I like it and also like that the sound is more subdued. Would hate forgetting to turn the volume down and waking up everyone in the house when I needed to restart my Xbox, lol.
I don’t hate CoPilot. In fact, I use it regularly at work (granted, that’s at the heavy promotion of my leadership to use it). But whoever thought it was a good idea to put it on console needs to find a new career. Just plain stupid.
Does seem dumb on the other hand to kill it off on mobile, where more people are using AI for answers. But what do I know…
Damn. This is a kick ass month. FH 6, Mixtape, Echo Generation 2 and Subnautica 2 are all games I’m looking forward to. And there’s others there that sound promising.
This is just the titled already confirmed. They haven’t even officially announced the full line up!
I mean if you’re already subscribed to Discord Nitro, why wouldn’t you want a free benefit to get a taste of Game Pass? Seems like a good way to get gamers seeing what GP is like and perhaps get them to subscribe to higher tiers. Don’t see the harm and should be a win-win situation for Discord and GP.
I had fun with it the brief amount of time I spent with it. Love Double Fine and sure they just wanted to try something new. That said I hope more of their incredible single player games are on the way!
Yeah, the funny thing is that you save $84 with the price drop of GP, which is less than one CoD release. So fans of CoD can buy the game and still save $14 a year….until they raise the price of games to $80.
@Jcsp2004 What game are you even talking about? Vampire Crawlers isn’t even coming out on mobile any time soon. It’s launching on PS5, Steam, Switch and Xbox.
Kiln is the latest from Double Fine and certainly won’t be on mobile.
It was the worst one but then the devs on Black Ops 7 said “Hold my beer.” Only CoD that I found the campaign in particular to be almost unplayable. Stopped playing about an hour in and have no desire to go back to it.
Replaced looks absolutely fantastic and sweet to play it day one on GP. That and Hades 2 make this a great week ahead. Probably pick up Pragmata at some point.
@BAMozzy Not sure if you’ve read any of the other previews but it sounds like the structure is going to be much different in FH6. More progression rather than just random events. I’m excited for both the structure overhaul and the Japan location. Sounds like the great racing fans love but not just “more of the same”.
Hades 2, Kiln, Tiny Bookshop and Replaced just in the first half of the month is amazing. And good stuff already known for the back half. Keep ‘em coming GamePass!
@FraserG From what I understand VRR has a larger framerate window it can work with on Series X than PS5. So any variations outside of that will cause stuttering on PlayStation.
Hope people really give some of the indies on this list a try. Minishoot Adventures, Absolum and Easy Delivery Co. are all fantastic games and I was happy to have them come to Xbox let alone on GamePass day one. All of them were very well loved on PC.
Planet of Lana 2 is also a nice sequel, though admittedly I haven’t had as much time to play through it yet.
Those four games alone made this a great month for me — not the older AAA games. Eating well on GamePass!
OpenCritic combines all platforms and that’s what I use. It’s currently 79 there. Roughly 8/10 is a nice score. Not sure why that would be expected to drop.
@Titntin Not sure what you expected. It’s a partner show so much different than an Xbox showcase. No first party games. This is what all of these are usually like.
So I did end up getting Crimson Desert and I’m really loving it. Yes, the controls take some time to learn and there are a lot of things that make you question some design choices.
But the combat is absolutely incredible. It kind of gives me the feeling of fighting games and the Batman Arkham trilogy. It’s really deep and fun to put into action.
I haven’t had many true bugs but simple things like talking to NPCs is much more difficult than it should be. An arm wrestling match that’s part of the main quest is a pain in the ass and should have been optional (or at least make it so you don’t have to actually win).
It runs really well for me on my Series X in “balanced” mode (40 FPS). I do have VRR so that could be helping but I’m happy with that aspect. It also looks great for the most part. Lighting looks really nice even with the low ray tracing. NPC characters are a bit meh looking but the overall world is beautiful to look at.
The first two chapters have some fairly meaningless main quests. But it seems to be serving as a long tutorial to get you used to the controls and systems. I’m probably 5-6 hours in.
Anyway, overall I’m really enjoying it and love getting sucked into its world. I think the overall scores are fairly accurate. As of now, I’d give it an 8/10 (and it’s currently 79 on OpenCritic and 78 on MetaCritic).
I’ve really been looking forward to Screamer. Love arcade racers and car combat and this one’s been on my radar for a long time. A few previews I’ve read have gotten me even more excited so can’t wait.
Oblivion was by far my favorite Elder Scrolls game. Just hooked me more the Skyrim (and Morrowind). It’s a masterpiece despite the usual Bethesda buggyness.
I really am liking the new forward facing direct communication coming from Sharma on social media. Phil Spencer kind of slid into the background for the past few years (I personally think this is because he didn’t agree with the changes being made but we’ll never know for sure).
Getting a little bit better feeling about the state of Xbox. Got a long way to go to turn the ship around but it’s turning ever so slightly.
@Fiendish-Beaver @Kezelpaso There were technically four day one titles in March. Minishoot Adventures, Planet of Lana 2, Overthrown and Absolum. I’d have to check for January and February .
Annoys me how many people act like this game is complete trash. I mean reviews aren’t everything but it has an 85 on OpenCritic. Not exactly what I would call bad.
I had fun with it and will be curious to dive into it again with this update (but it will likely have to wait until after Crimson Desert).
Absolum is absolutely fantastic. Have it on Switch but really looking forward to it on Series X. Love the X controller for those kind of beat ‘em up games.
RE Requiem and Minishoot Adventures. Getting Minishoot not only on Xbox but on GamePass was a great surprise this week. Such a fun blend of Zelda and twin-stick shooter. Be sure to check it out if you have GP Ultimate!
I’ve still been quite happy with Ultimate. Find it odd that the article doesn’t mention other day one games that are only on Ultimate like Planet of Lana II, High on Life 2 and BlazBlue Entropy Effect. These may not be “AAA” but they are great games that I’m glad I’m getting to play.
@FraserG Minishoot Adventures also got shadow dropped today on GamePass. It’s a day one release. And an awesome game that I think was Switch exclusive until now.
Edit: It was a PC exclusive that came to consoles today.
After playing and enjoying Arc Raiders, I thought I’d give this a chance. But it’s just not clicking with me. I don’t necessarily have a dislike for extraction shooters. Just a dislike of this one.
Comments 1,781
Re: Xbox CEO Reveals New Start-Up Animation Coming To Consoles Next Week
I like it and also like that the sound is more subdued. Would hate forgetting to turn the volume down and waking up everyone in the house when I needed to restart my Xbox, lol.
Re: Xbox To Retire Features That Don't Align With Future Plans, Starting With Copilot AI
I don’t hate CoPilot. In fact, I use it regularly at work (granted, that’s at the heavy promotion of my leadership to use it). But whoever thought it was a good idea to put it on console needs to find a new career. Just plain stupid.
Does seem dumb on the other hand to kill it off on mobile, where more people are using AI for answers. But what do I know…
Re: Here's What The Reviews Are Saying About The Latest Surprise XGP Release, Motorslice
Weird how they do these surprise adds on the same day as the announcements but then don’t bother to put it in said announcement.
In any case, I had been eyeing this game happy to see the GP “shadow drop”.
Re: Xbox Exec Invites Fans To Share Backwards Compatibility Requests On Special Website
@Skinny-Pete The Orange Box already is backwards compatible.
Re: Xbox Exec Invites Fans To Share Backwards Compatibility Requests On Special Website
Blur and the Project Gotham Racing games please!
Re: Roundup: Here's What The Reviews Are Saying About 'Aphelion' On Xbox Game Pass
Damn. Had high hopes for this game. Sounds like it didn’t hit them. Oh well, might try it on a rainy day…but have a huge backlog to choose from so…
Re: Poll: Which Generation Of Xbox Logo Is Your Favourite?
I picked the 360 version but honestly the one that just came out may be the coolest yet.
Re: Xbox Game Pass: All Games Coming Soon In May 2026
Damn. This is a kick ass month. FH 6, Mixtape, Echo Generation 2 and Subnautica 2 are all games I’m looking forward to. And there’s others there that sound promising.
This is just the titled already confirmed. They haven’t even officially announced the full line up!
Re: Xbox Game Pass 'Starter Edition' Revealed Via Discord Nitro Leak
I mean if you’re already subscribed to Discord Nitro, why wouldn’t you want a free benefit to get a taste of Game Pass? Seems like a good way to get gamers seeing what GP is like and perhaps get them to subscribe to higher tiers. Don’t see the harm and should be a win-win situation for Discord and GP.
Re: Kiln Players Share Their First Reviews Of The New Xbox Game Studios Title
I had fun with it the brief amount of time I spent with it. Love Double Fine and sure they just wanted to try something new. That said I hope more of their incredible single player games are on the way!
Re: Roundup: Here's What Was Revealed At The ID@Xbox April 2026 Showcase
Should just change the name of these showcases to ID@GamePass!
Re: Poll: How Would You Grade The ID@Xbox April 2026 Showcase?
I actually totally forgot this was happening, lol.
Re: Call Of Duty Titles Will No Longer Join Xbox Game Pass On Day One
Yeah, the funny thing is that you save $84 with the price drop of GP, which is less than one CoD release. So fans of CoD can buy the game and still save $14 a year….until they raise the price of games to $80.
Re: These 10 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (April 21-May 5)
Looking forward to most of the day one games: Vampire Crawlers, Kiln, Aphelion, HoMM (if my laptop can run it well) and TerraTech Legion.
Trepang2 is a fantastic shooter in the vein of the FEAR games. Definitely recommend giving it a go if you haven’t already bought it.
Re: These 30+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (April 20-24)
@Jcsp2004 What game are you even talking about? Vampire Crawlers isn’t even coming out on mobile any time soon. It’s launching on PS5, Steam, Switch and Xbox.
Kiln is the latest from Double Fine and certainly won’t be on mobile.
None of the games listed are mobile games.
Re: Multiple New Screenshots Revealed For Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, Coming To Xbox Game Pass
Gorgeous. Looking forward to this!
Re: Another Call Of Duty Game Is Seemingly Being Prepped For Xbox Game Pass
It was the worst one but then the devs on Black Ops 7 said “Hold my beer.” Only CoD that I found the campaign in particular to be almost unplayable. Stopped playing about an hour in and have no desire to go back to it.
Re: Xbox Is Giving Away Free Gift Cards To Celebrate Spring 2026
As usual, a big old goose egg for me. Microsoft hates me. 😭
Re: Xbox Raises Eyebrows By Mentioning 'Exclusives' On The Series X|S Dashboard
Just today Replaced is out and an Xbox console exclusive.
Re: Replaced Dev Reveals Xbox Series X And S Specs Ahead Of Game Pass Launch
Super excited for this. Was wondering when the review embargo is up. Regardless, can’t wait!
Re: Roundup: Here's What The Reviews Are Saying About Capcom's Pragmata
Will be getting this eventually but have too much to play and am also psyched about Replaced and Hades 2 coming to GamePass this week.
Wonder when we’ll start seeing Replaced reviews? Hoping that turned out as good as it has looked!
Re: These 30+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (April 13-17)
Replaced looks absolutely fantastic and sweet to play it day one on GP. That and Hades 2 make this a great week ahead. Probably pick up Pragmata at some point.
Re: Rumour: Microsoft Might Not Launch Call Of Duty 2026 On Xbox Game Pass
The last COD sucked. Not being on GamePass wouldn’t have fixed that.
Re: Preview: We've Played Forza Horizon 6, And It's Potentially The Best Entry To Date
@BAMozzy Not sure if you’ve read any of the other previews but it sounds like the structure is going to be much different in FH6. More progression rather than just random events. I’m excited for both the structure overhaul and the Japan location. Sounds like the great racing fans love but not just “more of the same”.
Re: These 19 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (April 7-23)
Hades 2, Kiln, Tiny Bookshop and Replaced just in the first half of the month is amazing. And good stuff already known for the back half. Keep ‘em coming GamePass!
Re: Xbox Series X Is Even Better Than PS5 Pro For Assassin's Creed Unity, Suggests Report
@FraserG From what I understand VRR has a larger framerate window it can work with on Series X than PS5. So any variations outside of that will cause stuttering on PlayStation.
Re: Pick One: What Was Your Favourite Xbox Game Pass Addition In March 2026?
Hope people really give some of the indies on this list a try. Minishoot Adventures, Absolum and Easy Delivery Co. are all fantastic games and I was happy to have them come to Xbox let alone on GamePass day one. All of them were very well loved on PC.
Planet of Lana 2 is also a nice sequel, though admittedly I haven’t had as much time to play through it yet.
Those four games alone made this a great month for me — not the older AAA games. Eating well on GamePass!
Re: Super Meat Boy 3D Reviews Go Live Ahead Of Xbox Game Pass Launch
OpenCritic combines all platforms and that’s what I use. It’s currently 79 there. Roughly 8/10 is a nice score. Not sure why that would be expected to drop.
Looking forward to it later than week!
Re: Xbox Announces 14 Titles Coming To Game Pass At March's Partner Preview Showcase
Lots of good looking stuff in there. Hades 2 on day one is an awesome get. Super Meat Boy 3D could be good and coming next week!
The Expanse, Stranger Than Heaven and Alien Deathstorm are all games I’m interested in seeing more of.
Re: 'Xbox Presents' Is A New Type Of Showcase Debuting This May For Stranger Than Heaven
This game looks pretty cool in a Yakuza kind of way. Awesome that it’s coming day one to GamePass!
Re: Xbox Announces 14 Titles Coming To Game Pass At March's Partner Preview Showcase
@jesse_dylan It is F2P and I hate when Microsoft says games like this are on GamePass. All it means is that you get “perks” for the game.
Re: Poll: How Would You Grade March's Xbox Partner Preview Event?
@oopsiezz Hope you’re going to be the one to tell Aaron Paul that he’s AI.
Re: Poll: How Would You Grade March's Xbox Partner Preview Event?
@Titntin Not sure what you expected. It’s a partner show so much different than an Xbox showcase. No first party games. This is what all of these are usually like.
Re: Xbox Spring Sale 2026 'Sneak Preview' Now Live, 700+ Games Discounted
@FraserG Unrelated but just saw on True Achievments that Easy Delivery Co. is launched day one on GamePass tonight. Was a pretty big hit on PC!
Re: Three Games Are Available This Week With Xbox Game Pass (March 24-26)
Absolum is fantastic. Best original beat ‘em I’ve played in years. Don’t miss it if you like the genre! (And at least give it a try if you don’t.)
Re: Talking Point: What Are Your First Impressions Of Crimson Desert On Xbox?
Cross posting from the CAG community:
So I did end up getting Crimson Desert and I’m really loving it. Yes, the controls take some time to learn and there are a lot of things that make you question some design choices.
But the combat is absolutely incredible. It kind of gives me the feeling of fighting games and the Batman Arkham trilogy. It’s really deep and fun to put into action.
I haven’t had many true bugs but simple things like talking to NPCs is much more difficult than it should be. An arm wrestling match that’s part of the main quest is a pain in the ass and should have been optional (or at least make it so you don’t have to actually win).
It runs really well for me on my Series X in “balanced” mode (40 FPS). I do have VRR so that could be helping but I’m happy with that aspect. It also looks great for the most part. Lighting looks really nice even with the low ray tracing. NPC characters are a bit meh looking but the overall world is beautiful to look at.
The first two chapters have some fairly meaningless main quests. But it seems to be serving as a long tutorial to get you used to the controls and systems. I’m probably 5-6 hours in.
Anyway, overall I’m really enjoying it and love getting sucked into its world. I think the overall scores are fairly accurate. As of now, I’d give it an 8/10 (and it’s currently 79 on OpenCritic and 78 on MetaCritic).
Hoping they address some of the pain points.
Re: These 40+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (March 23-27)
I’ve really been looking forward to Screamer. Love arcade racers and car combat and this one’s been on my radar for a long time. A few previews I’ve read have gotten me even more excited so can’t wait.
Re: Talking Point: 20 Years Later, How Do You Feel About The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion In 2026?
Oblivion was by far my favorite Elder Scrolls game. Just hooked me more the Skyrim (and Morrowind). It’s a masterpiece despite the usual Bethesda buggyness.
Re: 'Keep The Feedback Coming' - Xbox Boss Says New Console Features Were Built Two Weeks Ago
I really am liking the new forward facing direct communication coming from Sharma on social media. Phil Spencer kind of slid into the background for the past few years (I personally think this is because he didn’t agree with the changes being made but we’ll never know for sure).
Getting a little bit better feeling about the state of Xbox. Got a long way to go to turn the ship around but it’s turning ever so slightly.
Re: Microsoft's Next First-Party Release Officially Launches On Xbox Game Pass This April
@Fiendish-Beaver @Kezelpaso There were technically four day one titles in March. Minishoot Adventures, Planet of Lana 2, Overthrown and Absolum. I’d have to check for January and February .
Re: Starfield Gets Major Free Update & New Expansion Next Month, Alongside PS5 Release
Annoys me how many people act like this game is complete trash. I mean reviews aren’t everything but it has an 85 on OpenCritic. Not exactly what I would call bad.
I had fun with it and will be curious to dive into it again with this update (but it will likely have to wait until after Crimson Desert).
Re: These 12 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (March 17 - April 7)
Absolum is absolutely fantastic. Have it on Switch but really looking forward to it on Series X. Love the X controller for those kind of beat ‘em up games.
Re: According To Metacritic, These Are The 10 Best Xbox Games Of 2026 So Far
@Markatron84 Yep, me too. OpenCritic all the way for me.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (March 7-8)
RE Requiem and Minishoot Adventures. Getting Minishoot not only on Xbox but on GamePass was a great surprise this week. Such a fun blend of Zelda and twin-stick shooter. Be sure to check it out if you have GP Ultimate!
Re: Talking Point: Are You Happy With Xbox Game Pass Ultimate In 2026?
I’ve still been quite happy with Ultimate. Find it odd that the article doesn’t mention other day one games that are only on Ultimate like Planet of Lana II, High on Life 2 and BlazBlue Entropy Effect. These may not be “AAA” but they are great games that I’m glad I’m getting to play.
Re: Three Xbox Game Pass Release Dates Revealed At March's Nintendo Indie World Showcase
Minishoot Adventures is great and happy that it not only came to Xbox but shadow dropped today!
Also can’t wait until Mixtape finally comes out.
Re: These Seven Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass, Including Three Big Additions (March 4-17)
@FraserG Minishoot Adventures also got shadow dropped today on GamePass. It’s a day one release. And an awesome game that I think was Switch exclusive until now.
Edit: It was a PC exclusive that came to consoles today.
Re: SSX 3 Is Incredible On Xbox, Here Are Five Reasons You Should Try It In 2026
Awesome game!!! And love that I can still play it!
Re: Roundup: Here's What The First Reviews / Impressions Say About The Marathon Server Slam
After playing and enjoying Arc Raiders, I thought I’d give this a chance. But it’s just not clicking with me. I don’t necessarily have a dislike for extraction shooters. Just a dislike of this one.
Re: GoldenEye & TimeSplitters Creators Return To Xbox With The Most Unlikely Of New Games
Game honestly sounds pretty cool. Apparently there’s a demo on Steam that I need to check out!