So really, the question isn’t ‘what are the best games on Game Pass,’ but rather, ‘how do I narrow them down’? Since Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda brought their exemplary stable of time-sink RPGs to the service, Game Pass has built a rock-solid core of forever titles you can always count on being ready to install. From there, it continues to swap in quality indies and in addition to Microsoft’s first and second party games. Plus the recent purchase of Activision Blizzard promises to add even more blockbuster titles to the catalogue in the not too distant future. Whether you’re looking for your next month-long obsession or just a way to burn a lazy Sunday afternoon, here’s a curated selection - in no partiuclar order - of the best Game Pass games for Xbox and PC.
The best Game Pass Games on Xbox and PC
Oblivion, Skyrim, the Fallout games, and every other Bethesda game Yakuza: Like a Dragon Mass Effect: Legendary Edition Unpacking Forza Horizon 5 Halo Infinite Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Disney Dreamlight Valley Dead Cells Signalis Hitman Trilogy Immortality Crusader Kings 3 The Forgotten City Ori and the Will of the Wisps Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Tunic Valheim Superliminal Darkest Dungeon Hollow Knight Football Manager 2022 Minecraft Stardew Valley Wasteland 3 Vampire Survivors LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Pentiment A Plague Tale: Requiem Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
Oblivion, Skyrim, the Fallout games, and every other Bethesda game
Platforms: Xbox, PC If you’ve never played them, then I’ll let you into something of an open secret: Bethesda RPGs are a little bit good. Whether it’s the high fantasy world of Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim, the quirky post-nuclear wasteland of Fallout, or the whale-oil-punk Victoriandustrial cityscapes of Dishonored, pretty much everything on offer from Bethesda absolutely rules. And that’s to say nothing of the more shooter-focussed side of things - DOOM and Wolfenstein are also both excellent - as well as the underrated sci-fi immersive-sim, Prey, which has one of the best opening sequences around. On PC, you also get access to some of the pre-Bethesda entries into series they later acquired. Of these, Fallout 1 and 2 come highly recommended if you’re interested in exploring the franchise lore - but be aware, they are very unforgiving by modern standards. Plus, there’s the tantalizing prospect of the eventual Elder Scrolls 6 on the horizon as well. For the sake of space, yes these all count as one on the list.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Platforms: Xbox, PC The cult Yakuza series has long threatened to boil over into the mainstream, and this turn-based transition with a brand-new protagonist is as perfect a time as any to get involved. Combining the sublime and the ridiculous, Like a Dragon continues Yakuza’s meticulous recreation of the backstreets and red-light districts of Japan - this time focusing on Yokohama - while taking the series’ trademark wacky humour to the next level to incorporate tropes you’d see in more typical and fantasy turn-based RPGs. Debuff enemies with demoralising insults, breathe fire with cheap booze and a lighter, or swing a handbag like a makeshift flail to split some skulls. In your downtime, take on the roster of new and returning minigames from blackjack and darts to batting cages and karaoke.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
Platforms: Xbox, PC (Game Pass Ultimate required) Part of Xbox’s team-up with Electronic Arts to include EA Play titles on Game Pass, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is another swathe of generation-defining RPGs, this time following Commander Shepard across a trilogy of space opera epics as they defend humanity and the galactic alliance from a mysterious and hostile foe. Mass Effect 2 is often held up as one of the real gold standard games of the last 15 years, as you build a crack squad of specialists, Ocean’s Eleven-style, to pull off a high-stakes mission against impossible odds. But really, if you can get past the 360/PS3-era feel of some of the gameplay, the whole series is as compelling as it ever was. And the Legendary edition graphical rework makes things a lot easier on the eye as well. Even if you already played them when they first came out, remember: the Legendary Edition includes all of the DLC you were probably too broke to fork out for at the time, so there’s possibly even new stuff in there for long-time fans.
Unpacking
Platforms: Xbox, PC If saving the world is too much pressure, why not lower the stakes and revel in the joy of tidying up? It’s a lot more fun than it sounds. Set across different snapshots in time, chill out with this satisfying, serene and contemplative indie experience.
Forza Horizon 5
Platforms: Xbox, PC A racing game that’s just as fun for hardcore speedsters and people who don’t usually like racing games, Forza Horizon 5 offers customisable races, a moreish collect-a-thon of beautiful cars, and a varied open-world version of Mexico that’s fantastically well designed. If you’re the kind of player that only picks up a controller between track days, you can crank the difficulty for a true test of your driving mettle. Or if you’re like me, every time you mess up a corner you can use the seamless rewind function to whiz back to where everything was going smoothly and pretend you’re still the racecar boss you always dreamed you were. Forza Horizon 4 is also great and a relatively similar experience, just set in the southwest of the UK. So if you’d rather explore Yeovil than the Yucatan, check out the previous entry instead.
Halo Infinite
Platforms: Xbox, PC One of the best things about Gamepass is that you get a lot of the top-tier exclusive Microsoft-backed games from the day they’re released and Halo Infinite is one of the best. Master Chief returns to the fore in this shiny, semi-open-world adventure that combines fan-service-y Halo lore for returning fans with classically-styled but endlessly engaging first-person shooting that has that unique series-defining feel. The game also includes an incredible online multiplayer mode that manages to be incredibly competitive and frenetic, but with a very different tempo to reflex-heavy FPSs like Call of Duty and battle royale games. It’s not all seriousness and po-faced drama however, Halo Infinite is also a lesson on how to own a lukewarm first impression, packed full of Craig the Brute memes and off-the-wall unlockable skull cheats.
Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order
Platforms: Xbox, PC (Game Pass Ultimate required) Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order asks, ‘What if Dark Souls, but with an easy mode and with lightsabers that go vroom?’ Taking shameless inspiration from the tough-but-fair RPG trend and layering it with the quintessential Star Wars aesthetic and lore we all know and love, Fallen Order is a fantastic romp up there with the best Star Wars games. Thanks to the recent next-gen graphical update as well, it looks better than ever.
Disney Dreamlight Valley
Platforms: Xbox, Switch, PlayStation, PC Disney Dreamlight Valley is a life-sim from GameLoft, that places you in a quaint little village alongside plenty of fan-favourite Disney characters. Whether you’re a Disney adult or not, Dreamlight Valley is surprisingly fun. While you will spend plenty of time resource gathering via mining, farming, and all that other stuff you’re used to from simulation games, Disney Dreamlight Valley doesn’t ever feel like a chore. It always feels like you’re achieving something, which results in a rather relaxing, but satisfying, gameplay experience. You can also play chef alongside Remy from Ratatouille, and watch the tumultuous relationship between Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck unfold. These are just a few of the small additions that make gameplay feel more alive. What’s better is that the game is still in Early Access, and there’s plenty new characters and updates to come.
Dead Cells
Platforms: Xbox, PC One of the best roguelites anywhere, let alone on Game Pass, Dead Cells combines brutal combat and hardcore platforming with a memorable dark pixel aesthetic to create something as engrossing as it is rewarding. While it can take a while to get a grounding in its shifting, labyrinthine world, collecting stat-altering power ups and building out your character from a massive roster of equipment adds an interesting element of experimentation to the mix. If you like your games to put up a fight, Dead Cells is a willing opponent.
Signalis
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, PC Are you a fan of survival horror? Are you familiar with the likes of Resident Evil and Silent Hill? If so, Signalis is a must-play for people like you. If not, Signalis is a rabbit-hole well worth venturing into. This pixel art survival horror title is Rose Engine’s debut, and it’s incredibly impressive. Thrown into the shoes of Ester, a Replika agent who awakes on board a barren facility full of their infected counterparts, it’s down to you to solve puzzles, traverse trapped corridors, and find answers. The art style of the game is impressive, and even when you find yourself frustrated with various puzzles, you’ll find yourself appreciating the environment. And let’s not forget Signalis’ sound design, which is eerily reminscent of the industrial sounds you’ll be used to hearing in a Silent Hill game.
Hitman Trilogy
Platforms: Xbox, PC Oft forgotten and underrated as a series, the three most recent Hitman games offer level after level of excellent assassination sandboxes to mess around in. Hitman 2 and 3 are particularly great, with tons of memorable setpieces like the country manor murder mystery - where you impersonate a detective solving a previous crime while simultaneously killing the suspects. Grabbing the whole trilogy as one package lets you binge through as much as you can muster without having to eke out every possibility, but it’s just as fun to replay the same scenarios to attempt all of the grisly permutations.
Immortality
Platforms: Xbox, PC From the mind behind Her Story and Telling Lies, is Immortality. With those two promising titles under your belt, with outstanding narratives, you already know you’re in for a ride with Immortality. That said, nothing can quite prepare you for the twists and turns throughout this FMV game. Follow Marissa Marcel through her three, unreleased movies, and piece together the puzzle behind who she really is. Immortality is magical in the sense that it really whisks you away into Mariss’s realm, and just as you think you might be working things out, another spanner is thrown into the works that transforms everything you thought you knew about the actor. Best played with as little knowledge about the game as possible, this is one I’d recommend for those who prefer a more laid back gameplay experience, and feel like getting their sleuth on.
Crusader Kings 3
Platforms: Xbox, PC Schmooze, stab and seduce your way to a prosperous kingdom in Crusader Kings 3, where you take on the world to establish your family as the dominant dynasty across the Middle Ages. This isn’t just some turn-based war simulator where you LARP at contracting dysentery though. All manner of statecraft is available to you when it comes to dealing with rivals, letting you take the high road of conventional diplomacy, the clandestine route of a few poison ear drops in the bedroom, or a straight-up muddy pitchfork fight between peasant armies should the need arise. Endlessly surprising as you connive your way to the top, fall back down again, then claw up the rungs once more as your disposed king’s rightful heir, Crusader Kings 3 shows that even though the weight of a crown wears heavy, it’s a lot of fun to try and keep it from toppling.
The Forgotten City
Platforms: Xbox, PC Is your favourite part of open-world RPGs talking to people in a fantasy world rather than hitting giant crabs? Then The Forgotten City is just the game for you! Originally conceived as a Skyrim mod, this time-bending indie whodunnit is as compelling a mystery as any classic tale. Exploring preserved Greek and Roman ruins, you collect evidence and conduct interviews with a memorable cast of characters to unravel the secrets of your situation.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Platforms: Xbox, PC Both Ori and the Blind Forest and the sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps are on Game Pass, and both are brilliant. In a crowded field of 2D adventures, the Ori series is a standout thanks to its vast and varied storybook world, pin-point gameplay and exceptional vibes. While it might seem like a kids game - and it certainly is ‘fun for all the family’ as they say - there’s a deeply satisfying core here of great design well executed that makes it an absolute must play. They’re not very long games either, making them a great fit for a couple good weekends of play with a one month subscription, rather than getting bogged down in some 100 hour epic.
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Platforms: Xbox, PC In the madcap world of Japanese visual novels, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is one of the very best. Each attendee of the prestigious Hope’s Peak Academy is known throughout the world as the ‘Ultimate’ practitioner of their chosen profession, but when they’re trapped in the school by the terrible teddy bear Monokuma, their only chance of escape is to murder one of their classmates - and get away with it. Bursting with iconic characters, quotable lines, and an off-beat soundtrack that’s stickier than super glue, the whole Danganronpa series is well worth your attention.
Tunic
Platforms: Xbox, PC A gorgeous, polygonal Zelda-like, Tunic evokes the nostalgic spirit of your favourite adventures without feeling too derivative or outstaying its welcome. Where a lot of modern action RPGs lean into the trend of super-hard worlds filled with punishing combat and every obstacle being a pain-in-the-neck, here you guide your foxy friend across a mysterious and mystical island filled with interesting secrets and great map design. When everything else feels a bit serious, Tunic is a purer game with great art and a beautiful heart.
Valheim
Platforms: Xbox, PC Valheim is one of the best survival games out there, and given the small team behind the game, this is quite the achievement. Based in a procedurally generated world inspired heavily by Norse mythology, Valheim is about more than just surviving; it’s about the story that unfolds too. You start out as a legendary warrior whose soul has gone to Valheim, where you must restore piece and fend off the enemies of Odin. If you do find yourself picking this one up on Game Pass, we’ve fortunately got a whole host of Valheim guides to help you along.
Superliminal
Platforms: Xbox, PC We all don’t have quite as much cash as we’d like to spend on games, so when ingeniously innovative puzzle games like Superliminal come along that are super creative, but also very short, it’s understandable that most people opt for something meatier. But when it’s included in Game Pass, there’s no reason not to dive into this memorable and mind-bending mystery where you can never quite believe your eyes.
Darkest Dungeon
Platforms: PC, Xbox One Darkest Dungeon is a challenging roguelike RPG with a lot to do. Throughout, not only will you strive to keep your heroes alive, but you’ll need to pay close attention to their psychological state too. Going from dungeon to dungeon is no easy feat, and the unimaginable horrors hidden among them can drive your team to insanity long before they actually succumb to death. However, if you can manage your band of heroes effectively, this is a fun, dark take on your typical dungeon crawl.
Hollow Knight
Platforms: Xbox, PC An awesome metroidvania-style RPG exploring a tiny world of bugs underground, Hollow Knight is a meaty slice of 2D action, pitting you against brutal bosses and perilous platforming sections across your journey. It’s not all about the gameplay though. There’s plenty of hidden lore to unearth, the roots of which will leave you mulling over the history of this forgotten creepy-crawly kingdom for long after you roll the credits.
Football Manager 2022
Platforms: Xbox, PC You can now dive into the all-consuming world of Football Manager as part of your Game Pass subscription, but be warned, you might never be able to cancel again. Crunching an unfathomably huge amount of data to sim as realistic as managerial experience as possible, Football Manager 2022 is the truest test of your footballing mettle around, since all that stands between humiliating defeat and resounding victory is your tactical nouse. With an ever-increasing amount of real-world licences, deep lists of real players and an almost overwhelming degree of control at your fingertips, it’s no wonder people often apply for actual football management jobs with a list of their FM achievements on their CV.
Minecraft
Platforms: Xbox, PC Ah, Minecraft! This survival title from Mojang is arguably a staple for Game Pass, especially now that Java and Bedrock are available from the same launcher. This means you can play whichever version you prefer, and will never have to miss out on teaming up with friends. Minecraft is a simple game (for the most part) all about blocks. You’ll spawn in a random world with nothing to your name, and your only task is to survive the night. Over a decade of fun has been had with Minecraft, with creators truly pushing the game and their builds to extreme limits in an effort to create something impressive. That being said, if you’ve never tried out Minecraft, there’s no better time than the present to go about crafting a home and felling the Ender Dragon.
Stardew Valley
Platforms: Xbox, PC Beloved with good reason, Stardew Valley is a deep and subtly gorgeous farming sim where you inherit your grandad’s homestead and build it back into a thriving ranch. You raise cute animals, cultivate a huge variety of crops, explore a sprawling network of underground tunnels and meet new friends in the nearby town as you build your own beautiful rural life. Think rebuilding a farming business is too big a task for you alone? Well, the whole of Stardew Valley was pretty much made by one person, so there’s no excuse to not give it your all!
Wasteland 3
Platforms: Xbox, PC The original Wasteland dropped back in the ‘80s, but its mutant brand of post-nuclear americana went on to directly inspire the core of another series you might have heard of - the first two Fallout games. Revived in the classic mould of high-camera, strategy-laden RPG, Wasteland 2 (also on Game Pass) and Wasteland 3 take the kooky heart everyone loves in Fallout and crank it up to an extreme degree. As you help the Arizona Rangers win the trust and support of Colorado’s strongman leader The Patriarch, you’ll decide the fate of a mercantile gang who only wear halloween costumes, free the elves in Santa’s drug workshop, and take on a vicious cult that worship a truly terrifying creature: Ronald Reagan.
Vampire Survivors
Platforms: Xbox, PC Ah, Vampire Survivors. This is the game that made editor-in-chief, Tom Orry, burn his lunch once he’d started playing, so you know it’s good. Vampire Survivors is a game where, honestly, you don’t do all that much. That, however, is the joy of it. Don’t judge it by the fact it looks old, or the fact that we just told you that you don’t do much at all, because this game essentially provides free serotonin. Your goal is to survive as long as you can against hordes of enemies, using loot and power ups to get upgrades and thus, try survive even longer. It might seem minimalistic, because it is, but we can assure you that this is exactly what makes the game so great.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Platforms: Xbox, PC Everyone has played a LEGO game at some point or another, and if you haven’t, then we’ve got the perfect game for you: LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. That’s all nine mainline films in the Star Wars series, retold in a video game, where every character is made of LEGO bricks. If you enjoy Star Wars, it’s a fantastic time, packed with jovial music and fitting jokes. What’s better is that the game supports co-op play too, and is an even better experience alongside someone else.
Pentiment
Platforms: Xbox, PC Pentiment comes from the folk over at Obsidian Entertainment, and is an absolute gem tucked away on Xbox Game Pass. It’s a illustrated narrative-driven game with some of the most beautiful stylised art we’ve seen in a while. You play as Andreas Maler during 16th century Europe, meeting up with a vibrant array of characters while uncovering mysteries and attempting to solve them. Pentiment is a “wonderful tapestry of historical intrigue,” as said by our own Jim Trinca, and history fans among us are in for an incredible time.
A Plague Tale: Requiem
Platforms: Xbox, PC A Plague Tale: Requiem follows predecessor, A Plague Tale: Innocence, and enthralls you in a world of the supernatural. If you haven’t been privy to a glimpse at the game yet, you should check it out solely for how visually breathtaking it can be. As you might’ve guessed from the title, your role in this action-adventure game is to step into the shoes of Amicia as they fend off hordes of rats that are spreading the black plague, and soldiers from the French Inquisition. All in all, it’s an emotional tale of two siblings set in medieval France that’ll stay with you long after you’ve finished playing.
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
Platforms: PC Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is a first-person co-op action game that works similarly to Warhammer: Vermintide 2. Yourself, and up to three additional friends, are to take on waves of enemies. To spice things up a little further, you’re able to choose your own class, appearance, and gender, so you can delve into the RPG side of things. In this elaborate environment, you’ll find shoot ’em up fun, a great attention to detail, and most importantly, a challenge. This one is unfortunately only on Game Pass for PC, however. That’s all for our best games on Xbox Game Pass, and we’ll be sure to update this page when games come and go from the service. For more great games to try out or add to your backlog, take a look at the best horror games of all time, and the best PS5 games to sink your teeth into.
