We’re back, continuing our series that explores recent, less high-profile additions to Xbox Game Pass. Are these older titles worth your time and drive space?

Today we’re looking at narrative FMV title Telling Lies, and stylish puzzle platformer Contrast, both of which come from acclaimed developers.

Telling Lies

We initially reviewed Telling Lies when it released back in August 2019, so you can read the full review for this narrative-driven puzzle game here. In short, though, published under the prestigious Annapurna Interactive label, Telling Lies is the follow-up effort from developer Sam Barlow, the maker of multi-award-winning Her Story.

Although more sophisticated in format, Telling Lies is very much a spiritual successor to Her Story, with the player rummaging through hours of video footage, using keywords, to piece together a sombre narrative.

Telling Lies is less about murder mystery though, and more about assembling the truth as FBI agent David Smith (Logan Marshall-Green), deep undercover on a mission to crack a militant environmental group, interacts via webcam with his wife (Kerry Bishé), his girlfriend (Alexandra Shipp) from his assumed life, and a camgirl (Angela Sarafyan). There are a lot of lies and veiled truths at play here. And not just from David.

Built on a foundation of convincing performances, Telling Lies sucks you in. It’s a pity that you spend a lot of time tediously rewinding and fast-forwarding clips, with no way to shortcut the process. Then there’s an in-game time limit of five hours, which means you’re typically ejected from the story while you’re still following intriguing narrative threads.

Along with Xbox Game Pass, you can play Telling Lies on all consoles, PC and iOS mobile devices.

Contrast

By today’s video game standards, Contrast is an oldie, dating back a full nine years to 2013. The combo 2D and 3D puzzle platformer is the first effort from Compulsion Games (now an Xbox Game Studio), which would go on to make the acclaimed We Happy Few.

Like We Happy Few, Contrast is offbeat, inventive and embraces retro aesthetics. Speaking of throwbacks, Contrast should appeal to fans of American McGee’s Alice, given its dark, dream-like nature, stylised character models and heavy platforming requirements. You play as Dawn, the mute, imaginary friend of Didi, a little girl desperate to reunite her estranged parents, who are tangled in crime noir and vaudevillian drama involving mobsters and magicians.

Not only is Dawn an acrobat and cabaret performer, but she has the unique ability to shift into shadow, allowing her to traverse otherwise impassable environments to access important items and otherwise help Didi.

Contrast sounds great on paper, and it certainly has its memorably clever moments. However, in execution it tends to feel half-baked. It’s never not visually striking, but its universe comes across as eerily dead, Didi’s voice acting is grating, and Dawn, despite her exotic appearance, has zero personality. On the gameplay side, Dawn’s controls are overly sensitive, meaning you can expect to fail platforming challenges over and over.

Contrast is frustrating on a deeper level though. The game has so much potential it feels like it could do with a new-gen reimagining to fully capitalise on its ingredients, and produce a truly special experience. Still, at just three to four hours, the original game may still be worth sampling if you’re in the mood for something flawed but refreshingly different.

Along with Xbox Game Pass, you can play Contrast on PC, Xbox and PS, via backwards compatibility.