January is here and while it may be wet and miserable outside, there's a wealth of games to experience, especially through Xbox Game Pass. It's an opportunity to escape what is considered by some to be the worst month of the year, and embrace new worlds and fantastic adventures.
With Xbox Game Pass, the choices are astronomical for what players can choose to take on. From the beautiful plains of Dragon Quest XI S, to the high octane action of DOOM Eternal, there's something for everyone, and 2020 saw some great additions to the service. Let's take a look at a few of them - big and small!
A Way Out (Xbox One)
Another title available through EA Play is A Way Out. This cooperative centric adventure is the perfect "movie night" experience, built for best friends, couples or a random. It demands communication between the pair through a variety of action packed set-pieces and even some smaller moments where you and a friend can sit down and play Connect 4. There's honestly nothing else on the market quite like it and for anyone who missed it the first time round, now is a perfect time to dive into it.
Brütal Legend (Xbox 360)
One of the most underrated games of the Xbox 360, Brutal Legend features Jack Black in an open-world adventure which plays homage to rock and metal music throughout the ages. Acting as a love letter to the music genre, the game mixes the usual open-world fair with real time strategy battles, creating an unusual blend of gameplay mechanics which ultimately works. It's worth checking out if you have the time and seeing why it's become a cult-classic.
Control (Xbox One)
Perhaps one of Remedy Entertainment's greatest achievements, Control is a rollercoaster ride of thrills, mystery and surprises around every corner. Control starts off fairly subdued, but quickly evolves into a strange adventure that's not worth spoiling. Uncovering the secrets of Control is one of its best elements, as Remedy works effortlessly to create a connected universe between its games. The game gets better as it opens up and was one of the Xbox One's finest titles.
CrossCode (Xbox One)
CrossCode is a beautiful rendered 16-bit adventure is the perfect blend of fast-paced action and puzzles, creation a concoction of Devil May Cry meets Zelda. It's a lengthy, intriguing adventure that uses its art style to its full advantage. Set inside an in-game MMO, the story twists and turns until its explosive conclusion which ends with satisfying results. It's an adventure worth taking and a wonderful change to many AAA games on the market.
DOOM Eternal (Xbox One)
If you want to start the New Year with a bang, then you can't go wrong with DOOM Eternal. The gameplay generally feels fairly different compared to the 2016 original, more inline with a constant battle of dance, rather than the all-guns blazing attitude of its predecessor. One of the new features is the emphasis on platforming, which adds a new degree to each battle. It constantly evolves over its runtime and is a fantastic experience throughout.
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I'm actually currently playing through Gears 5 Hivebusters campaign as well as Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair and both are excellent games. The Gears 5 DLC feels like a throwback to the old Gears of War games when it comes to the characters and the overall vibe. Yooka-Laylee feels like a spiritual successor to the Donkey Kong Country games and I highly recommend checking it out if you're a fan of those games.
Another game that I'm playing right now on Game Pass as well is Peggle 2. This series is a classic at this point and while there hasn't been a new game in over 7 years, Peggle 2 still holds up well to this day. It's such a simple but fun game and something you can enjoy while doing something else, e.g. listening to a podcast in the background. So I highly recommend checking it out as well.
Man gamepass has such a massive library of quality games..
Looking forward to Ryse Son of Rome as part of game club if it is only 6 hours!
I finished Gears 5 Hivebusters yesterday and it was fantastic! I'm now starting Dragon Quest XI S. The last time I beat this game was on PS4 a couple of years ago before the definitive edition released. I'm excited to play the game again and check out the new content. It's one of my favorite games of all time, and it's a JRPG masterpiece, in my opinion.
Dragon Quest XI S looks stunning. Love the art direction, but I need to finish The Outer Worlds first. Let me tell you that both games make great use of the auto HDR!
I’ll admit there are some really good games on GamePass like Gears of War Ultimate Edition, Forza Horizon 4, Dead Space and Master Chief Collection but most of the ones I’d play and enjoy I already own physically.
there are a few little gems though like Lonely Mountains and Streets of Rage 4, I only started to use gamepass because I had a 3 month code with my Xbox and it saved me some money on DLC
@gollumb82 The HDR in DQXIS is incredible. I was seriously blown away just by the water and the background hills and stuff. It's so gorgeous on my Xbox Series X.
@Nerdfather1
Ditto. I only played 1-2 hours of it but what I have seen looked incredible! This coming from someone who is not a fan of jrpgs I have a feeling DQ XI might make me a convert.
@ralphdibny its a fantastic game. My first download on Series X and the first game i played on it. Looks amazing and great story.
I just subscribed to the program. I've waited until now to give my backlog some time.
But now I've done it : I've claimed my All Access offer.
So I'm now a gamepass ultimate subscriber til april 2023 (!!).
So I've made a list. And it's a huge one.
But the very first games I've downloaded :
Nier Automata
Jedi Fallen Order
Dragon Quest XI S
Destiny 2
I think I'm covered for a while just with those four ! ^^
Man, that's such a great list to show a part of what this great service offers us. More interestingly, there's a little for everyone, all styles, some great quality titles, a bunch of AAA titles along with well reviewed indie titles. I can definitely say the money I spend on GP every month has been some of the best investment I've made in my three decade gaming life
@Bobobiwan That's awesome mate and those are very good first choices of games to play! NieR and Star Wars are excellent games and I've heard great things about Dragon Quest as well. Speaking of Destiny 2, I've wanted to get into this series ever since I played the beta of the first Destiny back in 2014. However, when I found out that the game (and its sequel) are online only, I didn't want to pay full price for it. Ever since then I've never played the games, but now that Destiny 2 is free-to-play and all the expansions are free with Game Pass, there is no better time than now for me to finally get into this series! I'm genuinely looking forward to it.
@LtSarge I know what you mean : as a huge Halo fan, I was really eager to finally see this other franchise Bungie has created.
So I bought, a while ago, the first Destiny in its complete edition (with all its extensions on the disc).
And I decided myself to finally play it only a week ago.
And you know what ? Even with its low resolution and its 30 fps (you can litterally feel it's a 360 / ps3 game originally), it's STILL incredible.
I've launched it just to rush the story, without caring about loot or performances. Just to prepare myself for the second one. But the universe, the gameplay, everything is so addictive. Still is.
This game is the reason why I finally made the move to go Ultimate. I needed the Live for one or two raids (some of them are multi only), and it was stupid to pay 7 bucks for one month of live when I had this Ultimate offer just waiting for me.
I just can't imagine what Destiny 2 will feel like, with its next-gen version in 4K / 60 fps !
Maybe I'll see you there, by the way !
The greatest games on Game Pass for me are the games I would otherwise never have played. Biiig recommendations for these surprises:
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