Xbox Game Pass Announces New Free Game For November 2

Xbox Game Pass has been through the wringer. It got a price increase, then a price drop, and now fans are confused about what Xbox will look like a year from now, after layoffs and studio divestitures. Even PlayStation has crept up on them with PlayStation Plus and the Game Catalog, directly challenging Xbox Game Pass.

That said, plenty of great games are still on the service, and more are coming soon. Once November 2 hits, you’ll want to assemble a squad. If you can’t, there’s still plenty of room for you in this upcoming free game that’s turning heads [via Pure Xbox].

Since Gravhounds supports solo play (or a crew of up to four), you can approach it in a lot of different ways. If you bring more people, you can utilize the more unique aspects of your Gravhounds squad, and you’ll have the ability to fling objects across the battlefield to your team, while building turrets, generators, and fabricators to create a defensive position.

Here’s what the developer shares about what to expect from Gravhounds:

Gravhounds is a 1–4 player co-op action builder. Drop into hostile planets as a pack, build and defend your base in physics-driven mayhem, and extract with everything you can carry before you become alien chow! The longer you stay, the greater the danger… and the rewards.

Gravhounds is a 1–4 player co-op action builder. Drop into hostile planets as a pack, build and defend your base in physics-driven mayhem, and extract with everything you can carry before you become alien chow! The longer you stay, the greater the danger… and the rewards.

It’s also going for a Helldivers-type theme, noting that your player characters (Luna, Zane, Dozer, Selene, Finn) are “loyal, obedient, and expendable.” Never mind that they’re anthropomorphic dogs who fit that description to a degree anyway.

Gravhounds has more depth than it seems. Pipelines can be extended through enemy zones, adding a strategic layer reminiscent of old-school RTS titles with limited base-building and upkeep. Upgrades keep things from getting rote, and “no two shifts play the same,” encouraging you to discover the variety the game offers through a unique crew and repeated play.

Movement is a huge part of the game, with rail-riding and dashing ensuring quick locomotion, while unlocks are king: new Gravhounds, weapons, and upgrade paths come from repeated runs as you try to thin the swarm. The ability to unlock new characters is easily the most appealing element of the game for me.

If you’re curious about the game loop, the studio has shared what you’ll be doing with each run: “Jobs might involve recovering alien technology, extracting valuable resources, or establishing infrastructure somewhere the local wildlife would strongly prefer you didn’t. As the operation expands, so do your problems. The longer you stay and the harder you push, the more dangerous the planet becomes. Soon you’re repairing defenses, hauling resources, rescuing somebody who wandered off alone, and deciding whether you have time to grab one more thing before leaving. Good judgment tends to deteriorate as the shift progresses.”

If you have Xbox Game Pass, wrangle up three friends and see whether Gravhounds is worth playing past the initial honeymoon week. With any luck, Xbox will have another winner on their hands.