
One of the things we low-key hate about the Xbox Store is that some games will be advertised with a release date ahead of time, and others will just randomly appear on there without warning — no marketing whatsoever!
That was seemingly the case with three new "free" games that popped up over Christmas in Puzzle Galaxy Xbox Edition, Coloring Book and Cup Heroes, all of which include optional DLC but also plenty of entirely free content.
These are obviously all just casual experiences that are unlikely to blow anyone away from a gameplay perspective, but it's worth noting that two of them contain a bunch of easy Xbox achievements.
In fact, we've already found two walkthroughs on YouTube (from The Hidden Levels) that claim you can get all 1000G achievements in Puzzle Galaxy Xbox Edition and Coloring Book within 40-50 minutes and one hour respectively.
Is it worth playing these games just to get the achievements? We'll leave that up to you! You can check out the aforementioned walkthroughs below (there isn't one for Cup Heroes), and we'll let you know when more "free" games get released on Xbox in 2026.
Puzzle Galaxy Xbox Edition
Play with beautiful varied illustrations, breathtaking photos and special video puzzles playing after completing a particular assembly.
Coloring Book
Unleash your imagination in Coloring Book! Explore a wide selection of beautiful drawings and whiteboards, all organized into creative themed collections.
Cup Heroes

Step into the whimsical world of Cup Heroes, where everyday cups turn into mighty heroes on an epic quest to save their beloved Queen!
Will you be trying these for the cheevos? Any interest in achievement hunting in 2026? Tell us in the comments.
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Comments 14
I like to get story achievements where I can, but the achievements that I most like to attempt are for difficulty. I absolutely love the challenge of beating a game on its harder/hardest difficulties, though I rarely do Ironman achievements as I'm not keen on the idea of my game just ending should it all go very wrong...!
Before all this technologic etc before new video games have online playing etc. We all play because we really love the games. Not achiv... trophys etc... theres no trophys or achiv... in old consoles. Just 100% complection. And we get 100% because we love. theres no more real gamers today. Only fools that pay to win, pay for trophys, achivm... fanboys, xboxfans, sonyfans etc
A real gamer just play a game!
THE GAME MATTERS!
@Fiendish-Beaver same passion, but couldn’t be more different with the particular types of achievements I prefer. I get no sense of satisfaction from trophies and achievements whose only draw is that they are strictly difficult. That is a complete waste of time.
Creatively thought out and implemented criteria is infinitely superior to ‘foster a competitive spirit and inflate one’s ego’ style achievements. I’ll still complete those since each and every single game on my list will either be 100% completed or I won’t bother with it, but I get precisely zero enjoyment out difficult trophies that are a tedious chore to unlock. They’re about as bad as multiplayer achievements or ones that have you doing mindless repetitive low-IQ tasks like wave survival modes.
I kind of cracked myself up thinking that when I get my Series X on Wednesday, THESE are the first games I could play. (Not really, that's gonna be Death Stranding or RE4 Remake.) ...but it's funny to think about.
I miss the pre-trophies/achievements days. When people just played the game to enjoy the game.
If I really like a game, after I beat it achievements can be a reason to play a little more. Otherwise I don't really care.
Having achievements made me play some games more and get more money worth out of them. Some I skipped as achievements were too hard. Overall if I get a game I try get a high achievement score with in reason now though as limited game time
Achievements are just things that happen while I play games my way at my own pace.
In all my years of gaming I don't think I have ever hit 100% achievements in any game. They are just not important to me in any way what so ever. Playing a game just for the achievement points is pretty much the antithesis of my own gaming preferences.
It's one thing Sony has always done better, and Xbox should implement, although it's probably a little late now. Getting a Platinum for a game is so much more satisfying than just racking up points. I had a fair number of games that I platted on PS, but on Xbox, I'm just kind of... 'meh'. I remember when they brought the points in, there was talk of them being worth something. But that never happened.
@Fiendish-Beaver I like those, too. Well, I play every game on the highest difficulty, so completing it once means you get the achievements for all difficulties. Guessing what will be an achievement or otherwise hidden item (I don't look them up) and trying to pull it off blind can be fun.
I don't usually go back if I missed something, though. No need to get 100% of the achievements.
@ThatFilbo I'm not sure if a significant amount of people care about achievements. The game itself the attraction. If Xbox games had some sort of achievement for getting all the achievements, that wouldn't spur me to any greater degree to pursue them. I guess it couldn't hurt.
People chasing achievements or trophies are likely using guides to pull it off, and that way of playing is of no interest to me. There's not much point to me if I'm enlisting help simply to check all the boxes off a list.
Used to chase achievements but ive fallen away from it now. Probably fir the best.
Games like this even free ones that are designed just to basically give away easy achievements kind of ruined the value of them. Now all kinds of marketplaces are full of easy low cost games just designed to inflate peoples achievement scores not really showing who is the better gamer just who has the most time and money to play them all. Admittedly I went through a period several years back on Playstation of trying to platinum every game I played and in the end it sucked the fun out of the experience as I was no longer enjoying the games I played and it became a case of me choosing what to play next based on how easy it was to get every trophy.
@Vladspartan this is why I have invested a little bit into my Switch 2 over the holidays. Trophies and achievements definitely drive games these days, instead of the actual content inside the game.
I have recently just finished the main quest in Cyberpunk 2077 on my Switch 2 with the mindset of "I am just going to enjoy this game" and I ended up pretty much doing all the side stuff without thinking. Where as if I plated on PS5/Series X, I would always be looking at the trophy or achievement lists.
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