The Best Games On Xbox Game Pass (February 2026)

Despite price hikes, Microsoft’s Game Pass service is easily worth the price of admission. Many might balk at the concept of having their video game library locked behind a subscription service, but the fact is subscribers get access to an incredible selection of titles spanning from indie darlings to triple-A blockbusters for an affordable monthly fee.

With such a dizzying array of fantastic titles on display, it can be a daunting task deciding which ones are worth a player’s time. Given that the cost of entry is taken care of with the subscription fee, the most pressing matter is determining the best use of your hard drive space. Thankfully, the diamonds of this collection are readily apparent. Here’s a look at the greatest games that Xbox Game Pass has to offer.

The selections listed here will include games available on EA Play and Ubisoft+, which are included with a subscription to Game Pass Ultimate.

Recently Added

If you’re looking for what’s new on Game Pass, look no further than our collection of the best games that have recently arrived. We like to give all new games a try if we can. Here’s what we think you should put on your radar if you want something fresh.

Mio: Memories in Orbit

If you blazed through Hollow Knight: Silksong and are looking for your next Metroidvania, Mio: Memories in Orbit serves an appealing dish of unique art direction with a contemplative premise. You play as a little android on a ship where machines have gone haywire; your job is to save the ship’s remaining denizens. The gameplay is fairly straightforward for a Metroidvania, upgrading your abilities, uncovering more of the map, and fighting bosses.

Mio truly shines in its art style. The cel-shaded, sketch-quality of the backgrounds and characters is amazing. It takes effort to turn your brian off from appreciating the art in order to fight your robotic enemies. So while the hallmarks of tough combat and precise platforming prop up the experience of playing Mio: Memories in Orbit, the environments and art serve as the solid foundation.

Resident Evil Village

The Resident Evil series has been putting out banger after banger over the last few years. Village is the latest title Capcom has launched, that is until we get Resident Evil Requiem in February 2026. You play as the faceless Ethan Winters, searching the mountainside village and accompanying castles/swamps for his abducted daughter Rose.

While the stereotypical zombies have been replaced with mythical nightmare figures of a lycanthropic or vampiric nature, the game’s Resident Evil DNA is undeniable. You’ve got the classic tension, the larger-than-life bosses, and the engrossing inventory and upgrade management you’ve come to know and love. And while Ethan can sometimes fall a little flat (“Why is everyone dying on me?”), it all contributes to Resident Evil Village’s charm.

Little Nightmares

Games like Little Nightmares provide tense experiences without requiring complex mechanics. You play as a small creature known as Six, solving puzzles and performing light platforming to make your way through this most hostile of worlds. Every denizen of this nightmare-scape is clearly designed to be grotesque, alarming, and dangerous. Which leads us to another part of the Little Nightmares experience that is iconic: its chase sequences.

There are a handful of areas Six traverses through, and each area has its version of a boss, whether it’s a long-armed blind man with gnashing teeth or a pair of horrific twin chefs constantly chopping mystery meat. Toward the end of each area, Six must run for her life to get past these monstrosities. You’ll die quite frequently in a sort of trial-and-error dance. But no matter how many times you’re playing through a chase scenario, it’ll get the blood pumping.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

We haven’t dabbled in every Assassin’s Creed game ever made. There are quite a few, but between the three of us, we’ve gotten experience with the likes of Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. And of course, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. The Xbox Game Pass price hike of 2025, while not particularly morale raising for subscribers, added the Ubisoft+ library of games to the top tier of the subscription service. Which, in case it wasn’t clear, added nearly all of the Assassin’s Creed games to the Game Pass Ultimate library.

The argument for which AC game is best is one that can take many forms. Some people prefer the classic stealth assassin formula. Others prefer the shake-up that occurred starting with Origins. Then there is the variety of stories to take into account. Regardless of preference, plenty of AC fans recognize Black Flag for being one of the highlights of the franchise.

The initially disagreeable Edward Kenway makes for an interesting protagonist, the journey on the high seas provides gaming with one of the best examples of the life of a pirate, and who doesn’t remember the ship combat fondly? Of all the Assassin’s Creed games a Game Pass Ultimate subscriber could try out, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is the one most deserving.

Dome Keeper

Much like with Ball X Pit about a month ago, I dipped into Dome Keeper on a lark. It was a new game on Game Pass, looked like an arcade-y bit of fun, and the trailer was a bop. And now I’m left wondering how many other phenomenal games like this just slip under the radar when they’re added to the Xbox Game Pass library all quiet like, without any much-deserved fanfare! Dome Keeper is great, and if you enjoyed the roguelite nature and split-genre dabbling of Ball X Pit, it’s the game for you.

Your time is spent delving into the ground below your dome, digging up resources and upgrades for your dome’s defense, and then manning the defense with the dome weapons you’ve acquired, fighting off waves of various enemies. It’s an engaging loop that grows a tad more complex each time without veering into banality or tedium. Essentially, this is a freaking fantastic game.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion

Nothing says gaming fun quite like an old-school, arcade beat-em-up, and that’s exactly what Marvel Cosmic Invasion is. If you enjoyed the addition of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge to the Xbox Game Pass library, Marvel Cosmic Invasion will be the next retro gem you’re looking to play.

You can take control of up to fifteen (two at a time per player) Marvel super heroes to engage in a galactic adventure that feels straight out of the pages of a comic book. And you side-scroll smash and blast your way through waves of enemies, a typical beat-em-up game.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion’s charm comes not only from its adherence to the genre and comic book style but from its fantastic tag-team system. Per level, you can swap between two heroes, making each corridor of opponents a unique joy to tackle given the variety of playstyles you can employ. It’s fun, action-packed, and everything you would want a game about comic book heroes to be like.

Routine

We do love us a good horror game, and we especially love us a good horror game that reminds us of our all-time favorite horror title, Alien Isolation. No, Routine does not feature an ever-present Xenomorph hunting your every step. But it does capture the vibe of trying to make it from objective to objective while a palm-sweating threat lurks around every corner, just waiting to ruin your day, i.e. Kill you before you can save your game. It also nabs that 80s science-fiction aesthetic to a tee.

You spend your time in this delightfully digestible experience exploring an “abandoned” lunar base. As with most horror games, however, the location is not as abandoned as it seems. You need to navigate these retro sci-fi corridors without much help in the way of waypoints, but this only adds to the terror. Collect logs and other bits of information to piece together what happened on the base. It’s anything but routine.

1000xResist

If you were to only see screenshots or snippets of gameplay video from 1000xResist, you might consider yourself unimpressed. The graphics are simple, character animations are bare, and gameplay largely consists of walking your character from place to place and pressing a “talk” button.

But 1000xResist’s secret weapon is its narrative. The story of 1000xResist alone is enough to earn it awards and keep you playing hours after you thought you might quit. A small handful of games have made me tear up while playing, and 1000xResist is one of them.

Without spoiling overly much, you play as characters trapped in an area after a disease/alien incursion has wiped out most of humanity. A unique dialect exists between these survivors that takes some getting used to, but as the story unfolds, using a time-jumping-back-and-forth mechanic, you get used to it and the way this “society” functions. Be forewarned, this is a LOT of dialogue to listen through. But 1000xResist is 1000 times irresistible with its narrative beats, making every word well worth it. Hekki grace.

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage

As a big fan of the Life Is Strange series and Telltale-style games in general, I was excited to play Lost Records: Bloom & Rage. Made by the fantabulous Don’t Nod, Bloom & Rage is about a group of four girls who decide to form a “riot Grrls” band in the 90s. However, as they hang out together during one fateful summer, they discover a secret in the woods that will change them forever. That’s oversimplifying the plot a lot, but you can’t expect me to divulge key narrative points for a game that is all about its narrative.

The special gameplay conceit of Bloom & Rage is twofold. Main character Swann is an aspiring filmmaker, so she films everything, including collectibles you need to find. And, in addition to that, the story is gradually unfolded from both Swann’s perspective in the past and in the present. It all contributes to a retro 90s-aesthetic mystery that is sure to keep you playing through all its twists and turns.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

Banishers is exactly the kind of game you might not have heard of, or you may have knowingly skipped playing in favor of an eye-grabbing, triple-A title that released around the same time. However, it should definitely be on your “to-play” list. Its story features a couple who roams the land of New Eden and spends their time giving spirits the boot from the physical world.

But things take a turn for the tragic when one of them gets killed and becomes a spirit themselves. The remaining, living partner still needs to get spirit-banishing jobs done while grappling with the moral dilemma of their own loved one being stuck as a spirit until they too get “banished.” Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden doesn’t break any new ground when it comes to its gameplay mechanics or narrative, but both are so solidly well-done, it’s a fantastic game to sink your teeth into.

What We’re Personally Playing Now

In order to keep this article alive (and also just because we want to), we regularly dip into Xbox Game Pass, whether it’s to play new games or replay old favorites. If you’re at all interested to know what we’re playing at this very moment, we’ll update this section with our current Game Pass plays.

Pentiment - Amanda

I first played Pentiment years ago, when it first came out as a Game Pass exclusive. My first impression was focused on how unique of a setting it was. You play as Andreas Maler, an aspiring artist working temporarily in a Benedictine abbey scriptorium before practicing your trade elsewhere. While there, you get ensnared in a murder investigation, and thus begins Andreas’ journey in Pentiment.

While there are diverging pathways you can take based on choices you make and dialogue options you select, Pentiment is less about these branching narratives and more about the array of knowledge you choose for Andreas to dive into. If you eat lunch at the abbey instead of the town, you’ll learn about the interests of the monks. If you choose to eat with the townsfolk, you’ll learn about the hardships they face in plying their trade and living under the rule of the abbot.

It’s a lot of reading, but Pentiment tells a tale worth telling, and I’m sure in a couple of years, I’ll be replaying it again.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 - Damien

I’m actually coming back to Space Marine 2 after a significant hiatus. Really, I just don’t want to be terribly lost and discombobulated when the new Techmarine class gets released into the wild — but that segues me to my overall point pretty neatly. Space Marine 2 is hands down the best Warhammer 40k game on the market, and it’s going to hang onto that title until Total War: Warhammer 40,000 or Dawn of War 4 enters the running. But what actually elevates it for me is the fact that it has seen pretty good post-launch support.

Now, it’s not exactly groundbreaking post-launch support. It’s just good, which is generally all I ask (and frankly, don’t receive nearly as often as I’d like). The majority of the actual core gameplay additions have been released entirely free of charge up to this point, with paid offerings amounting to little more than entirely unnecessary cosmetics, which the game has plenty of even if you discount the paid offerings entirely.

New cooperative campaign missions, whole new game modes for both PVE and PVP, weapons, tweaks and polish… Saber Interactive doesn’t even seem to be considering hitting the shut-off valve anytime soon — and this is post-launch support that is dedicated to a game that is already on Game Pass. Folks, this is the way to do it. Developers should be scribbling notes with a fervor generally reserved for venerating the God-Emperor himself. I mean, assuming that isn’t heretical, of course.

Absolute Must-Play Essentials

If you made the decision to get Xbox Game Pass and you want to know which games are the prize diamonds in this treasure chest, we’ve lassoed up the must-play titles in one handy spot. It was rough narrowing it down to this bunch, and even then, it’s still a hefty collection of games. Enjoy!

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

The adventures of the Master Chief have never been as accessible as they are in the Master Chief Collection. This gathering of Halo games is the definitive collection of 343 Industries’ endeavors to immortalize the series. Not only is every mainline Halo game (not counting Halo 5: Guardians or Halo Infinite) included, but the fantastic Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach were added as well.

From beloved campaign co-op to thrilling Firefight matches to iconic multiplayer modes, the Master Chief Collection has it all. Anyone who thinks of themselves as a Halo fan should consider it a must-play from Xbox Game Pass. And for those who have never completed the Master Chief’s saga, there is no better way to finish the fight.

Hades

Supergiant Games’ smash hit roguelike dungeon crawler already had an immense following, and now Game Pass subscribers finally have the chance to see what the hype is all about. Cast as Zagreus, a son of the titular death god himself, players are tasked with guiding the cocksure anti-hero in battling through Tartarus as he seeks to escape the dour realm of his father and take up residence with his Olympian cousins.

Of course, he’s met with significant resistance — initial failure is a certainty, though players will have the opportunity to unlock upgrades, boons, and more between runs to improve their odds with the next attempt. The action itself is buttery smooth, playing as an isometric hack-and-slash RPG with a host of intriguing weapons and powers for Zagreus to peruse in his quest. However, it’d be criminal to not draw particular attention to the presentation.

The game’s lighthearted yet artfully detailed take on Greek mythology is the core of its charm. The cast of characters is brought to life with a strikingly vibrant art style and brilliant voice acting. Hades is definitely one for the books, and its arrival on consoles is sure to seal the deal.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Normally, there’s a bit of a grace period between when a game is added to Xbox Game Pass and when we play it. Sometimes, months can go by before we get the chance to fully play a game. We played Silksong just an hour after it launched. Let us assure you, if you were at all excited for it after playing the original Hollow Knight, you will not be disappointed.

Silksong is everything you loved about the first game and more! Though perhaps “more” isn’t the best way to put it. It’s just “different.” Hornet is a lot more acrobatic than our dear old Knight, and you can feel this in every leap, dash, and swipe of her blade. So the combat will diverge from your expectations from the get-go. However, the story (and the music, my god, the music) is still top-notch. No spoilers. Go play it!

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has become a darling star of the Xbox Game Pass library. Clair Obscur tells a phenomenal story about a collection of desperate adventurers trying to prevent a god-like “Paintress” from erasing their age group. (Literally erasing their age group from existence; this isn’t a metaphor.) To further describe the plot would be a disservice to Clair Obscur, as the narrative is the jewel of this crown.

But alongside this harrowing journey are the game’s mechanics. Clair Obscur combines turn-based gameplay elements with real-time ones, creating a unique system that stands out from the RPG crowd. While turn-based purists may turn away from the parry and dodge windows, if you’re a fan of the genre at all, Clair Obscur is a must try. The characters, the story, the world are all amazing. Terrifying. But amazing.

Grand Theft Auto V

Brought back to Xbox Game Pass once again, Grand Theft Auto V’s vibrant open-world setting of Los Santos is a prime reason for players to stay home and immerse themselves in a digital life of crime and skullduggery. Countless hours can be spent enjoying the game’s various activities and diving into the gripping story.

Playing through GTA V is a gaming experience like no other; the freedom of exploring a living, breathing city is brought to home consoles with masterful game design. GTA V is ridiculously fun, which eases the pressure of its intense heists, chaotic car chases, and other criminal enterprises.

Blue Prince

As difficult as it is to describe how you play Blue Prince, we’ll do our best. Blue Prince is a walking simulator puzzle game that sees you exploring the estate your rich uncle left behind for you. This estate is no ordinary building, however. Every time you open a door on a given day, you have the opportunity to “draft” a different room. This means that every day you explore the estate, it will never look the same, especially depending on your drafting actions.

This mechanic feels awkward to describe without some sort of visual aid, but rest assured, it’s a puzzle-game lover’s dream. The one comparison we can think to make is to Outer Wilds. If you loved the discovery-based progression of Outer Wilds, we think the drafting problem-solving of Blue Prince will enchant you.

With every day that you learn something new about a room you’ve drafted, a password for a critical safe, or a layout that’s particularly useful for reaching your end goal, Blue Prince will build the foundation for a lasting impact in your memory.

Balatro

How could a list of the best games ever, let alone a list of the best games included on Xbox Game Pass, be truly complete without a mention of Balatro. In case you haven’t heard, Balatro is the indie roguelike gaming sensation that’s swept the nation. It is a remarkably simple yet incredibly engrossing title; once you start playing it, you’ll find yourself hard-pressed to put it back down. You’ll keep wanting to play one more run, build one more hand, and beat one more boss blind.

Though its naming conventions and terms are based off of poker, it is in no way a game played like poker. It is a roguelike through and through. Normally, for a small game like this, I’d recommend it by saying it’s a great game and should take you no time at all to complete. That’s not the case with Balatro. While it’s not a vast RPG like Avowed, with character building, side quests, and an explorable world, it’s still a timesink because of how often you will return to it. It’s glorious as heck.

Resident Evil 2

While there are plenty of great game remakes in the world, none of them showcase the same degree of polish, innovation, and care that Resident Evil 2 did. This remake overhauled the original game from the ground up. Where the original was this fixed-camera-angle campy horror fest, RE2 remake was a behind-the-shoulder tense collect-a-thon that was equal parts nerve-wracking and equal parts satisfying.

You can play as either Leon Kennedy or Claire Redfield, roaming the halls of the iconic Raccoon City police station in search of safety and answers. Shambling zombies patrol the hallways, so while it behooves you to be thorough in your exploration so you can collect items to make you stronger and more capable, every new room could contain your next death screen. And that’s before Mr. X and his pounding footsteps from hell show up.

If you love Resident Evil as a franchise, RE2 remake is a must play. If you love a tight zombie survival experience, RE2 remake is a must play. If you love fantastic games in general, RE2 remake is a must play.

Celeste

Games typically take players on a journey, but Celeste gives whole new meaning to this concept. Players control Madeline, a young woman set on climbing to the top of Mount Celeste. Along the way, she must face her inner demons while remaining steadfast in her goal. The poignant story is wrapped in the trappings of a demanding platformer, but the tough nature of the gameplay ties in to the themes the story shares with its players. Celeste is not for the faint of heart, but seeing it through to completion is incredibly rewarding.

Ori and the Blind Forest

Where Will of the Wisps developed a robust combat system that integrated perfectly with Ori’s skill set, Blind Forest laid some phenomenal groundwork for nearly every other aspect of that game. The jaw-dropping visuals, the incredibly responsive platforming, and rewarding progression system were all things Ori and the Blind Forest excelled at.

Quite frequently, you’ll hear the game compared to Hollow Knight, and that’s an apt comparison to make. Both games are haunting and beautiful to look at while giving players that perfect blend of exploration and discovery you get in most successful Metroidvanias. If any of this sounds appealing, you shouldn’t skip out on playing Ori and the Blind Forest; you’d be doing yourself a massive disservice.

Dishonored

Dishonored is a classic, and while its successor improves on multiple aspects (loud nonlethal takedown options for starters), nothing feels quite as good as the original. Corvo’s journey to take vengeance (or find justice, depending on what route you take) is one for the ages. No matter what scenario you’re placed in, you feel like you have options for how you choose to respond.

Do you want to throw glasses and bottles in different directions to confuse the guards as they try to gather for whiskey and cigars? You can. Do you want to find the high ground and constantly jump-assassinate unsuspecting victims below you? You can. Do you want to struggle to be a good person, choking out and dragging the people who get in your way to broom closets so no one finds them and alerts the whole building? You can try. Though Corvo was thrown in jail and is constantly hounded by the law for a crime he didn’t commit, Dishonored is all about freedom. And few games capture that quite like it does.

Citizen Sleeper

Citizen Sleeper is a sci-fi narrative adventure with light RPG and survival elements. The game's storytelling is the core of the experience, with branching narratives and limited time to complete questlines. At the outset, players pick from a few different character archetypes that dictate their background and specialties.

As familiar as all these genres and mechanics might sound, Citizen Sleeper is a hard game to describe because of how liberally it borrows from such a wide variety of genres. Players familiar with visual novels and modern tabletop games will find a lot of familiar ideas and mechanics sprinkled throughout. And the game manages to find a perfect balance of gameplay challenges without interrupting the plot.

Dead Cells

Dead Cells is one of the most finely-tuned 2D action-platformers ever made, following in the footsteps of classics like Castlevania and Spelunky. The game has players collecting new abilities and powers throughout a given run with the objective of clearing the entire game in a single run. It's not for the faint of heart, but with enough perseverance, Dead Cells is an incredibly rewarding game to play through. With pixel-perfect controls and precision, Dead Cells is an absolute must for fans of the genre.

Among Us

Among Us is the indie hidden-role game that could. Having swept into immense popularity due to its accessibility across platforms and omnipresence in streaming and YouTube communities, it was only a matter of time before it made the leap to living room consoles. It just took that extra step to plant itself on the Game Pass roster.

The premise is simple — several players find themselves on board a spaceship (or remote research facility) and are provided with tasks to complete, ranging from cleaning out dirty vents to blasting asteroids out of the ship’s way. The catch? One (or more) of your crewmates is an imposter with the sole purpose of murdering you and everyone else. The game ends in one of three ways: the crewmates complete all tasks, the murderer is identified and ejected, or the imposters manage to wipe out the crew.

The game’s best played with colleagues and friends, as there’s nothing more entertaining than knowing someone’s tells and desperately trying to suss out the truth when they claim they were on the other end of the level when a body’s discovered.

Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is easily one of the most zen experiences to be had in its genre. That’s quite a statement when discussing farming sims, but really, it’s so much more than that. With dashes of dating sim and retro action-RPG thrown into the mix and sealed up in a charming 16-bit aesthetic, SDV tasks players with moving out to the countryside to restore their grandfather’s farm after inheriting it — as one does in a farming sim.

Players grow crops, find romance, assist the locals with their various problems, dive into the mines to fight monsters and liberate riches, and more over the course of their stay in the Valley. But one of the best parts of Stardew is easily the relaxed sense of progression. At no point are players prodded to advance the storyline, they’re free to live as they please as they eke out a living selling turnips, raising goats, hatching dinosaur eggs, and bashing slimes.

Halo Infinite

Halo Infinite’s campaign is something between a love-letter to the distinct charm of Combat Evolved’s more “open” segments (referring specifically to the levels such as “Halo” and “The Silent Cartographer”) and the franchise’s many innovations since — it distills some of the series’ high marks into a singular, bulletproof formula and then, to top it all off, drops it into a seamlessly connected open-world environment that you’re free to approach as you see fit.

Its multiplayer offerings also capture that feeling. Players can jump into a Big Team Battle or a ranked Arena match and have the time of their lives. Well-crafted maps, new weapons, and entertaining game modes keep Infinite feeling fresh. Plus, it just caters to Halo fans in all the right ways. Halo nostalgia is real, and Infinite completely satisfies it.

Gears of War

The Gears of War franchise is emblematic of third-person cover-based shooters with a heavy emphasis on cooperative gameplay, but at this point, the original titles are starting to really show their age. This is what makes Gears of War, whether you’re playing the Ultimate Edition or the newer Reloaded, a fantastic get on Game Pass — it gives players a chance to experience the series’ roots with a fresh coat of paint and some great quality-of-life improvements.

The graphics have been generally enhanced, enemies can be spotted, and weapons can be switched during mad dashes from cover to cover. But aside from these improvements, this lets players take a peek at the beginning of Marcus Fenix’s journey and reintroduces the chainsaw-action of the series’ staple weapon, the Lancer. What more could a Gears fan want?

Doom (2016)

Doom (2016) was the revitalization the series needed to prove to the world that it was still relevant. For a long time, Doom was considered a game of a bygone era, influential but no longer in its prime. Id Software changed all that with the creation of Doom (2016). The Doom Slayer came roaring back into existence, ripping and tearing a new place for himself in the gaming landscape.

Not only did this reboot bring Doom back into the cultural awareness, it showed that a single-player campaign that is well-crafted and vigorous good fun can entice players just as much as, if not more than, another battle royale. Doom (2016) is not one to miss for fans of fast-paced shooters and action-packed combat.

Hollow Knight

Hollow Knight's exploration and genuine sense of discovery are easily some of the best in the genre. It's a shining example of how to make a Metroidvania in the modern era. Hollow Knight never trades in its mystery or world-building for padded side quests or game-breaking boosts. It remains a somber, magical, and deceptively challenging game all the way through. It definitely takes a page from the Dark Souls series, so be prepared to wander into new areas with caution, and get ready to learn every boss' pattern exactly.

Prey

Becoming immersed in a science-fiction universe that is as well-crafted as Prey’s is an experience like no other. Thrown into the mind of Morgan Yu, players must unravel the mystery behind the catastrophe that has befallen the Talos I space station. A strange alien life form known as the Typhon has taken over, and Morgan must contend with the peculiar threat they pose to the humans left alive on the station.

Arkane Studios blends aspects of Dishonored, BioShock, and Soma in a masterful fashion, allowing players to choose how they wish to tackle problems they encounter. They can proceed in a stealthy fashion, upgrade weapons and go in guns blazing, acquire almost supernatural powers from Neuromods, or use the handy GLOO Cannon to tackle the Typhon menace. The appeal of Prey comes not only from the immersive world of its narrative, but from the diverse array of playstyle options it gives its players to do with as they will.

Fallout 4

Bethesda’s latest spin on the definitive post-apocalyptic roleplaying experience isn’t without its valid detractors, but it’s hard to argue that anyone’s getting a raw deal with its inclusion on Game Pass.

As the Lone Survivor of Vault 111, players are immediately faced with tracking down their son after he’s snatched from the Vault by a mysterious band of mercenaries and scientists. It’s a simple and lofty motivation, but factoring in an irradiated wasteland rife with terrifying mutants, raiders, and long-abandoned ruins concealing vital supplies, it becomes apparent that the road’s going to get bumpy.

Fallout 4 took a significant (and fair) amount of flak for its relatively rail-roaded narrative and lackluster dialogue navigation, but frankly, there’s still a lot there to love. Describing a wasteland ravaged by nuclear war as “beautiful” doesn’t procedurally roll off of the tongue, but rest assured that Bethesda’s signature open-world charm is still well-intact. The Commonwealth serves as a compelling setting, from the ruins of Boston to the Glowing Sea. And as per usual, there’s a near-endless amount of content for players to explore and uncover.

And once poring over the vanilla content has lost its luster, one can turn to an impressive and accessible selection of mods to spice up their playthrough utilizing the modding community’s boundless creativity.

Titanfall 2

Titanfall 2’s relatively understated presence in the FPS genre is more than a bit puzzling, because it was the object of significant critical acclaim upon release. And its die-hard fanbase has quietly asserted that it’s handily one of the most solid shooters to have ever hit the market for years since. Frankly, they’ve got a lot going on to support that opinion.

The game’s campaign is practically as solid as its multiplayer suite, with the former weaving a compelling sci-fi narrative around pilot-in-training Cooper and his surly oversized robot acquaintance, BT-7274. Big mechs and wall-running mechanics go a long way on their own, but Respawn’s take on the FPS formula just feels polished in a way that many contemporary shooters don’t — and is more than partially responsible for its remarkable overnight success with Apex Legends.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Beauty is not often associated with video games, but Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a beautiful title. The artistry with which character motions and backgrounds were created is astounding. Even the music that accompanies players along their journey with Ori is gorgeous.

However, Ori is not simply a great game because it looks good. It is functionally exquisite as well. The precise platforming from the first game, Ori and the Blind Forest, is still in place, with even more tools of traversal at players’ disposal. New combat mechanics have been added to Will of the Wisps as well, and they are extraordinary to execute. Ori and the Will of the Wisps is the complete package: jaw-dropping visuals, emotional storytelling, and perfectly honed gameplay elements.

Skyim

The Elder Scrolls has been synonymous with the very concept of open-world RPGs for decades now, and Skyrim is the title to show if a demonstration is required. All memes aside, the Dragonborn’s quest to defeat Alduin is a spectacle rarely equaled by RPGs in general, and a lot of that is due to the fact that it has as many chapters as the player would like it to have.

The frigid province of Skyrim is unforgivingly gorgeous, and the amount of “optional” content is nearly endless. Factor in the innovative decision to make a stunning library of user-generated mods available on Xbox consoles, and you have what is likely the most content-rich game currently available on Game Pass.

Deep Rock Galactic

Danger. Darkness. Dwarves. Everything that needs to be known about Deep Rock Galactic can be summed up in its tagline. Up to four players can dive into the dangerous mines of Hoxxes IV, braving the enemies that lurk in the darkness as doughty dwarves. The straightforward nature of Deep Rock Galactic’s gameplay belies the deeper system in place.

There are multiple mining assignments players can tackle, intuitive upgrade paths, and a delightful hub area where players can relax (or randomly bellow “Rock and Stone!” Between pints of ale) before diving into a tense mission. Deep Rock Galactic knows what its strengths are, and it knows how to play to them. All players have to do is prepare themselves for a good time.

Grounded

Obsidian Entertainment is back at it again with a unique take on the survival genre. Players assume the role of kids who have mysteriously become minuscule in a strange Honey-I-Shrunk-the-Kids kind of scenario. Now no larger than an ant, these kids have to find out what happened to them and survive the perilous environs of an average backyard.

Grounded is an utter joy. Collecting grass blades to construct shelter, pebbles to make hammers, and water droplets to quench your thirst puts a fresh sheen to this rather crowded genre. The only thing to watch out for? The spiders. Common spiders are the primary enemies in Grounded, and for those who suffer from a touch of arachnophobia, a sudden attack from one of them can be practically heart-stopping.

Gears 5

The latest mainline entry in the Gears franchise is one of its boldest. Gears 5 rolls right into new territory with a fresh multiplayer mode, a partial open-world experience in the middle of the campaign, and a devastating story twist that has left fans reeling. As with any Gears title, Gears 5 offers a robust campaign co-op experience with up to three players.

The game follows Kait Diaz and her companions as they struggle to hold the line against the encroaching wave of the Swarm. Action is the order of the day any time a player picks up Gears 5, and between roaring a Lancer’s chainsaw at an enemy and diving for cover from an onslaught of bullets, there’s hardly a moment left to breathe.

Dead Space

Combine the measured horror of Resident Evil 4 with a cold and unfeeling sci-fi environment, and Dead Space is the end result. Players join Isaac Clarke as he traverses the dark, metallic hallways of the USG Ishimura, a gargantuan planet-mining spaceship. Gruesome terror lurks around every corner in the form of Necromorphs, the reanimated corpses of the Ishimura’s crew.

Though Dead Space was first released in 2008, it maintains an unrelenting sense of dread that exceeds the bounds of most modern horror games. Its atmosphere will linger in your memory long after you’ve finished the game, and whispers of “Make us whole” will haunt your worst nightmares.

Minecraft

What is there to even say about Minecraft at this point? What started out as a small sandbox game that revolutionized the genre has become a juggernaut that dominates the genre. Though the simplicity of its blocky design stands in stark contrast to the push for photorealism seen in many games, its embracing of open-world chaos, creativity, and straightforward rules are Minecraft’s greatest strengths.

We remember the first time we started a Minecraft game, building our first house, trawling our first dungeon, crafting the best armor. And look where we are now. Movie theater chaos across the nation, with the cries of “chicken jockey” still ringing in our ears.

PowerWash Simulator 2

This is the best game in the world. There’s almost nothing left to say aside from that. Am I wildly biased? Perhaps. I played the first PowerWash Simulator to the moon and back (kind of literally since I got the Wallace & Gromit DLC pack), sinking over 480 hours into the game since I got it. So when I say I know my PowerWash Simulator, I know my PowerWash Simulator.

This sequel takes bits from the first game that I didn’t even think could be improved upon and improves upon them. Scaffolds now come with a ladder on the side that can take you directly to the top of the edifice. The soap system is revolutionary and satisfying instead of useless and ignorable. Your home base is not only customizable with furnishings, it’s got cats in it.

I could, hand to whatever literary document you hold sacred, write over 50,000 words in an academic dissertation style about the nuances of PowerWash Simulator 2. I have half a mind to, without any compensation of any kind. But alas, all I have is this entry, and hopefully that will be enough to convince you that PowerWash Simulator 2 is a game well-worth your time.

Date Night Co-Op Games

One of the greatest joys of gaming is playing with a partner. Not every game on the block allows for couch co-op though. Luckily, Xbox Game Pass has a superb collection of local co-op games you can play with a friend, from the highly collaborative to the hilariously competitive.

Overcooked 2

Finding the perfect co-op game can be a bit of a struggle, but Overcooked 2 has got that covered. This absolute treat of a game allows up to four players to bumble about different kitchens preparing familiar dishes. Hilarity ensues as each kitchen needs to be cleared within a certain time limit.

If the game feels like a breeze after the first playthrough, Overcooked 2 adds challenges to the mix by including secret levels and additional stars to earn. Don’t hesitate to join the Onion King and his faithful dog Kevin as they seek to halt the Unbread after they were raised using the Necro-nom-nom-icon. It’s one scrumptious journey.

A Way Out

A Way Out distinguishes itself from nearly every other game on the market by not just offering a co-op mode, but by making it the essential centerpiece of the experience. Emphasis on “essential,” as it can’t actually be played in single-player. Players take on the roles of Vincent and Leo, two inmates planning an escape from the prison where they are currently being held. Little do they know the twists and turns their adventure will take.

A Way Out takes players on a unique journey, albeit an occasionally awkward one. Stiff dialogue and forced emotional moments aside, the perfectly absurd narrative and strangely integrated (yet thoroughly fun) mini-games weave together an uproarious experience for you and your partner of choice.

Human Fall Flat

Equal parts puzzle game and platformer, Human Fall Flat tasks players with navigating a series of surreal dreamscapes that revolve around a central theme. Each level introduces new mechanics that play a key role in traversing the clear-cut geometry of the environments. The oftentimes bizarre conceptual basis of the stages themselves coupled with the reliably hilarious implementation of the game’s physics practically guarantee an uproarious time, but the puzzles themselves are thoughtfully designed.

The experience is made all the more enjoyable when played alongside one or more friends — cooperatively brainstorming solutions to puzzles is surprisingly exhilarating… when you’re not busy trying to figure out new and exciting ways to throw one another into bottomless pits.

Golf With Your Friends

Golfing has never been more relaxing or stress-inducing than in Golf With Your Friends. This casual golfing title might seem like an enjoyable co-op experience for a group of friends to partake in. But beneath this seemingly tranquil surface is a turbulent and infuriating game that will break relationships instead of clubs.

Easing a golf ball into a hole becomes a practice in impossibility thanks to convoluted courses. From water falls to ghosts to black holes, an array of jaw-dropping obstacles stand in the way of making par. Is it annoying to sink every swing on a single hole? Yes. Is it easy to get lost in the dazzle of new courses? Most certainly. Is it an immense amount of fun to play? Always.

It Takes Two

It Takes Two is a fantastic game, but it’s difficult to describe it as a single game. It treads over so many genres, it feels like multiple games in one package. And not only does it offer more than you might expect, it provides subscribers with one of the best cooperative experiences of the decade.

Players take control of Cody and May, a married couple on the brink of divorce. The two are magically turned into dolls, which of course leads to a variety of hijinks as they make their way through a now larger (and more dangerous) world. From sliding down pipes to escaping from vacuums to battling wasps, there are so many ripe opportunities for engaging gameplay, and It Takes Two takes advantage of them all.

As Dusk Falls

If you want to sit down and immerse yourself in a narrative-heavy experience with a friend rather than dabble in a co-op arcade game, As Dusk Falls is the game on Xbox Game Pass for you. It truly captures that sort of branching narrative-style game from Telltale but throws in a far more interactive element than seen before.

You and whoever you play the game with have a joint stake in making decisions, whether that’s succeeding at stealth events or picking dialogue options that will help your characters achieve their goals. The story focuses initially on a family that gets held up at a roadside hotel during a bit of a botched robbery. Your choices expand where the narrative goes from there.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

As soon as it was announced that LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was going to make it to Game Pass, we knew it was going to earn a spot on this list. LEGO games in general are a font of fun when it comes to cooperative experiences, and The Skywalker Saga is actually one of the best LEGO games you could play right now.

You get to journey through a galaxy far, far away, diving into each Star Wars film that comprises the main storyline thus far. The vista of planets you visit is awe-inspiring, though admittedly very block-shaped given the visual limitations of a LEGO brick world. The usual foundations are here as well, giving you the collectathon experience of a lifetime and allowing you to unlock the most beloved members of the Star Wars universe. If you like entertainment, you’ll love The Skywalker Saga.

Quick Finish Games

We’ve all been there before, wanting to play a game but not wanting to sink days of our lives into it. Sometimes, all we want is a short, casual experience that we can dip into, complete, and then call it quits. If that’s the kind of game you’re looking for, we’ve collected the best games on Xbox Game Pass that you can finish pretty quickly.

Keeper

Sometimes you just need a game where you’re in it for the vibes. It’s not a massive time-investment like an RPG, but it’s also not a multiple-runs, mind-engrosser like a roguelike. Keeper is just such a game that’s a remedy for these other titles, a palate cleanser, if you will. It’s a one-and-done kind of game that is meant to be experienced, enjoyed, and then fondly remembered afterward.

In Keeper, you play as a walking lighthouse (you read that right) accompanied by a bird companion, toddling your way through a vibrant world of light platforming and puzzles. And that’s it. That’s what Keeper is. And it’s amazing.

Dredge

If a cozy fishing simulator coupled with an unsettling, Lovecraftian-lite story sounds right up your alley, you and I are not alike. I had no clue this strange genre pairing was exactly what I needed until I played Dredge. However, if you did have the foresight to think relaxing with a trawler, collecting fish and avoiding fog-driven horrors, would be the perfect game for you, let me say Dredge is the game for you.

With fantastic art design and one of the most satisfying gameplay loops I’ve experienced in a simulator-type of game (second only to PowerWash), Dredge tasks players with navigating murky waters alongside relatively friendly towns and shorelines. As you meet the folk living on various islands, you’ll uncover more and more of the mysteries guiding you toward the story’s conclusion. But let’s be real. We’re all here for the satisfying fishing and inventory management, am I right?

Resident Evil 3

Though RE3 is not as lauded as the RE2 remake, it’s still a nicely polished affair for fans of the series to enjoy. This time around, we play as Jill Valentine right about when Raccoon City falls into a zombie-filled shambles. And just like Mr. X hounded Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield around the police headquarters, Jill’s got her own T-Virus monstrosity following her every move.

Nemesis is a gargantuan threat that dogs Jill’s footsteps, and whenever he’s on the screen, you have to give him every ounce of your attention or Jill’s demise is a foregone conclusion.

Resident Evil 3 is often criticized for being a very short experience, but that can work to its advantage. Sometimes we don’t need a game that lasts dozens of hours; sometimes, we just want a game that’s refined and intense but doesn’t overstay its welcome. That game is Resident Evil 3. And best of all, you don’t have to worry if the cost is worth the time investment as it's all part of the Game Pass package!

Spiritfarer

Spiritfarer casts you as a ferry master shepherding souls to their final resting grounds. It sounds grim, but behind its premise is an incredibly hopeful game about love, loss, and growth. The game's art design allows it to walk the line between tackling a depressing subject and remaining the soothing experience players expect from a management sim. Spiritfarer wears a lot of hats.

Premise aside, at its core, it's a light farming and relationship sim. It mixes and matches a lot of elements fans of the genre will be familiar with, including crop planning, gift-giving, and plenty of crafting. It has a lovely world to explore, and even some light platforming thrown in for good measure.

Firewatch

Part thriller, part mystery, and part romance — Firewatch is an unforgettable walking sim/radioplay that puts players in the shoes of a newly appointed forest lookout. The goal? Watch for fires. Needless to say, the game's actual plot is far more interesting than its logline.

The creative team behind the game includes industry veterans, including some of the minds behind the first season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead. And with such a short time to complete, Firewatch is a must for anyone who enjoys a story-first experience. In terms of gameplay, Firewatch has players exploring the great outdoors, but like any great thriller, there's a lot more happening than meets the eye.

Inside

Inside puts players in control of a small boy trying to escape an oppressive and violent world. It's hard to understate how visually arresting Inside's visual design is, with harsh black accents and shadows overcasting almost every vignette in the game's 3-4 hour playtime.

The story is told silently, barring a few unforgettable setpiece moments that help unpack the game's bizarre plot. Combine all this with developer Playdead's now-signature morbid puzzle solutions and carnal audio design and you get an unmissable experience that fans of 2D puzzle games absolutely must play, assuming they can handle its intense and violent world-building.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

Pick up your TMNT nostalgia and get ready for one of the most gratifying retro beat-em-ups to hit the Xbox Game Pass library. You and up to five other players can engage in totally radical brawls on the streets as the titular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles take on the Foot Clan. Shredder’s up to his usual evil plots, and only a quartet of pizza-loving land turtles can bring him down.

The fighting action will bring to mind games like Streets of Rage 4, and as you and your friends line up combo after combo, you’ll want to replay this title over and over again. Which you’ll kinda have to do if you want to enjoy this game for more than two hours since the game itself is so short. Cowabunga!

Unpacking

Unpacking follows one person's life, from their first bedroom at their parent's house to their first apartment and beyond. In it, players unpack their entire life one box at a time, getting to know all their personal possessions and have the oddly-satisfying joy of placing each item where it’s supposed to go one at a time.

It's a very simple game mechanically, but it also packs a lot of narrative into a fairly short experience with little-to-no text or voiceover. Unpacking is a perfect wind-down game for players who are looking for something more relaxed in gameplay and narrative, and it is an absolute hidden gem on Xbox Game Pass.

Superliminal

If there was a hole in your heart after you finished Valve’s Portal games, and no other title has been able to fill it since, then perhaps you should give Superliminal a try. Rather than utilizing portals and momentum as part of its puzzles, Superliminal is all about perspective. The way you perceive something leads to the solution.

This might sound obtuse and vague, but it’s quite brilliant in execution. A small item can be made to seem as large as a house when you hold it just right. For instance, grabbing a soda can and holding it right in front of your face can make it seem larger than it really is based on perspective.

Superliminal takes this idea and goes wild with it, leading to a number of mind-bending puzzles involving distance and light. It perfectly showcases how a different point of view can solve most any problem. Though it is a very short game, it is an absolute must-play if you want a title that can turn your world upside down.

Peggle

Peggle is a straightforward puzzle game, make no mistake about that. Players shoot a set amount of balls to clear a level of an array of pegs in the center of the screen. That is the gist of the game. However, its simplicity is all part of Peggle’s genius. There is nothing more satisfying than to aim that cannon, shoot that ball, and then watch it bounce from peg to peg. A further layer of strategy is added to the game when different characters, with different ball-shooting abilities, are unlocked.

The basic nature of Peggle’s premise should not deter anyone from playing it. Besides, nothing beats the exultation of hitting that final peg, when the screen zooms in on the ball in slow motion and the triumphant sounds of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy trumpets forth.

Lengthy Games To Invest Your Time In

Heck, maybe you actually want a game that is a significant time investment. You want to lose yourself in a world and set of gameplay loops that will take you weeks to fully explore. If that’s the case, these games on Xbox Game Pass provide the depth and time commitment you’re looking for.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader

I’m a Warhammer 40K fan, so I’m a bit biased when I say this, but I truly believe that even for non-fans of the Grim Dark future, Rogue Trader is just a fantastic game. The breadth of options you have for building your character and upgrading your companions feels unprecedented. And the story, my god, the story. The voice acting and the branching narrative paths you take are so glorious, even the Emperor would weep.

Bear in mind though, this is a dense RPG. This is not the RPG-lite experience you would get from playing Avowed or Dragon Age: The Veilguard. You’ll spend a lot of time in Rogue Trader poring over menus and comparing abilities. But if this is your sort of jam, then you will find few games that excel the way this masterpiece does.

Diablo IV

Despite the grim and bloody atmosphere of Diablo IV, playing through the game is actually enjoyable and entertaining. With the trademark dungeon-crawling and ARPG looting that the Diablo series is known for, this fourth installment doubles down on the amount of activities that you can get up to and lose yourself in for hours.

The grinding on offer in Diablo IV is astounding. You can spend your time exploring the entire map, diving into every dungeon, creating every class of character and experimenting with builds, or just beelining toward the main narrative.

In this title, your character has to contend with Lilith, the Daughter of Hatred, as she tries to “help” humanity against the forces of Hell. Unfortunately for humanity, her help consists of disturbing rituals, allying with some Lesser Evils, and ultimately a lot of death. So in addition to a lot of content to occupy yourself with, Diablo IV has a pretty gripping narrative too. And you can play the whole thing in both online and local co-op.

Starfield

The anticipation for Starfield prior to its release was immense, and the weight of expectations from fans eager for Bethesda’s latest RPG must have caused more pressure than performing a space walk without a suit. But Xbox Game Pass subscribers should be thrilled to know that Starfield is an utter joy.

It’s filled with the dense exploration and well-thought-out storylines many have appreciated from the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series in the past. It’s exactly the kind of game you can spend years sinking your time into, a true successor to the might of Skyrim. You take on the role of a miner soon to be a willing or unwilling explorer, depending on how you role-play your character. Once you set upon this adventure, the world, nay, the universe opens up to you.

You can then spend hours surveying planets, becoming a seedy seller of contraband, building glorious outposts, hunting down space bounties, or doing just darn near anything your space-faring heart desires. Starfield is a fantastic game, and one of the best you can play on Xbox Game Pass.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Odyssey takes Assassin’s Creed into the era of Greek antiquity, giving players the opportunity to explore the “pre-history” of the franchise’s central conflict between the Assassins and Templars through the eyes of an exiled Spartan warrior-turned-mercenary. To frontload the obvious caveat, it does iterate on the action-RPG roots set in Origins. While some may find that divisive, it’s hard to argue that it hasn’t been polished tastefully.

While cementing the game in action-RPG territory does detract from the franchise’s stealth-action hallmarks, the sheer amount of variety introduced via varied weapons and combat skills is a welcome detour from the established Assassin’s Creed standards. The setting itself is beautifully rendered. Whether sailing or journeying by horseback, Odyssey’s open-world take on ancient Greece is vibrant, stunning, and packed to the brim with content.

There is a lengthy main questline, of course, but the number of side quests, whether radiant or story-based, verges on the absurd — however, it’s hard to fault a game as ambitious as Odyssey for simply having too much to do. Needless to say, you’ll have a delightfully deep timesink on your hands.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition

The original Mass Effect trilogy is one of the most iconic RPGs ever made. However, you can see how poorly some aspects of the series have aged, especially when examining the first game. Never fear, these outdated elements have been rectified and polished in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, which is now available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, courtesy of its inclusion in the EA Play library.

Fans of the epic sci-fi trilogy can revisit Commander Shepard’s dire quest to stop the galaxy-consuming Reapers.This Legendary Edition comes with the whole package, including some majorly awesome DLC from each of the three games. If you want to experience the definitive Mass Effect experience, there is only one true way to do that, and it’s now available on Xbox Game Pass.

Feeling Old School? Best Games For That Classic Feel

On occasion, we like to go back in time game-wise, and luckily for us, the Xbox Game Pass library possesses quite a few titles that give us that old-school feeling. From retro platformers to boomer shooters, we’re more than satisfied with these offerings. Check out these titles if you want to soak in some nostalgia.

Spyro Reignited Trilogy

We’re never going to turn down the chance to play our favorite retro games, especially when they come to Xbox Game Pass. We’ve seen a suite of Activision titles make their way to Microsoft’s premier subscription service, and while Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is all well and good, nothing beats an old-school 3D platformer.

The Spyro Reignited Trilogy lets you jump, soar, and, well, platform your way through the nostalgia of the original trilogy. We’ve got Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! And Spyro: Year of the Dragon, all redone for this glorious remaster. It’s both a great entry point for people who have never heard of Spyro (gasp) and a total nostalgia trip for anyone who played and loved the games as kids. There are a few hiccups in the gameplay that showcases Spyro’s age, but that’s all part of the Reignited Trilogy’s charm.

Doom + Doom II

Doom + Doom II is essentially the definite classic Doom collection — if you’re at all attuned to gaming in general, you know what these games are about. So let’s get to the good stuff, because id Software really shot for the moon here.

Beyond tweaked and updated versions of these definitive 90s FPS titans, Doom + Doom II serves as the definitive classic Doom collection by packing in a laundry list of level packs and expansions — TNT: Evilution, The Plutonia Experiment, the Master Levels, and even John Romero’s Sigil are all included.

You’re also getting local and online multiplayer, plug-and-play mod support for community content, and, as a cherry on top, the option to enjoy the original MIDI soundtrack or a modernized and remastered version of the entire score by shredmeister Andrew Hulshult. But wait, what’s that? It’s a cherry on top of the cherry!

Doom + Doom II includes a brand-new episode entitled Legacy of Rust — designed by id Software in collaboration with Nightdive Studios and MachineGames — complete with new weapons and enemies. If you’ve been itching for some boomer shooter goodness, you really can’t ask for a better cure than this.

Quake II

Seemingly having taken it upon themselves to preserve the mid-to-late 90s FPS boom with a modern sheen, Nightdive Studios has graced us with yet another remaster-done-right with Quake 2. A tried-and-true classic from the old id Software catalog, Quake 2's original release furnished players with an extensive, and at the time, somewhat uniquely interconnected single-player campaign, co-op support, and as is requisite to the Quake IP, a bombastic and fast-paced arena multiplayer experience.

But Quake 2's 2023 remaster is so much more than an updated port. Sure, it packs in the usual bits and bobs: a graphical tune up, modernized UI and QOL features, multiplayer support, and the like. But this thing comes packed with every expansion pack ever released, a brand-new single-player campaign developed by MachineGames, and perhaps among its most novel inclusions, the entirety of the Nintendo 64 port's version of the campaign — an experience entirely unique to the N64 until now.

The whole package arriving on Game Pass as soon as it was announced is really just the cherry on top of this lovingly crafted late 90s time capsule.

Skate 3

Available for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers courtesy of EA Play, Skate 3 is a classic. Even if you’ve never been skateboarding a day in your life, the enjoyment you can find in Skate 3 is undeniable. The amount of tricks you can perform, the areas you can skate in, and the bones you can break all contribute to making it one of the most entertaining games you can play. To cap it all off, you can play Skate 3 online with friends to “compete” against each other or just zoom around parks one-upping each other.

If you know someone who has played Skate 3, you can guarantee they have at least one story of some amazing thing they did while playing, complete with a hilarious anecdote about how the ragdoll physics turned what could have been a failed trick into a burst of genuine laughter, the kind of laughter that hurts your face. Skate 3 shows how old it is in the graphics department, but it’s still aged incredibly well.

GoldenEye 007

GoldenEye 007 is one of the most iconic pieces of 3D game history. Not only did it popularize first-person shooters on home consoles, paving the way for Halo: Combat Evolved four years later, but it introduced a generation of players to basic FPS modes like Team Deathmatch. It was a technical marvel when it was originally released, and is one of those games that enthusiasts need to at least try even without personal nostalgia for it.

And hey, history aside, it still has an incredible campaign and does a great job with the James Bond IP and soundtrack. All that said, fair warning: There is no online play with the Xbox version of GoldenEye 007.

Doom 64

Seeing a touched-up version of Doom 64 pop up alongside Doom Eternal’s 2020 launch was a surprise, to say the least. Chances are that even dedicated Doom fans had to give this one a miss thanks to it being relegated to the Nintendo 64 — a problem well-fixed by its recent port, and even further remedied by its inclusion on the Game Pass roster.

It’s very much a straightforward classic Doom experience, but the lighting, ambience, and more puzzle-forward level design lend it a more contemplative vibe over the thrash-metal stylings of the 1993 original. It even comes with a neat bit of additional content tying it to the events of Doom 2016 and Eternal, “canonizing” it, in a manner of speaking.

Whether you’re an old-school Doom fan that never got to check it out over its restrictive choice of consoles or a new fan looking for a taste of the old days and a sneaky lore treat, Doom 64’s more than worth a download.

Quake

Put simply, Quake brought a lot to the FPS genre — it popularized fully 3D-rendered environments, internet-based multiplayer deathmatches, and a ton of other features that have become part-and-parcel to the genre as a whole. Its inclusion in the Xbox Game Pass library is a blessing for those who want to explore the early foundation of first-person shooters.

Though the weapon sandbox is fairly straightforward, the breakneck speed with which players can move around maps is the highlight of the game. Fast-paced action is delivered whether you are competing in matches against other players or blazing through the story levels. The visuals of Quake, even in its remastered state, are rather dated, but the sheer entertainment value inherent in its mechanics is ageless.