RegnumSolipsi

Ironically I feel like the developers should thank Microsoft for this one. GamePass was the entry point for the first game in the series and people fell crazy in love with it. Now thanks to the jacked up GP costs and people cancelling their subscriptions, I imagine a lot of people will be flat-out buying the sequel.

I never bought the first game (other than the expansions), but PWS2 will definitely be a Day 1 purchase since my subscription runs out at the end of the month and I won't be coming back. Well played FuturLab... Well played.

I keep hearing this word "innovative" thrown around. I don't think people understand what it means anymore. The new ROG ALLY X is not innovative. The device is literally an upgraded version of Asus's existing line which was already essentially a knockoff of the Steamdeck. They added software that let's you play GamePass games natively, but it's not much different than being able to play it through your Steamdeck Browser and even my phone has been able to play GamePass games for years.

If they had created a device that could natively play my full Xbox library on top of its existing PC features, at least that would've been innovative, but for whatever reason they've decided not to go that route.

Banner week. Shame Vampire Masquerade 2 sucks according to reviews, but might be worth checking out down the road when it gets a pricedrop. In the meantime I'm gonna be plenty busy with Ninja Gaiden 4, Powerwash Simulator 2, and Jurassic World Evolution 3. That should be a wrap on my 2025. See you all in 2026!

Double Fine of one of my favorite studios and I really want to like this game, but it just doesn't feel like a DF title. It lacks the trademark humor that DF is known for and gameplay in the first hour I managed to play is so limited it feels more like you're playing an interactive screensaver.

I love Walking Sims, but I typically need dialog or some kind of plot to keep my brain engaged with them and so far this game has been just a bunch of walking and staring at the pretty visuals. I fell asleep 3 times in the first hour and had to put it down.

I won't say it's a bad game for people who like to relax with this kind of thing, but it lacks any kind of engaging elements and is definitely something I would rather just have auto-playing in the background while I listen to Lofi beats on YouTube.

Sounds like the Campaign is a big bag of lukewarm meh. Guess I'll be passing on this one, too. Not really a surprise, though. The only BF games that actually had serviceable campaigns were the Bad Company's and Hardline.

So far the games I've enjoyed in 2025 are:

1. Oblivion Remastered
2. DOOM: Dark Ages
3. Avowed

Hopefully I'll be adding a few more games to this list. Still got Ninja Gaiden 4, Keeper, Jurassic World Evolution 3, and Powerwash Simulator 2 to look forward to.

Soo... 1st Party games are now guaranteed in the first year, but not on Day 1 if you go Premium? Am I understanding that correctly? Because there's no way in hell I'm paying $30 a month for Ubishit and a subscription to a game I don't ever plan to play. Hell, I'm not even interested in most of the 1st-party games we have announced so far. Perfect Dark and Everwild cancelled, Fable nowhere to be found, Halo being more irrelevant with ever new title... Ninja Gaiden 4 and Powerwash Simulator 2 are the only GP games I have left on my wishlist this year. I'll ride it out long enough to play NG4, but I'm out after that.

Yeah... Think I'm gonna pass. Not into handheld gaming, so I think I'll just wait for the Xbox Steam Machine. One machine fusing my Xbox and PC game libraries would be a dream come true.

Fatal Frame 2 looks neat. Still want to see gameplay for Aniimo before I'm sold, but I'm hopeful it's going to be a fun take on what Pokemon Arceus should have been. Hopefully smoother and less crafting focused than Palworld is.

Neat. Really hoping Pragmata sticks the landing after so long in development hell. It's been at the top of my want list ever since the first trailer dropped. I'm ready for this thing to launch.

Split Fiction has been 10% off since before the game launched. Is it really even on sale at this point? Just give it a permanent price drop, then I'll wait until a 50% off sale.

Doubt there will be anything interesting for me at this show, so I don't plan on watching it. I'll check the recap on here after it's all said and done, but I'm not holding my breath for anything.

@Millionski That's funny because I'm exactly the opposite. If it's just a pure Xbox console, I'm out after 24 years of support. Only way they can get me to buy is if they give us a PC/console hybrid that has full access to Steam, GOG, etc... but still retains access to our existing Xbox libraries as well.

With everything going multiplatform, there no incentive to stay on Xbox going forward, especially when nothing Sony publishes comes to Xbox and everything is ending up on PC now. Buying an Xbox console now and intentionally limiting access to games is like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

@TrollOfWar Solo Slooping... It's a hard life, but it's honest work. Lol

@Vipor007

I don't remember the Haunted House taking me too long. For me the most painful was the Warhammer 40K set. In particular the large ship just dragged on forever. Also the large Mechs in 40K and FFVII, but I love the attention to detail on those ones.

I'm always disappointed we didn't get packs for series like Halo or Sea of Thieves. An 'Xbox Moments' set from their biggest franchises would be great. I would love to see them pluck an Outpost straight out from SoT and maybe the Scarab from Halo 3.

@TrollOfWar

Same! TA says I have 1,100 hours, but it's hard to tell how many hours I have played since I don't believe Xbox tracked hours played for the first couple years after it released. I've been playing since it was in Alpha and grinding out the Achievements and Commendations ever since the game launched, but I tend to play it in phases. I'll play it almost exclusively for 7 or 8 months, than stop playing for a year or two and come back to it after they've dropped a bunch of new content. It's practically a new game every time I come back.

https://www.trueachievements.com/game/Sea-of-Thieves/achievements?gamerid=425383&cb=235

@Vipor007

Loved the DLC in PWS. Only one that didn't interest me was Wallace & Gromit. Alice In Wonderland was definitely my favorite pack along with some of the Freebies that got thrown in like the Cruise Ship and Aquarium.

Sea of Thieves and (time permitting) a little bit of Sir Whoopass and Powerwash Simulator.

I mean it's probably games from Japanese Devs and maybe Horizon 6. Nothing for me to get out of bed for. There are maybe a dozen J-Games on my list of series that I enjoyed. They've already revealed Ninja Gaiden 4 and RE9 and I doubt they're announcing sequels to Phantom Crash or Breakdown, so I really don't care.

Nothing for me this month. Probably take a little break from taking before October comes in and wrecks my free time.

Neat. Cold Fear was a great RE4 clone from a time when Xbox didn't get any RE love.

I Am Alive was a neat idea and poorly executed, but I also remember it being marketed as a big launch and it ended up getting stuck in development hell until it ended up downsizing into an Xbox Arcade title. I would love to see them bring it back as a big AA franchise in line with games like State of Decay.

Child of Even was great as a Kinect title. Don't see much purpose for it releasing without a Kinect to go along with it, though. It's an on-rails shooter built for lightgun mechanics and apparently lightguns don't work on modern TVs, hence the lack of one with the House of the Dead games...

Just once. I'm the type of person who complete campaigns multiple times (See Halo, Mass Effect, Titanfall 2, etc...) but honestly none of the Gears games were that good. They were okay experiences worth a playthrough and I finished the first 4 main games, but I never had any interest in going through any of them a second time.

***** finally!!! Been waiting forever for an Xbox release. Now I can finally sell off my Kickstarter PS4 copy and play it on my console of choice.

Considering they went and cancelled my most anticipated game a couple months ago, frankly I don't give a damn anymore. Doing they're going to announce anything new or noteworthy at this point and I'm on blackout mode for the last couple games I plan to play this year. Don't want any spoilers for NG4 or Keeper

If there's one thing I've learned from playing with the Switch, the Steamdeck, and even going back and playing on devices like the Gameboy Advance and the PS Vita, it's that handheld devices are absolutely miserable to use. It's always an issue with the screen being too small, the device being too clunky and heavy, and/or the controls always being too cramped and uncomfortable for me to hold.

The closest I've ever come to enjoying handheld gaming as an adult is the 8BitDo Mobile Game Controller because it's essentially just an Xbox controller I can plug my phone into. Screen is still a bit on the small side with this method, but it eliminates the weight and cramped controls issue at least.

@Tyrant_T103

Last I checked there was a major exodus with most of the core team having been laid off and replaced to the point they even rebranded the studio.

@Fiendish-Beaver

Lol. Not sure how I complete missed that post. My bad.

Even more importantly, there are two new books on the horizon. Edge of Dawn releases in December and is a direct continuation from the events of Halo Infinite and Rubicon Protocol. Then in March we're also getting Waypoint Chronicles: Volume 1, which compiles all of the short stories featured on the Waypoint Website, which offer expansive lore on a diverse range of events and elements throughout the universe.

I'm psyched for both and ready to continue the events of Halo Infinite in particular!

@Fiendish-Beaver

Where did you hear that? I heard the exact opposite that next years Halo game is a full-on remake/reboot of Combat Evolved and that it'll only feature the single player component. I doubt there's any truth to the no multiplayer thing, but I also can't imagine a Halo game ever releasing without a Campaign.

Anything even remotely 'Souls-like' is an automatic "Nahhh brahhh." It would've been better if they went with some Ninja Gaiden/Bayonetta-style gameplay.

BF3 without hesitation. Had so much fun and put so many hours into that game back in the day. Pretty sure it rivals Titanfall and Halo 2 for most hours I spent playing online if you don't count Sea of Thieves where I actively avoid PvP encounters.

This particular game doesn't interest me, but thank you, Sony, for opening up the door of possibility. While it's still not likely, this means I may someday get to enjoy a Resistance Remastered Trilogy or the Horizon series on Xbox and that's enough for me for the moment.

Not exactly something I'm hyped to see on the Xbox even if it does end up being true. We don't need another generic Zombie shooter. I would much rather see a Resistance Or Killzone trilogy remaster, either of the Horizon games, the Uncharted games, or I'd even take Shenmue 3, Shadow of the Colossus, or Detroit: Become Human ports. Compared to those, Days Gone doesn't even chart in my post of wants from the PlayStation library.

Don't know what it is... Maybe something about the color palette of the Mafia image, but I'm just reminded. Man I wish Shenmue 3 would come out on Xbox... I helped Kickstart that thing because I wanted it to succeed. Wish I could play it on my console of choice now.

Well... Pac-Man is definitely the most interesting thing on this list. Wheee...

I'm all for these and all games going multiplayer. The concept of exclusives needs to die in this day and age. I just wish Microsoft hadn't blown its entire development budget on a garbage company like Activison-Blizzard. That $69 billion would've been better spent on developing original IP and supporting existing IP within Microsoft's already-neglected library of IP. I'd take sequels and reboots for Crimson Skies, Mechassault, Brute Force, Kameo, Viva Pinata, Conker, Sudeki, Black & White, etc... over anything ABK has ever released.

Translation: Hey guys, look at all of these games we're going to preview just to turn around and cancel them next year. Don't get your hopes up for any of these to see the light of day.

Still? I never was. Didn't like the first one at all.

I considered playing it because I like the aesthetic, but as soon as I read it was a Souls-like I immediately forgot about it. We need more action action games like Ninja Gaiden and Bayonetta, not yet another forgettable Souls-like.

I have specific franchises that I'll buy at launch like GTA, Dead or Alive, and Death Stranding, but for the most part I won't buy a game unless it's on sale for $10 or less and not likely to come to GamePass. Games published by Microsoft I will never purchase because they most likely will never leave GamePass.

Would be cool if I hadn't literally just bought the VITURE x 8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller yesterday. Honestly I think I get the better deal though.

Honestly all I really wanted was one of those emulator handhelds, but built into an ergonomic device shaped like an Xbox controller. That little PSP knock-off design is the largest I've found with acceptable quality and it's too damn small for my hands. Next best option was finding a controller I could plug my phone into and install the emulators on there instead. Hopefully this works better than that Razer Kishi. That thing was a piece of crap, too.

I loved Sea of Thieves in it's early years, but it really didn't feel like it's done anything noteworthy recently. I really enjoyed the Tall Tales element of the game, especially the original 9 missions focused on Golden Shores. I would love to see another expansive campaign like that one added that isn't just some community event or server-wide spawn like the Burning Blade and Skeleton Forts. Give me more of that awesome lore and epic soundtrack.

It's a multiplayer game with no campaign and will be dead and likely offline in a few years. Absolutely no way I would pay for this. Drop a Resistance Remastered Trilogy or port over the Horizon games and than we'll talk about a purchase.

@Elbow I think the difference is Scalebound was being designed by a beloved 3rd-party studio that still exists after the game was cancelled and left the option of a revival, especially considering the plug was pulled at a time when the publisher wasn't yet notorious for pulling the plug on well-along development projects.

Perfect Dark was built by a team with no prior history leading off of a previous prequel that shook people's faith in the franchise, and now that it's cancelled the team is entirely defunct, which makes reviving the game all but impossible.

It's not that there wasn't fanfare and support for the game. It's just a more hopeless scenario, especially when it's swallowed up by a heartless juggernaut corporation hellbent on destroying the industry for the sake of pursuing AI profitability.

@Questionable_Duck Honestly this would be the best case scenario and all things considered, I would not be against a Deus Ex game set in the Perfect Dark Universe. Getting those Immersion Sim RPG mechanics with PD's gameplay quirks would be amazing.

Damn... That one hurts. That was at the top of my anticipation list. Really does feel like the AAA Industry is collapsing in on itself. Which honestly might be a good thing. Too many selfish greedy publishers ***** things up. It's time to revaluate where our priorities should be as an industry and art medium.

Im okay with them doing spin-offs like ODST and Halo Wars bit I really want the next main game to be a continuation of Infinite and not another soft reboot like the last 2.

Im also hopeful that if they do end up remaking the 1st game, don't ***** with the lore. Im all for expanding the 1st game with characters and events like Fireteam Raven and Dietz's 'The Flood's, but I'm too invested in the multitude of novels tied to the franchise for all of them to suddenly be rendered non-canon. If I had to choose between three continued existence of the books or the games, I would pick the books every time and I will walk away from the franchise that has confirmed the last 25 years of my life if they do kill the established lore.

@Ribbitsneed 343 had never made a bad game. They have released 3 games that didn't live up to the Franchise's impossibly high standards and each entry has had elements that were weaker then others, but never in their history have they released a game that was inherently bad.

Halo 4 had one of the best written campaigns in the series and amazing visuals (the 360 should NOT have been able to pull that off), Halo 5 had amazing gunplay and excellent map design with one of the best multiplayers in the franchise, and Halo Infinite was a solid middle ground with both campaign and multiplayer that weren't the best, but were by no means bad.

If 343 had been allowed to make an original IP instead of being shoehorned into one of the largest franchises in the industry (that even Bungie only managed to pull off through sheer luck) they wouldn't get nearly the level of hate that they do today.

@Isolte Since they no longer have ads or a marketplace, they should go back to the blades. It would be a perfect celebration for 20 years of service.

That said, it's crazy they have an ad for the Series X/S on the 360 dashboard. Literally skips an entire generation. Would to think about how much time has passed, especially considering the next generation is already starting to creep up on us already.

Can I plug it into my Xbox and play my games with it? If not, I don't give a damn.