Opinion: It's Been A Quiet March, But Next Month Looks Awesome For Xbox Game Pass

March has been a fairly quiet month for Xbox Game Pass

I would probably need about 24 quiet months for Xbox GamePass just to do some catching up on my backlog 😁. And like you say Atomfall is still to come. I'm about to enter the last major area in Avowed at lv 27 and just love the combat combinations it allows. Hopefully I'll finish up before South of Midnight and Claire Obscure. I also want to play some Atomfall too.

@FraserG If Crash 4 doesn't come to Game Pass next month... 😓

On topic, next month is stacked. I'm hoping to be done with Shadows by then so I can catch up on the GP backlog.

March has given us Split Fiction and that’s plenty enough. What a magnificent game.

@Tasuki Seriously! I'm 31hrs into Avowed and I'm just now starting the Shatterscarp area.

I dont where to find time to play South of midnight, commandos origins (fan of the old commandos games) and expedition 33.
A great month for GP.

@Kaloudz i bought it on release lol back in 2020. Was well worth it

@Tasuki Shoot! Maybe I am rushing afterall, 😄!

I picked Expedition 33 but south of midnight is up there with it 😎 towerborne too gunna be a sick month

@Millionski I was close to buying it just before ABK was announced. Then, and ever since, I've been holding out knowing that it's coming sooner or later 🤣

March was a little quiet but we have Atomfall arriving March 27th directly into gamepass. I know Atomfall isn't a massive groundbreaking release but from everything I've read and seen the game looks like solid fun. Not every game needs to be the biggest, most advanced thing ever made (unless you're GTA 6 because I expect nothing less from Rockstar after the brillance that is GTA 5 and especially RDR2). I think Atomfall will be a decent game, it looks like fun so if everything works as good as it does in previews I think it'll be solid.

South of Midnight is a game I've been hyped for since it's revealing at the 2023 Xbox Games showcase. Compulsion games has been a studio that kinda does their own thing. Contrast was a gem that I wasn't sure about until I actually played it for myself. It was actually released as a PS+ monthly game which is how I got acquainted with the game. It's mix of 3D/2D platform puzzling was quite unique upon release.

We happy few was another game Compulsion games released that was really cool in thought, however it's execution didn't land as well. The concept of a dystopian society all around you but you can't see it due to the "happy" meds they provide to keep you content with how awful the world truly is. I very much enjoyed that concept however the gameplay for me just fell short. It was a little rough and clunky which is what ultimately kept me from finishing the game.

The reason I'm excited for South of Midnight is because it'll be compulsion games biggest title to date, with the backing of Microsoft. I'm a fan of 3rd person action adventure style games. I love the idea of exploring folk tales, and think the stop motion inspired animation looks great, along with the Southern Gothic aesthetic. If they nail the gameplay and storytelling I think South of Midnight will be a pleasant surprise for sure.

It's been a quiet year.

@Tasuki same I'm about 35 hours in and still have stuff to do in Dawn shore. I've completed every bounty in the game, got the achievement, and yesterday I got an achievement for opening every certain type of chest that's in the game lol Avowed has been a phenomenal game that's kept me entertained the entire time. I've enjoyed it so much that I am already planning a second playthrough whenever I finish. I really hope we get some type of DLC in the future though.

Blue prince and tempopo look like guaranteed winners.

Hoping that for Clair obscur too

@Tasuki yeah I’m at least 40 hours and finishing up emerald stair. Might be more like 45 hours! Seems like each zone takes me 20 hours. I’m actually TRYING to hurry, but I’ve been doing all the side quests. Don’t wanna take forever but don’t wanna miss stuff either! I’m gonna maybe try spending less time climbing around for loot. The loot gets pretty samey.

I don’t know how other people are getting through the whole game in 20 hours…

@FarmDog08 I have no idea how you playthrough at that speed, you must skip loads of quests and not bother reading dialogue surely?
My save file says three days and 12 hours and I'm early in Shatterscarp. I do complete all missions - no point in playing a game and ignoring most of it for me.

As for GP, its unequivocal that we get FAR less games now then we ever used to. There's been some recent bangers which helps keep me subbed, but if you have specific tastes it is likely there will be months with nothing for you. Atm, once Claire Obscura is finished (its the only title I care for here) I will unsub and only come back if it looks like there will be another run of games I want. I suspect that's how most will behave, but we never get numbers so it's impossible to know!

@themightyant
As you say mate, no right or wrong
When I was making games, I was a big believer in putting in details and breadcrumbs to them that rewarded those who took the time to notice, and I still feel as an invested player, that I owe the Devs that level of attention, to notice and appreciate the time and effort they made bringing the game alive. I guess I'm just a bit old school now - probably appropriate for an old geezer...👴

@Titntin I felt like I was going slow. I've cleared each map, done almost, if not all side quests so far, have my gear in the red, and I'm lvl 16. I just added the 4th party member.

@Sol4ris I'm the opposite. Avowed is the only title I've enjoyed on GamePass in the past year (besides a couple I already owned like Spyro) and right now I'm just sort of twiddling my thumbs waiting for DOOM, Tony Hawk, Ninja Gaiden, and Outer Worlds 2. The fact that I can even list 5 games I'm anticipating in a single year is a huge deal considering I've been lucky to find even 2 a year for the past 10 years, but the sparseness between GamePass releases does make it difficult to justify keeping the service active throughout the year.

@FarmDog08 nothing wrong with any way you choose to play my friend and I am always slower than most. I will walk and run around the map clearing all the 'fog of war' to ensure I haven't missed anything - as nothing regenerates I feel the need to clear everything to ensure I am maxed for each new challenge.
Like I say, I'm approaching 4 days on my save (stupid to have days as a unit mind you). I'm a little ahead of you mind you - pretty much all my gear is legendary and the fourth team member has been with me for some time.
I find it annoying how the most useful abilities are tied to a character. I always take the dwarf, as no matter how much you look, unless you use his scan you will miss a ton of materials and resources, and similarly, I hate seeing a shimmering illusion and not having the ability to dispel it in the team, meaning my team is pretty much picked for me!

I suspect I'll be finished a few days and its been fun. I hope you are enjoying it too

@Titntin I'm having a blast with it. Very good game. Maybe I need to run through Dawnshore and the Emerald Stairs again with Marius to make sure I have everything. I don't have anything else to fight in those locations, so should be easy cleanup. I switched him out to Giatta after getting her to join.

@Tasuki I think I burnt out a little spending too much time on everything. Some of the side quests are just okay. Which is totally fine, but I don't want to miss the good ones. I think I'm maybe doing too much exploring and insisting on finding everything. When did I become this way??? It makes me feel like I don't have time left in my life for everything and need to hurry up.

south of midnight this month, doom in may and tony hawk in june. nice three month stretch we have coming up. hoping south of midnight delivers. i have zero doubt the other two will

March was an incredible month.
WWE 2K25, Assassins Creed Shadows, Atelier Yumia and Split Fiction. 👍🏼

We removed a large number of big-name games and added a few indies and in-house titles.

Most of the recently added titles are not translated, and Microsoft is clearly neglecting some regions.