Tonight’s Play Issue 1 · Late Sept 2026
Aphelion cover art
Art: DON'T NOD · from the official Microsoft Store listing
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Aphelion

DON'T NOD

Xbox Series X|SPCCloud

About the game

Hunted on a frozen planet, astronaut Ariane must brave rugged landscapes and shifting realities to rescue her wounded partner, Thomas. This action-packed sci-fi adventure blends exploration, traversal, and tense stealth gameplay.

A SCI-FI ACTION-ADVENTURE ON THE EDGE OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

By 2060, Earth will be uninhabitable. The discovery of a 9th planet – Persephone – at the edge of the solar system, is humanity's best hope. The European Space Agency is dispatching the Hope-01 scientific mission, consisting of 2 of their accomplished astronauts, Ariane and Thomas. Their mission: to survey the planet and determine whether humanity can prosper anew here.

Your adventure begins in chaos, as the crash landing of their ship scatters them across the planet, launching them on a desperate quest to find one another.

Aphelion is a cinematic third-person action-adventure set on the planet Persephone, an uncharted, frozen world. Stranded and isolated, you must survive the truly unknown, find each other, and complete the mission. Traverse stunning alien landscapes, avoid lurking threats, and discover the haunting secrets buried beneath the ice.

EXPLORE AN UNCHARTED PLANET

Explore the surreal beauty of Persephone, a vast frozen world shaped by deadly weather and ever-changing terrain.

Armed only with your explorational tools – pathfinder, oxygen tank, grappling hook, and more – you must face the unknown, traverse treacherous terrain, and gather clues about the strange, reality-bending phenomenon threatening your existence.

Ariane must persevere and push forward to save Thomas. Her Pathfinder tool helps her find the way through the shifting expanse. She faces desperate swings over dark chasms and tricky climbs up melting ice – risking her life with every step. Thomas, injured in the crash, must rely on ingenuity and observation, piecing together what surrounds him to survive. As both characters explore and investigate, they will uncover secrets and clues as to the planet’s strange conditions and what caused the crash of their ship.

HIDE TO SURVIVE

You are not alone. There is a hostile lifeform stalking you. Avoid detection in tense, thrilling stealth sequences; use the environment to your advantage, and stay one step ahead of whatever hunts you. Explore Persephone and complete the mission, all while trying to survive in the terrifying presence of an unknown enemy.

FIND EACH OTHER

Helpless on the edge of the solar system, the Hope-01 crew faces a brutal new world and the echoes of a complicated past. Ariane Montclair and Thomas Cross share a deep connection, a relationship left unresolved by the demands of their careers and their mission. Facing overwhelming odds, their fractured bond becomes a lifeline as they grasp in the dark for one another.

Description from the publisher’s Microsoft Store listing.

Trailer

Official trailer · DON'T NOD on YouTube · Watch on YouTube ↗Loads from youtube-nocookie.com only when you press play.

Screenshots

Tap to expand · from the Microsoft Store listing
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Game details and art come from each game’s official Microsoft Store listing (cover images are cropped from those official images, or from publisher press kits, with our title overlay; nothing is AI-generated); art © the respective publishers, used for editorial review. Game Pass membership from Microsoft’s public Game Pass catalog, checked Sep 29, 2026. Critic scores appear only where a real aggregate exists; otherwise “Not yet reported”.