Tuesday 6th June 2023
  • Jurassic World Evolution 2 (PS5/PS4)
  • NBA 2K23 (PS5/PS4)
  • Trek to Yomi (PS5/PS4)

PS Plus Extra/Premium

‘PlayStation Plus Extra’ and ‘PlayStation Plus Premium’ are the next two tiers of PS Plus above Essential. They include everything that you get with Essential plus other benefits.
PlayStation Plus Extra – Extra is the middle tier and allows you access to a catalogue of games, available to play on your console. New games get added to the service part way through each month and stay for an unknown amount of time. Games also leave regularly and it isn’t always communicated well so it is worth checking when you are deciding what to play.
PlayStation Plus Premium – Premium is the most expensive tier. As well as giving you access to the Extra catalogue, it also has it’s own benefits. There is an extended catalogue available as Premium also includes ‘Classics’ – a seperate collection of games from older generations. In addition, game trials and cloud streaming are some more benefits to this tier.
You can find a full breakdown of the benefits here.

May 2023 PS Plus Extra Game Additions | Available from Tuesday 16th
  • Ratchet & clank: Rift Apart (PS5)
  • Thymesia (PS5)
  • Bus Simulator 21: Next Stop (PS5/PS4)
  • Humanity (PS5/PS4)
  • Lake (PS5/PS4)
  • Soundfall (PS5/PS4)
  • Watch Dogs: Legion (PS5/PS4)
  • Conan Exiles (PS4)
  • Dishonored 2 (PS4)
  • Dishonored: Death of the Outsider (PS4)
  • Rain World (PS4)
  • Rune Factory 4 Special (PS4)
  • Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin (PS4)
  • Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town (PS4)
  • The Evil Within 2 (PS4)
  • Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (PS4)
  • Rise of the Tomb Raider (PS4)
  • Shadow of the Tomb Raider (PS4)
  • Wolfenstein: Youngblood (PS4)
May 2023 PS Plus Premium Game Additions | Available from Tuesday 16th
  • Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered (PS4)
  • Blade Dancer: Lineage of Light (PSP)
  • Pursuit Force (PSP)
  • Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow (PSP)
Games that left PS Plus Extra/Premium in May 2023
  • Balan Wonderland
  • Batman: Return to Arkham – Arkham Asylum
  • Batman: Return to Arkham – Arkham City
  • Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon EVERY BUDDY!
  • Chronos: Before the Ashes
  • Deadlight: Director’s Cut
  • Dreamfall Chapters
  • FlatOut 4: Total Insanity
  • Graveyard Keeper
  • Homefront: The Revolution
  • How to Survive: Storm Warning Edition
  • Injustice 2
  • Kingdom Come: Deliverance
  • Kona
  • Last Day of June
  • Left Alive
  • Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4
  • Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7
  • Marvel’s Spider-Man
  • Metro: Last Light Redux
  • Mighty No. 9
  • MX vs ATV All Out
  • NBA 2K Playgrounds 2
  • Pathfinder: Kingmaker
  • Pixel Piracy
  • Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered
  • Relicta
  • Resident Evil
  • Shenmue III trophies
  • Star Ocean: First Departure R
  • This War of Mine: The Little Ones
  • Tour De France 2021
  • TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 2
  • Virginia
  • Windbound
Games leaving PS Plus Extra/Premium in June 2023 | Dates may vary
  • 9 Monkeys of Shaolin
  • Agents of Mayhem
  • Ash of Gods: Redemption
  • Black Mirror
  • Defense Grid 2
  • Descenders
  • Gods Will Fall
  • Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf
  • John Wick Hex
  • KeyWe
  • NSR: No Straight Roads: Encore Edition
  • Party Hard
  • Redeemed
  • Red Faction
  • Red Faction II
  • Wytchwood

Game Pass is Microsoft’s game subscription service. It is split into three different types. ‘PC’, ‘Console’, and ‘Ultimate’. I will currently only be covering ‘Game Pass for PC’.

Game Pass For PC

Game Pass for PC and for Console are seperate subscriptions but are very similar, they just work on different machines. They have their own slightly different catalogues but function the same. Game Pass grants you access to a library of games on your platform of choice. They are then available for you to play as for as long as you have a subscription or as long as they are on the service.
Game Pass Ultimate combines the two, allowing your account access to the service on both PC and Console, along with more perks including XBOX Live Gold.
You can find a full breakdown of the differences here.

May 2023 Game Pass for PC Additions
  • Ravenlok
  • Shadowrun: Hong Kong – Extended Edition
  • Shadowrun: Dragonfall – Director’s Cut
  • Shadowrun Returns
  • Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2
  • EA Sports Fifa 2023
  • Eastern Exorcist
  • Supraland: Six Inches Under
  • Planet of Lana
  • Railway Empire 2
  • Chicory: A Colorful Tale
  • Farworld Pioneers
June 2023 Announced Game Pass for PC Additions | Available from various dates
  • Thursday 1st June – The Big Con
  • Thursday 1st June – Car Mechanic Simulator 2021
  • Thursday 1st June – Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer
  • Tuesday 6th June – Hypnospace Outlaw
  • Tuesday 6th June – Amnesia: The Bunker
  • Thursday 8th June – Rune Factory 4 Special
  • Thursday 8th June – Stacking
  • Tuesday 13th June – Dordogne
Games that left Game Pass for PC in May 2023
  • Monday 1st May – Tetris Effect: Connected
  • Monday 1st May – Dragon Quest Builders 2
  • Monday 1st May – Destroy All Humans!
  • Monday 1st May – Unsouled
  • Monday 1st May – Bugsnax
  • Tuesday 16th May – Umurangi Generation
  • Tuesday 16th May – My Friend Pedro
  • Tuesday 16th May – Before We Leave
  • Tuesday 16th May – Hearts of Iron IV
  • Tuesday 16th May – Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Anniversary Edition
  • Tuesday 16th May – Her Story
Games leaving Game Pass for PC in June 2023 | 1st & 16th of the Month
  • Thursday 1st June – Europa Universalis IV
  • Thursday 1st June – Evil Genius 2: World Domination
  • Thursday 1st June – Fifa 21
  • Thursday 1st June – Floppy Knights
  • Thursday 1st June – Lawn Mowing Simulator
  • Friday 16th June – Bridge Constructor Portal
  • Friday 16th June – Chorus
  • Friday 16th June – Maneater
  • Friday 16th June – Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition
  • Friday 16th June – Serious Sam 4
  • Friday 16th June – Total War: THREE KINGDOMS

A lot of people do not realise that included in an Amazon Prime subscription is access to Prime Gaming. Not only does this get you a free subscription to a streamer of your choice on Twitch, they also give away free weekly games and other perks. The difference with this service is that often the games are for different launchers. Some are for Amazon Games, but they also give codes for Epic Games, GOG and more. The best part? As far as I can tell – you get to continue playing the games you have claimed after your subscription has ended.
You can claim your games here.

Amazon Prime Games | May 2023 | Weekly on Thursdays
  • Thursday 4th May – Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 3D (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 4th May – Super Sidekicks (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 4th May – Samurai Shodown IV: Amakusa’s Revenge (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 11th May – Planescape Torment: Enhanced Edition (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 11th May – Lake (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 11th May – Robo Army
  • Thursday 11th May – Last Resort (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 18th May – Kardboard Kings: Card Shop Simulator (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 18th May – The Almost Gone (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 18th May – 3 Count Bout (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 18th May – Alpha Mission 2 (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 25th May – Lila’s Sky Ark (Legacy Games)
  • Thursday 25th May – Agatha Knife (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 25th May – King of the Monsters 2 (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 25th May – Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle (Amazon Games)
  • Bonus game – Beasts of Maravilla Island
  • Bonus game – Calico
  • Bonus game – DKO: Divine Knockout (Amazon Games)
  • Bonus game – Double Kick Heroes
  • Bonus game – Shattered: Tale of the Forgotten King
  • Bonus game – Tandem: A Tale of Shadows (Amazon Games)
  • Bonus game – Tiny Robots Recharged
  • Bonus game – Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion
Amazon Prime Games | Announced for June 2023
  • Thursday 1st June – Mutation Nation (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 1st June – Sengoku (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 8th June – Over Top (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 8th June – Soccer Brawl (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 15th June – SteamWorld Dig 2 (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 15th June – The Super Spy (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 15th June – Top Hunter (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 22nd June – Autonauts (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 22nd June – Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 22nd June – Revita (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 29th June – Gems of Destiny: Homeless Dwarf (Legacy Games)
  • Thursday 29th June – Once Upon a Jester (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 29th June – Roguebook (Amazon Games)

Ever since its inception, the Epic Game Store has offered free games to all. All you need is an account. Every Thursday at 4pm UTC at least one title will be set to ‘free’ and next weeks game/s will be revealed. All you have to do is log in and add it to your library while it is free if you would like to play it in the future. If you miss the window then there is nothing that you can do but you have a whole week to do it. Unlike the services above, you do not need a subscription to claim these games.
You can check out the Epic Game Store here.

Free Epic Games | May 2023 | Must claim in the timeframe
  • Breathedge (April 27th – May 4th)
  • Poker Club (April 27th – May 4th)
  • Against All Odds (May 4th – May 11th)
  • Horizon Chase Turbo (May 4th – May 11th)
  • Kao the Kangaroo (May 4th – May 11th)
  • The Sims 4 Daring Lifestyle Bundle (May 11th – May 18th)
  • Death Stranding (May 18th – May 25th)
  • Fallout: New Vegas – Ultimate Edition (May 25th – June 1st)
Free Epic Games | Announced for June 2023*
  • Midnight Ghost Hunt (June 1st – June 8th)

*These games are announced one week in advance so you will need to check on the Epic Store weekly if you don’t want to miss out. Alternatively, I do always try to post them in my discord server.

I may add new sections as I go but for now, this section is for any other give-aways or notable deals that I come across in the given month. Most of these will have been and gone already but it is interesting to see what games have been given.

Steam Giveaways | May 2023
  • Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War

If you have found this helpful please consider sharing on social media or with a friend. You could also check out my other work on the blog, YouTube and Twitch, and/or sign up to get posts delivered into you inbox below. Finally, you could consider becoming a member, where you can financially support me and stay up to date with my work as CtrlAltNoob.

Sign up now to stay up to date with the latest posts!

Game Service Roundup – April 2023

Hey everyone! This is a round up of the games entering and leaving a variety of Game Services throughout the month, as well as free game giveaways that have been available throughout.

I like to try to keep track of what is coming and going in the world of game subscriptions but it is hard to find a singular place that does that, so I thought I would give it a go myself. I am going to trial it for a couple of months and see how it feels, whether I would like to add things and so on. Having it all in one place means that you can scroll to see if anything catches your eye, or you can Ctrl+F to whichever service it is that interests you.

Disclaimer: Sometimes dates aren’t announced and surprises are thrown in. I will do my best to make sure the information is as accurate as possible!

PlayStation Plus is Sony’s subscription service for PlayStation consoles. The service is split into three tiers. ‘Essential’, ‘Extra’ and ‘Premium’.

PS Plus Essential

‘PlayStation Plus Essential’ is the cheapest tier. This is the tier that is closest to what PS Plus used to be. When you are subscribed, you get access to playing games online and instant access to the PS Plus collection*. Additionally, Essential offers 3 monthly games**. If you claim them during that month then they are yours to play for as long as you have a PS Plus Essential subscription. If you drop your subscription then you will lose access, but they will still be on your account ready for the next time you subscribe. The monthly games get revealed on the final Wednesday of every month. They are then made available to add to your library and play on the first Tuesday, replacing the previous months games. The games offered occasionally vary by region.
* PS5 Only.
** Occasionally there will be more or less.

⚠ The PS Plus Collection ends on May 9th. If you have any tier of PS Plus and a PS5 then make sure to add the games to your library before it’s too late. As far as I can see, they have taken all traces of the collection from the PlayStation website already so you may have to manually search for each game. Please do take a look because there are many worthwhile games on there.
Here is a list of the games that you need to add to your library before May if you haven’t already –

April PS Plus Essential Games | Available to claim from Tuesday 4th April 2023 – Monday 1st May 2023
  • Meet Your Maker (PS5/PS4)
  • Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PS5/PS4)
  • Tails of Iron (PS5/PS4)
May PS Plus Essential Games | Available to claim from Tuesday 2nd May 2023
  • Chivalry 2 (PS5/PS4)
  • GRID Legends (PS5/PS4)
  • Descenders (PS4)

PS Plus Extra/Premium

‘PlayStation Plus Extra’ and ‘PlayStation Plus Premium’ are the next two tiers of PS Plus above Essential. They include everything that you get with Essential plus other benefits.
PlayStation Plus Extra – Extra is the middle tier and allows you access to a catalogue of games, available to play on your console. New games get added to the service part way through each month and stay for an unknown amount of time. Games also leave regularly and it isn’t always communicated well so it is worth checking when you are deciding what to play.
PlayStation Plus Premium – Premium is the most expensive tier. As well as giving you access to the Extra catalogue, it also has it’s own benefits. There is an extended catalogue available as Premium also includes ‘Classics’ – a seperate collection of games from older generations. In addition, game trials and cloud streaming are some more benefits to this tier.
You can find a full breakdown of the benefits here.

April 2023 PS Plus Extra Game Additions | Available from Tuesday 18th
  • Bassmaster Fishing (PS5/PS4)
  • Doom Eternal (PS5/PS4)
  • Kena: Bridge of Spirits (PS5/PS4)
  • Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom (PS5/PS4)
  • Paradise Killer (PS5/PS4)
  • Riders Republic (PS5/PS4)
  • Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PS5/PS4)
  • Anodyne (PS4) (4th April)
  • The Evil Within (PS4)
  • Slay the Spire (PS4)
  • Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (PS4)
  • Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (PS4)
April 2023 PS Plus Premium Game Additions | Available from Tuesday 18th
  • Doom (PS4)
  • Doom II (PS4)
  • Doom 64 (PS4)
  • Doom 3 (PS4)
  • Dishonoured: Definitive Edition (PS4)
Games that left PS Plus Extra/Premium in April 2023
  • 2Dark
  • 428: Shibuya Scramble (EU Only)
  • Croixleur Sigma
  • Gabbuchi
  • Marvel Puzzle Quest: Dark Reign
  • Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
  • Steins;Gate Elite (EU Only)
  • The Caligula Effect: Overdose
  • The Wonderful 101: Remastered
  • Zanki Zero: Last Beginning (EU Only)
Games leaving PS Plus Extra/Premium in May 2023 | Dates may vary
  • Balan Wonderland
  • Batman: Return to Arkham – Arkham Asylum
  • Batman: Return to Arkham – Arkham City
  • Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon EVERY BUDDY!
  • Chronos: Before the Ashes
  • Deadlight: Director’s Cut
  • Dreamfall Chapters
  • FlatOut 4: Total Insanity
  • Graveyard Keeper
  • Homefront: The Revolution
  • How to Survive: Storm Warning Edition
  • Injustice 2
  • Kingdom Come: Deliverance
  • Kona
  • Last Day of June
  • Left Alive
  • Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4
  • Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7
  • Marvel’s Spider-Man
  • Metro: Last Light Redux
  • Mighty No. 9
  • MX vs ATV All Out
  • NBA 2K Playgrounds 2
  • Pathfinder: Kingmaker
  • Pixel Piracy
  • Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered
  • Relicta
  • Resident Evil
  • Shenmue III trophies
  • Star Ocean: First Departure R
  • This War of Mine: The Little Ones
  • Tour De France 2021
  • TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 2
  • Virginia
  • Windbound

Game Pass is Microsoft’s game subscription service. It is split into three different types. ‘PC’, ‘Console’, and ‘Ultimate’. I will currently only be covering ‘Game Pass for PC’.

Game Pass For PC

Game Pass for PC and for Console are seperate subscriptions but are very similar, they just work on different machines. They have their own slightly different catalogues but function the same. Game Pass grants you access to a library of games on your platform of choice. They are then available for you to play as for as long as you have a subscription or as long as they are on the service.
Game Pass Ultimate combines the two, allowing your account access to the service on both PC and Console, along with more perks including XBOX Live Gold.
You can find a full breakdown of the differences here.

April 2023 Game Pass for PC Additions
  • Goat Simulator
  • Loop Hero
  • Ghostwire: Tokyo
  • Minecraft Legends
  • Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly
  • Homestead Arcana
  • Cassette Beasts
  • Quantum Break
  • BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle
  • The Last Cast of Benedict Fox
  • Besiege
  • Redfall
  • Mass Effect 2 (2010 Edition)
  • Mass Effect 3 (2012 Edition)
May 2023 Announced Game Pass for PC Additions | Available from various dates
  • Thursday 4th May – Ravenlok
  • Thursday 11th May – Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2
  • Thursday 25th May – Railway Empire 2
Games that left Game Pass for PC in April 2023
  • Saturday 1st April – Cluster Truck
  • Saturday 1st April – Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
  • Saturday 1st April – Kracken Academy
  • Saturday 1st April – A Memoir Blue
  • Saturday 1st April – Chinatown Detective Agency
  • Sunday 16th April – The Riftbreaker
  • Sunday 16th April – Panzer Corps 2
  • Sunday 16th April – The Long Dark
  • Sunday 16th April – Life is Strange: True Colors
  • Sunday 16th April – The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet of Chaos
  • Sunday 16th April – Moonglow Bay
  • Sunday 16th April – Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction
Games leaving Game Pass for PC in May 2023 | 1st & 16th of the Month
  • Monday 1st May – Tetris Effect: Connected
  • Monday 1st May – Dragon Quest Builders 2
  • Monday 1st May – Destroy All Humans!
  • Monday 1st May – Unsouled
  • Monday 1st May – Bugsnax
  • Tuesday 16th May – Umurangi Generation
  • Tuesday 16th May – My Friend Pedro
  • Tuesday 16th May – Before We Leave
  • Tuesday 16th May – Hearts of Iron IV
  • Tuesday 16th May – Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Anniversary Edition
  • Tuesday 16th May – Her Story

A lot of people do not realise that included in an Amazon Prime subscription is access to Prime Gaming. Not only does this get you a free subscription to a streamer of your choice on Twitch, they also give away free weekly games and other perks. The difference with this service is that often the games are for different launchers. Some are for Amazon Games, but they also give codes for Epic Games, GOG and more. The best part? As far as I can tell – you get to continue playing the games you have claimed after your subscription has ended.
You can claim your games here.

Amazon Prime Games | April 2023 | Weekly on Thursdays
  • Thursday 6th April – Wolfenstein: The New Order (GOG)
  • Thursday 6th April – Ninja Commando (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 6th April – Art of Fighting 3: The Path of the Warrior (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 13th April – The Beast Inside (GOG)
  • Thursday 13th April – Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 13th April – Crossed Swords (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 13th April – Ghost Pilots (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 20th April – Beholder 2 (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 20th April – Terraformers (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 20th April – Metal Slug 4 (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 20th April – Ninja Masters (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 27th April – Looking for Aliens (Legacy Games)
  • Thursday 27th April – Grime (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 27th April – Sengoku (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 27th April – Magician Lord (Amazon Games)
Amazon Prime Games | Announced for May 2023
  • Thursday 4th May – Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 3D
  • Thursday 4th May – Super Sidekicks
  • Thursday 4th May – Samurai Shodown IV
  • Thursday 11th May – Planescape Torment: Enhanced Edition
  • Thursday 11th May – Lake
  • Thursday 11th May – Robo Army
  • Thursday 11th May – Last Resort
  • Thursday 18th May – Kardboard Kings
  • Thursday 18th May – The Almost Gone
  • Thursday 18th May – 3 Count Bout
  • Thursday 18th May – Alpha Mission 2
  • Thursday 25th May – Lila’s Sky Ark
  • Thursday 25th May – Agatha Knife
  • Thursday 25th May – King of the Monsters 2
  • Thursday 25th May – Kizuna Encounter

Ever since its inception, the Epic Game Store has offered free games to all. All you need is an account. Every Thursday at 4pm UTC at least one title will be set to ‘free’ and next weeks game/s will be revealed. All you have to do is log in and add it to your library while it is free if you would like to play it in the future. If you miss the window then there is nothing that you can do but you have a whole week to do it. Unlike the services above, you do not need a subscription to claim these games.
You can check out the Epic Game Store here.

Free Epic Games | April 2023 | Must claim in the timeframe
  • The Silent Age (March 30th – April 6th)
  • Shapez (April 6th – April 13th)
  • Dying Light Enhanced Edition (April 6th – April 13th)
  • Mordhau (April 13th – April 20th)
  • Second Extinction (April 13th – April 20th)
  • Beyond Blue (April 20th – April 27th)
  • Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) (April 20th – April 27th)
  • Breathedge (April 27th – May 4th)
  • Poker Club (April 27th – May 4th)
Free Epic Games | Announced for May 2023*
  • Against All Odds (May 4th – May 11th)
  • Horizon Chase Turbo (May 4th – May 11th)
  • Kao the Kangaroo (May 4th – May 11th)
  • The Sims 4 Daring Lifestyle Bundle (May 11th – May 18th)

*These games are announced one week in advance so you will need to check on the Epic Store weekly if you don’t want to miss out. Alternatively, I do always try to post them in my discord server.

I may add new sections as I go but for now, this section is for any other give-aways or notable deals that I come across in the given month. Most of these will have been and gone already but it is interesting to see what games have been given.

GOG Giveaways | April 2023
  • Under the Moon
Steam Giveaways | April 2023
  • Battlestar Galactica Deadlock

If you have found this helpful please consider sharing on social media or with a friend. You could also check out my other work on the blog, YouTube and Twitch, and/or sign up to get posts delivered into you inbox below. Finally, you could consider becoming a member, where you can financially support me and stay up to date with my work as CtrlAltNoob.

Sign up now to stay up to date with the latest posts!

Game Service Roundup – March 2023

Hey everyone! This is a round up of the games entering and leaving a variety of Game Services throughout the month, as well as free game giveaways that have been available throughout.

I like to try to keep track of what is coming and going in the world of game subscriptions but it is hard to find a singular place that does that, so I thought I would give it a go myself. I am going to trial it for a couple of months and see how it feels, whether I would like to add things and so on. Having it all in one place means that you can scroll to see if anything catches your eye, or you can Ctrl+F to whichever service it is that interests you.

Disclaimer: Sometimes dates aren’t announced and surprises are thrown in. I will do my best to make sure the information is as accurate as possible!

PlayStation Plus is Sony’s subscription service for PlayStation consoles. The service is split into three tiers. ‘Essential’, ‘Extra’ and ‘Premium’.

PS Plus Essential

‘PlayStation Plus Essential’ is the cheapest tier. This is the tier that is closest to what PS Plus used to be. When you are subscribed, you get access to playing games online and instant access to the PS Plus collection*. Additionally, Essential offers 3 monthly games**. If you claim them during that month then they are yours to play for as long as you have a PS Plus Essential subscription. If you drop your subscription then you will lose access, but they will still be on your account ready for the next time you subscribe. The monthly games get revealed on the final Wednesday of every month. They are then made available to add to your library and play on the first Tuesday, replacing the previous months games. The games offered occasionally vary by region.
* PS5 Only.
** Occasionally there will be more or less.

⚠ The PS Plus Collection ends in May. If you have any tier of PS Plus and a PS5 then make sure to add the games to your library before it’s too late. As far as I can see, they have taken all traces of the collection from the PlayStation website already so you may have to manually search for each game. Please do take a look because there are many worthwhile games on there.
Here is a list of the games that you need to add to your library before May if you haven’t already –

March PS Plus Essential Games | Available to claim from Tuesday 7th March 2023 – Monday 3rd April 2023
  • Battlefield 2042 (PS5/PS4)
  • Code Vein (PS4)
  • Minecraft Dungeons (PS4)
April PS Plus Essential Games | Available to claim from Tuesday 4th April 2023
  • Meet Your Maker (PS5/PS4)
  • Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PS5/PS4)
  • Tails of Iron (PS5/PS4)

PS Plus Extra/Premium

‘PlayStation Plus Extra’ and ‘PlayStation Plus Premium’ are the next two tiers of PS Plus above Essential. They include everything that you get with Essential plus other benefits.
PlayStation Plus Extra – Extra is the middle tier and allows you access to a catalogue of games, available to play on your console. New games get added to the service part way through each month and stay for an unknown amount of time. Games also leave regularly and it isn’t always communicated well so it is worth checking when you are deciding what to play.
PlayStation Plus Premium – Premium is the most expensive tier. As well as giving you access to the Extra catalogue, it also has it’s own benefits. There is an extended catalogue available as Premium also includes ‘Classics’ – a seperate collection of games from older generations. In addition, game trials and cloud streaming are some more benefits to this tier.
You can find a full breakdown of the benefits here.

March 2023 PS Plus Extra Game Additions | Available from Tuesday 21st
  • Ghostwire: Tokyo (PS5)
  • Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (PS5)
  • Haven (PS5/PS4)
  • Immortals: Fenyx Rising (PS5/PS4)
  • Life is Strange: True Colors (PS5/PS4)
  • Tchia (PS5/PS4)
  • Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction (PS5/PS4)
  • Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (PS4)
  • Final Fantasy Type-0 HD (PS4)
  • Life is Strange 2 (PS4)
  • NEO: The World Ends With Us (PS4)
  • RAGE 2 (PS4)
  • Street Fighter V: Champion Edition (PS4)
  • Untitled Goose Game (PS4)
March 2023 PS Plus Premium Game Additions | Available from Tuesday 21st
  • Ridge Racer Type 4 (PS1)
  • Ape Escape 2 (PSP)
  • Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror (PSP)
Games that left PS Plus Extra/Premium in March 2023
  • WWE 2K22
  • Danger Zone
  • Dungeons
  • Ghost of a Tale
  • Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 5
  • Override 2: Super Mech League
  • The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
  • Velocibox
  • Victor Vran Overkill Edition
Games leaving PS Plus Extra/Premium in April 2023 | Dates Vary
  • 2Dark
  • 428: Shibuya Scramble (EU Only)
  • Croixleur Sigma
  • Gabbuchi
  • Marvel Puzzle Quest: Dark Reign
  • Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
  • Steins;Gate Elite (EU Only)
  • The Caligula Effect: Overdose
  • The Wonderful 101: Remastered
  • Zanki Zero: Last Beginning (EU Only)

Game Pass is Microsoft’s game subscription service. It is split into three different types. ‘PC’, ‘Console’, and ‘Ultimate’. I will currently only be covering ‘Game Pass for PC’.

Game Pass For PC

Game Pass for PC and for Console are seperate subscriptions but are very similar, they just work on different machines. They have their own slightly different catalogues but function the same. Game Pass grants you access to a library of games on your platform of choice. They are then available for you to play as for as long as you have a subscription or as long as they are on the service.
Game Pass Ultimate combines the two, allowing your account access to the service on both PC and Console, along with more perks including XBOX Live Gold.
You can find a full breakdown of the differences here.

March 2023 Game Pass for PC Additions
  • Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
  • Guilty Gear -Strive-
  • Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
  • Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom – The Prince’s Edition
  • Infinite Guitars
April 2023 Announced Game Pass for PC Additions | Available from various dates
  • Tuesday 4th April – Goat Simulator
  • Tuesday 4th April – Loop Hero
  • Wednesday 12th April – Ghostwire: Tokyo
  • Tuesday 18th April – Minecraft Legends
  • Thursday 20th April – Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly
Games that left Game Pass for PC in March 2023
  • Wednesday 1st March – Alien: Isolation
  • Wednesday 1st March – Crown Trick
  • Wednesday 1st March – Dragon Ball FighterZ
  • Wednesday 1st March – FAR: Changing Tides
  • Wednesday 1st March – Lightning Returns: FFXIII
  • Wednesday 1st March – Madden NFL 21
  • Wednesday 1st March – Octopath Traveler
  • Thursday 16th March – Goat Simulator
  • Thursday 16th March – Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
  • Thursday 16th March – Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Thursday 16th March – Paradise Killer
  • Thursday 16th March – Undertale
  • Thursday 16th March – Young Souls
  • Thursday 16th March – Zero Escape: The Nonary Games
Games leaving Game Pass for PC in April 2023 | 1st & 16th of the Month
  • Saturday 1st April – Cluster Truck
  • Saturday 1st April – Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
  • Saturday 1st April – Kracken Academy
  • Saturday 1st April – A Memoir Blue
  • Saturday 1st April – Chinatown Detective Agency
  • Sunday 16th April – The Riftbreaker
  • Sunday 16th April – Panzer Corps 2
  • Sunday 16th April – The Long Dark
  • Sunday 16th April – Life is Strange: True Colors
  • Sunday 16th April – The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet of Chaos
  • Sunday 16th April – Moonglow Bay
  • Sunday 16th April – Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction

A lot of people do not realise that included in an Amazon Prime subscription is access to Prime Gaming. Not only does this get you a free subscription to a streamer of your choice on Twitch, they also give away free weekly games and other perks. The difference with this service is that often the games are for different launchers. Some are for Amazon Games, but they also give codes for Epic Games, GOG and more. The best part? As far as I can tell – you get to continue playing the games you have claimed after your subscription has ended.
You can claim your games here.

Amazon Prime Games | March 2023 | Weekly on Thursdays
  • Thursday 2nd March – Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 9th March – Adios (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 9th March – I Am Fish (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 16th March – Faraway 3: Arctic Escape (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 23rd March – Book of Demons (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 23rd March – Peaky Blinders: Mastermind (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 30th March – City Legends: Trapped in Mirror – Collector’s Edition (Legacy Games)
Amazon Prime Games | Announced for April 2023
  • Thursday 6th April – Wolfenstein: The New Order
  • Thursday 6th April – Ninja Commando
  • Thursday 6th April – Art of Fighting 3
  • Thursday 13th April – The Beast Inside
  • Thursday 13th April – Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition
  • Thursday 13th April – Crossed Swords
  • Thursday 13th April – Ghost Pilots
  • Thursday 20th April – Beholder 2
  • Thursday 20th April – Terraformers
  • Thursday 20th April – Metal Slug 4
  • Thursday 20th April – Ninja Masters
  • Thursday 27th April – Looking for Aliens
  • Thursday 27th April – Grime
  • Thursday 27th April – Sengoku
  • Thursday 27th April – Magician Lord

Ever since its inception, the Epic Game Store has offered free games to all. All you need is an account. Every Thursday at 4pm UTC at least one title will be set to ‘free’ and next weeks game/s will be revealed. All you have to do is log in and add it to your library while it is free if you would like to play it in the future. If you miss the window then there is nothing that you can do but you have a whole week to do it. Unlike the services above, you do not need a subscription to claim these games.
You can check out the Epic Game Store here.

Free Epic Games | March 2023 | Must claim in the timeframe
  • Duskers (February 23rd – March 2nd)
  • Rise of Industry (March 2nd – March 9th)
  • Call of the Sea (March 9th – March 16th)
  • Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War (March 16th – March 23rd)
  • Chess Ultra (March 23rd – March 30th)
  • World of Warships – Starter Pack: Ishizuchi (March 23rh – March 30th)
  • Tunche (March 30th – April 6th)
  • The Silent Age (March 30th – April 6th)
Free Epic Games | Announced for April 2023*
  • Blazing Sails (April 6th – April 13th)
  • Dying Light Enhanced Edition (April 6th – April 13th)

*These games are announced one week in advance so you will need to check on the Epic Store weekly if you don’t want to miss out. Alternatively, I do always try to post them in my discord server.

I may add new sections as I go but for now, this section is for any other give-aways or notable deals that I come across in the given month. Most of these will have been and gone already but it is interesting to see what games have been given.

GOG Giveaways | March 2023
  • Lorelai
  • Neurodeck: Psychological Deckbuilder
  • Deep Sky Derelicts
Steam Giveaways | March 2023
  • Figment

If you have found this helpful please consider sharing on social media or with a friend. You could also check out my other work on the blog, YouTube and Twitch, and/or sign up to get posts delivered into you inbox below. Finally, you could consider becoming a member, where you can financially support me and stay up to date with my work as CtrlAltNoob.

Sign up now to stay up to date with the latest posts!

Game Service Roundup – February 2023

Hey everyone! This is a round up of the games entering and leaving a variety of Game Services throughout the month, as well as free game giveaways that have been available throughout.

I like to try to keep track of what is coming and going in the world of game subscriptions but it is hard to find a singular place that does that, so I thought I would give it a go myself. I am going to trial it for a couple of months and see how it feels, whether I would like to add things and so on. Having it all in one place means that you can scroll to see if anything catches your eye, or you can Ctrl+F to whichever service it is that interests you.

Disclaimer: Sometimes dates aren’t announced and surprises are thrown in. I will do my best to make sure the information is as accurate as possible!

PlayStation Plus is Sony’s subscription service for PlayStation consoles. The service is split into three tiers. ‘Essential’, ‘Extra’ and ‘Premium’.

PS Plus Essential

‘PlayStation Plus Essential’ is the cheapest tier. This is the tier that is closest to what PS Plus used to be. When you are subscribed, you get access to playing games online and instant access to the PS Plus collection*. Additionally, Essential offers 3 monthly games**. If you claim them during that month then they are yours to play for as long as you have a PS Plus Essential subscription. If you drop your subscription then you will lose access, but they will still be on your account ready for the next time you subscribe. The monthly games get revealed on the final Wednesday of every month. They are then made available to add to your library and play on the first Tuesday, replacing the previous months games. The games offered occasionally vary by region.
* PS5 Only.
** Occasionally there will be more or less.

⚠ The PS Plus Collection ends in May. If you have any tier of PS Plus and a PS5 then make sure to add the games to your library before it’s too late. As far as I can see, they have taken all traces of the collection from the PlayStation website already so you may have to manually search for each game. Please do take a look because there are many worthwhile games on there.
Here is a list of the games that you need to add to your library before May if you haven’t already –

February PS Plus Essential Games | Available to claim from Tuesday 7th February 2023 – Monday March 6th 2023
  • Evil Dead: The Game (PS5/PS4)
  • OlliOlliWorld (PS5/PS4)
  • Destiny 2: Beyond Light (PS5/PS4)
  • Mafia: The Definitive Edition (PS4)
March PS Plus Essential Games | Available to claim from Tuesday 7th March 2023
  • Battlefield 2042 (PS5/PS4)
  • Code Vein (PS4)
  • Minecraft Dungeons (PS4)

PS Plus Extra/Premium

‘PlayStation Plus Extra’ and ‘PlayStation Plus Premium’ are the next two tiers of PS Plus above Essential. They include everything that you get with Essential plus other benefits.
PlayStation Plus Extra – Extra is the middle tier and allows you access to a catalogue of games, available to play on your console. New games get added to the service part way through each month and stay for an unknown amount of time. Games also leave regularly and it isn’t always communicated well so it is worth checking when you are deciding what to play.
PlayStation Plus Premium – Premium is the most expensive tier. As well as giving you access to the Extra catalogue, it also has it’s own benefits. There is an extended catalogue available as Premium also includes ‘Classics’ – a seperate collection of games from older generations. In addition, game trials and cloud streaming are some more benefits to this tier.
You can find a full breakdown of the benefits here.

February 2023 PS Plus Extra Game Additions | Available from Tuesday 21st
  • Borderlands 3 (PS5/PS4)
  • The Forgotten City (PS5/PS4)
  • Horizon Forbidden West (PS5/PS4)
  • Outriders (PS5/PS4)
  • The Quarry (PS5/PS4)
  • Resident Evil VII: Biohazard (PS5/PS4)
  • Scarlet Nexus (PS5/PS4)
  • Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (PS4)
  • Earth Defense Force 5 (PS4)
  • I Am Setsuna (PS4)
  • Lost Sphear (PS4)
  • Oninaki (PS4)
  • Tekken 7 (PS4)
February 2023 PS Plus Premium Game Additions | Available from Tuesday 21st
  • Destroy All Humans (PS4)
  • Harvest Moon: Back to Nature (PS1)
  • The Legend of Dragoon (PS1)
  • Wild Arms 2 (PS1)
March 2023 Announced PS Plus Extra/Premium Additions | Available from various dates
  • Tuesday 21st March – Tchia (PS5/PS4)
  • Immortals Fenyx Rising (PS5/PS4)
  • Rainbow Six Extraction (PS5/PS4)
  • Ghostwire Tokyo (PS5)
  • Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (PS5)
Games that left PS Plus Extra/Premium in February 2023
  • Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders
  • The Book of Unwritten Tales 2
  • Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – The Definitive Edition
  • Metro: Exodus
  • Pure Farming 2018
  • Rad Rogers
  • Saints Row: The Third Remastered
  • Sine Mora EX
  • SkyDrift Infinity
  • Sparkle Unleashed
  • The Turing Test
  • Whispering Willows
Games leaving PS Plus Extra/Premium in March 2023 | Dates Vary
  • WWE 2K22 (March 13th)
  • Danger Zone
  • Dungeons
  • Ghost of a Tale
  • Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 5
  • Override 2: Super Mech League
  • The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
  • Velocibox
  • Victor Vran Overkill Edition

Game Pass is Microsoft’s game subscription service. It is split into three different types. ‘PC’, ‘Console’, and ‘Ultimate’. I will currently only be covering ‘Game Pass for PC’.

Game Pass For PC

Game Pass for PC and for Console are seperate subscriptions but are very similar, they just work on different machines. They have their own slightly different catalogues but function the same. Game Pass grants you access to a library of games on your platform of choice. They are then available for you to play as for as long as you have a subscription or as long as they are on the service.
Game Pass Ultimate combines the two, allowing your account access to the service on both PC and Console, along with more perks including XBOX Live Gold.
You can find a full breakdown of the differences here.

February 2023 Game Pass for PC Additions
  • Darkest Dungeon
  • HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED – Game of the Year Edition
  • SD GUNDAM BATTLE ALLIANCE
  • Madden NFL 23
  • Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
  • Shadow Warrior 3: Definitive Edition
  • Atomic Heart
  • Merge & Blade
  • Soul Hackers 2
  • F1 22
March 2023 Announced Game Pass for PC Additions | Available from various dates
  • Friday 3rd March – Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
  • Tuesday 7th March – Guilty Gear -Strive-
Games that left Game Pass for PC in February 2023
  • Wednesday 1st February – Donut County
  • Wednesday 1st February – Taiko no Tatsujin: The Drum Master!
  • Wednesday 1st February – Telling Lies
  • Wednesday 1st February – Worms W.M.D
  • Thursday 16th February – Besiege
  • Thursday 16th February – Infernax
  • Thursday 16th February – The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom
  • Thursday 16th February – Recompile
  • Thursday 16th February – Skul: The Hero Slayer
Games leaving Game Pass for PC in March 2023 | 1st & 16th of the Month
  • Wednesday 1st March – Alien: Isolation
  • Wednesday 1st March – Crown Trick
  • Wednesday 1st March – Dragon Ball FighterZ
  • Wednesday 1st March – FAR: Changing Tides
  • Wednesday 1st March – Lightning Returns: FFXIII
  • Wednesday 1st March – Madden NFL 21
  • Wednesday 1st March – Octopath Traveler
  • Thursday 16th March – Goat Simulator
  • Thursday 16th March – Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
  • Thursday 16th March – Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Thursday 16th March – Paradise Killer
  • Thursday 16th March – Undertale
  • Thursday 16th March – Young Souls
  • Thursday 16th March – Zero Escape: The Nonary Games

A lot of people do not realise that included in an Amazon Prime subscription is access to Prime Gaming. Not only does this get you a free subscription to a streamer of your choice on Twitch, they also give away free weekly games and other perks. The difference with this service is that often the games are for different launchers. Some are for Amazon Games, but they also give codes for Epic Games, GOG and more. The best part? As far as I can tell – you get to continue playing the games you have claimed after your subscription has ended.
You can claim your games here.

Amazon Prime Games | February 2023 | Weekly on Thursdays
  • Thursday 2nd February – The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind GOTY Edition (GOG)
  • Thursday 2nd February – Onsen Master (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 9th February – Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 9th February – Divine Knockout (Epic Games)
  • Thursday 16th February – One Hand Clapping (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 16th February – BATS: Bloodsucker Anti-Terror Squad (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 23rd February – Space Crew: Legendary Edition (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 23rd February – Tunche (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 23rd February – Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator (Amazon Games)
Amazon Prime Games | Announced for February 2023
  • Thursday 2nd March – Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition (Amazon Games)
  • Thursday 9th March – Adios
  • Thursday 9th March – I Am Fish
  • Thursday 16th March – Faraway 3: Arctic Escape
  • Thursday 23rd March – Book of Demons
  • Thursday 23rd March – Peaky Blinders: Mastermind
  • Thursday 30th March – City Legends: Trapped in Mirror – Collector’s Edition

Ever since its inception, the Epic Game Store has offered free games to all. All you need is an account. Every Thursday at 4pm UTC at least one title will be set to ‘free’ and next weeks game/s will be revealed. All you have to do is log in and add it to your library while it is free if you would like to play it in the future. If you miss the window then there is nothing that you can do but you have a whole week to do it. Unlike the services above, you do not need a subscription to claim these games.
You can check out the Epic Game Store here.

Free Epic Games | February 2023 | Must claim in the timeframe
  • City of Gangsters (February 2nd – February 9th)
  • Dishonoured: Death of the Outsider (February 2nd – February 9th)
  • Recipe for Disaster (February 9th – February 16th)
  • Warpips (February 16th – February 23rd)
  • Duskers (February 23rd – March 2nd)
Free Epic Games | Announced for March 2023*
  • Rise of Industry (March 2nd – March 9th)
  • Call of the Sea (March 9th – March 16th)

*These games are announced one week in advance so you will need to check on the Epic Store weekly if you don’t want to miss out. Alternatively, I do always try to post them in my discord server.

I may add new sections as I go but for now, this section is for any other give-aways or notable deals that I come across in the given month.

GOG Giveaways | February 2023
  • Alien Breed Trilogy
  • Biing!: Sex, Intrigue and Scalpels
Steam Giveaways | March 2023
  • Figment (Claim by Thursday March 9th)

If you have found this helpful please consider sharing on social media or with a friend. You could also check out my other work on the blog, YouTube and Twitch, and/or sign up to get posts delivered into you inbox below. Finally, you could consider becoming a member, where you can financially support me and stay up to date with my work as CtrlAltNoob.

Sign up now to stay up to date with the latest posts!

Game Service Roundup – January 2023

Hey everyone! This is a round up of the games entering and leaving a variety of Game Services throughout the month, as well as free game giveaways that have been available throughout.

I like to try to keep track of what is coming and going in the world of game subscriptions but it is hard to find a singular place that does that, so I thought I would give it a go myself. I am going to trial it for a couple of months and see how it feels, whether I would like to add things and so on. Having it all in one place means that you can scroll to see if anything catches your eye, or you can Ctrl+F to whichever service it is that interests you.

Disclaimer: Sometimes dates aren’t announced and surprises are thrown in. I will do my best to make sure the information is as accurate as possible!

PlayStation Plus is Sony’s subscription service for PlayStation consoles. The service is split into three tiers. ‘Essential’, ‘Extra’ and ‘Premium’.

PS Plus Essential

‘PlayStation Plus Essential’ is the cheapest tier. This is the tier that is closest to what PS Plus used to be. When you are subscribed, you get access to playing games online and instant access to the PS Plus collection*. Additionally, Essential offers 3 monthly games**. If you claim them during that month then they are yours to play for as long as you have a PS Plus Essential subscription. If you drop your subscription then you will lose access, but they will still be on your account ready for the next time you subscribe. The monthly games get revealed on the final Wednesday of every month. They are then made available to add to your library and play on the first Tuesday, replacing the previous months games. The games offered occasionally vary by region.
* PS5 Only.
** Occasionally there will be more or less.

⚠ Due to the first Tuesday of the month falling on the 7th, the announcement wasn’t made until February 1st.
⚠ The PS Plus Collection ends in May. If you have any tier of PS Plus and a PS5 then make sure to add the games to your library before it’s too late. As far as I can see, they have taken all traces of the collection from the PlayStation website already so you may have to manually search for each game. Please do take a look because there are many worthwhile games on there.
Here is a list of the games that you need to add to your library before May if you haven’t already –

January PS Plus Essential Games | Available to claim from Tuesday 3rd January 2023 – Monday 6th February 2023
  • Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS5/PS4)
  • Axiom Verge 2 (PS5/PS4)
  • Fallout 76 (PS4)
February PS Plus Essential Games | Available to claim from Tuesday 7th February 2022
  • Evil Dead: The Game (PS5/PS4)
  • OlliOlliWorld (PS5/PS4)
  • Destiny 2: Beyond Light (PS5/PS4)
  • Mafia: The Definitive Edition (PS4)

PS Plus Extra/Premium

‘PlayStation Plus Extra’ and ‘PlayStation Plus Premium’ are the next two tiers of PS Plus above Essential. They include everything that you get with Essential plus other benefits.
PlayStation Plus Extra – Extra is the middle tier and allows you access to a catalogue of games, available to play on your console. New games get added to the service part way through each month and stay for an unknown amount of time. Games also leave regularly and it isn’t always communicated well so it is worth checking when you are deciding what to play.
PlayStation Plus Premium – Premium is the most expensive tier. As well as giving you access to the Extra catalogue, it also has it’s own benefits. There is an extended catalogue available as Premium also includes ‘Classics’ – a seperate collection of games from older generations. In addition, game trials and cloud streaming are some more benefits to this tier.
You can find a full breakdown of the benefits here.

January 2023 PS Plus Extra Game Additions | Available from Tuesday 17th
  • Back 4 Blood (PS4/PS5)
  • Jett: The Far Shore (PS4/PS5)
  • Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition (PS5)
  • Dragon Ball FighterZ (PS4)
  • Devil May Cry 5 (PS4)
  • Erica (PS4)
  • Just Cause 4: Reloaded (PS4)
  • Life is Strange (PS4)
  • Life Is Strange: Before the Storm (PS4)
  • Omno (PS4)
January 2023 PS Plus Premium Game Additions | Available from Tuesday 17th
  • Hot Shots Golf 2 (PS1)
  • Star Wars Demolition (PS1)
  • Syphon Filter 3 (PS1)
Games that left PS Plus Extra/Premium in January 2023
  • Bound By Flame
  • The Council – Complete Season
  • Electronic Super Joy
  • Enigmatis: The Ghost of Maple Creek
  • Jumpjet Rex
  • The Last Tinker: City of Colors
  • Leo’s Fortune – HD Edition
  • Masters of Anima
  • Seasons After Fall
  • Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom
  • Space Hulk: Tactics
Games leaving PS Plus Extra/Premium in February 2023 | Dates Vary
  • Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders (Tuesday February 21st)
  • The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 (Tuesday February 21st)
  • Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – The Definitive Edition (Tuesday February 21st)
  • Pure Farming 2018 (Tuesday February 21st)
  • Sine Mora EX (Tuesday February 21st)
  • SkyDrift Infinity (Tuesday February 21st)
  • Sparkle Unleashed (Tuesday February 21st)
  • The Turing Test (Tuesday February 21st)
  • Whispering Willows (Tuesday February 21st)
  • Metro: Exodus
  • Rad Rodgers
  • Saints Row: The Third Remastered

Game Pass is Microsoft’s game subscription service. It is split into three different types. ‘PC’, ‘Console’, and ‘Ultimate’. I will currently only be covering ‘Game Pass for PC’.

Game Pass For PC

Game Pass for PC and for Console are seperate subscriptions but are very similar, they just work on different machines. They have their own slightly different catalogues but function the same. Game Pass grants you access to a library of games on your platform of choice. They are then available for you to play as for as long as you have a subscription or as long as they are on the service.
Game Pass Ultimate combines the two, allowing your account access to the service on both PC and Console, along with more perks including XBOX Live Gold.
You can find a full breakdown of the differences here.

January 2023 Game Pass for PC Additions
  • Stranded Deep
  • Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition
  • Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
  • Persona 3 Portable
  • Persona 4 Golden
  • Monster Hunter Rise
  • Hi-Fi Rush
  • JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R
  • Inkulinati
February 2023 Announced Game Pass for PC Additions | Available from various dates
  • Darkest Dungeon (Thursday 2nd February)
  • HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED – Game of the Year Edition (Tuesday 7th February)
  • Atomic Heart (Tuesday 21st February)
Games that left Game Pass for PC in January 2023
  • Iron Harvest
  • Immortal Realms Vampire Wars
  • Tropico 6
  • Scarlet Nexus
  • Secret Neighbor
  • Outer Wilds
  • Gorogoa
  • The Pedestrian
  • Embr
  • The Anacrusis
  • Trigger
  • Nobody Saves the World
  • Pupperazzi
  • Windjammers 2
Games leaving Game Pass for PC in February 2023 | 1st & 16th of the Month
  • Donut County (Wednesday 1st)
  • Worms W.M.D (Wednesday 1st)
  • Telling Lies (Wednesday 1st)
  • Taiko no Tatsujin: The Drum Master! (Wednesday 1st)
  • Recompile (Thursday 16th)
  • Skul: The Hero Slayer (Thursday 16th)
  • The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom (Thursday 16th)
  • Besiege (Thursday 16th)
  • Infernax (Thursday 16th)

A lot of people do not realise that included in an Amazon Prime subscription is access to Prime Gaming. Not only does this get you a free subscription to a streamer of your choice on Twitch, they also give away free monthly games and other perks. The difference with this service is that often the games are for different launchers. Some are for Amazon Games, but they also give codes for Epic Games, GOG and more. The best part? As far as I can tell – you get to continue playing the games you have claimed after your subscription has ended.
You can claim your games here.

⚠ Prime Games are being made available on a weekly basis from February 2nd rather than the usual bundle at the start of the month. They have renamed the tab on the website ‘Weekly Games’ so I presume this is their new model going forward.

Amazon Prime Games | January 2023
  • Faraway 2: Jungle Escape (Amazon Games)
  • The Evil Within 2 (GOG)
  • Beat Cop (GOG)
  • Chickon Police – Paint it RED! (Amazon Games)
  • Lawn Mowing Simulator (Amazon Games)
  • Breathedge (Amazon Games)
  • Dishonored 2 (GOG)
  • SNK 40th Anniversary Collection (Amazon Games)
  • The King of Fighters 2003 (Amazon Games)
  • Twinkle Star Sprites (Amazon Games)
  • The Last Blade (Amazon Games)
  • The Last Blade 2 (Amazon Games)
  • Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers (Amazon Games)
  • Metal Slug (Amazon Games)
  • Metal Slug 3 (Amazon Games)
  • Metal Slug X (Amazon Games)
Amazon Prime Games | Announced for February 2023
  • The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind GOTY Edition (GOG) (February 2)
  • Onsen Master (Amazon Games) (February 2)
  • Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield (February 9)
  • Divine Knockout (February 9)
  • One Hand Clapping (February 16)
  • BATS: Bloodsucker Anti-Terror Squad (February 16)
  • Space Crew: Legendary Edition (February 23)
  • Tunche (February 23)
  • Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator (February 23)

Ever since its inception, the Epic Game Store has offered free games to all. All you need is an account. Every Thursday at 4pm UTC at least one title will be set to ‘free’ and next weeks game/s will be revealed. All you have to do is log in and add it to your library while it is free if you would like to play it in the future. If you miss the window then there is nothing that you can do but you have a whole week to do it. Unlike the services above, you do not need a subscription to claim these games.
You can check out the Epic Game Store here.

Free Epic Games | January 2023
  • Dishonoured – Definitive Edition
  • Eximius: Sieze the Frontline
  • Kerbal Space Program
  • Shadow Tactics – Aiko’s Choice
  • Divine Knockout
  • First Class Trouble
  • Gamedec – Definitive Edition
  • Epistory – Typing Chronicals
  • Adios
  • Hell is Others
Free Epic Games | Announced for February 2023*
  • City of Gangsters (February 2nd – February 9th)
  • Dishonoured: Death of the Outsider (February 2nd – February 9th)
  • Recipe for Disaster (February 9th – February 16th)

*These games are announced one week in advance so you will need to check on the Epic Store weekly if you don’t want to miss out. Alternatively, I do always try to post them in my discord server.

I may add new sections as I go but for now, this section is for any other give-aways or notable deals that I come across in the given month.

GOG Giveaways | January 2023
  • Haven Park

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2022 Reflections and 2023 Goals

I wasn’t going to make a New Year post this year, but upon reflection it almost feels necessary. Instead of publicly reflecting on what has been a particularly difficult year for me, I think it will be a lot more useful and enjoyable to think of what comes next.  

A constant in my life is my resistance to consistency. Give me 6 months of anything and I need change, it is just the way of the Noob. With that in mind, these are the latest thoughts in the everchanging realm that is my brain. 

Twitch

I am really enjoying my current schedule on Twitch. Two consecutive days and a seperate third is pleasing for me, allowing me to get into a zone and then let it go to work on other things. I recognise that a day stream can be inconvenient for many and I wish that I could change that, but it is the only way this structure fits together with my other commitments for the time being.

When it comes to game choice, I am going to continue to alternate longer games with shorter ones. This year we played a few games that were the start of a series. For now, I am going to continue to prioritise new games over sequels. This is because there are still so many games that I have no experience in. I’d rather spread the limited time I have around to new experiences wherever I can. That doesn’t mean we won’t be playing sequels, but do expect the potential of years between them.

I am going to continue to balance older and newer games in the same way, but all of this is really dictated by whatever I have access to at the time. Anything with limited access is probably going to take priority.

YouTube

Something that I have learned this year is that I need recording time to balance out stream time. Both are great but they are entirely different experiences that I love for their own reasons. A YouTube playthrough is entirely about the game. For this reason, I am really looking forward to bringing Let’s Plays back. I am unsure about the distant future but I have a list of games that may end up lasting the entire year without any further planning, so that is one possibility.

The current plan is Let’s Plays 3x a week, Indie Showcase Saturdays forever, and I have some other ideas. Depending on my workload, a potential I have been considering is Repentance Sundays. I haven’t played any of the Repentance DLC for The Binding of Isaac yet. It could be fun to put out a run or two a week as I get to know the new content. I will see how my schedule is in a few weeks.

YouTube is such a strange thing for me. I have been doing it for much longer than Twitch but can’t say I have ever found what anyone would call success. It is wonderful to hear when people enjoy my videos, or the rare occasion I see my series is being binged. But when you look at my overall time, I can’t help but think there is a problem. The trouble is, it is hard to figure out what the problem is. Is it just oversaturation, or is it my content? Occasionally an Indie Showcase video will get more viewers than normal because it gets in the algorithm, but it rarely ever translates into more subscribers. I have tried to make my intros as short as I can while including all of the information. I kind of like my thumbnails how they are. My channel is clearly organised. I have tried calls to action but I just can’t do it. I can’t help question whether I am just not entertaining enough. My philosophy is that I make the content that I would want to watch. The thing is, I can have weird and different tastes that potentially others don’t. All of this is to say – I would LOVE for my YouTube to become something. I am not a fool and know it wont, which even makes it difficult to admit my aspiration. But man, I love what I do and just wish it had more appeal. I think the only actionable thing that I can do towards that at the moment is to keep creating.

Just to be clear, I didn’t used to care about numbers, but since trying to make my content a sustainable career it makes it especially sad to think about. Unless something drastic happens, it is not going to work out long term, which sucks but I do need to start coming to terms with.

Blog

I go through phases with my writing. Blog time has been wonderful in a year when I haven’t always felt up to speaking or being around folks. Having said that, if I am not in ‘the mood’ then what I write can be just terrible. When I started using my Blog more regularly this year I hoped that I would do some more thought pieces, a hope that I will bring forward into 2023. The amount of half written pieces and pages of notes that I have that just need a little more time in the oven is excessive. I want to write things worth reading, but I also have to work on finishing them.

I have really enjoyed writing reviews this year and I hope to continue. I have found a format that clicks very well with my thought process that I also believe is good and reader friendly. It has been a great outlet, particularly for games that I didn’t play on stream. What I would like to do going forward is take this to the next level. I would like my reviews and my blog in general to be visually friendly and interesting too. While I don’t have specific ideas yet, I am taking inspiration from the magazine I made.

I’m making it a goal this year to try out a monthly game service recap post, as well as finally figuring out my own way of covering the Indie Festivals. These things are the type that need to develop over time, but I hope to make a start on them relatively soon.

Others

Game Dev – I am in a place in my life where I need to seriously consider my future. I have worked so hard since I lost my job, trying out different things and seeing if I can find a place. Unfortunately, I am still struggling with that. I want to work in games, but I am not skilled enough to write or design anything professionally. Once my schedule has settled down, I would really like to look into Game Development. It is a little difficult because I don’t know what areas I could be good at, so I would like to dip into a bit of everything and see what calls to me. I find self learning incredibly difficult but in my current situation, I have to use all of the time that I can right now to develop a skill that can help me be self sufficient in the future. The great thing about this is that I am surrounded by talented, creative and motivated people. I would like to join that group too!

Podcast – Finally, I have been wanting this for so long that I am writing it here for my own benefit if nothing else. I have so much on my plate currently, no matter how much I wish I could make a Podcast, the circumstances just aren’t right. I still have hope for the future but for now, I have to eliminate this from my current goals. The strange part about doing that is that Podcasts are probably my favourite form of entertainment. I really enjoy and respect them, but as a result of that, I don’t want to do it until I can do it right and that unfortunately just isn’t now.

While this has been a little back and forth on past reflection vs the future plans, I believe they go hand in hand and I do like to let everyone know where I stand every once in a while. It is an unfortunate fact that I don’t know what the state of my content will be in a few months time, let alone a year. Realistically, at the current rate, I will have to be seeking other employment before then. The thing is, I desperately need that to be something that I enjoy. So this year is really going to be a juggling act between trying to grow my current content while also learning new skills. There was a time in my past that I found the unknown exciting more than scary, that is how I would like to be again. I am going to do everything in my power to make 2023 a great year.

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