Microsoft’s foray into games as a subscription service has been greeted with immense joy from fans, and its aggressive marketing and quick moves have sent shockwaves in the industry. Xbox Game Pass has now evolved into what many consider to be the quintessential part of owning an Xbox console.
There are some obvious disparities between titles on offer across Xbox Game Pass for PC and Xbox Game Pass on consoles, but there’s also enough to keep players consistently engaged. Here is a list of 5 games to try out on Xbox Game Pass this month:
Halo: Reach
Halo Infinite is certainly one of the most heavily anticipated games this year. A conclusion to the 343 Reclaimer Saga and rumored to the most expensive video game ever made, there’s a lot to get excited for when it comes to Halo Infinite.
While details on the game’s campaign remain paper-thin to this date, the multiplayer received some much-needed news during Microsoft’s E3 2021 presentation. Halo Infinite will have a free-to-play multiplayer component, with the first season being titled ‘Heroes of Reach’. Many fan-theories suggest that Halo Infinite might incorporate some form of storytelling within its multiplayer suite which seems to be backed by Joseph Staten’s comments on the matter.
Halo: Reach is the perfect way to start preparing for the next chapter in the Master Chief saga. Should fans be completely new to the series, Halo: Reach serves as the perfect starting point for the series as it is essentially the start of Master Chief and Cortana’s journey.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon
The Yakuza series has been around for generations at this point now, but has only recently started gaining traction with the western audience. Yakuza: Like a Dragon is the latest entry in the franchise, which ditches the action brawler roots of its predecessors in favor of a brand-new turn-based combat system.
Yakuza’s biggest strength lies in its densely packed open-world, ripe with side-quests to tackle and activities to take part in. It has a habit of never taking itself seriously, which is cranked up to eleven in Yakuza: Like a Dragon with over-the-top combat moves of Ichiban Kasuga and his party of weirdos. The sheer amount of visual stimuli on offer make the turn-based combat of Like a Dragon one of the more engaging games within the genre.
The latest entry in the Yakuza spinoff series, Lost Judgment is releasing in September making this the perfect time to try out and see what the franchise has to offer.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
Whether it’s one’s first time around or the 50th, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim has enough content and choices to keep fans constantly surprised. A pantheon of memorable characters ripe with interesting and engaging questlines are placed within the lore-heavy lands of Skyrim, making this a memorable experience that can last anywhere from 40 to 400 hours or even more, depending on the player.
It’s also extremely dangerous as fans clamoring for more Elder Scrolls have a long and arduous wait ahead, as The Elder Scrolls 6 is reportedly still in its ‘design phase’ and wouldn’t probably release before 2026. That being said, it’s the perfect way to prepare for Bethesda’s first original IP in decades – Starfield.
It’s not a coincidence that Starfield will be releasing on Skyrim’s 11 year anniversary. There’s a lot of expectations and hopes for what could be Todd Howard’s magnum opus, and Skyrim certainly has enough to keep fans entertained until 11/11/2022.
Dishonored: Death of the Outsider
A recent addition to Xbox Game Pass’ ever-growing library of games, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider was the last entry in Arkane’s simulation sandbox franchise. A culmination of everything that the series had been building towards, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider gives fans more of what they love while subtly injecting a bevy of new ideas and mechanics to keep things fresh.
There’s a decent chance that even fans of the series might not have given the game a shot, given the relatively short time gap between it and Dishonored 2. Now that it’s available on Xbox Game Pass with no additional cost, trying it out is just a no-brainer. It also helps that the spiritual successor to Dishonored, Deathloop releases very soon. albeit exclusively for the PS5.
Psychonauts
Legendary game designer Tim Schafer’s Psychonauts is widely considered to be one of the more under-rated games of the 2000s. Releasing to great reviews but underwhelming sales, the franchise stood at a quite risky place given that Double Fine was a relatively new independent studio at the time.
Thanks to the power of Kickstarter, Psychonauts 2 could finally happen and the project seems to be shaping up quite well for its release next month. Now that Double Fine Studios has been acquired by Xbox, Psychonauts 2 will be releasing on Xbox Game Pass at launch while the original game is already available.
It might not be absolutely necessary to play the first Psychonauts to understand the sequel, but its definitely a fun time nevertheless. The controls haven’t aged too well, but its rather unique art style accompanied with literal mind-bending levels make it worth a try, and better yet, an appetizer to what could be coming next.
Xbox Game Pass is available for $10/month, while Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is available at $15/month. A promotional offer allows customers to subscribe to a month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at $1, with two additional months of the subscription included free of cost.
