MegaWatts

The big question I have is: does the campaign have online co-op or is it only splitscreen!?

@BRT15 I've been playing Age of Empires 2 on console recently and it's surprisingly good! Not perfect by any means but certainly more than playable and incredibly fun.

Will be interested to see how Company of Heroes plays on Xbox. I loved the first game back in the day.

@Baler well I used to pay for it prior to MS Rewards etc. and my view then was that so long as I played £10.99 or more of game each month (and had fun) then it was worth it. And at the the time that was definitely the case. So if the quality and quantity of indie titles on GP suddenly dropped or I stopped playing regularly then I would probably change my mind.

For me personally, it's an A. I've never had so much fun with gaming and I think Xbox Game Pass is the primary reason why. I've enjoyed having access to a wide variety of games at a very affordable price (I technically haven't paid for it since late 2020 due to MS Rewards and gift vouchers for birthdays/Christmas).

That said, I'm more drawn to short indie titles nowadays. So I don't feel I'm missing out as such on the AAA front, which I know has been lacking.

Also, Xbox Cloud gaming has been fantastic and only continues to get better in terms of performance and quality. I've been surprised by how much I've used it.

I really need to get around to playing Outer Wilds. Missed it the first time round and so the challenge is on!!

This has been my favourite game so far this year. Still have yet to finish it, but nevertheless I shall be buying the DLC. Insanely addictive.

Really glad this is happening. I like being able to switch between console and my phone (with Razer Kishi). Hopefully lots of games get added!

Does anyone know if this supports keyboard and mouse on console? Have tried searching but can't find a definitive answer.

@FoodForSammy this is definitely one of the biggest downsides to the Razer Kishi. Don't know if you've already tried them, but the Razer Hammerhead Tru Wireless earbuds have a built-in gaming mode that does a decent job of reducing the latency, although it's still not perfect by any means.

Love the look of this, but a shame it doesn't have a USB-C connection. Getting that latency down is really key to an optimal cloud experience (although, to be fair, Bluetooth has worked fine for me when not using my Razer Kishi).

A nice surprise to wake up to. Been interested in The Pedestrian for a while now, but Gorogoa looks like it's right up my street!

@Chaudy I would highly recommend it if you're interested in a good story, and not overly fussed about the gameplay (which is still good, but a bit straightforward). I went in with low expectations after playing Avengers and came out feeling like I'd played one of the best games this year. It's superb.

Perhaps it's part of a different sale, but Divinity: Original Sin - The Source Saga is also on sale, and it looks like a cracking deal. OS 1 and 2 (Enhanced and Definitive Editions) bundled together for only £20. The second game is also available by itself for £16.60.

Very happy to see Lake on there! I had a feeling it would make it onto Game Pass eventually.

Also, Firewatch is amazing. Do play it if you haven't already!

Bit of a shame, as I can't help but think the servers are gonna get hammered and it'll take even longer to download...

I use my Razer Kishi most of the time, but have to say that the touch controls work really well in quite a few games. More often than not I'll just boot up Slay the Spire with touch controls to avoid the (incredibly minor) faff of plugging the Kishi in. I even completed a mission of Halo Wars 2 using touch controls while on my lunch break at work the other day.

Sure, it's not the best control method, but it's really great to have the option.

A bit of a shame, as had a few of these on my play later list. Think I'm going to try and get through Eastshade — has anyone played it? I still really need to play Celeste too, but thankfully can play that on Switch or Stadia.

Would anyone recommend Knights and Bikes?

Thanks, @FraserG — snagged one earlier and you have made my day as a result! Now I could put my saved up MS Reward points towards more Game Pass subs!

I started Lost Words earlier and it is such a lovely game. Really clever gameplay ideas and very chill (but emotional!)

Given I was lucky to hit 20fps on my 1060 GTX in built-up areas, I'll take 30fps on Series S (hopefully locked?)

Really glad to see Rage and Wolfenstein II. I'm probably the only person who has never played Rage, but I did the intro to the second one last month to get the Game Pass Quest reward, and it seemed decent (albeit not mindblowing). Either way, it'll be good to complete the first one and then return to the second (although I understand the games aren't closely linked in terms of story).

I fall into the camp of seeing this as good news. More games from Xbox = more competition for the industry, which hopefully results in better games for all of us (and, wishful thinking, but maybe even more competitive pricing on consoles and games?).

@The_New_Butler I suppose the thing is that previously the console makers would want to get as many people shifted across to the new consoles as quickly as possible. But nowadays it seems like they are much more keen to support the legacy console for a lot longer, and presumably because they know just how much money is still tied into it. That and despite the huge number of people owning PS4s, it's probably only a small percentage of that number who are willing to be an early adopter.

I was perhaps a bit flippant in my initial comment, but I just feel that this notion of defined console generations is so outmoded now. It's not like in the past where you saw a massive leap from 2D to 3D for example. And I realise I'm making an assumption, but I can't help but think that the people so defiantly making a point of set generations have clearly never experienced PC gaming, which has been somewhat timeless in terms of content for a very long time now.

Still, I can understand wanting a game that's really going to push the boundaries of the latest console, and when you invest money, you want to see that pay off. And it will come — but most likely towards the end of the generation, as was typically the case with all previous console generations.

I feel like this poll needs another option: "This has been a thing for the past couple of generations and is nothing new".

I've had great fun with this game so far. It's a lot deeper than it looks, although will be interesting to see how long it holds people's attention.

Trying to resist the temptation of getting KOTOR I and II. I have the original discs, but have a Series S...I only have myself to blame!

Definitely of interest! I will most likely wait until crossplay between console and PC is added (which I am glad to see is coming!)

@themightyant — seconded! Also, a really easy 1000G!

Finally got round to playing it after seeing it was leaving this month, and thought it was great. Very atmospheric and enthralling, and feels kinda similar to Tacoma.

Got my Series S at launch and have loved it non-stop ever since! It's a fantastic little powerhouse!

It'd be awesome if we got the OG Xbox port of Return to Castle Wolfenstein (although I have no idea if Bethesda has the full rights to this?)

What a novel idea! Looking forward to giving this a go.

@Richm246 haha, yes! The whole premise is utterly ridiculous. Despite this, I still didn't expect the ending was going to be the way that it was XD

@Richm246 Just completed it yesterday, and I can heartily agree! I found it very hard to put the controller down while playing it.

My Friend Pedro wasn't on my to-play list but going to give it a go before it leaves. Have heard mixed, but mostly good things, so hopefully it'll be all right?

25+ for me. Which is shockingly high for me.

At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, Game Pass has completely transformed and reinvigorated modern gaming for me. This year I've played a wider variety of games than normal, and discovered some truly fantastic titles I might not have played usually. Here's to 2021 being another great year of gaming!

@Krzzystuff I could be wrong, but I recall they had something like a 3:1 conversion rate, so presumably a 12-month EA Play membership turned into four months of GPU. With that in mind, you can currently get 12 months of EA Play for around £16, which is a blimin' good deal!

Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of improvements I'd like to see (many of which are listed above), but the fact that it loads so damn quickly is just a huge improvement for me. Star Wars Battlefront 2 used to take minutes to load — now it's under 10 seconds!

Random question: if I buy an EA Play subscription from somewhere else now and already have GPU, will it automatically convert into GPU credit when I apply it?

This looks really nice, and at a good price point compared to the Elite Series V2. That said, the lack of paddles is a real shame!

Does anyone know how this runs on Series S?

Realise I'm not taking advantage of the any optimisations, but I'm going to play Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order first on my Series S. I've been waiting a long time to get it at a discount, but now that it's coming to Game Pass I'm chuffed!

This looks right up my street!

While obviously more would be great, I will manage just fine with this amount. I rarely play more than 3 games at the same time, and I could use an external HDD in the meanwhile, but I doubt I will need to.

I've been making my way through many games on Game Pass this year and I just delete a game once I complete it and then move on to the next one.

That all said, I do hope that expansion card comes down in price soon. Once games the size of COD: Warzone potentially become the norm, that 364GB ain't gonna cut it.

@Rockboy247 Am making sure I get round to playing it in the next two weeks for this very reason (I already have it on PC).

Does anyone know when the Doom Eternal X | S optimisation is expected?

I'm desperately trying to finish Kingdom Hearts Final Mix before my Series S arrives. Yes, I know it's backward compatible, but I really want to use the S on launch day to start an optimised game such as Gears 5.

I am so envious right now!

I'm playing Kingdom Hearts for the very first time thanks to KINGDOM HEARTS HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX on Xbox Game Pass. So far I am mostly enjoying it, even if it is a bit clunky to play. I can certainly see why the series has such a strong following, even if it doesn't make a lick of sense!

Otherwise, I finally reached Pirate Legend in Sea of Thieves on Friday (woop woop!) and am continuing my very gradual playthrough of Slayaway Camp.

Xbox Remote Play has been a real blessing for enjoying most of these games!

Am thinking I might also pick up a digital copy of Blinx when my Series S arrives — would be interested to hear what you think of it, @Liam_Doolan

I've just finished Hypnospace Outlaw on Game Pass. It's incredibly novel, and while a bit flawed in my view, it's still a game as many people as possible should try. There's really nothing else like it.

Otherwise, I'm thinking I might finally get around to playing the new Battletoads. I'm trying to save the more graphically intensive games for the next gen, so lately it has been lots of 2D and small indie games.