Xbox Game Pass: The best games you need to play – CNET [CNET]

Xbox Game Pass is the best reason to own an Xbox. It’s basically Netflix for gaming — you sign up, for for Game Pass at $10 a month (or $15 for Game Pass Ultimate) and immediately get access to over a hundred games you can download and play at your leisure. New games are added — and removed — each month. (Just recently the very awesome The Artful Escape was added.) 

If you’re already a subscriber of Xbox Game Pass, you know that it’s awesome. And it’ll only get better, with titles like Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 launching on Game Pass later this year. There are dozens of excellent titles, both AAA and indie. Game Pass Ultimate nets you access to a bunch of EA Play games, too.  

Here are our picks for some of the very best games on the service.

Unpacking

A game about unpacking boxes and moving into a series of new house and apartments doesn’t sound like game of the year material, but it somehow is. Unpacking is brilliantly made and perfectly executed. It’s also… surprisingly emotional. Get on it.

The Artful Escape

The Artful Escape is unlike any game you’ve ever played.

“The elevator pitch is like if David Bowie went off on a space journey and came back as Ziggy Stardust,” the game’s creator, Johnny Galvatron, told CNET.

It tells the story of teenage guitar prodigy Francis Vendetti in the small town of Calypso, Colorado, as he tries to break through creative block in time for his first ever live performance. 

It’s absolutely wild and you should play it

Hades

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Yakuza Like a Dragon is a funny, charming RPG, one that pokes fun at genre tropes and doesn’t take itself very seriously. Yakuza is a long-running franchise, but you don’t need to have played any previous games to enjoy Like a Dragon. It has a new protagonist and a self-contained story, and it features turn-based combat that’s new to the series. It’s a lengthy adventure, but one that has loveable characters and an engaging story. 

There is a lot of dialogue here, with many lengthy cutscenes. If that doesn’t bother you, you’ll find a lot to love in Like a Dragon.

Doom Eternal

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shooter franchise, and involves killing lots and lots (and lots) of demons. The game was well received upon its March 2019 release, getting an 8/10 from our sister site GameSpot.

Control

It’s not every day you get to describe a video game as “Lynchian” — but here I go anyway. Control is a Lynchian adventure that revolves around you the Federal Bureau of Control, a secret US governmental agency that oversees all things that defy the laws of reality. And you, as protagonist Jesse Faden, are the FBC’s new director. Good luck!

Control is may be one of the best big budget video games of recent years, winning multiple Game of the Year Awards in 2019, and is certainly  one of the boldest.

The Outer Worlds

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RPG from Obsidian, the gang behind Fallout New Vegas, and it’s a winner. It’s set in an alternative universe where Theodore Roosevelt didn’t regulate big US firms in the early 20th century, which led to them… colonizing the galaxy, obviously. So in essence, it’s Fallout in space. Game Pass Ultimate users can play it on both PC and Xbox.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

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Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a rare type of game: A licensed title that doesn’t suck. In fact, not only does it not suck, GameSpot’s Phil Hornshaw called it “one of the most compelling game additions to the Star Wars franchise in years.” 

This action adventure retains the feel and charm of Star Wars, so it’s a solid way to tide yourself over until the next Star War comes to Disney Plus. Note, though, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is one of many new games to join the service courtesy of EA Play, and is only downloadable by Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. 

Gears 5 Ultimate

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Xbox One’s biggest first-party games, and the very fact that games of its ilk are on Game Pass speaks to how seriously Microsoft is investing in the service. It’s available on both Xbox One and PC.

Grand Theft Auto V

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Skyrim is one of the most iconic role-playing games of the last decade, and for good reason. It’s big, it’s bold and, most importantly, has dragons. The special edition of Skyrim, which is a remastered version of the original, is now on Game Pass, a great option for those wanting to re-visit Tamriel — and especially great for people yet to visit. 

Forza Horizon 4

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If you’re tired of big budget first-person-shooters, give Dead Cells a go. It’s a beautiful, colorful Metroidvania style action platformer that was released in 2018 to critical acclaim. It continues to be a cult favorite and is absolutely worth a download if you haven’t yet played it (and even if you have). It’s playable on both Xbox and PC via Game Pass Ultimate. 

Destiny 2

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This is the perfect game for a service like Game Pass. What Remains of Edith Finch is a two-hour title that you’ll finish in one sit through. It’s hard to describe the gameplay in a way that does it justice, so I’ll just say that it’s a haunting exploration of the history of the Finch family. Play it. 

The 31 best games on Xbox One

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