@Titntin that makes sense. My family really doesn’t let me play games as much as I want. Lol. I’m lucky if I get to play games an hour a day. It’s easy to forget how gaming felt in “the old days.” Lol. I don’t believe playtime was tracked on the 360, but I’m sure I’d find some entertainment in seeing how much I played the Halo series and just how deep into Bethesda games I got. Nowadays I almost feel like I have to rush if I want to complete games. Crimson Desert was sort of nice for slowing down time rather than speeding it up. I’ll be back to it some day.
To hit 255 hours so quick… The most hours I have in any game this year is 40 with Crimson Desert and that felt like a lot of time. The only games I have clocked at 255+ hours on any of my consoles are Animal Crossing New Horizons and Skyrim and I play games a lot (ironically too, I have maybe personally only played 1-2 hours of ACNH because my family hijacked the game early on). Where do people find the time? Lol
I wouldn’t be surprised if Halo’s a shadow drop. There’s practically a blank release slate outside a few heavy hitters in September the second half of the year and we’re already in June. Gotta get those games out ASAP if GTA is legitimately releasing in November.
@Banjo- Yeah, I totally understand. Fable’s just the game that I’ve been looking forward to for years now and I’m just bummed that the most exciting game first party Xbox has this year for me is another remake of Halo 1 now. I’d take Fable over GTA. I’m maybe feeling burn out over GTA and it’s not even out yet. I hope it’s worth the hype and the emptied release schedule.
The one Xbox game I was sure to buy this year too. Honestly, this delay really hurts how much I like the first party slate this year. Can’t be Xbox without saying, “But next year…” about something. With they would’ve delayed CoD and Gears instead. 😂
That said, I hope this means that GTA 6 is definitely releasing this year and that we’ll see it next week. I’m sort of tired of the whole industry making space for it, even if it’s saving me money.
I plan on watching it at a slightly delayed time, so I can skip stuff if I’m not interested in a specific game. I’ve found that watching these showcases a half hour late usually saves me a half hour of stuff I don’t care to see, but I still get that surprise factor where the internet isn’t ruining what I do want to see. Hopefully this year the 30 minutes I don’t want to see though is just the Gears stuff. Sorry, but I can’t stand Gears. Wish that time was saved for Fable or Halo.
I hope not. It’s too soon for me. The generation is finally starting to get original content. I’d sort of like to let this generation cook, let development times decrease a bit more, you know? Let’s get to sustainable development before pushing for a further unsustainable future.
Oh, yes, because it’s so much better for a company to scan and collect my face and fingerprint. Sorry, but I’m tired of the world being more and more invasive every day.
Haven’t played it, but I’m not really a racing game person, so my GotY is still either Pragmata or Requiem, but Mina the Hollower’s coming up and that’s bigger a chance to be a contender to me than FH6.
I’m sure it’ll end up being the best racing game I play this year once I play it (and I will), but Halo and Fable are also far more interesting to me. Hearing most people say it’s more of the same but with a better map makes it sound like a Forza game for sure. I feel like Forza games are like a reliable 8/10 game where you know what you’re getting every time and it’s always good, just nothing that totally revolutionizes the genre.
I can’t really think of that many “storied first party games” that Xbox hasn’t been churning out, especially this year unless he’s finally the person lighting a fire under Todd Howard to get the ball rolling on Elder Scrolls and Fallout (or Banjo Kazooie, of course!). Those are the only big franchises that I feel like Xbox just isn’t pushing right now. Halo and Fable are finally back this year and I’ve missed them both dearly, but those are the two massive ones I’ve missed from Team Green for what feels like a while. Hopefully we get more Halo more quickly?
@Sol4ris I mean, yeah. Both consoles had a better first party ecosystem when they were competing. The first party content from both parties has been tepid and I’d argue it’s largely because Xbox is more of a marketing partner to Sony than a competitor.
It’s great news. Games are better when there’s competition in the console space. Since Xbox has pivoted to being a third party with their own console too, it’s made PlayStation far worse as an ecosystem. I always thought it was strange that Xbox dropped exclusives just as they finally started to hit a stride with first party games. I know the first party slate was really iffy for a few years, but now PlayStation’s had a few really iffy years. Xbox could’ve leveraged themselves with games like Indy and FH6. Hopefully Sony and Microsoft push each other to raise the quality of their content rather than keep us in this morass of live service.
@Ch13f_84 Pick Pragmata first. It’s a better game, especially if you’re tired of bloated open worlds. Pragmata is short. It tells a simple story with good emotional beats and gets outta there, all with solid Capcom gameplay with a unique, new spin on it. I could keep going on and on about it, but Pragmata’s so good that I’d say try to go in as blind as possible. In my opinion, it may be the GotY frontrunner for me right now. Of course, mileage varies with us all, but I highly recommend it.
@Lup There’s a demo for it if you want to give it a go. It’s certainly unique. It’s one of those, “It’s either for you or it’s not” types of games, I think.
@Ch13f_84 I dislike big, giant bloated games at this point, but I’m enjoying Crimson Desert. It’s by no means my GotY front runner, but it’s more fun than I expected. It’s hard to say it’s a 7/10 because it’s such dumb fun, so maybe I’d rank it an 8/10. I’ll probably never finish the game, and as someone that has an OCD thing about completing my games, it’s sort of freeing to have a game that’s so open like that. I really recommend the game in spite of its flaws. After about 10 hours with the game, it’s just so vast and spacious that you sort of settle into it. I can see why some people would say it’s a Game of the Generation, but I can also see why someone would say that about Mixtape. Neither one is that game for me, but both are totally worth experiencing. I’m getting close to 40 hours into Crimson Desert and I still feel like I’m at the beginning too. It’s lack of deep storytelling is quite interesting too, as it’s not often a game just says explore and do gameplay in such a way as this. It’s honestly surprising you don’t get a create-a-character for this one.
I’m about halfway through Mixtape, so I’d like to finish it. Outside that, more Crimson Desert perhaps. I feel like Crimson Desert is going to be a game I perpetually play in the background at this point. The lack of story makes it hard to feel super invested in it, but the gameplay makes it fun to kill some time with, so it’s perfect for a bit of escapism when it’s needed.
I’m a little overburdened with games to get it in May to get it at launch with Yoshi, Bubsy, and Mina the Hollower all coming out on top of each other. I’ll be there reading the reviews though. I’m curious how Hitman-y it is.
I’d say it was a solid 7/10. I know people might think I’m crazy, but I was expecting the game to feel MORE TANKY than it felt. I was hoping for a relatively heavy feeling fps as a contrast to the zippiness of the genre and it just wasn’t that. Master Chief “feels” heavier to me than Doom Guy and I wasn’t expecting I’d be saying that, but therein lies my feeling of the game not being my expectation and falling short of what I wanted, so I’ll acknowledge that’s more a me thing than the game’s thing. I thought the game was relatively solid outside that, but I couldn’t shake that feeling throughout the game. Silly me.
Planning on giving this one a shot this week. After all the hateful comments mixed with glowing reviews, honestly that’s piqued my interest far more than it was before. Reminds me of the walking sim wave… and honestly I loved the Dear Esthers, Gone Homes, Edith Finches too. I wouldn’t know the hate though if it hadn’t been so thoroughly covered by the gaming news media. We hear more about these trolls than we hear about what the business is doing right now and that’s a huge red flag in the industry.
That said, we need to stop feeding the trolls. They have made a career endlessly hating the medium they pretend to like and we, as a people, need to stop supporting that. It’s just as bad as the corporate suit mentality. If we’re going to shift this world, we need to do better. For companies, we vote with our wallet. For the leeches, vote with your time. Hit that unsubscribe button, shoot them a dislike, and get outta there!
@Ecstatic-Magician I have no idea how to help you (useless with that side of tech, I’m afraid), but I’d love it if you’d reach out when it’s ready to play!
5 for me. I say that as a filthy casual. I’ve never finished a Forza campaign and I’ve always played a little bit here and there for fun instead. Just don’t really play many racing games seriously or longterm. Realistically, it’s those showpiece moments for me that are the memorable things and FH5 was really memorable. I remember saying wow a couple times just with how the game looks and feels. It’s probably the best racing game I’ve played this generation… minus… well… Mario Kart… Sorry, but I did say I’m a casual.
Thank you for doing a list without the big licensed games @FraserG. Seeing THAT list makes me far more interested.
While I’m not going to be critical of peoples’ choices in popular licensed media, there’s a good chance interest in those games might stem just as much because they’re connected to the big IP as fans of that rather than purely a fan of games.
As someone with little personal attachment to Transformers or Marvel, I love seeing a diverse list that includes Alpha Protocol, Eternal Sonata, Remember Me, etc… I mean, that list is far closer to my own personal attachment, so that’s my bias!
Eternal Sonata in particular is one I’d love to see. Long, long ago, when my wife and I had our first apartment, it was the tail end of the 360 era. We used to go to a rental store regularly and pick up movies and games. I’ll always remember picking out Eternal Sonata since my wife really wanted to pick it up. It was the first game that I didn’t expose her to or that she hadn’t been exposed to previously that she picked and we had a great time with it. Years later, I’d love to buy the game for her, so we can finally finish it. Could never find it in store.
It’s Mother’s Day weekend, so realistically I don’t know how much gaming I’ll be doing. Lol.
If I do play something, I imagine I’ll be helping my son with Lego Harry Potter or continuing on with the biggest Assassin’s Creed game yet: Crimson Desert. I jest. Curious about Mixtape too…
I think the Helix will take the 360 strategy and try to be out first, but I also don’t think there’s much demand for console upgrades right now, so they may get mixed results. Xbox has alienated their fanbase pretty deeply, so I don’t know… Most of the more affluent supporters have probably jumped on PC gaming by now and the less affluent ones might not be in a rush to have console sized expense.
@RBRTMNZ Maybe, maybe not. I suppose my focus is tightening now, but that’s just economics. I used to spend double or triple what I do now on games, but, y’know… groceries and stuff nowadays.
Gamepass has a habit of bringing older games to the service. You name dropped KCD2 and Death Stranding, for instance. I finished Death Stranding in January 2020. KCD2, I took bite into the hype wave it had after launch and bought it a week after launch last year. I play a little bit of everything. I’ve just already played a lot. My “backlog” is basically retro games that I’m working through and I mostly focus on new releases. When Xbox’s first party games are cooking, that’s usually when I’m subbed to Gamepass.
This month… I might buy four games, not gonna lie. Yoshi, Bubsy, Mina the Hollower are all a lock, and Mixtape’s genuinely sort of teasing me.
@Shinato2024 Exactly, you need to play what Microsoft has on its schedule for it to make sense and play those games a lot. If you are buying other games and balancing that, you could be paying for letting the sub sit.
@Skinny-Pete Personally, I would feel the same whether Xbox or PlayStation announced it. As a Portal owner, I’ve got my own frustration with Sony gatekeeping Portal streaming behind Premium’s paywall. Makes the Portal feel like a brick when I’m not subbed to PS+. Sony’s not exactly very consumer friendly with their policies either and I hope that they receive criticism for their weak line-up this year and questionable policies just as Xbox did years prior.
@GeeEssEff Microsoft got rich for a reason and it’s not from total honesty! Microsoft’s loved their sub services before it was cool. They didn’t make the Netflix of gaming with Gamepass, they made the next iteration of Encarta or Word with it! 😂
@RBRTMNZ y’see I’m a core gamer too. I’ve already completed a little over a dozen games this year. I like choosing my own games rather than Microsoft picking for me and I typically get games Day 1. I don’t believe any games I’ve played so far this year have been on Gamepass though. Mixtape’s probably the first game this year that’s gotten me interested and I saw the game was cheaper than subbing and figured I’d skip. I can wait to play Forza til things stack a bit more. Since the price increase, the quality and profile of releases has been smaller to me, which is a weird way to push a value proposition to me. The tail end of 2024 into the first half of 2025 was super solid for Gamepass, for instance.
@Skinny-Pete @RBRTMNZ I’m not always a fan of Gamepass because it’s usually cheaper to just buy games than to remain subbed. Let’s say you’re subbed for just Mixtape this month, right? If you’re subbed for Mixtape, it’s $20 to purchase while a monthly subscription for ultimate is $23.
I sub when it saves money on newer games, but ever since Xbox jacked up the price, it hasn’t been worth it to me, not even with the recent price decrease. It may be worth it more when Forza comes out, but the service is inconsistent and I’ve probably wasted hundreds of dollars on GP saying “next month will be better” only to be wrong.
When I did a cost analysis on my GP spending from May 2019 to May 2024, I found I would’ve saved money on buying every game I played and completed on the service rather than subbing for that time period. Subscriptions give you the illusion of cheaper now in the pursuit of making more money over time. That’s why so many businesses push them over pure sales right now.
Ultimate is a great value proposition if you only play Gamepass games and you play enough of them to offset the cost.
This looks pretty impressive. I’ve never been able to crack the Yakuza series or its spin-offs, but this is a genuinely cool idea to span such a wide breadth of time. Most interested I’ve ever been with an RGG game
Didn’t take long to bring in an AI wave with her. We’ll have to see how it plays out. I know some people are already celebrating Asha’s leadership, but we’ve still yet to see her impact beyond essentially being a reboot for Xbox
@GASEOUS I hope that’s the case. I’d love to see a new Halo game too. I can’t believe we’ve dropped down to a single Halo experience per generation now when we used to get Halo on an almost yearly basis.
To be honest, that’s sort of expected, but also disappointing if this is the direction Halo may be going.
Granted, we’ve yet to play the remake, so we don’t know how good it is yet, but it sounds like we won’t see genuine new Halo or multiplayer Halo for a little bit. I love the original games, but I want new Halo experiences.
That’s pretty cool. I have Mariachi Legends on my Steam wishlist. Glad it’ll be coming to consoles too. Looks like a unique spin on the ‘Vania genre while still being very faithful to the source. To be honest, I’m not gonna sub to Gamepass for it, as I expect it’ll be cheaper than a monthly subscription, but hopefully I can pick it up for the Switch rather than the Deck.
I’ve completed all my games this year except for one now and I’ve got no other pre-orders til Yoshi and Bubsy at the end of the month and after that… are any games coming out in the summer? Doesn’t feel like it, so… it’s time to commit myself to Crimson Desert for a long, long while to see what all the hype is about. I am planning on it being my main game for at least two months. Let’s see what happens.
And also, finally getting to NANINF in Balatro is so satisfying
@Balaam_ Amen, brother. In the age of deeper discovery, it’s actually harder to find the good stuff. They can deepen our discovery with more transparency and showcases.
@Weebleman But corpos do let giant brands go into freefall when things are really bad sometimes to see if they can reboot a somewhat popular brand. It’s been a strategy these days in this economy. It’s something I’ve noticed lately. If you’re a somewhat beloved brand, there’s potential for a rebound, or an opportunity for a golden parachute for the CEOs.
I don’t think Xbox was quite in free fall, but rather they were seeing if being a third party publisher was a more viable option and when it was not, Phil announced his retirement, so the brand could have a reset. For all we know, Phil’s still calling the shots, but letting Asha be the face for them. Microsoft has the resources to pull a stunt like this in the pursuit of more revenue later to offset it.
I’d assume Xbox has lost most of its player base by this point. The numbers are staggeringly bad, but public trust in Microsoft in general also feels like it’s at an all time low. This crumble, I imagine, is partially a set up so Xbox can have a genuine return. They’re letting things crash out before Helix on purpose, so Helix can surge and have solid numbers as a reboot and rebrand, I’d imagine.
I’d like a sequel to Infinite, personally, but something multiplayer should be next. I hope something’s been in the works for that. A Halo BR would be incredible. Halo 3 is still basically the zenith of online multiplayer gaming in my opinion. I just hope for more fun Halo experiences. Fun is always what Halo did best.
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Re: 'Lost 255 Hours Of Progress' - Forza Horizon 6 Players Warn Of Xbox & PC Saving Issue
@Titntin Lol, I miss the days when my wife was deep into Skyrim just like me!
Re: 'Lost 255 Hours Of Progress' - Forza Horizon 6 Players Warn Of Xbox & PC Saving Issue
@Titntin that makes sense. My family really doesn’t let me play games as much as I want. Lol. I’m lucky if I get to play games an hour a day. It’s easy to forget how gaming felt in “the old days.” Lol. I don’t believe playtime was tracked on the 360, but I’m sure I’d find some entertainment in seeing how much I played the Halo series and just how deep into Bethesda games I got. Nowadays I almost feel like I have to rush if I want to complete games. Crimson Desert was sort of nice for slowing down time rather than speeding it up. I’ll be back to it some day.
Re: 'Lost 255 Hours Of Progress' - Forza Horizon 6 Players Warn Of Xbox & PC Saving Issue
To hit 255 hours so quick… The most hours I have in any game this year is 40 with Crimson Desert and that felt like a lot of time. The only games I have clocked at 255+ hours on any of my consoles are Animal Crossing New Horizons and Skyrim and I play games a lot (ironically too, I have maybe personally only played 1-2 hours of ACNH because my family hijacked the game early on). Where do people find the time? Lol
Re: Xbox Teases Sunday's Showcase, Calls It 'A True Celebration' With 'A Swathe' Of Reveals
I hope this is a showcase season to remember for the right reasons
Re: Our Final Predictions For The 2026 Xbox Games Showcase
I wouldn’t be surprised if Halo’s a shadow drop. There’s practically a blank release slate outside a few heavy hitters in September the second half of the year and we’re already in June. Gotta get those games out ASAP if GTA is legitimately releasing in November.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 30-31)
Mina the Hollower
Re: Xbox Delays Fable To February 2027, And It's Basically Because Of GTA 6
@Banjo- Yeah, I totally understand. Fable’s just the game that I’ve been looking forward to for years now and I’m just bummed that the most exciting game first party Xbox has this year for me is another remake of Halo 1 now. I’d take Fable over GTA. I’m maybe feeling burn out over GTA and it’s not even out yet. I hope it’s worth the hype and the emptied release schedule.
Re: Xbox Delays Fable To February 2027, And It's Basically Because Of GTA 6
The one Xbox game I was sure to buy this year too. Honestly, this delay really hurts how much I like the first party slate this year. Can’t be Xbox without saying, “But next year…” about something. With they would’ve delayed CoD and Gears instead. 😂
That said, I hope this means that GTA 6 is definitely releasing this year and that we’ll see it next week. I’m sort of tired of the whole industry making space for it, even if it’s saving me money.
Re: Lots Of Highly-Anticipated Xbox Titles Added To 'Coming Soon' On Game Pass App
Honestly that line-up makes me sort of interested in resubbing if we get a good time table for their release dates.
Re: Talking Point: What Are Your Plans For The Xbox Games Showcase 2026?
I plan on watching it at a slightly delayed time, so I can skip stuff if I’m not interested in a specific game. I’ve found that watching these showcases a half hour late usually saves me a half hour of stuff I don’t care to see, but I still get that surprise factor where the internet isn’t ruining what I do want to see. Hopefully this year the 30 minutes I don’t want to see though is just the Gears stuff. Sorry, but I can’t stand Gears. Wish that time was saved for Fable or Halo.
Re: Talking Point: Do You Think We'll See PS6 & Project Helix In Action This Summer?
I hope not. It’s too soon for me. The generation is finally starting to get original content. I’d sort of like to let this generation cook, let development times decrease a bit more, you know? Let’s get to sustainable development before pushing for a further unsustainable future.
Re: PSA: Microsoft Is Removing SMS Authentication From Everyone's Xbox Account
Oh, yes, because it’s so much better for a company to scan and collect my face and fingerprint. Sorry, but I’m tired of the world being more and more invasive every day.
Re: These Are The Top 25 'XBOX Player Voice' Requests After One Week
Surprised “make Gamepass a modular service” isn’t higher. I’d be down for that.
Re: Poll: So, Is Forza Horizon 6 Your Favourite Game Of 2026 So Far?
Haven’t played it, but I’m not really a racing game person, so my GotY is still either Pragmata or Requiem, but Mina the Hollower’s coming up and that’s bigger a chance to be a contender to me than FH6.
I’m sure it’ll end up being the best racing game I play this year once I play it (and I will), but Halo and Fable are also far more interesting to me. Hearing most people say it’s more of the same but with a better map makes it sound like a Forza game for sure. I feel like Forza games are like a reliable 8/10 game where you know what you’re getting every time and it’s always good, just nothing that totally revolutionizes the genre.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 23-24)
I’m taking a bit of a break from Crimson Desert and I think I’ll probably play Yoshi and Bubsy this weekend.
Re: Xbox's New Chief Strategy Officer Is Planning To 'Revive Storied Franchises'
I can’t really think of that many “storied first party games” that Xbox hasn’t been churning out, especially this year unless he’s finally the person lighting a fire under Todd Howard to get the ball rolling on Elder Scrolls and Fallout (or Banjo Kazooie, of course!). Those are the only big franchises that I feel like Xbox just isn’t pushing right now. Halo and Fable are finally back this year and I’ve missed them both dearly, but those are the two massive ones I’ve missed from Team Green for what feels like a while. Hopefully we get more Halo more quickly?
Re: Xbox Game Studios Now Has An Official Shop, Featuring Merch For Major First-Party Games
No Psychonauts though… 😤
Re: Sony's Summer State Of Play Takes Place Within A Week Of The Xbox Games Showcase 2026
I’m going to laugh if Halo gets a release date at the State of Play.
@BIG3 for real, we need a Direct.
Re: Digital Foundry Labels Sony's PS5 Exclusivity Pivot As A 'Defensive Move Against Project Helix'
@Sol4ris I mean, yeah. Both consoles had a better first party ecosystem when they were competing. The first party content from both parties has been tepid and I’d argue it’s largely because Xbox is more of a marketing partner to Sony than a competitor.
Re: Digital Foundry Labels Sony's PS5 Exclusivity Pivot As A 'Defensive Move Against Project Helix'
It’s great news. Games are better when there’s competition in the console space. Since Xbox has pivoted to being a third party with their own console too, it’s made PlayStation far worse as an ecosystem. I always thought it was strange that Xbox dropped exclusives just as they finally started to hit a stride with first party games. I know the first party slate was really iffy for a few years, but now PlayStation’s had a few really iffy years. Xbox could’ve leveraged themselves with games like Indy and FH6. Hopefully Sony and Microsoft push each other to raise the quality of their content rather than keep us in this morass of live service.
Re: Roundup: Here's What The Reviews Are Saying About LEGO Batman: Legacy Of The Dark Knight
Sounds basically like every Lego game ever in the reviews.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 16-17)
@Ch13f_84 Pick Pragmata first. It’s a better game, especially if you’re tired of bloated open worlds. Pragmata is short. It tells a simple story with good emotional beats and gets outta there, all with solid Capcom gameplay with a unique, new spin on it. I could keep going on and on about it, but Pragmata’s so good that I’d say try to go in as blind as possible. In my opinion, it may be the GotY frontrunner for me right now. Of course, mileage varies with us all, but I highly recommend it.
Re: Five Games Are Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In June 2026 So Far
@Lup There’s a demo for it if you want to give it a go. It’s certainly unique. It’s one of those, “It’s either for you or it’s not” types of games, I think.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 16-17)
@Ch13f_84 I dislike big, giant bloated games at this point, but I’m enjoying Crimson Desert. It’s by no means my GotY front runner, but it’s more fun than I expected. It’s hard to say it’s a 7/10 because it’s such dumb fun, so maybe I’d rank it an 8/10. I’ll probably never finish the game, and as someone that has an OCD thing about completing my games, it’s sort of freeing to have a game that’s so open like that. I really recommend the game in spite of its flaws. After about 10 hours with the game, it’s just so vast and spacious that you sort of settle into it. I can see why some people would say it’s a Game of the Generation, but I can also see why someone would say that about Mixtape. Neither one is that game for me, but both are totally worth experiencing. I’m getting close to 40 hours into Crimson Desert and I still feel like I’m at the beginning too. It’s lack of deep storytelling is quite interesting too, as it’s not often a game just says explore and do gameplay in such a way as this. It’s honestly surprising you don’t get a create-a-character for this one.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 16-17)
I’m about halfway through Mixtape, so I’d like to finish it. Outside that, more Crimson Desert perhaps. I feel like Crimson Desert is going to be a game I perpetually play in the background at this point. The lack of story makes it hard to feel super invested in it, but the gameplay makes it fun to kill some time with, so it’s perfect for a bit of escapism when it’s needed.
Re: Poll: Are You Planning To Buy 007 First Light Later This Month?
I’m a little overburdened with games to get it in May to get it at launch with Yoshi, Bubsy, and Mina the Hollower all coming out on top of each other. I’ll be there reading the reviews though. I’m curious how Hitman-y it is.
Re: Roundup: Here's What The Critics Are Saying About Forza Horizon 6
IGN gave it a 10/10. Are people going to claim a conspiracy on this one too? 😂
Re: Talking Point: What Dream Reveal Would You Like To See At The Xbox Games Showcase 2026?
Elder Scrolls 6. I mean, c’mon Todd.
And Witchbrook. Surely, that’s gotta be coming out soon, right?
I’d love to see Banjo and Spyro too, of course.
Re: Talking Point: One Year Later, What Do You Think Of DOOM: The Dark Ages?
I’d say it was a solid 7/10. I know people might think I’m crazy, but I was expecting the game to feel MORE TANKY than it felt. I was hoping for a relatively heavy feeling fps as a contrast to the zippiness of the genre and it just wasn’t that. Master Chief “feels” heavier to me than Doom Guy and I wasn’t expecting I’d be saying that, but therein lies my feeling of the game not being my expectation and falling short of what I wanted, so I’ll acknowledge that’s more a me thing than the game’s thing. I thought the game was relatively solid outside that, but I couldn’t shake that feeling throughout the game. Silly me.
Re: Xbox Racks Up 2M Views With Comment That Appears To Address Mixtape's Review Backlash
Planning on giving this one a shot this week. After all the hateful comments mixed with glowing reviews, honestly that’s piqued my interest far more than it was before. Reminds me of the walking sim wave… and honestly I loved the Dear Esthers, Gone Homes, Edith Finches too. I wouldn’t know the hate though if it hadn’t been so thoroughly covered by the gaming news media. We hear more about these trolls than we hear about what the business is doing right now and that’s a huge red flag in the industry.
That said, we need to stop feeding the trolls. They have made a career endlessly hating the medium they pretend to like and we, as a people, need to stop supporting that. It’s just as bad as the corporate suit mentality. If we’re going to shift this world, we need to do better. For companies, we vote with our wallet. For the leeches, vote with your time. Hit that unsubscribe button, shoot them a dislike, and get outta there!
Re: These Are The Top 10 Xbox Backwards Compatibility Requests After 350,000 Votes
@Ecstatic-Magician I have no idea how to help you (useless with that side of tech, I’m afraid), but I’d love it if you’d reach out when it’s ready to play!
Re: Poll: Which Is Your Favourite Forza Horizon Game To Date?
5 for me. I say that as a filthy casual. I’ve never finished a Forza campaign and I’ve always played a little bit here and there for fun instead. Just don’t really play many racing games seriously or longterm. Realistically, it’s those showpiece moments for me that are the memorable things and FH5 was really memorable. I remember saying wow a couple times just with how the game looks and feels. It’s probably the best racing game I’ve played this generation… minus… well… Mario Kart… Sorry, but I did say I’m a casual.
Re: These Are The Top 10 Xbox Backwards Compatibility Requests After 350,000 Votes
Thank you for doing a list without the big licensed games @FraserG. Seeing THAT list makes me far more interested.
While I’m not going to be critical of peoples’ choices in popular licensed media, there’s a good chance interest in those games might stem just as much because they’re connected to the big IP as fans of that rather than purely a fan of games.
As someone with little personal attachment to Transformers or Marvel, I love seeing a diverse list that includes Alpha Protocol, Eternal Sonata, Remember Me, etc… I mean, that list is far closer to my own personal attachment, so that’s my bias!
Eternal Sonata in particular is one I’d love to see. Long, long ago, when my wife and I had our first apartment, it was the tail end of the 360 era. We used to go to a rental store regularly and pick up movies and games. I’ll always remember picking out Eternal Sonata since my wife really wanted to pick it up. It was the first game that I didn’t expose her to or that she hadn’t been exposed to previously that she picked and we had a great time with it. Years later, I’d love to buy the game for her, so we can finally finish it. Could never find it in store.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 9-10)
It’s Mother’s Day weekend, so realistically I don’t know how much gaming I’ll be doing. Lol.
If I do play something, I imagine I’ll be helping my son with Lego Harry Potter or continuing on with the biggest Assassin’s Creed game yet: Crimson Desert. I jest. Curious about Mixtape too…
Re: Talking Point: Amidst PS6 Uncertainty, Do You Think Xbox Has Project Helix All Figured Out?
I think the Helix will take the 360 strategy and try to be out first, but I also don’t think there’s much demand for console upgrades right now, so they may get mixed results. Xbox has alienated their fanbase pretty deeply, so I don’t know… Most of the more affluent supporters have probably jumped on PC gaming by now and the less affluent ones might not be in a rush to have console sized expense.
Re: Mixtape Is Your Latest Day One Game Pass Title, And It's Available Today (May 7)
@RBRTMNZ Maybe, maybe not. I suppose my focus is tightening now, but that’s just economics. I used to spend double or triple what I do now on games, but, y’know… groceries and stuff nowadays.
Gamepass has a habit of bringing older games to the service. You name dropped KCD2 and Death Stranding, for instance. I finished Death Stranding in January 2020. KCD2, I took bite into the hype wave it had after launch and bought it a week after launch last year. I play a little bit of everything. I’ve just already played a lot. My “backlog” is basically retro games that I’m working through and I mostly focus on new releases. When Xbox’s first party games are cooking, that’s usually when I’m subbed to Gamepass.
This month… I might buy four games, not gonna lie. Yoshi, Bubsy, Mina the Hollower are all a lock, and Mixtape’s genuinely sort of teasing me.
Re: Mixtape Is Your Latest Day One Game Pass Title, And It's Available Today (May 7)
@Shinato2024 Exactly, you need to play what Microsoft has on its schedule for it to make sense and play those games a lot. If you are buying other games and balancing that, you could be paying for letting the sub sit.
@Skinny-Pete Personally, I would feel the same whether Xbox or PlayStation announced it. As a Portal owner, I’ve got my own frustration with Sony gatekeeping Portal streaming behind Premium’s paywall. Makes the Portal feel like a brick when I’m not subbed to PS+. Sony’s not exactly very consumer friendly with their policies either and I hope that they receive criticism for their weak line-up this year and questionable policies just as Xbox did years prior.
@GeeEssEff Microsoft got rich for a reason and it’s not from total honesty! Microsoft’s loved their sub services before it was cool. They didn’t make the Netflix of gaming with Gamepass, they made the next iteration of Encarta or Word with it! 😂
@RBRTMNZ y’see I’m a core gamer too. I’ve already completed a little over a dozen games this year. I like choosing my own games rather than Microsoft picking for me and I typically get games Day 1. I don’t believe any games I’ve played so far this year have been on Gamepass though. Mixtape’s probably the first game this year that’s gotten me interested and I saw the game was cheaper than subbing and figured I’d skip. I can wait to play Forza til things stack a bit more. Since the price increase, the quality and profile of releases has been smaller to me, which is a weird way to push a value proposition to me. The tail end of 2024 into the first half of 2025 was super solid for Gamepass, for instance.
Re: Mixtape Is Your Latest Day One Game Pass Title, And It's Available Today (May 7)
@Skinny-Pete @RBRTMNZ I’m not always a fan of Gamepass because it’s usually cheaper to just buy games than to remain subbed. Let’s say you’re subbed for just Mixtape this month, right? If you’re subbed for Mixtape, it’s $20 to purchase while a monthly subscription for ultimate is $23.
I sub when it saves money on newer games, but ever since Xbox jacked up the price, it hasn’t been worth it to me, not even with the recent price decrease. It may be worth it more when Forza comes out, but the service is inconsistent and I’ve probably wasted hundreds of dollars on GP saying “next month will be better” only to be wrong.
When I did a cost analysis on my GP spending from May 2019 to May 2024, I found I would’ve saved money on buying every game I played and completed on the service rather than subbing for that time period. Subscriptions give you the illusion of cheaper now in the pursuit of making more money over time. That’s why so many businesses push them over pure sales right now.
Ultimate is a great value proposition if you only play Gamepass games and you play enough of them to offset the cost.
Re: Xbox Dedicates Entire Showcase To Stranger Than Heaven, Releasing Winter 2026 On Game Pass
This looks pretty impressive. I’ve never been able to crack the Yakuza series or its spin-offs, but this is a genuinely cool idea to span such a wide breadth of time. Most interested I’ve ever been with an RGG game
Re: Xbox CEO Reveals New Start-Up Animation Coming To Consoles Next Week
Wake me up when we see actual software
Re: 'We Need To Evolve How We Work' - Xbox CEO Announces She's Bringing In New Leaders
Didn’t take long to bring in an AI wave with her. We’ll have to see how it plays out. I know some people are already celebrating Asha’s leadership, but we’ve still yet to see her impact beyond essentially being a reboot for Xbox
Re: Talking Point: New Survey Highlights The 'Top Reasons To Play Games On A Console'
Exclusives are basically the reason I buy a console. My Xbox has been dormant since Xbox games have gone to PS5
Re: Report: Halo 2 & 3 Remakes Are In 'Active Development' At Halo Studios
@GASEOUS I hope that’s the case. I’d love to see a new Halo game too. I can’t believe we’ve dropped down to a single Halo experience per generation now when we used to get Halo on an almost yearly basis.
Re: Report: Halo 2 & 3 Remakes Are In 'Active Development' At Halo Studios
To be honest, that’s sort of expected, but also disappointing if this is the direction Halo may be going.
Granted, we’ve yet to play the remake, so we don’t know how good it is yet, but it sounds like we won’t see genuine new Halo or multiplayer Halo for a little bit. I love the original games, but I want new Halo experiences.
Re: Two More 'Day One' Game Pass Titles Quietly Announced For 2026
That’s pretty cool. I have Mariachi Legends on my Steam wishlist. Glad it’ll be coming to consoles too. Looks like a unique spin on the ‘Vania genre while still being very faithful to the source. To be honest, I’m not gonna sub to Gamepass for it, as I expect it’ll be cheaper than a monthly subscription, but hopefully I can pick it up for the Switch rather than the Deck.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 2-3)
I’ve completed all my games this year except for one now and I’ve got no other pre-orders til Yoshi and Bubsy at the end of the month and after that… are any games coming out in the summer? Doesn’t feel like it, so… it’s time to commit myself to Crimson Desert for a long, long while to see what all the hype is about. I am planning on it being my main game for at least two months. Let’s see what happens.
And also, finally getting to NANINF in Balatro is so satisfying
Re: Asha Sharma Comments On AI Use As Upscaling Tech Rolls Out To ROG Xbox Ally
@Balaam_ Amen, brother. In the age of deeper discovery, it’s actually harder to find the good stuff. They can deepen our discovery with more transparency and showcases.
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox Is 'Recommitting To Our Core Fans' As Revenue Falls In FY26 Q3
@Weebleman But corpos do let giant brands go into freefall when things are really bad sometimes to see if they can reboot a somewhat popular brand. It’s been a strategy these days in this economy. It’s something I’ve noticed lately. If you’re a somewhat beloved brand, there’s potential for a rebound, or an opportunity for a golden parachute for the CEOs.
I don’t think Xbox was quite in free fall, but rather they were seeing if being a third party publisher was a more viable option and when it was not, Phil announced his retirement, so the brand could have a reset. For all we know, Phil’s still calling the shots, but letting Asha be the face for them. Microsoft has the resources to pull a stunt like this in the pursuit of more revenue later to offset it.
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox Is 'Recommitting To Our Core Fans' As Revenue Falls In FY26 Q3
I’d assume Xbox has lost most of its player base by this point. The numbers are staggeringly bad, but public trust in Microsoft in general also feels like it’s at an all time low. This crumble, I imagine, is partially a set up so Xbox can have a genuine return. They’re letting things crash out before Helix on purpose, so Helix can surge and have solid numbers as a reboot and rebrand, I’d imagine.
Re: Talking Point: After Halo: Campaign Evolved, What Do You Want Xbox To Do With The Series?
I’d like a sequel to Infinite, personally, but something multiplayer should be next. I hope something’s been in the works for that. A Halo BR would be incredible. Halo 3 is still basically the zenith of online multiplayer gaming in my opinion. I just hope for more fun Halo experiences. Fun is always what Halo did best.