Xbox Game Pass Reviews
Review Black Ops 7 (Xbox) - Zombies Mode The Shining Light In This Undercooked Call Of Duty
Black to the drawing board
Call of Duty returns in 2025 with its first back-to-back Black Ops release following last year's Black Ops 6, and the result is an undercooked COD experience that feels like it needed more time in the oven. Truth be told, Black Ops 7 is a bit of a mess, and it's only the game's tried and tested gunplay and deep...
Review Ninja Gaiden 4 (Xbox) - Platinum Propels The Series Forward On Xbox Game Pass
There's a new kid on the block
When it was revealed that PlatinumGames was helping with the fourth major entry in the Ninja Gaiden series, I had two immediate thoughts. How would the Bayonetta studio handle this kind of responsibility, and could another character really lead the next big entry in the modern series, in place of the 'main face' and...
Review Gears Of War: Reloaded - An Xbox Classic That Flourishes On Modern Hardware
A near-perfect active reload
We've been here before a few times, haven't we? Yep, the first Gears of War returns in a shiny new package for Xbox Series X|S, with Gears Reloaded largely based on 2015's Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. While this is a wholly new experience for PS5 — which joins the platform list this time around — Xbox players are...
Review Rematch (Xbox) - A Highly Addictive Blend Of Rocket League And Real Football
Launching day one on Xbox Game Pass!
Back in the day when Rocket League was just about to come out, I had a feeling after playing the beta that it was going to be something massive. It had that "just one more game" feel - packed with addictive qualities that meant it was very difficult to put down. Rematch, from the developer behind 2022 brawler...
Review Space Marine Master Crafted Edition - A Proper 360 Throwback On Xbox Game Pass
Gears of Warhammer
At the tail end of last month, SEGA surprisingly announced that it was bringing a modern version of the original Warhammer 40K: Space Marine to Xbox Game Pass - and that time is almost here as the game goes live on the service tomorrow, June 10th. Naturally then, we've been pumping some time into Space Marine Master Crafted...
Banjo Got High on No Man's Sky
You know, I'd sort of forgotten how much I enjoyed 2020's Journey to the Savage Planet. Typhoon Studios' debut was a fantastically unique and colourful one that challenged you to think at all times, as you made your way across what was - and still is - a great big planet-sized platform-puzzle populated by cute aliens...
Review South Of Midnight (Xbox) - A Fantastic, Soulful Outing From Xbox Game Studios
Worth headin' south for
Update (Tue 8th Apr, 2025): With South of Midnight available on Xbox Game Pass as of today, we're re-publishing this review to give you an idea of what to expect. Original review: Ever since wrapping up my early preview of the game almost two months ago now, I've been desperate to get back to Xbox's
Review Ninja Gaiden 2 Black (Xbox) - A UE5 Appetiser Ahead Of The Fourth Outing
You're looking sharper than ever, Ryu
Hearken back to the original Xbox lineup and one game you might remember is the notoriously difficult ‘exclusive’ Ninja Gaiden, leading to the ‘Black’ rework during the same generation. Now, decades on, Ninja Gaiden 2 Black follows in the footsteps of not only the Xbox 360 sequel but also the more recent...
Review Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Xbox) - Game Pass Gets A Cracking New COD
Calling all Game Pass recruits
It's that time of year once again - a brand-new Call of Duty game is upon us, as the nights start drawing in and the sound of teenagers raging at their pals online becomes ever-present around the world. This year though, things are a little different - Microsoft now owns the franchise and has delivered Black Ops 6 to...
Review Age Of Mythology: Retold (Xbox) - Microsoft's Godly RTS Classic Revitalised
Go beyond history
Age of Mythology might not be a major numbered entry, but it's still played a significant role in the Age timeline – transitioning the series from 2D to 3D following the success of Ensemble's real-time strategy king, Age of Empires II. Mythology wasn’t just there to fill the void when it landed on PC in 2002 and is still...
Review Flintlock: The Siege Of Dawn (Xbox) - New Game Pass RPG Hurt By Its Own Ambition
Ran out of ammo
Back in December 2018, A44 Games released Ashen. With a striking art style, gorgeous atmosphere and great combat, it is still an indie gem of the soulslike genre. Now, five and a half years later, the team is back with Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, which is a soulslike far greater in scale than the small adventure Ashen was...
Review Neon White (Xbox) - A Speedrunner's Heavenly Delight, Now On Game Pass
Look into the light
Neon White isn’t your average first-person shooter. It incorporates elements of speedrunning, parkour, card games and even some basic aspects of the visual novel genre to create a stylish single-player experience where you must kill every demon in sight to secure your spot in Heaven. You’ll take control of a demon-slaying...
Review Still Wakes The Deep (Xbox) - Nautical Narrative Adventure Perfect For Xbox Game Pass
Swearing like a sailor
If you've played any of The Chinese Room's past games you'll have an idea of what to expect from Still Wakes The Deep; something short, sweet, dripping in atmosphere and with a laser focus on the overall narrative. Well, we're here to report that despite some behind-the-scenes changes at the British developer, Still Wakes the...
Review Little Kitty, Big City (Xbox) - A Purrfect Addition to Xbox Game Pass
Cats are cute, Humans should have faces.
Little Kitty, Big City is the inaugural release for indie developer Double Dagger Studio. It’s a fun and silly venture centering around a mischievous little kitty trying to find their way back home. We were interested to understand where the makers of such wholesome content had been, and let us tell you, we...
Review Harold Halibut (Xbox) - A Heartfelt & Handcrafted Narrative Adventure
For the love of bluglglgl
German developer Slow Bros has certainly lived up to their name: it’s been fourteen years since they gathered for dinner and serendipitously decided to make a game! Despite lacking the technical knowledge to actually make one, they set out to create a cinematic narrative adventure. Well, where most saw barriers, Slow Bros...
A surprisingly ineffective road trip
Open Roads has been described as "an interactive movie mystery thriller", one that plays out in the form of a deeply personal roadtrip. Of course, this particular roadtrip happens to be the creation of the devs behind the fantastic Gone Home, so it feels as though a good old mystery filled with plenty of thrills...
Review Persona 5 Tactica (Xbox) - A Successful Switch To Slick Tactical Action For Joker & Company
Love that Joker
Atlus games' phenomenal Persona 5 has already provided us with a couple of successful spin-offs in the form of Dynasty Warriors crossover Persona 5 Strikers and the rhythm action effort Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight. Now, the Phantom Thieves return for yet another side gig in the form of Persona 5 Tactica, a tactical turn-based...
What's the story, Morning Glory?
If there's one group of gamers who've been eating better than most lately, it's definitely Like A Dragon/Yakuza fans. Over the past few years we've seen Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio fully invest in revisiting, remaking and remastering important parts of its long-running RPG series, continuing to add stunning new entries to...
Review Lies Of P (Xbox) - Dystopian Pinocchio Slashes And Stabs His Way Onto The Best Soulslikes
We're telling the truth
FromSoftware games - especially Bloodborne and the Dark Souls series - are typically hard-as-nails, punishing experiences set amidst Gothic architecture with light horror elements and H.P. Lovecraft-inspired monstrosities for enemies. Non-FromSoft games in the genre often forego everything bar the difficulty, such as the Star...
Wrath of Scan
Dimfrost Studios' Bramble: The Mountain King initially released on consoles back in April of this year and, now that it's headed to Xbox Game Pass, we're diving in for a review of this dark and brooding Limbo-like set within a fantastical Scandinavian fairy-tale world. If you're already au fait with your Nakens and Skogras, Gnomes and...
Review Dordogne - A Heartfelt Indie Delight That's A Perfect Fit For Xbox Game Pass
Conte d'Eté
Un Je Ne Sais Quoi's Dordogne first appeared on our radars all the way back in 2020 via a delightful gameplay trailer that showcased its charming watercolour style and sun-dappled setting. What we got a glimpse of three years ago has now finally arrived on Xbox, and it's a genuinely touching little journey through long-lost childhood...
Review Amnesia: The Bunker - Frictional's Frightening Follow-Up Creeps Onto Xbox Game Pass
The horrors that lurk below
Frictional Games' Amnesia series has been one of the premier horror franchises in gaming over the past decade plus. The team's first Amnesia game, The Dark Descent, burst onto the PC scene way back in 2010 and is now renowned for being one of the spookiest games out there. We've had a few indirect sequels since, and while...
Review Redfall - Arkane's Undead Experiment Brings Mixed Results To Xbox Game Pass
Stranger Fangs
After multiple delays, and the somewhat controversial decision to launch on current-gen consoles at a locked 30FPS, Arkane Studios has finally managed to get Redfall out the door and into the hands of Xbox Game Pass players. This is a game we’ve been really digging the style of from what we’ve seen in pre-release footage, with its...
Review Age Of Empires 2: Definitive Edition - Microsoft's PC Classic Makes Its Debut On Xbox
RTS historical battles…with a controller
Where do you start with Age of Empires 2? It’s arguably the greatest RTS (and perhaps one of the best games) of all time. When it made its debut back on Microsoft Windows in 1999, it received absolutely huge levels of praise for not only taking the series to the next level, but also bettering the genre in...
Review Hi-Fi RUSH - Tango Gameworks Drops A Beat-Bopping Banger On Xbox Game Pass
A shadow drop, no less!
Well, it's been quite an unexpectedly exciting few days on Xbox Game Pass, thanks to Tango Gameworks, which went and stealth-dropped a bonafide banger in the form of Hi-Fi RUSH during last week's Xbox Developer Direct. Yes, it seems the entire internet has had a very positive reaction to this cel-shaded rhythm action game,
Review Persona 4 Golden - Xbox Game Pass Gets Itself One Of The All-Time Great JRPGs
It's time to climb the stairway to maturity!
Persona 3 may have been a pivotal point in the evolution of Atlus' stunning JRPG series, shifting the tone away from the straight-up bleakness of parts one and two and adding the franchise's now signature social elements to the mix, but it was 2008's Persona 4 that really dug deep into the relationship...
Review Persona 3 Portable - Atlus' JRPG Classic Still Feels Essential
To be this good takes Aigis
Originally released on the PSP in November of 2009, Persona 3 Portable is an "enhanced" port of 2006's JRPG classic that makes a few controversial excisions to the core gameplay whilst also adding enough new content and combat improvements that we actually reckon it's the best version of Persona 3 overall. Controversial!...
Review Rainbow Billy: The Curse Of The Leviathan - A Wholesome Wind Waker Style Adventure
Coming to Xbox Game Pass this week!
Update: Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan is part of the Xbox Game Pass lineup for December 2022, arriving this Thursday, December 15th. Ahead of that date, we thought we'd republish this review so you can see what's in store! <related ids="141761"> Original review (October 2021): If you look at...
Like, seriously though bro, it's on Game Pass. Hahaha, you said ass.
Note: This review is for the PC version of High on Life, as we didn't receive Xbox code until this week. You'll find some early impressions based on the Xbox Series X version of the game in the "Second Opinion" section. OK. Look. We've been deep in conversation about High On Life...
Review Gungrave G.O.R.E - Addictive Arcade Action That's Definitely An Acquired Taste
Kick their ass (on Xbox Game Pass)
The absolutely ludicrous Gungrave has finally returned! This brand-new entry sticks resolutely to the script laid down by earlier efforts in the franchise, presenting exactly the same flimsy but satisfyingly flamboyant arcade action as its predecessors, just with much prettier graphics this time around. This is a...
