Xbox Game Pass: All Games Coming Soon In March 2023

@Dezzy70 Yes and no that I agree with you there. I feel that there are certain games that get unfairly smashed in reviews, like Sonic Frontiers or Forspoken, but others that have similar issues to them that are largely forgiven. But also, as a whole, the release window the past maybe two, three years hasn’t been loaded with many titles that are undeniable classics. We still get maybe two or three a year, but we were so spoiled with solid games and release schedules for a couple years that it makes things appear more negative. Compare 2017-2019’s output to 2020-2022’s and the average level of quality in games was just simply higher 2017-2019, and exceptionally so. It was a ridiculously strong couple of years. For me, in 2019, there were at least 10/10 titles and if I think about it, there may have been more. My top 10 that year would’ve batted at an average above 9/10. That’s crazy and unusually outstanding for the industry. If you go back to 2012 though or a couple of other years, you’d notice that the industry has strong years and off years. So far, 2023 has been relatively strong. Two months in, I can sort of cobble together a top 10 games of the year list, even if there’s nothing yet that’s GoTY tier for me (but we’ve got Zelda and Pikmin as well as Capcom’s release slate as easy eventually shoe-ins for the category and hopefully the Bethesda titles and Final Fantasy games as well, among what is to yet be announced). With the start or end of any generation, the games typically aren’t as critically praised as they are mid-generation. This year will likely develop into a year of better reviews as time marches on.

@Dezzy70 I have a feeling it’ll be roughly more BotW with some big surprises. The sky mobility is going to be a big thing and the story, basic as it may be (similar to BotW) will likely be pretty outstanding. If it’s simply more of the same, it’s 9/10 territory, but I’m guessing it’ll be the Ragnarok this year. Tears of the Kingdom and RE4 are really safe bets. I have a feeling the two FF titles will be big and successful titles too (for me at least), given how much I’ve liked Square’s output recently. Still really unsure on Starfield. Wish I had the confidence I used to have in Bethesda. 10 years ago, I never thought I’d be like, “Oh, I hope they can make a game that reminds me how good those glory days were.” I was talking with a friend yesterday and we agreed that Fallout and ES 360 era both feel like more lived in open worlds than most newer games nowadays. I can only imagine how it’d feel if they recaptured that magic, but Skyrim’s the last time they amazed me.

@Moonglow Yeah, probably. Not confirmed, but very likely.

@Jenkinss Disagree completely, though BotW isn’t really a combat game. It’s an exploration game and its inherent sparseness and minimalism pushes the sense of openness to the open world. I mean, what else is there to say about BotW at this point? For me, BotW is in the same league as Skyrim as a timeless classic, whereas I’ve been actively disappointed with mainline Bethesda for a generation now and hope Starfield is a return to form. Fallout 4 and 76 were such a fall from grace for me. 4 was an 7 or 8/10 for me at release, which is good, but, coming from Bethesda, that score felt weak, and really did feel like a huge stepping down from Skyrim as far as world building goes. And 76 was such a mess, potentially the biggest disappointment I’ve ever had in gaming. I’ll likely follow Bethesda’s games regardless of how much I like Starfield, but I’m hoping it’s a game that speaks to me. If not, well, Arkane hasn’t let me down yet!