Sea Of Thieves (Xbox One)
Rare’s high seas hijinks have come a long way since they first arrived on the scene back in 2018. What was once a rather threadbare and often aimless pirate experience has now been transformed into a rich and vibrant world full of adventure, intrigue and activities for teams of up to four players.
Yes, getting into great big sea battles against other teams of players, fighting all manner of fantastical creatures and searching for treasure may be the main draw here, but even the simple act of just working together to successfully manoeuvre your ship is a joy, such is the craftsmanship with which Rare has put this world together. With the best water we’ve ever seen in a video game - the sea here really is a character in and of itself - Sea of Thieves is a highly atmospheric adventure playground that provides an endless time sink for groups of friends - and solo players! - who love to roleplay the pirate lifestyle.
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Signalis (Xbox Series X|S)
We never had a chance to review Signalis on Pure Xbox back at launch, but we were hearing great things about it long before it ever arrived on Xbox Game Pass! Fortunately, the final product ended up proving a smash hit as well, offering up a "classic survival horror experience" that fans have been absolutely loving on the service. With an impressive Metacritic score of 82 (for the PC version), Signalis is definitely worth a play on Xbox Game Pass.
Sniper Elite 5 (Xbox Series X|S)
The big arrival for Xbox Game Pass in May 2022 was undoubtedly Sniper Elite 5, which joined the lineup on day one and exploded onto the scene with a critically acclaimed entry in the series. In fact, we called it the best Sniper Elite of all time in our 9/10 review here at Pure Xbox, and here's a sample of what we had to say:
"Sniper Elite 5 is the very best entry in this long-running franchise to date. Karl Fairburne's latest WW2 adventure effortlessly mixes jaw-dropping campaign environments, improved close quarters combat and ruthless enemy AI, resulting in a game that puts this series firmly into the top tier of action titles once and for all."
Slay The Spire (Xbox One)
Mega Crit Games' Slay the Spire should come with some sort of health warning, as this superb blend of deckbuilding, roguelike and dungeon-crawler is one the most fiendishly addictive games we've played in actual years, it's almost impossible to put down.
An almost unfathomably moreish mix that's jam-packed full of depth, it sucks you in and refuses to let go with its wonderful art style, clever enemies, tactile and expansive decks of cards, relics and floor after floor of puzzle-like battles to savour. If you've ever liked single player card games, this is for you. If you've ever thought about trying card games, this is for you. If you've never even though a...you get the point. Slay the Spire is one of the best games released in the past few years and an absolute must-play on Game Pass.
Stardew Valley (Xbox One)
With so many farming sims on the market right now, it can seem tough to decide which is the best one to go with. However, we're here to tell you the decision is actually easy, it's Stardew Valley.
One of the first titles in the genre to push farming sims properly into mainstream consciousness, Stardew Valley is just an incredibly addictive game that makes tending to crops and managing relationships some of the most fun its ever been. Since its initial release multiple updates have further expanded the game and turned it into the ultimate, refined version of itself. Even if this genre doesn't appeal to you, this is one experience you do not want to miss out on - and it's on Game Pass so you've really got no excuses!
Starfield (Xbox Series X|S)
What do we really need to say about Starfield? This was Bethesda's biggest release of all time, and a massive milestone for Team Xbox as well. It's absolutely ridiculous in terms of scale and immersion, and if you like RPGs in any form, you owe it to yourself to try this Xbox and PC exclusive out. Yes, it's that important!
Don't forget that even though this is an Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC exclusive, you can still try it on Xbox One with Xbox Cloud Gaming - but you'll need to be an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate member. The same goes for playing it on phones, certain TVs and various other devices, that's the magic of the cloud!
Sunset Overdrive (Xbox One)
Sunset Overdrive was released at a time when morale and belief in the Xbox brand was arguably at its lowest (2014), and being an Xbox exclusive, it somewhat slipped under the radar. It's become a cult classic in recent years though, thanks to its fast-paced gameplay and traversal, over-the-top story and colourful visuals.
This is the Xbox game that was developed by Insomniac Games before they went off to join PlayStation Studios and create Marvel's Spider-Man, so it's no surprise it's so good. It's never received a a proper next-gen touch-up, which is a shame, but play it on Xbox Series X and Series S and it benefits really well from the Auto HDR feature.
STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox One)
Looking for a good Star Wars game on Xbox Game Pass? Thanks to EA Play, you're very spoilt for choice with the likes of Battlefront 2 and Squadrons also available on the service, but we have to give the nod to Jedi: Fallen Order for its incredible single-player adventure and masterful lightsaber controls — it truly is a Star Wars fan's dream.
Developed by Titanfall and Apex Legends studio Respawn, Jedi: Fallen Order sees you taking the role of former Jedi Padawan Cal Kestis following the Great Jedi Purge, in which he embarks on a journey to rebuild the Jedi Order. If you've ever enjoyed classic games such as Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, we think you'll love this one.
State of Decay 2 (Xbox One)
The first State of Decay was an excellent game on the Xbox 360, but State of Decay 2 took things to another level, introducing way more depth to the game along with the addition of online co-operative play for the first time. It received mixed reviews back at launch for a variety of reasons, but developer Undead Labs has been working on it solidly for well over three years now, adding loads of extra features, many of them for free and/or included with Xbox Game Pass. If you like zombie games and survival games, this is a perfect blend of the two.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge (Xbox Series X|S)
Cowabunga! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles return in Tribute Game's superlative homage to the classic side-scrolling Turtles games of yesteryear. This one sticks close to the formula found in the likes Turtles in Time, but the developers have modernised, refined and beefed things up to make for a game that will wow newcomers as much as it will us oldies who are all wrapped up in nostalgia.
As we said in our 9/10 review, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge is "a fantastic slice of arcade beat 'em up nostalgia that old hands, diehard fans and newcomers alike can enjoy in equal measure. It is, in short, one shell of a good time."
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Special Edition (Xbox One)
While Fallout 4 may have been the only Xbox One exclusive release from Bethesda, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim received an enhanced version for the Xbox One early in its life cycle.
There's not much to say about Skyrim that many don't already know, but focusing on the Xbox One version, one of the best elements about it is its mod support. With such mods that allow to bolster the game up to 60 frames per second, or even fix quest lines that the developer itself didn't even manage, it's possible to create the most definitive edition of the game. With its recent addition into Xbox Game Pass, there's no excuse not to dive back in.
Comments 30
You don't have any of the Dishonored games or Prey on here.
That's illegal I tell you! (No Arkane love)
Again, this is another of those guides where everyone should feel free to throw suggestions in the comments — we'll add to it accordingly in the future
Hollow Knight is my favourite 'picked up on a whim on game pass' game. One of the greats and not just within its genre in my opinion.
Nier Automata and resident evil 7 would round out my top 3 suggestions, but others are dead cells, tetris effect, the forgotten city, nobody saves the world, halo collection, deaths door, pyschonauts 1 + 2, dead space, dragon age, mass effect trilogy, fallout 3/NV, doom + eternal... Basically a lot 👍.
Edit: I forgot what remains of Edith Finch, lumines and Limbo.
Forza Horizon 5 has pretty much been a desert island game for me, I already logged hundreds of hours, one of those games I could play forever. Halo Infinite is another obvious hit, best FPS I have played in a long time. Outside of that I just love to check out some of the occasional indies, but I have also loved playing No Man's Sky.
Prey and Dishonored 2 are truly 2 gems that deserve to be in this list
I would add Remnant from the Ashes. It is even better than Outriders in his genre.
Artful escape is amazing. Easy to play and what an experience.
Yakuza 3, 4, 5 and 6 say hello.
@homme_parametre besides both being third person shooters they're hardly the same? Typing this the complaints about Outrider's difficulty sprang to mind, something which I definitely didn't mind and sure as hell wouldn't make me class it as a soulslike, the way remnant from the ashes is. But it is a great game and should definitely be in this list.
@Kurt101 you're right about that, it's short, pleasing to the eye and jam full of good songs. My goty of last year, such a surreal experience.
@PureXbox You should have us rank ‘em with some votes. Always fun to see how NSO games rank on NintendoLife. I think it’d get really interesting.
Not agreeing with every game on this list, obviously - so many people and so many tastes - but in my book, the first Gears of War and Forza Horizon 4 should absolutely be in this list.
@Nf157 What Remains of Edith Finch is beautiful indeed, despite the terrible performance in the first stages of the game.
@Bartig I forgot about the performance issues until you mentioned it. Probably a telling sign of how good it is.
@Cherip-the-Ripper Sure both games aren't exaclty the same (Remnant is basically a Souls-like with guns...) but i would put them both in the "looter shooter" folder imo.
Dovahkiin and Streets of rage.
GamePass has a huge value, still I consider it as a "try" platform: if I play a game on the service and I like it, I will eventually buy it using the 20% GP Offer or another sale due to respect and incentive to the developers.
Can we rate the games ourselves so the list is based on community preferences like the lists they make on NL and PS?
Really want them to add some 360 games like The Witcher 2
@everynowandben I remember the ac list on p+ being terrible so maybe not that good of an idea.
@everynowandben Yes, it's something we want to look at doing at some point - bare with us!
@Chaudy The Witcher 2 on 360 was awful. Loads of framerate issues and fog everywhere. I had a PC by the time it released so I played it there but for consoles we need the superior Xbox One X Enhanced version of The Witcher 2 on Game Pass, not the 360 version.
Im currently playing banjo tooie again. On my phone with xcloud gamepass. Having a great time! I just have to wait till nobody is in the house as xcloud won't work very well
I finished or played for a good chunck (at least 5/10h until I retired them) 22 out of those 75 although some of them I completed on other systems prior (for instance desde cells, dragon quest or Skyrim). Let's see If the number evolves with time
@EliJapan Great spot, thank you!
Chorus is one of my favorite game this year , beautiful graphics, fast action with all the powers you acquire dog fighting is a blast to play unlike other flying/space games, if you like space shooter you will fall in love with chorus.
Good list. Personally I’d also add - Tinykin, Hellblade, Forza Horizon 4&5, Halo Wars (both), Master Chief Collection, Halo Infinite, GRID Legends & Dishonoured
Will there be a review for The Legend of Tianding? I’m curious as to whether or not it will make this list.
Few more games added to / removed from the list!
@FraserG I would like a series of weekly brackets of 10 games each poll us on our three favorites and the top 5 move on to the next round
@themightyant Love Arkane. (Dishonored 2 is on the list, PREY should've been on it also.)
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