No Man’s Sky

Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky didn’t start out on the best foot forward, but it was able to turn its fates around for the better thanks to a slew of meaningful content updates over the years. As of now, No Man’s Sky is one of the best space exploration games on the market – and a lot of that can be credited to the interesting procedurally generated geometry that never fails to amaze a player with the sheer amount of diversity and flora and fauna. It’s a game that will almost never run out of content, which makes it something worth sticking with in the long run. 

Remnant 2

The original Remnant was a breakout hit, and the sequel Remnant 2 builds upon that goodwill with its set of engaging mechanics and visually appealing world design. The combat is a mix of ranged and melee, and intense enemy encounters ensure players always have challenging fights to look out for as they make their way through the darkest depths of evil. Remnant 2’s set of mechanics enable players to express themselves through their builds, and this is one of the biggest reasons why it can be such an addictive experience to boot.

Monster Hunter Rise 

The monster hunting genre has been making waves in the industry thanks to recent games like Wild Hearts getting global appreciation from hundreds of thousands of fans, but it is Monster Hunter Rise that arguably represents the best of what the genre has to offer. It’s chock full of different monsters to hunt that are spread across a wide array of biomes, but what makes it so special is the sense of gradual progression as you slowly and steadily knock down monsters and craft the perfect gear for your future monster slaying sessions. 

Gran Turismo 7

Polyphony Digital’s latest Gran Turismo 7 takes what worked in the prior entries, and spins a vast net of gameplay ideas and content that make it a grand sequel in more ways than one. The core gameplay of simulation oriented driving is as crisp and precise as ever, but what hooks you in the long run is the sheer breadth of cars available to collect and upgrade. Of course, the vast amount of different content types also help to prevent the gameplay from becoming too monotonous. There are still some issues related to the payouts, but Gran Turismo 7 is a really great game that deserves to be experienced by every racing fan or motorhead in general.

Returnal 

Housemarque’s clockwork adventure Returnal might not be everyone’s cup of tea on account of its high difficulty, but those who have bested through Atropos’ toughest challenges will tell you that it is one of the most rewarding experiences of recent memory. Returnal’s gunplay rewards careful movement and dynamic strategies, and while getting used to its peculiar style of gameplay and brutal punishment can be tough at first – but once you start seeing the first signs of progress, there’s no going back. 

Grand Theft Auto Online

Grand Theft Auto Online continues to be one of the best multiplayer games on the market. Rockstar has done an amazing job of providing meaningful content updates on a regular basis that keep players coming back time and time again. Be it street races or daring heists like the Cayo Perico heist or even just roleplaying in a random server, Grand Theft Auto 5 never fails to amaze the player not only in terms of the quantity of the content but also the quality of the content itself. 

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

The Final Fantasy 7 Remake saga is going strong with the recent release of Rebirth. The second chapter of this trilogy is chock full of twists and turns that will keep you hooked to the edge of your seat at times, and the adrenaline pumping action gameplay continues to be an entertaining ride through and through. There’s plenty of side content to check out as well, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a game that will leave you awestruck with its sense of grandeur and general scope of it all.

Destiny 2 

Much like Grand Theft Auto that we discussed previously, Destiny 2 is one of the best games that will serve you well for hundreds upon hundreds of hours. The gunplay is polished to an immaculate sheen, and the constant sense of progression that comes from getting better gear and more specialized builds hooks the player from the core and doesn’t let go. In addition to this, the constantly evolving setting of Light and Dark will also keep you coming back with each new expansion. 

Dragon’s Dogma 2

2024 delivered a grand sequel with Dragon’s Dogma 2. It takes the foundations of the genre, and expands upon those ideas in new and interesting ways resulting in an RPG that keeps on giving thanks to its emergent systems and mechanics. This is precisely why Dragon’s Dogma 2 is so addictive once you get the hang of it, and suffice to say – there’s plenty of content to respect your time once you get lost in its richly realized world. 

Dead Cells

Dead Cells is easily one of the best roguelites of recent memory, and that alone speaks volumes about its level of quality. Motion Twin has created a smooth flowing combat loop that’s simple on the surface, but has plenty of depth in terms of the many builds and weapons that you can try out. Add to that procedural level design and gorgeous pixel art, and Dead Cells can become pretty hard to put down.

Minecraft 

Minecraft is a game that’s all about the joy of creating. This sandbox simulator gives you a lot of freedom in terms of exploration, building, and crafting – and the fun just comes from expressing yourself through your creations. Minecraft’s simple yet extremely addictive nature is what makes it almost timeless in certain aspects, and it’s a game that will keep you coming back for more and more. 

Descenders

There’s just something special about offroading through uncertain terrain whilst seated in a dirt bike, and RageSquids’ Descenders is a game that provides those special feelings in oodles. The bike handling provides a great balance between accessibility and depth, and the procedurally generated worlds ensure that you keep facing new and interesting challenges at regular intervals. 

Sifu 

Sloclap delivered a great action game in the form of Sifu, which impresses with its brutal combat mechanics and permadeath based gameplay. Based on a hard boiled story of revenge, Sifu can be an extremely tough game at best – but the depth of the combat mechanics and fair challenge is what keeps you motivated to trudge through it all. Beating the game is only the start though, and the real joy comes from mastering those mechanics and trying to beat your personal best over and over again. 

Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 is undoubtedly one of the biggest surprise hits of the year, and a lot of that could be credited to the addictive nature of its gameplay. The gameplay is heavily dependent on careful co-operation, and enemies can quickly overwhelm you in numbers if you aren’t operating at your best. Helldivers 2’s best merits don’t stem from the amount of content or the progression on offer, but rather its ability to generate memorable moments and emergent narratives that will keep you laughing and crying at moments unnoticed. 

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Like A Dragon is a series renowned for its eccentricity and the vast swaths of content on offer, and its latest iteration Infinite Wealth is no different in that regard. Infinite Wealth takes you on a tropical vacation punctuated with all sorts of interesting activities that will leave you grinning all along. There are pancake killer robots, side quests, and Pokemon Snap styled snapping missions all meshed together in one cohesive experience, and it’s honestly a wonder that it all works as beautifully as it does. 

The following titles will be available at launch:

• Among Us
• Descenders
• Dishonored 2
• Doom Eternal
• Fable Anniversary
• Fallout 4
• Fallout 76
• Forza Horizon 4
• Gears 5
• Grounded
• Halo 5: Guardians
• Halo Wars 2
• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
• Human Fall Flat
• Inside
• Ori and The Will of the Wisps
• Psychonauts 2
• State of Decay 2
• The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited

Note that the game library may vary by country. More titles will be announced before the service’s launch in September. New games will be added two to three times yearly, though how many at any given time is unknown. Those currently subscribed to Xbox Live Gold will automatically switch to the new plan with no change in pricing.

Games with Gold officially ends on September 1st. Any Xbox One games redeemed through it are still accessible if you subscribe to Game Pass Core or Game Pass Ultimate. Xbox 360 titles obtained through the same will remain in your library, even without a subscription.  Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

Codemasters’ racer GRID Legends, RageSquid’s extreme downhill biking game Descenders, and Torn Banner Studios’ multiplayer medieval action title Chivalry 2 are the PlayStation Plus games for the month of May. All games will be added on May 2 and will remain available for subscribers of the service until June 6. That means subscribers have until May 1 to redeem April’s offerings, which are Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Tails of Iron, and Meet Your Maker.

Sony will, of course, also be adding a longer list of titles to the PlayStation Game Catalog for subscribers on the PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium tiers, so expect to get details on what that lineup will be in the coming days.

https://twitter.com/billbil_kun/status/1651171381000675328

Microsoft are pushing hard on the Xbox Game Pass front, with the service becoming central to their strategy going forward – especially where their ever-growing portfolio of first party studios is concerned. And while there have been a few outlying voices that have questioned the validity of its business model for other developers and publishers, there has been evidence time and again that has suggested that being on Game Pass actually boosts games’ actual sales, while the visibility it gives to smaller indie devs is also a huge bonus.

One such indie dev who has benefited greatly from their game being on Game Pass is Mike Rose of No More Robots, whose title Descenders seems to have seen a huge boost in sales because of the visibility being in the Game Pass catalog has given it.

“Since Descenders came out on Game Pass, the thing I did not realise would happen — because you’d assume that you put something on Game Pass and sales tank, right?” Rose said while speaking with GamesIndustry. “I had assumed that: why would anyone buy the game when they can literally see it on Game Pass?

“We were like, should we do this Game Pass thing? But we did it, and 1.0 came out, and I think it the launch was about three times as big as the Steam Early Access launch… You could say it was putting the multiplayer in, or it was not being Early Access any more, so more people bought it. But the biggest surprise for me was Game Pass.”

The extent to which Descender’s actual sales on Xbox One have been helped by being on Game Pass is, in fact, quite impressive. According to to Rose, Xbox sales for the game have quadrupled thanks to being in the service’s ever-growing catalog.

“Being on Game Pass means that you basically have constant featuring on Xbox,” he said. “Your game is on the dashboard all the time… People are seeing our game every day. And because of that, during launch month, our Xbox sales — we didn’t do any discounts on it or anything — quadrupled, and have now settled to about three times as much as before. It’s essentially an advert; a straight up advert.”

Microsoft’s insistence that the plain and simple visibility of being on Game Pass would boost actual game sales was something that drew a healthy amount of skepticism in the service’s earlier days, but as time has gone on, it seems like we’ve seen quite a lot of evidence that it’s actually true. Indie devs especially have benefited from it greatly, and third party publishers have also bee hopping onboard more willingly. If Microsoft can keep Game Pass moving in the direction that it has been moving since it went live, I wager it’ll be a massive winner for them in the coming years.

Dirt Rally 2.0

Yes, Dirt 4 was considered the more “complete” gameplay experience. However, Dirt Rally circumvented that game’s procedurally created tracks and focused more on the hardcore rally racing experience. With Dirt Rally 2.0 coming up, we can look forward to weather affecting a vehicle’s grip, tracks degrading and further affecting grip and much more. Even those couldn’t surpass the first game’s initial difficulty curve will have tutorials to look forward to. Dirt Rally 2.0 is out in February 2019 for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.