This month's PC Game Pass highlights have a distinctly Japanese theme

GamesSupportedThis month’s PC Game Pass highlights have a distinctly Japanese themeWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Pocket Pair)

Palworld Ancient Civilization Parts - Grizzbolt with a minigun

Read on for our February PC Game Pass highlights, which as you may note has a distinctly anime-themed vibe.

Palworld

(Image credit: Pocketpair)

Palworld - A Sweepa and Gumoss stand together in a breeding ranch

Hindsight is a fine thing, but it really is surprising that it’s taken this long for a developer to figure out that the Pokémon premise of catching/enslaving cute critters in a colourful world is one that might catch on beyond the confines of Nintendo platforms. Add guns and persistent online multiplayer into the mix, andyou have a huge winner: Palworld.

Despite the obvious Pokémon comparisons, under the surface Palworld is very much its own beast. It has far more of a survival-management focus, for a start, letting you employ the creatures you catch to help you farm, gather resources, and build a base out in the world. The battle system is more aggressive and action-oriented—think Monster Hunter—while its open-world grind is somewhere on the ARK: Survival Evolved spectrum of survival games.

All the above melds together into a game that, even in its current Early Access state, has very much become the next Big Thing.

Persona 3 Reload

(Image credit: Atlus)

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Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy

(Image credit: capcom)

Phoenix Wright

The indomitable attorney returns in a bundle that’ll take you through all 14 episodes of investigations, intrigue, and courtroom drama. This isn’t one of your stern Hollywood-style takes on the genre however, but a zany, eccentric anime-style game—part visual novel, part old-school adventure—as you work your way through cases that range from the hilarious to the horrifying.

This bundle remasters the three core Phoenix Wright games, wonderfully localised to express the humour, wordplay, and wit that’s made this series such a hit in Japan and on consoles.Our Malindy loved it,celebrating the arrival of “one of the best visual novels to PC.”

Hi-Fi RUSH

(Image credit: Tango Gameworks)

Hi-Fi Rush screenshot

Springing up seemingly out of nowhere in 2023, with the combined boldness of Saturday morning cartoons and the leftfield talents of Shinji Mikami’s Tango Gameworks studio, Hi-Fi RUSH was an unexpected treat: a rhythm-action game where you blast away robots to the aggressive sounds of bands like Nine Inch Nails and The Prodigy.

The cel-shaded world recalls classics like Jet Set Radio, while the way you string combos together to smash evil corporate ‘bots into submission is a bit like Devil May Cry with more explicit rhythm-based mechanics, as you deftly mash buttons to the beat to keep up with the beat. While it didn’t quite make the cut for PC Gamer’s Game of the Year, that didn’t stop our own Harvey Randall offeringimpassioned praise for the game.

Sea of Stars

(Image credit: Sabotage Studio)

Sabotage Studio

2023’s sleep JRPG hit of the year, Sea of Stars, revives all the things we hold dear about 90s classics like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI—the magical soundtracks, the pixel-art aesthetic, the tales of camaraderie among a motley crew of misfits saving the world—and gives them that modern-day sheen.

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Palworld#

Persona 3 Reload#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy#

Hi-Fi RUSH#

Sea of Stars#