Xbox Game Pass has firmly established itself as gaming’s premier subscription service, thanks to years of goodwill. Microsoft adds a few games to the service each month, ensuring that customers always have something new to try. While PC Game Pass is little overshadowed by its console cousin, it is an excellent choice for those who prefer to play on a computer rather than an Xbox.
Many of the titles available on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass are the same, reflecting Microsoft’s intention to cater to its whole consumer base rather than just those who own consoles. However, there are notable distinctions between the two, including several outstanding titles that are only available on the PC version. What are the finest PC Game Pass games?
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Sumo Digital’s Friday the 13th might have been one of the definitive asymmetrical multiplayer horror games if not for certain behind-the-scenes concerns. While the project was tragically canceled, the developer’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre should help fill the vacuum for anybody who enjoys these kind of releases. Asymmetrical multiplayer, for those who are unfamiliar, refers to games that focus upon uneven matches.Dead by Daylight is undoubtedly the most well-known example of the subgenre, and its shadow hangs over every subsequent horror-leaning game that fits the bill.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre does not go too far from its forebears’ principles, yet it changes things up enough to create a new identity. For one thing, instead of the standard 4v1 structure, encounters put three Family Members against four Victims. This makes sense since the former murderers have no supernatural abilities and are thus not much more strong than the Victims. There is also a feeling of growth since the characters have skill trees.
Guilty Gear Strive
Guilty Gear Strive, the next installment in Arc System Works’ anime combat series, will be available on PC Game Pass in March 2023. While Dragon Ball FighterZ takes center stage, Guilty Gear is undoubtedly the developer’s principal license, and Strive competes with the greatest fighters on the market. The game features fast-paced and skill-based combat that is instantly fun yet tough to master, while balancing style with substance.
Early editions in the series performed a poor job of teaching newcomers to all of the games’ mechanics, but Strive shows development in this regard. However, there is still a very high learning curve, especially if one intends to use the online mode.
Hi-Fi Rush
Hi-Fi Rush arrived late for Game Pass users on January 25, 2023, and the hack & slash title proved to be quite a wonderful surprise. Hi-Fi Rush is a colorful and high-octane action game based on music from the creators of The Evil Within and the divisive Ghostwire: Tokyo. Chai ends up having a music player in his chest as a result of a sequence of bad occurrences, which means his actions automatically get a boost when he times them to the rhythm. This comes in handy when he faces up against the campaign’s colorful and tough employers.
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Hi-Fi Rush’s vivid cyberpunk surroundings and superbly created characters leap off the screen. The game is visually appealing while both playing and sounding amazing. The fighting system begins satisfyingly and steadily increases in complexity; while not engaged in stylish encounters, players can expect to enjoy delightful platforming.
Atomic Heart
With a lot of pre-release excitement, Atomic Heart fails to live up to expectations, while it’s far from a horrible game. Mundfish’s game, a first-person shooter set in an open-world modeled on the 1950s Soviet Union, benefits from a unique scenario and some very outstanding aesthetics. While not spectacular, the gunplay improves dramatically as players gain the majority of their skills.
Atomic Heart will most likely not be remembered as one of the top games of 2023, which is a tall order for any creator. It is, however, a fantastic effort that fits snugly with Xbox Game Pass, providing folks who might otherwise avoid the FPS with a cost-effective option to try it out.
Celeste
There are around a billion independent 2D platformers. Some are wonderful, a few are terrible, and the most are completely forgettable.Celeste certainly fits in the first category, and it was perhaps one of the finest triumphs of the indie sector in the 2010s. Is it thus a must-play for anybody with a PC Game Pass subscription? Both yes and no. If you like 2D platformers, you owe it to yourself to try Extremely OK Games’ offering. Celeste, on the other hand, is a tough-as-nails precision platformer that may be tiresome for anybody who isn’t searching for a really demanding task. It is not easily accessible.
Celeste, unlike many other entries in the category, has a rather detailed plot. Players take control of Madeline, a lady on a soul-searching adventure to summit Celeste Mountain. The platformer is surprisingly character-driven, touching on serious subjects such as despair, and its painful gameplay parallels Madeline’s struggle.
Cassette Beasts
Pokemon will never be added to Xbox Game Pass, so monster-taming aficionados will have to search elsewhere for their fix. Cassette Beasts, which debuted in April 2023, quickly established itself as a superb alternative to Nintendo’s main product. The turn-based RPG, as the name indicates, centres on animals that may be recorded on a cassette tape; if successful, which is far from certain, players earn the power to change into that monster during combat.
Cassette Beasts’ combat combines the familiar with the unique to produce a fighting system that is both approachable and difficult. Although it is not the game’s sole intriguing element, battle allows you to combine creatures, resulting in a superpowered entity that will be quite beneficial against the campaign’s tougher opponents. Bytten Studio created an enthralling narrative set on a mystery island walled off from the rest of reality.
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
Those who have played the Warhammer: Vermintide series will want to get their hands on Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, which expands on previous games’ themes and amps up the action. This version has a unique narrative arc that puts players in the shoes of captives who are compelled to clear out enemy-infested zones and accomplish tasks for their captors. The gameplay is similar to Vermintide, with players entering into missions and teaming up with others to face swarms of vicious monsters and deadly bosses.
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is the ideal release for those eager to slash and shoot their way through lots of opponents, with a variety of weapons to unlock and numerous characters to play as.
Shadowrun Trilogy
Shadowrun’s video game lineage extends back to 1993 and is based on a tabletop RPG. Following a brief hiatus, the brand made a triumphant comeback in 2013 with Shadowrun Returns, a grid-based tactical RPG that faithfully recreated the original material’s interesting science-fantasy scenario.
That project was followed by two expansions/sequels, Dragonfall and Hong Kong, which followed their own plots and fine-tuned the main gameplay of their predecessor. All three RPGs are excellent in their own right, and they work better on PCs than on consoles.