Xbox Game Pass Previews
January2024
Feature Hands On With Palworld: The New 'Pokémon-Like' For Xbox Game Pass
"Mom, why does Pikachu have a gun?"
The following is a slightly altered transcript of our Palworld preview on the Pure Xbox YouTube channel. You can watch the full video up above, complete with a bunch of gameplay footage that we captured during our early access hands-on! This new 'gotcha' game has drawn comparisons to the likes of Pokémon which...
September2023
Hands On Payday 3 - A Performant Yet Familiar Co-Op FPS Hits Xbox Game Pass
Put your hands behind your head
Ahead of today's broader Xbox Game Pass launch, we've been playing some Payday 3 in early access - sneaking, robbing and shooting our way through a variety of heisty scenarios on Xbox Series X. Our time with the game so far has been spent with bots and random online players, and while partnering up with some real life...
January2023
Hands On Our First Impressions Of GoldenEye 007 On Xbox Game Pass
Rolling back the years
Can you believe it's finally here? For the first time ever since its Nintendo 64 release back in 1997, GoldenEye 007 has officially arrived on Xbox consoles, and we're still pinching ourselves that it's the real deal. The question is, though, what's this version like? In a nutshell, we're looking at a slightly spruced up...
Feature Hi-Fi RUSH Feels Like A Rhythm Game Version Of God Hand, And We're Absolutely Loving It
The Music Within
Wow. Stuff just happens doesn't it. You spend your whole week waiting and expecting a big game remake to drop that's gonna be the main topic of conversation for January 2023 (although the Dead Space Remake does look excellent) and then
November2022
Hands On Soccer Story - Xbox Game Pass's Answer To Golf Story On Nintendo Switch
A charming physics-driven adventure RPG
If you own a Nintendo Switch, then there's a good chance you've heard of Golf Story - it's a popular sports/adventure game with RPG elements, and it's getting a highly anticipated sequel called Sports Story in a few weeks' time. Unfortunately, it's a Switch exclusive series, but
September2022
Hands On Disney Dreamlight Valley (Xbox for PC) - A Slice Of Animal Crossing On Xbox Game Pass
A whole new world
When Disney Dreamlight Valley was first revealed for Xbox Game Pass a few months ago, we didn't quite know what to expect from it. Was it more like The Sims or Disneyland Adventures? Well, it's actually a bit of both, and it also incorporates plenty of familiar elements from games like Animal Crossing and
August2022
Feature Pentiment Preview: Obsidian's Latest Is A Unique And Painstakingly Researched Murder Mystery
A narrative adventure most unexpected
Pentiment: pen·ti·men·to: Definition of pentimento: a reappearance in a painting of an original drawn or painted element which was eventually painted over by the artist. First announced back in June during the Xbox & Bethesda Showcase, Obsidian's Pentiment immediately stood out from the crowd...
Hands On Turbo Golf Racing - Good Fun In Short Bursts With Xbox Game Pass
Rocket League meets golf and racing
One of the additions to Xbox Game Pass this week that went somewhat under the radar was Turbo Golf Racing, which launched on Thursday, August 4th in Xbox Game Preview, meaning it'll remain in an early access state for some time. As a result, this isn't your typical review — we're not going to score it or...
May2022
News Hands On Preview: Matchpoint Tennis Championships - No Frills Fun For Xbox Game Pass
Shaping up as one of the better tennis games of recent years
In just over a month's time, we'll be getting a brand-new tennis game launching day one on Xbox Game Pass in the form of Matchpoint: Tennis Championships on July 7th, and we've had a chance to go hands-on with it recently — not just the publicly available Steam demo, but also a preview...
October2021
Hands On The Good Life Is The Strangest Xbox Game Pass Title You'll Ever Play
The Good Life is a good time
There's no singular way we could describe The Good Life that would accurately represent what the game actually is. It's a concoction of many different genres, often poking fun into their tropes, and the end result is an absolute mess of a game - which we absolutely love. Despite its constant attempts to squander our fun...
August2021
Hands On Back 4 Blood Is Left 4 Dead 3 In All But Name
And that's not a bad thing
When Back 4 Blood was first announced, we initially were turned off by yet another zombie game hitting the market. It's a genre that's died a death now (no pun intended), and we weren't sure how many more avenues could be explored. It wasn't until we discovered this was being helmed by the creators of Left 4 Dead that our...
July2021
Hands On The Ascent - A Gritty Cyberpunk Action-RPG Shooter That Will Keep You Coming Back
Shoot, loot and shoot some more
If you’re familiar with the cyberpunk genre – be it Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner or games like Shadowrun, or CD Projekt Red's troubled release, you can probably already imagine what the world of The Ascent has to offer. It’s got hacking, body modification, artificial intelligence, overcrowded nightclubs, lots...
August2020
Hands On Project xCloud Works Almost Impossibly Well
'There are moments where this feels like a native handheld experience'
I’ve spent the last few days playing Halo without an Xbox in sight. Microsoft have taken Game Pass Ultimate, a service that was already rolling in value, and have unquestionably made it the greatest deal in gaming with Project xCloud. Not only do you get access to hundreds of...
