Xbox Game Pass: Play Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 and More in July [CNET]

Subscribers can soon do battle as SpongeBob Squarepants and Garfield, among other fan faves.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a CNET Editors’ Choice award pick, offers hundreds of games that you can play on your Xbox Series X, Series S, Xbox One and PC for $17 a month. A subscription gets you access to a large library of games with new titles added every month — like the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 — plus other benefits, such as online multiplayer and deals on non-Game Pass titles.

Microsoft brought My Time at Sandrock and other titles to Game Pass Ultimate in June, and the company is adding these games to the service in July.

Journey to the Savage Planet

Available: July 3

More than three years after Microsoft removed it from Game Pass Ultimate, this game is returning to the service. In this action game, you play as a member of Kindred Aerospace, the fourth-best interstellar exploration company — a ringing endorsement. The company drops you off on an uncharted planet full of danger, mystery and some foul-smelling creatures. You have to fight, scavenge and survive on this planet to determine if it’s habitable for humans.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2

Available: July 3

I can’t be the only person to have wondered who would win in a fight, SpongeBob Squarepants or Invader Zim? If you’re like me, or you just enjoy cartoonish fighting games, this title is for you. You can duke it out as your favorite Nickelodeon characters, like Aang, Jimmy Neutron, Garfield and many more. There’s also a roguelike campaign to play through after you’ve taken down your friends and family in this family-friendly fighting game.

Cricket 24

Available: July 9

India won the Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup on Saturday, and that’s fitting because, for the first time in this sports game series, you can play as any of the professional Indian T20 teams. You can take on other major cricket nations, like Australia and England, in over 50 detailed official stadiums from around the world.

The Case of the Golden Idol

Available: July 9

Put your detective cap on because there’s been a murder — more like 12, actually. You play as an 18th-century detective investigating these murders, which span over five decades. You’ll have to investigate the crime scenes, deduce the motives behind the murders and unmask the killer or killers in this mystery game.

Neon White

Available: July 11

This first-person shooting puzzle-platformer is a speedrunner’s dream. You play as an assassin handpicked by Hell to compete with other demon slayers for a chance to live in Heaven. But only the fastest, most efficient slayer wins. Your competition seems a little familiar though, like you knew them in a past life. Do you know them, or is it a trick to make you lose?

Tchia

Available: July 11

Get ready to explore a tropical archipelago in this action-adventure game. Sail, climb and glide around the environment in a beautiful physics-driven sandbox experience. Oh, and did I mention you can take control of any animal or object you come across? That means if you want to swim as a turtle, roll around as a tire or float around as a beach ball, you can.

Magical Delicacy

Available: July 16

Cook magical delicacies, explore a new town and deliver tasty treats to the locals in this wholesome pixel-art platformer. You play as Flora, who wants to become a proper witch, as she opens a shop in a harbor town full of whimsical characters and a few mischievous members of opposing covens. But don’t let them get in the way of cooking, shopping and befriending the locals.

Flock

Available: July 16

This lighthearted multiplayer game is about the joys of flight and catching precious flying creatures with your friends. You start off with a small group of hover-sheep — are they birds, fish, snakes? who knows? — but as you explore and come across new and exotic critters, you can charm them into joining your flock.

Leaving Game Pass in July

While Microsoft is adding those eight games to the service in July, it’s also removing five others on July 15. So, you still have some time left to finish your campaign or any side quests before you have to purchase these games separately.

• The Wandering Village
• TOEM 
• Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
• Figment 2: Creed Valley
• Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly

For more on Xbox, here’s everything Microsoft announced at its Xbox Summer Showcase, other titles available on Game Pass Ultimate now and everything to know about the gaming service.