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@HarmanSmith Ubisoft did seem to have abandoned one of gaming's most absurd and entertaining creations: Rayman. How wonderful it was to see a title like Fenyx emerge from the murderous diamond mine that Ubisoft have become. They were capable of incredible humor and creativity in the past, so it was quite refreshing to see that flame not entirely snuffed out within their stable of studios.

@Banjo- Breath of the Wild is probably my favorite game of all time? But, like any game, I can see why it's not for everyone. I'm curious... what are your top 5? Just to give your comment some context.

@BAMozzy My friend, you may be watchful with your money, but I love how generous you are with those single quotes, and I have come to partake in your 'largesse'...

I find your viewpoint interesting because it runs counter to my experience. I'm a long-time Game Pass subscriber and find it great value for money. But a survey of my gaming history shows that when credits roll on a title, more often than not I have purchased it, rather than accessed it through one of my subscriptions. Perhaps it's just capitalism thoroughly baked into my psyche, but the game ownership dynamic seems to tether me more closely to a title and make it harder for me to move on from. Does that mean I'm having superior gaming experiences? Absolutely not. It could very well imply that I'm spending time on games I otherwise wouldn't simply because I threw some currency at them.

Anyway, I appreciate your perspective and thoroughly agree that substance over style will ultimately determine the success of any game and therefore any subscription service. The only game I've pre-ordered EVER is Horizon Forbidden West, and while I fully believed in the hype of that game because of the studio behind it and my experience playing the original, there was the added incentive of $10 off the launch price due to Sony's botching the PS5 upgrade path. I do love sticking my head out the window of a fast-moving hype train, but healthier by far to ignore the promises of marketing departments and gauge reactions from critics and fellow gamers before opening your wallet.

Wholeheartedly agree! Bit of a tangent, but one of the reasons I have such fondness for Nintendo games, apart from what seems to be an ethos of encoding joy into their core gaming experiences, is they seem largely exempt from the data- and money-grabbing most contemporary games are designed around. It's absolutely refreshing to play a title like Kirby which doesn't make you read through 17 pages of privacy waivers, or ask you to create an account, or show you what's new on the store before each play session. A game's lightheartedness is compromised to varying degrees by the extent to which it does this. Immortals Fenyx Rising is a wonderful game, but it's also an Ubisoft game, which means it comes freighted with a fair amount of this transactional, anti-game poppycock (pardon the language). In this era of access to classic games via Nintendo Switch Online, PS Plus and xbox back compat, it's both shocking to see how much better games have gotten, and disheartening to see how much has been sacrificed by exposing games to the corrupting influence of monetization and data-gathering. I do miss the purity of that old feeling of dropping into a game knowing that every trace of the real world has been walled off by this hand-made interactive experience, a space where data-driven engagement metrics and capitalist, transactional progression models have not yet encroached, before every game company had its hands in our pockets while ours were busy with controllers.

Booted this up recently, not having played it since its original release, and was pleasantly surprised by how absolutely solid an FPS/puzzler it is. Brilliant level design, pitch-perfect atmosphere and iconic sprites. One of my favorite Game Pass tries of the year so far.

@Giantkiller "Half the problem with gaming these days is gamers themselves, maybe unpopular but it’s true"

Only half the problem sounds like a great improvement!

@AFCC LOL I did a double take while watching the presentation. Not a very Bethesda move at all. I'm reserving judgment for when I actually get my hands on the game, but Dead Cells is the only decent game with procedural generation, IMO, and I certainly don't like it in my RPGs.

I'll just add that at this point, being a Sonic fan is like being a Knicks fan. You know you're going to get your heart broken, but you still show up every single time, and you still allow yourself to get your hopes up. I'm OK with that.

Sonic Fantasy XV! I'm loving the realistic landscape with surreal aerial platforming. And I hope that's the actual music from the game, because it's gorgeous. I am ready for this Sonic experience.

@Tech-Bandit You raise a good point worthy of discussion. It's a no-brainer that if you own both systems and a game you want to play is "free" on one of them, that's the system you'll play it on. And the other guys "lose" a sale. But if Sony keeps publishing the likes of God of War, Spiderman, The Last of Us, Returnal, Uncharted, etc., and those games can only be played on a Playstation, I don't see the equation being much changed. Maybe Microsoft grabs up some of Sony's market share, but it won't fundamentally alter the landscape if Sony keeps doing exactly what they've always done that has catapulted them into the position of power they now enjoy. Same with Nintendo. Can Sony be a much better company to their developers and fans? Absolutely, 100%. They seem to fumble just about every damn change that comes from on high and I would love to see them evolve into a corporation that actually respects its customers rather than one that simply pays lip service to them ("For the Players") and then repeatedly delivers up anti-consumer innovations in their products. But at the end of the day, it comes down to what kind of games you enjoy, because great value on games that are of only passing interest to you will not be enough to get you to switch platforms.

I have PS Plus and Now and will be subscribed to the highest tier when the services coalesce in a fortnight. I have Game Pass Ultimate. On Game Pass, I'm very grateful to be able to engage with games I wouldn't normally buy. It's particularly proven a treasure trove when it comes to Indie titles, and the service seems to be good for Indie developers as well. I think Sony are being smart here. Microsoft is attempting to control the conversation around this, by consistently forcing the comparison to Game Pass. My prediction is that, in time, Game Pass will become like Netflix. Maybe with a giant share of content and market, but with dwindling actual engagement from consumers. My engagement with Game Pass titles is, with a couple notable exceptions, far more superficial than with first-party Nintendo and Playstation titles. Don't get me wrong, I love and I'm thankful for access to all three major gaming ecosystems, which is why the subs pay for themselves ten times over every month for me, personally. But Sony have been MASSIVELY successful with their current, traditional model. Their greatest asset is their reputation for making blockbuster single-player games that everyone HAS to play, and that sell millions and millions of copies. People subscribe and unsubscribe to stuff every damn day of their lives, but buying a spectacular first-party title that is virtually guaranteed to give way more value than its price tag would suggest, even when that price goes up, remains a unique and very lucrative experience this gamer would be sorry to see disappear.

@ibis_87 For me, it's different games for different moods. My Series X is purely for Game Pass, and Game Pass seems to work best for indie developers. As AAA titles get more and more repetitive, I turn to indie games to give me an original experience with charm and character. That being said, probably my most-played Series X title is Forza 5, a just mind-blowing experience to anybody who's been playing racing games since Out Run in the arcades. But I understand your frustration. I feel like we're being promised amazing new worlds but the last two years the biggest releases have been delayed and delayed, or published incomplete and nearly unplayable. Personally I feel like AAA has lost its way. Of course it would, when there's that much money involved. I would love to see a thriving AA scene full of games that harness the graphical capabilities of the new generation of consoles but aren't so burdened with massive financial projections that they don't try anything new. It's the Marvel-Cinematic-Universification of games, and I find that very, very boring. It's also one of the reasons why MOST of my gaming is actually done on the Switch and PS5. The original titles we get in those ecosystems are far more memorable to me. Kirby, Zelda, The Last of Us II, etc. Anyway, hopefully Starfield and Hellblade 2 live up to the hype and distract us from the dearth of major first-party releases on xbox, and hopefully Unreal Engine 5 makes it easier for devs to blow us away with amazing visuals on a regular basis!

@Zucaritas I'm a big fan of ALL racing games, and I wanted to love the WRC series, but I just can't get past the narrated turns element. Can you turn that off? SHOULD you turn that off? Will it still be a fun experience without it?

Yoku's Island Express is absolutely delightful.

@Rmg0731 Yes, the price may go up soon. But why would they announce a price hike at a games showcase?

Dang. Art direction looks fabulous. Somehow manages to skirt the uncanny valley by combining realistic animation with stylized visuals. Can't wait to try!

The score is a huge part of what makes Skyrim so deeply satisfying to inhabit, despite its visuals being an obstacle to immersion this late into its lifetime. I hope the music is as prominent in Starfield as it is in Skyrim. In fact I wish music were a more prominent part of video games in general. I know that's a broad statement, but I always find myself turning effects volume down and music volume up in any game mix.

LOVED Blast Corps back in the day on my N64 and frequently return to it on Rare Replay via Game Pass today. Tried playing Kameo recently and OOF, so awkward, had to put it down.

I love me some Tomb Raider! Recently re-watched the first Angelina Jolie movie and it remains a stone cold classic (and some of Daniel Craig's finest abs, I mean work.) I would love to see them leave all the problematic cultural stuff behind and just go full-on sci fi for this latest installment.

Finally! Lost in Random!

@AFCC No Man's Skyrim

I've been wanting to play this game since it came out and subsequently landed on everyone's best of the year lists, even though I noped out of RE7 because of how bloody scary it is. Village looks a bit more gothic and campy and therefore easier to swallow for unapologetic cowards (who for some reason like to play horror games) like me. If it lands on Game Pass that'll be quite the boon. I can also see them countering Sony's impending announcement with this news.

I'll try any racing game, especially the ones I don't have to pay for, but does anybody here enjoy the F1 series? I lean far further into the arcade side of things rather than sim, so Forza Horizon, Wreckfest, Dirt 5, Hot Wheels, Horizon Chase Turbo, etc. are my faves.

You mean a company notorious for its sexist and racist culture, its crunch, and its murky contractual practices is having trouble hiring people? Great news!

KRZ been on the 'shlist some time now. That's good gettin'!

@Cherip-the-Ripper Been eagerly awaiting this one myself!

SMB3 is a blast. Looks like it'll be a pure arcade experience, but it manages to straddle the sim and arcade play play styles beautifully, marrying the best of both worlds. It's not critically underrated, but it is critically underplayed. Enjoy!

This the one where the white guy voices the Asian protagonist?

Edit:

I played and enjoyed a good portion of SW2, then looked up the voice actor and had to drop out. It was like hanging out with your racist middle school classmate who thinks Asian accents are funny. It immediately made the game unplayable for me.

I looked this up a few months ago re: SW3 and it seemed nothing had changed. Same cast returning. I looked it up just now and discovered that it's been entirely re-cast with Asian actors, and the dev team said it's to specifically redress the "mistake" of not casting Asian actors originally. Good on them! I feel certain this is the reason it was delayed. It was going to be released in 2021, the year we all became more aware of anti-Asian racism.

I am once again excited to try this day one on PS Now.

I tried to take advantage of the Rider's Republic free play, but when I accessed it from the Free Play Days list it showed as available for purchase and nothing else. I'm a game pass ultimate subscriber. This happen to anyone else? I've been wanting to try AC Valhalla since it came out and would love for this to work!

@SacredPYRO I've encountered this sentiment all over the place, and even so I've yet to play Black Flag. I skipped all the generations between the N64 and the current one, and I'm afraid the mechanics and graphics might be too much of a turn-off. That and I found Odyssey and Origins so bland and bloated. I know they represent a departure from the series, but honestly it's hard to imagine Ubisoft doing better just on the evidence of those two games. Perhaps I just need to bite the bullet and give Black Flag a try, finally.

@Zochmenos @SacredPYRO Thank you both for the input. You've confirmed my instinct. It's a shame, though I don't begrudge all the fun everyone's having multiplayer. I'll get my modern single-player pirate adventure one day.

Is it possible to enjoy this - or any Sea of Thieves content - single player? I just don't enjoy multiplayer gaming but this pirate stuff looks like a blast.

Alice: Madness Returns is absolutely phenomenal, BTW, and just begs for a remake. It's got style to spare and a pitch-perfect atmosphere that transcends the usual console generational gap that keeps me from enjoying older 3D games.

@InterceptorAlpha I see! Wasn't aware of the difference between RTX and ray traced. Either way, the effect was certainly noticeable to me, though perhaps it contributes to the difficulty I'm having controlling my character through the more hectic portions.

@djshep1973 I feel the same way about RTX in Cyberpunk. Started a Nomad storyline. The dusty, sun-baked desert looked so real around me, and the framerate made it cinematic. Still waiting to dive properly into Night City, and feeling frustrated by the aiming. Is it somehow different in this game? Why does it feel so difficult to aim well and shoot?

@AstraeaV Are you letting go of the throttle to drift? It took me a while to get the hang of it, but when it clicks it feels great.

Terrible story and voice acting, amazing gameplay.

@somnambulance It's on the lighter side, but I recommend Flynn: Son of Crimson for your retro 2D platforming fix. I've also got my fingers crossed for Astalon arriving on the service.

@Banjo- I played and loved Shenmue I and II back in the day on Dreamcast. I also played them recently and oof, they haven't aged well. It's awkward and halting to say the least. Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, however, is tons of fun, and great value for the money.

Super Mega Baseball is actually a phenomenal game. I'll take it over MLB The Show any day. Beneath its cartoonish presentation is a sophisticated baseball sim. If you're at all interested, you're in for a treat!

Most reviews of this game miss one of its biggest selling points, in my opinion, and the reason it'll remain in my memory for a long time: uninstall took less than three seconds.

@GamingFan4Lyf I like your take on all this. I'm one of the aforementioned easily frustrated gamers. I play a lot of games on easy mode to be sure I enjoy their stories. I recently tried to get into Bloodborne. I couldn't progress past the first area. I got a little better, but not much. However, I found myself wanting to keep trying, even though the experience was immensely frustrating. What caused me to rage-uninstall was getting to the first boss without finding a single save point or opening a single shortcut, dying immediately, and starting back at the beginning. That made my soul... dark... All that being said, I appreciate your enthusiasm and welcoming tone. Elden Ring appeals to me more than all the other From games combined, so unless I read after release that it's only for hardcore gamers, I will certainly give it a go.

@FraserG Thank you!

Campaign nowhere in sight. Just the base game.

Metrostalk Infinite

@isturbo1984 Thank you for taking the time to elaborate your viewpoint. I suppose I simply disagree with your assessment of the game. In many ways it's a significant step up, graphically, from the previous two iterations. And the cel-shaded style, while I too find it sometimes overused in indie games, speaks more to development resources than a lack of will or effort. Not knowing anything about what it takes to create a game, I won't speak to the amount of work needed to produce cel-shaded visuals. But I will say that when small studios aim for AAA-style graphics it often seems just as bland and laughably inadequate. Personally, I prefer a cartoonish style with character to an "expensive" look that falls short. That's not to say that indie games can't achieve outstanding alternative visuals, just that I can see why it's not always the priority, especially if the graphics match the tone and atmosphere of the gameplay.

When I say laziness does not exist, I'm just echoing more modern psychological takes on the phenomenon. There's a framework for discussing the various reasons why a person or group are not motivated, but "laziness" is just a term invented to shame people for not trying hard enough, regardless of the reasons. Surely it's more complex than that, but I find this more useful personally in my own life and as I interact with others.

@isturbo1984 Why does it strike you as lazy? Full disclosure: I don't think laziness as a concept actually exists. But I am genuinely curious why you would accuse the developers of laziness based on an art style that strikes me as charming and full of character.

@Nightcrawler71 I love space exploration/shooter games, so it was one of my most-anticipated. I prefer arcade-y versus hardcore simulation, so while I enjoy No Man's Sky I much prefer Starlink to Elite Dangerous. Chorvs features phenomenal gameplay and introduces brilliant drift and teleportation mechanics, which greatly reduce the amount of swinging your reticle around to line up with enemy ships that seems to be 98% of the gameplay in some space shooters. My two major issues with the game are narrative and voice acting. These are my issues with almost every game I play these days. If you can see past the half-assed, juvenile writing and uninspired acting, there's a very fun, very pretty game to be enjoyed. Hope that's helpful.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on Nintendo Switch Online

Uncharted 4, Guardians of the Galaxy, Chorvs, and Tomb Raider on PS5

Forza Horizon 5, Doom Eternal, Golf With Friends and Unpacking on Xbox Series X

I am absolutely spoiled for choice and loving this generation. Game on one and all and happy weekend!

Like most people do with games Activision publishes, Microsoft waited for them to go on sale. They've long been after Spyro for Game Pass.