From RPGs to shooters to indie hits, the list of the best games on Xbox Game Pass is massive and keeps growing. Here are the titles you should dive into first.
As the Xbox Game Pass program has grown, so has our list of the best games on Xbox Game Pass. With the launch of the Xbox Series X, Microsoft has doubled down on Game Pass, now offering well over 350 games on console alone. To help you through option paralysis, we rounded up the top games on Microsoft’s subscription platform. We tailored our list to Xbox, so we didn’t include games like Age of Empires 2 that are exclusive to Game Pass for PC. However, many titles are available across Xbox and PC, and some of them even support cross-save. Most of the games are available for streaming on mobile, too, as long as you have Game Pass Ultimate. See more After sweeping award show wins for 2020, it’s no surprise that Xbox gamers have been waiting somewhat impatiently for Hades to finally arrive on consoles. However, the wait is well worth it, as this action-focused, roguelike game has come at last to both Xbox and Game Pass, so interested subscribers can try it for free. If you haven’t played Hades before, it quickly becomes apparent why the gorgeous game has won so many accolades. The base roguelike structure — Zagreus tries to escape from his father’s domain of Hades, gets through as many rooms/bosses as he can before dying, and then tries again — has been smartly optimized by Supergiant to include plenty of fascinating and powerful character interactions, plus an RPG-like progression system for weapons and augments, ensuring that no matter how many deaths you endure, Zagreus still continues to grow in power, and no escape attempt ever feels truly wasted. Gamers who persevere will also enjoy the increasingly complex world of Greek gods, demigods, and their competing affections. If this is your first time in Hades, you’ll want to check out our tips and tricks guide. Remedy Entertainment — the studio behind Quantum Break and Alan Wake — has built upon the same narrative-driven action structure that’s defined the studio’s games since Max Payne. And Control is the perfect culmination of that structure. It’s a tight action game with platforming and puzzle elements, all set to the backdrop of a government conspiracy (a la Stranger Things). Control isn’t a perfect game, but it balances so many elements so well — action, shooting, and Metroidvania-like exploration. You play as Jesse Faden just moments after she arrives at The Oldest House, a drab government building that houses the Federal Bureau of Control. After a relatively somber — though, nevertheless creepy — intro, Control starts morphing. The Oldest House itself starts changing, emboldened by something from another world. From there, it’s your job to uncover the secrets hidden in the depths of The Oldest House. And there’s a lot to find. Read our Control review There’s a good reason that Back 4 Blood ‘s four-player zombie survival game looks familiar: It is indeed the creation of Turtle Rock Studios, which worked with Valve to create Left 4 Dead. Many elements here are the same, but there’s an interesting new progression system, along with a card system that allows you to build a unique deck of abilities and perks for every single mission. The zombies also pose a greater challenge, with more special infected to threaten your progress. It’s a game that works best with friends, and rewards players who learn what the most important cards are and build a deck that can survive the zombie hordes! Read our Back 4 Blood review The list of the best Star Wars games is remarkably small, despite the fact that games bearing the name have been releasing for decades. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order stands apart, though. It’s the first Star Wars game in a long time that’s concerned with being a good game, not just a licensed one. The result is a game that’s thoroughly enjoyable for those who couldn’t care less about Star Wars, but with enough fan service to keep franchise fans hooked. When it comes to gameplay, Fallen Order is like Dark Souls light. It has tight swordplay, with tuned parrying and dodging mechanics. However, it’s clear Fallen Order ‘s difficulty was tuned against the mainstream video game market, not against solely Dark Souls. Because of that, Fallen Order is an enjoyable romp for Souls-like fans while being accessible to genre newcomers. Read our Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order review This third-person action RPG famously allows you to pick from your favorite Avengers including Ms. Marvel, Thor, Hulk Iron Man — you get the idea. While the endgame may be a little barebones, the campaign greatly benefits from its tight story that makes this an excellent Game Pass pick if you want a fun, cinematic experience but weren’t especially interested in purchasing the game before. Plus, there’s more to look forward to, including the release of new heroes like Spider-Man, so if you’re in it for the grind, there’s lots to play for! It’s also fun to bring a few friends for a superhero team-up. Call of the Sea is an unassuming game about exploring an island, and an excellent debut for the aptly named Out of the Blue Games. Set in the 1930s, you play as Norah Everhart as she explores a mysterious island looking for her lost husband. And from the opening moments of the game, that looks like all Call of the Sea has to offer. The game toys with your expectations, though. What starts as a bright, colorful puzzler turns into something much darker, as the secrets of the island you’re on (and why your husband was there) start to reveal themselves. Call of the Sea is a very short game (around five hours, and much less with a guide), so we’ll leave the narrative description at that. Although the puzzle design is great, the game really hinges on revealing its secrets to you, so we recommend diving in blind if possible. After 2019’s disappointing Blair Witch, horror developer Bloober Team has bounced back with The Medium. You play as Marianne, a medium (go figure) sent to an abandoned communist resort to uncover mysteries only a medium can uncover. As you play the game, you’ll pass back and forth between the real world and spirit world to solve puzzles, explore, and plunge further into the depths of the resort you’re exploring. Although The Medium isn’t the first horror game from Bloober Team, it’s the first third-person horror game that the studio has made. Even though you don’t experience the scares through Marianne’s eyes, The Medium still holds its own against the best horror games. A clear nod to old Resident Evil titles, The Medium uses fixed (-ish, the camera has some cinematic movement as you play, which is expertly executed) to tell its story. That makes The Medium feel like a horror movie, with just enough mechanics to also feel like a proper game. Read our The Medium review Outer Wilds is a game you really shouldn’t know anything about. Focused entirely on exploration and discovery, Outer Wilds provides an open-world mystery with the only solution being to continue looking. Even a short synopsis could be considered a spoiler, so stop reading this section if you want to go in fresh. Simply put, you play as an Astronaut who’s a member of the Outer Wilds Space Program. After 22 minutes of in-game time, the sun will explode into a supernova, ending the game. You’ll restart right away — with the same,22-minute time limit — allowing you to explore the solar system and unravel the mysteries that lurk around you. It’s been four years since No Man’s Sky hit the PlayStation 4 and PC after arriving on Xbox in 2018, but the game continues to feel fresh thanks to continuous updates from developer Hello Games that offer compelling content that keeps players on their toes. Perhaps more than any other game in this roundup, No Man’s Sky illustrates freedom in a video game. It allows you to explore its ever-growing environment and create your own little slice of happiness in the digital world. But like any good game, it’s the combination of combat, exploration, and interactions with fellow players that keeps you coming back. Indeed, No Man’s Sky might have one of the most compelling communities anywhere. Sea of Thieves puts you in the shoes of a pirate, and not in the same way as Black Flag does (even though that’s still one of the best Assassin’s Creed games ever). It’s not just an open-world action-adventure game with a pirate skin — Sea of Thieves is a pirate simulator. From looting unexplored islands to piloting your ship with a group of friends, Rare manages to gamify every aspect of Sea of Thieves, making each game task engaging no matter how mundane it may seem. More importantly, the gamification leads to a sense of freedom. Nothing in Sea of Thieves is stringent, from the loose leveling system to the Tall Tales that make up the campaign. You’re free to explore and tackle objectives in any way you see fit, or simply ignore objectives altogether. Although a lonely experience on your own, Sea of Thieves is a must-play with a group of friends. The game even supports cross-platform play between the Game Pass and Steam versions, so stringing together a group of pirates is easy. Read our Sea of Thieves review Dead Cells has a pitch that sounds like a lot of other indie games: A Metroidvania with roguelike elements.
