Galacticare is a Theme Hospital-like that does the hardest thing a game can do: Make me laugh

A sedate, smiling, massive purple alien floats in space, face pockmarked with glowing warts.

The hidden gems of Game Pass

(Image credit: Microsoft)

We're checking out the hidden gems of Game Pass over the next few weeks, digging up all the obscure and esoteric games secreted away in our subscription and seeing how they play.

Bullfrog Productions casts a long shadow. Longer, even, than some of its most influential contemporaries. You can make an immersive sim in 2024 without creating something obviously Deus Ex, you can make an RTS that isn't a dolled-up Command & Conquer, but if you're making a game where a player runs some kind of public institution and builds rooms by clicking and dragging on a square grid, it's almost like an outside power will possess your hand to make sure the final product looks just like Theme Hospital.