Microsoft has announced that May 2022’s games with gold are Yoku’s Island Express, The Inner World – The Last Wind Monk, Hydro Thunder Hurricane and Viva Piñata: Party Animals.
As revealed on Xbox Wire, the four games with gold will be available to anyone with Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, with Yoku’s Island Express and Hydro Thunder Hurricane available from May 1st.
Yoku’s Island Express is an open pinball game featuring Metroidvania and platform elements. Players take on the role of Yoku, a half-liter postman who has become whole while crossing and working to save Mokumana Island.
We named it among our top ten Metroidvania games (which are not Metroid or Castlevania), and in our 8/10 review we said: “Yoku’s Island Express is a new Metroidvania pinball hybrid that stands out as something completely unique and incredibly fun . “
Also available on May 1, but only until May 15, is the Hydro Thunder Hurricane. This rocket-powered speedboat racing game from 2010 did not receive much of IGN’s benefit.
“Between uninspired references to the original game and its reliance on ancient arcade racing elements,” we said in our 5/10 review, “the Hydro Thunder Hurricane is a dull, monotonous experience that shows its hand early and does not deliver on its lineage. “
Available later this month on May 16, The Inner World – The Last Wind Monk is a sequel to the 2013 point-and-click adventure game. Players receive three characters – Robert, Laura and Peck the pigeon – as they head out on an adventure to save their friends in a completely crazy world.
Last but not least, Viva Piñata: Party Animals is available the same day, but only available for two weeks until May 31st. This is not a traditional Viva Piñata, but instead a festival game featuring a variety of mini-games that players participate in using beloved characters from the franchise.
IGN also did not love this one, as we said in another 5/10 review: “The inherent problem that really puts the action in Viva Pinata’s aesthetic sequel is that the mini-games simply do not come from a fun design scheme.”
Be sure to redeem April 2022’s Xbox games with gold before leaving the service, which includes Another Sight, Hue, Outpost Kaloki X and MX vs ATV Alive.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He will talk about The Witcher all day.