GeeEssEff

I hope so. I will probably get bored pretty quickly like I do with most multiplayer FPS games nowadays but I am still looking forward to giving it a try.

I refuse to buy an overpriced proprietary expansion card so space used to be an issue. Now Gamepass has lapsed it is not.

Whilst I hold out high hopes for Fable 2026 I bounced off 2 and 3 pretty quickly. Although I wasn’t all that into fantasy RPGs back in the day when I initially played them.

It’s lapsed and I haven’t renewed. I may subscribe for a few months when some of the big games release this year but will likely just buy them on Steam.

I picked up a second hand Xbox around 2004 with Halo 2 and Chronicles of Riddick. TBH I didn’t play it much as I couldn’t get onboard with that massive controller and I preferred the PS2 and GameCube. When the 360 released however, Xbox became my main platform for the best part of a decade.

@Fiendish-Beaver It’s great solo, with friends or with randomers. If anything Solo is a bit easier because other players are less hostile but the Arc pose more of a threat because there’s no one there to rescue you if they down you. I’d say your mileage with it also depends on whether you are willing to get on the mic though. You can get by with pings and the built in voice commands but it really shines when you start talking to other people, teaming up, working together and occasionally getting stabbed in the back. I have only got on mic with strangers for two games in the last 20 years…this and Helldivers 2 but both were worth it.

Even now it’s a good reward programme if you get into the swing of things. I tend to just do the random bing searches on the app throughout the day during a dog walk or in front of the tv. I also use edge on my pc which is painful but if MS are willing to give me free money for my engagement I will engage. Most games I buy through Steam or PS store but if I can get a few Play Anywhere titles a year on Xbox I will have considered it a success.

@LaurenceJ1987 I don't do well with horror games or movies. Village is the first Resi Evil I managed to complete and it's mostly jump scares rather than genuinely terrifying moments. Although there are a couple of parts that I wouldn't play on my own in the dark. Great game, I hope you enjoy it!

The Forza Horizon series deserves every bit of its success. I can’t wait for 6!

@Cakefish this winds me up so much. I have demos and F2P titles from years ago I can’t get rid of. I don’t have much confidence this full screen experience will solve any of the many shortcomings.

No idea how much I’d spend until I know for certain what I’m spending money on. If it’s a standard Xbox console I won’t buy it atall. If it’s a PC hybrid with all store fronts I would be more tempted but at the same time I have a pretty decent PC so won’t be dropping ridiculous money on something just because it’s a bit easier to play from the couch. Given that 99% of my PC library is on Steam I will be following their offering closely and making a more informed decision after Xbox lay out some concrete plans.

Merry Christmas Pure team and community! Hope you have a fantastic day

Only two. But that’s a pretty good year tbf considering I had only bought four Xbox games total this gen.

It’s not perfect but it’s a fantastic game that has been really well supported over the last 3 years.

This is a bit cringe

It’s been another great year of games! My best guess for my split:
PC - 40%
Steamdeck - 20%
Switch 2 - 15%
Series X - 15%
PS5 - 10%

That’s a shame but tbf these things are a nice to have rather than essential. 2025 is likely the first time in a decade Xbox has more playtime than my PS albeit mostly on PC. Steam has dwarfed everything else by a country mile though.

@themightyant very good point. I tend to use a combination of Steam and Metacritic when I’m looking at buying games to try and get a complete picture but the percentage score on Steam deffo helps, particularly for smaller indie games that don’t often get full critic reviews.

The Outer Worlds 2 and THPS 3+4 for me.

@Fiendish-Beaver turns out I only got it half right. 500 reviews at 95% to be overwhelmingly positive but only 50 reviews at 80% needed for very positive. I was looking at steam store this evening and saw a very positive game with 280 reviews and immediately thought “I’ve just outright lied on Pure Xbox”

@Fiendish-Beaver It doesn’t completely help but for something to be “Very positive” or “Overwhelmingly positive” on Steam it needs at least 500 reviews. If a game only had 200 reviews for example it would just be “Positive” or “Negative”

I loved the first but didn’t get on as well with the second. Either I’m very much looking forward to seeing what they do next with the series!

@Chip-Douglas the ‘scale’ depends entirely on what games you are interested in. Highly acclaimed indies like Deep Rock Survivor, Mullet Madjack, Digging a hole, Supermarket Simulator and Back to the Dawn are going to be more interesting to a lot of people than Phantom Blade Zero which, for all we know, could be a steaming pile of 💩 when it releases.

You also don’t actually know any of the details about any of the deals in place. For all you know MS could spend more than Sony per year targeting indies for gamepass. Sony might not have even needed to pay for this game if the devs have no desire to release on Xbox or Switch. Absolutely pointless speculating on who is worse or who does what because at the end of the day it’s all part of business dealings we aren’t privy to. Enjoy the games where they release and if that’s not on your chosen platform either get a PC or cross your fingers for a future port 🤷‍♂️

@Chip-Douglas Well now you’re just moving the goalposts. Either third party exclusivity is bad or it isn’t. It can’t be fine when Xbox do it and bad when Sony do it.

@Chip-Douglas see my comment #28…that’s not the full list btw that is just some of the more popular games and all third party.

Friendly reminder that Xbox also has plenty of console/timed exclusives so if Sony are an evil moustache twirling villain then so are they. This year saw Mullet Madjack, Deep Rock Galactic Survivors, Routine, 33 Immortals, Dome Keeper, Cloverpit, Decenders Next, Mechabreak, Lonely Mountain Snow Riders, Void Train, Space Marine Remaster, A game about digging a hole, Back to the Dawn, and Super Market Simulator.

@Jenkinss Peak sarcasm 😂😂

I’m inclined to agree with them. KCD2 is my personal GOTY but sometimes a game comes along that just captures the hearts and minds of everyone and E33 did that this year.

I’m a big fan of the tv show so rooting for this to be good but it just looks so generic.

@Fiendish-Beaver I was also thinking it’s usually earlier because I remember watching some of it last year but I think it’s because it was on a Friday. Definitely not staying up for it on a work night!

Edit: I’m an idiot, it was on Friday in UK because it was past midnight. Either I am misremembering and watched a recap or I had Friday off

I played for a couple of hours last night and it kicked me straight in the Nostalgia. It doesn’t feel like Halo atall gameplay wise but I can see a bit of Halo in the environments.

I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up for a good modern carmageddon game but I am still going to get my hopes up for a good modern carmageddon game

Finally. Next step is giving us the option to force a cloud sync but at least they are going in the right direction.

@Jenkinss Yeh I have had 2.5 and a bit years of use out of mine and love it but won’t be getting another as the trust is gone. I took the plunge and ordered one of these SCUF Valor controllers as a little Christmas treat to myself. They are difficult to get in the UK so will basically be Christmas by the time it arrives from your neck of the woods!

Ohhh just in time. The RB on my Elite Series 2 has just gone. I’m going to try and fix it with some YouTube tutorials but if I mess it up this could be the replacement

I didn’t get my 360 at launch which meant I had some games to catchup on by the time I got one. Out of those it’s between Kameo and Amped for me.

@Titntin Good choice of games! Unicorn Overlord was one of my favourites from last year and BallxPit is addictive as sin!

Some of the best gaming memories of my life. I miss you 360, you flawed but wonderful beast.

If a game I want is play anywhere I would buy it on Xbox. Most of the games I want aren’t play anywhere so I buy them on Steam.

I have met many people over the years who have judged gamers and considered it a waste of time….Many of them religiously tune in to shows like love island, Made in Chelsea or I’m a celebrity and unironically see this as a higher form of entertainment.

There’s plenty more productive ways I could spend my free time but gaming is my favourite way to switch off, relax and unwind so I don’t see it as time wasted. I do sometimes feel a bit guilty about not doing stuff like learning a new skill instead though.

@Kezelpaso Yeh it doesn’t seem to have the universal appeal BO6 did. It’s weird for me as I tend to do really well on release and get worse as other players get more used to the guns and maps. My innate COD abilities are thoroughly failing me this year though and I’ve definitely seen my rage quit ratio increase as my E/D ratio drops 🙄

That hybrid perk speciality thing is a great addition over last year though to address the previous need to use perks you don’t like just for the bonus. Like you say there’s a good base and some smart tweaks but it’s just not going to keep me playing I don’t think.

@Kezelpaso I always appreciate your observations on COD. I’ve played every single mainline entry to at least prestige 1 and am getting ruined on this way more than usual. While aging reactions and a waning enthusiasm in general are no doubt playing a part I can’t help but feel that the gun balancing is a bit off. I usually love a sub machine gun but every single one I have tried (up to dravec as I’m lvl 32) feels like a pea shooter and even in close quarters I get melted by ARs. You had any of this?

I’m wondering if I don’t like this Cod or I’m over the franchise altogether but I just can’t get onboard with MP this year. Maybe I relied on SBMM more than I thought I did and have been shielded from the teenage sweats but I am getting absolutely rinsed here. I appreciate I can’t call a game bad because of my own skill issues but there have been countless times where I have shot first and riddled someone with bullets for them to 2 shot kill me in response. I will try hardcore before my GPU runs out to see if I enjoy that more but this will likely go down as my least played Cod in the series.

A dynamic theme and overpriced controller design

I moved to New Zealand yesterday as my GPU runs out in a matter of days so wanted to see if it’s worth buying on PC….its not. This is definitely a phone-it-in year which is a shame because Black Ops is my favourite series in the franchise but this game is just half baked. Half my multiplayer matches took place on 10 year old maps which haven’t even been reskinned but after playing some of the new maps I can see why people are voting for legacy ones…they are awful.

There was talk a few years ago of them stopping the yearly release schedule which I think they desperately need to do. It seems we get a quality COD every 2-3 years and everything in between is just a quick cash grab. This is not the Battlefield 6 challenger COD fans were hoping for.

GTA 5 released less than 3 months before Xbox One. I can’t see anyone caring all that much. If anything they will do exactly what they did with GTA 5 and use next gen as an excuse to sell a full price, upgraded version on the next gen consoles.

Nintendo has proven your average consumer does not care about power, they care about affordability, accessibility and good games which Steam has in abundance.

Well this was not the news I was expecting today. Very interested in how it develops!

Well deserved. I am new to extraction shooters but obsessed with Arc Raiders. The community is incredible and I have had some hilariously memorable moments with complete strangers. The gameplay loop is super addictive as well:
I fail to extract - I want to go back in to redeem myself.
I successfully extract - I go back in for more of that sweet sweet dopamine!!

10/10 experience….when I’m not playing it I’m thinking about it and I’ve not had that with a game in a good long time.

I would rather more Pillars of Eternity but can see how Avowed is more appealing to a larger audience.