5 Gems That Should Come To Game Pass After Microsoft’s $7.5B Purchase
Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, said in an official Xbox blog: “We will be adding Bethesda’s iconic franchises to Xbox Game Pass for console and PC”. With no such explicit statement for games from any of the other 7 studios acquired, we’re left with the (relatively safe) assumption that we can expect some of these other titles to make their way onto the service down the line. From Fallout and Doom to The Evil Within and Dishonored, Microsoft has a bevy of high-quality series to pick and choose possible Game Pass titles from. Here are five great games that would make a lot of Game Pass subscribers happy:
Gem #1: The Evil Within (Tango Gameworks, 2014)
From the man who directed some of Resident Evil’s greatest hits, The Evil Within is Shinji Mikami at his best. During a period of time when blockbuster horror games like the Dead Space series, or Resident Evil 6, were putting heavier emphasis on action, Mikami was steadfast in his commitment to crafting a true survival horror experience. The Evil Within has you making your way through an unnerving environment full of the worst kind of nightmare fuel; it’s linear gameplay and clunky movement might turn some off, but when mixed with its environment and enemies makes for one of the best horror experiences I’ve played through in the past decade.
Gem #2: Prey (Arkane Studios, 2017)
In what can only be described as heavy The Truman Show energy, this game’s plot will have you constantly questioning your own surroundings and doesn’t waste time in establishing that early on. The vibe of the ship, and its crazy ghost aliens (kind of like something you’d see Raven summon in Teen Titans), will have you both well-engaged and on edge the entire time. The game manages to hook you into a satisfying feedback loop where exploring the incredibly well-designed environment rewards you with resources that are then used to unlock new and interesting abilities to experiment with, which in turn opens up completely different playstyles and pathways around the game world — all wrapped in a trippy, dark space thriller with an average time to beat of under 30 hours. Honestly it holds a lot of traits similar to that of a good life-simulation game. So in a way this game is like Animal Crossing, if the villagers were aliens that shape-shifted into balloons, and every time you shot one down you’d either get a dope couch or a violent death.
Gem#3: Rune (Human Head Studios, 2000)
The original Rune game tells a story deeply rooted in Norse mythology that is entertaining throughout. It commits to those themes through dialogue that sounds straight out of an early MCU Thor, dismembering goblins in bloody combat, and the fact you drink mead and eat live goddamn lizards for health. That’s metal. The game carries a fun gameplay balance between interesting combat and pretty smooth platforming. While in its basic form the combat system is simple and rather clunky at times, it shines with the Rune system. When your Rune energy is maxed out you will be granted with a magical power dependent on the specific weapon you currently have equipped (it can range from an axe that freezes enemies to a two-handed sword that shoots out bolts of electricity). 20 years later this game remains a true classic in the 3rd person hack & slash space.
Gem #4: Dishonored (Arkane Studios, 2012)
You’d be hard-pressed to find a game that gives player choice as much weight as the Dishonored series does. Both Dishonored and Dishonored 2 take on the herculean task of building a world that is flexible enough to allow the player a near infinite amount of choices to approach any given situation, and responsive enough to be molded by those choices while maintaining a cohesive narrative. While the game’s world is able to hold together and tell a decent (enough) story, it’s definitely not the game’s strong suit — it takes a back seat to an amazing set of powers and gameplay. Dishonored 2 takes much of what the first installment did and made it better, but giving subscribers the chance to see the series at its inception would be dope.
Gem #5: Quake (id Software, 1996)
There are few games that have had an impact on the games industry quite like Quake. This 1996 classic established the foundation for what would become the first-person shooter and popularized the very idea of multiplayer. By introducing freedom of movement in the z-axis and starting the WASD control scheme on keyboard, Quake revolutionized combat in a 3D environment against aggressive demons in its intense single player campaign. Accompanied by music and sound design from Trent Reznor (of Nine Inch Nails fame), its creepy visual style and unnerving levels make for an incredible experience.
Of course, these are only a few great titles that could bless Xbox Game Pass in the coming months. There are tons of other quality games that have the potential to hit the service, and I’m sure we’re all excited to see how they’ll start to roll out.
- a mcflyy joint
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