Game Pass is clearly celebrating October in style with a creepy old Polygon favorite, Encryptionare released on the platform on October 10. Encryption isn’t your typical horror game – it doesn’t exactly have jump scares – but the far-reaching tendrils of its fictional premise certainly filled me with unease when I played it in 2021. It starts out as a simplified roguelite card game played against a mysterious, dimly lit opponent. Of course you play this card game while locked in a hut. You do get some chances to get up from the card table and try to escape, but where to? The world outside the card game only gets stranger.
The card game at the beginning of Encryption is fun in itself – easily recommended even if you never manage to escape the hut – but once you escape you’ll find yourself exploring the wonderfully strange parts of Encryption‘s overarching story. And just as my colleague Cass Marshall wrote in their article “Encryption fans have solved the game’s wildest puzzles, but it’s just as brilliant without them.” I enjoyed this game more when I was basking in the atmosphere of it and not tying myself in knots trying to figure out what was really going on. However, if you want to unravel the mystery, you can certainly go into the deep end and read the extensive tradition that fans put together after release.
Before you do that, you’ll want to play it first. Encryption will be available next October 10 via Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard. That’s not all – MLB The Show 24, Open roadsAnd Sifu coming to Game Pass on October 2, and Crazy streets will be in service on October 7. All you need is help, Legend of Mana, Trials of ManaAnd We like Katamari Reroll Plus Royal Reverie are all now available on Game Pass as well.
Here’s what’s coming from Game Pass on October 15:
From that list, Dyson Sphere programme was another favorite of ours here at Polygon, so don’t miss it before it’s gone.