Without any warning whatsoever, the two Remnant games suddenly appeared a few hours ago on the Game Pass library. Any subscribers, on both console and PC, can now access the games.

　　It's not the first time for Remnant: From the Ashes, which already joined Game Pass for a time in May 2021. The real surprise is Remnant 2 since Gunfire Games only released the sequel in late July.

　　As far as we know, the game sold quite well. It had surpassed a million copies in less than a week; earlier this month, Gunfire Games owner Embracer provided a sales update, confirming that Remnant 2 had sold more than two million units by the end of September, generating around $67 million in net sales.

　　It is a bit puzzling that the game would launch so early on Game Pass, then. It must have cost Microsoft quite a bit. At any rate, it's great news for subscribers. While our Nathan Birch didn't quite love the base game (which he scored 6.5 out of 10), he seems to have enjoyed the first DLC (The Awakened King) more:

　　Admittedly, I was a bit intimidated about the prospect of jumping back into Remnant 2. While I consider the game’s far-reaching interconnected world its greatest asset, it can be a hell of a complex thing. Not having played the game for a couple months, my memories of how everything fit together were already a bit hazy. Thankfully, Gunfire seems to have designed The Awakened King with folks like me in mind. By setting the DLC in its own little standalone cluster of locations, players can start fresh, even if they haven’t spent the last few months rerolling the world and perfecting their builds. It’s a nice nod to approachability from a franchise that isn’t always the most player-friendly.

　　As you’d expect from DLC, Remnant 2: The Awakened King is less ambitious in scope and challenge than the base game, but in some ways, its more focused approach is actually beneficial. I found the Forlorn Coast and its connected locales to be some of the best-designed in the game and my minute-to-minute experience with the DLC more inviting and rewarding than much of the base campaign. Hopefully, Gunfire Games can continue to refine their Remnant 2 formula with future expansions (there will eventually be three in total) as The Awakened King is a surprisingly digestible new slice of hell.

　　Of course, The Awakened King DLC isn't included with the Standard Edition available for Game Pass subscribers. You'll have to purchase the DLC separately to get it.