Microsoft has slowly been building a system where they want to welcome anyone to the Xbox ecosystem. Xbox Game Pass has been a major help with this as it allows players to pick up any game they wish without having to pay for the game individually. In theory, this could get gamers checking out games they usually wouldn't.
One of the most attractive things in games is the ability to fight enemies in action-packed scenarios. That means games that don't have combat may be less popular. On Xbox Series X/S, there are plenty of games on the hardware that have no combat in them that are worth playing, especially if they are on Game Pass.
10 Planet Coaster
Frontier Developments has been one of the more well-known creators of some of the more classic amusement park simulators out there. Planet Coaster, which was released in 2016, is a continuation of their legacy with the genre while also innovating in a way that makes the game stand out from others.
There is a range of ways that players can enjoy Planet Coaster. Those who want something more laid back can play in Sandbox mode, which allows the creator to make a park from scratch without having to worry about finances. However, if players want to up the difficulty, they can jump to Challenge or Career modes that require more specific goals to be met.
9 Citizen Sleeper
There have been many games that have come out in recent years that replicate tabletop gameplay, which generally does still include some level of combat. Citizen Sleeper is all about just attempting to stay alive long enough to earn freedom.
The player character is a human mind that has been placed into a robot body that was meant to be a servant to the Essen-Arp corporation. Luckily, they have escaped but must try to survive on the Eye, a space station where most of the game's interactions take place. The outcomes of Citizen Sleeper are controlled by rolling dice and assigning values to what benefits the player.
8 Pentiment
Obsidian is known for its epic role-playing games, but a smaller team within the massive studio decided to take on making a game with a much different look and feel. That game is Pentiment, a choice-drive adventure game set in the 16th century.
The game follows Andreas Maler as he works as an illustrator for the local Abbey. However, things take a strange turn when a client for the Abbey is found stabbed to death and a dear friend of Andreas is accused of the murder. Pentiment is about choosing Andreas' skill set, using it as a tool with various people, and attempting to figure out who is the culprit.
7 Tinykin
A lot of 3D platformers, even the most kid-friendly ones, tend to have little enemies running around that need to be defeated. Indie game Tinykin does not have any combat in it whatsoever, instead putting a heavy emphasis on exploration and puzzle-solving instead.
In Tinykin, Milo is an astronaut that finds his way to Earth, only to realize that he is ant-sized and that many humans that once lived there were gone. Players must explore the various rooms inside the house and work towards building a spacecraft necessary to get back home, all with the help of little creatures that will help in navigating these large areas.
6 Return to Monkey Island
Point-and-click adventure games are always a good time, with some of the most iconic ones including some of the best storytelling in games. It is why it was such a delight to get a reboot of a dormant franchise with the release of Return to Monkey Island.
From the original creators, Return to Monkey Island picks off years after the last battle between Guybrush Threepwood and LeChuck. Now, there is a race to see who can find the Secret of Monkey Island, something that is highly coveted but has yet to be discovered. The game is all about interacting with characters old and new and solving puzzles along the way.
5 Immortality
Full-motion video games, or FMV for short, were once very frequent in the 1990s before mostly being a forgotten art. But Sam Barlow has become one of the most notable names in bringing FMV games back into the spotlight, including with one of his more notable titles called Immortality.
The game is all about players trying to solve the mysterious disappearance of Marissa Marcel by sifting through three of the movies that she starred in. It puts an emphasis on watching scenes, selecting an object to zoom in on, then being taken to another scene with a similar object in it. Immortality has a ton of intense themes but is a captivating story nonetheless.
4 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2
Beating an epic final boss is cool, but so is nailing the perfect trick in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2, which brings back the first two games of the franchise in a remade package. The main goal of the game is to earn high scores and collect objects on each of the different maps.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 is known for having deep skateboarding mechanics that allow for incredible tricks to be pulled off while also incorporating some mechanics for later games in the franchise as well. There are a ton of guest skaters to pick from as well, from actual professionals to some quirky celebrities.
3 The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe
There have been a lot of successful mods that have come out for games that later became standalone titles on their own. Rarely does that standalone game become such a massive hit that a remake comes out years later with even more content. That is the story with The Stanley Parable: UItra Deluxe.
One of the most famous walking simulators out there, The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe builds on the original story of Stanley wandering his empty office wondering where all his co-workers have gone. In addition, there is some new content that practically doubles the number of different endings the player can explore.
2 Microsoft Flight Simulator
Sometimes, it's nice to sit back and take in the beauty of the world before going back to fighting bad guys who are attempting to destroy it. One of the best games to attempt to replicate the beauty of Earth is the 2020 release of Microsoft Flight Simulator.
With the whole world to soar above, the player is able to fly to various locations on Earth and see realistic renderings of the terrain and buildings thanks in part to technology powered by Bing. Microsoft Flight Simulator also has a wide range of planes to choose to fly, each providing its own set of benefits and challenges.
1 Forza Horizon 5
While it could be seen as a combative experience, Forza Horizon 5 is more of a scenic experience as it is all about putting pedal to the metal and driving across the beautiful Mexican landscape. There is a lot to explore, with plenty of hidden cars and landmarks to make note of, most of which are based on real-life locations.
There are also a ton of different races to take part in, such as street races or dirt rallies. Forza Horizon 5 also has a plethora of different cars that the player can work on collecting and even DLC content that is based on the hit toy brand Hot Wheels.