Xbox Game Pass is basically the Netflix of gaming. Despite Netflix’s own gaming efforts, Game Pass is the premier gaming subscription service, offering an ever changing library of hundreds of games for PC and Xbox users at $9.99 a month. The service launched in 2017, and, as of 2022, accounted for around 15% of Xbox’s total content and services revenue, according to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer.
But, like Netflix, it can be intimidating scrolling through hundreds of titles looking for your next new favorite. To prevent endless scrolling, we put together this list of personal and critically recommended games available on game pass right now.
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The best games on Xbox Game Pass
To pick the best games on game pass, we relied on a mix of personal recommendations, expert picks and top-rated titles. We collected a mix of games across genre, difficulty and age rating, so there is something here for everyone.
Forza Horizon 5
Forza Horizon 5 is part racing game, part playground. In it, you explore a wide-open, fictionalized version of Mexico, with many landmarks from the Guanajuato region. Instead of a fixed series of races, you can explore the landscape at your pace, stumbling upon races, drift challenges, big air competitions, sightseeing missions and more.
Forza Horizon 5 is rated E for everyone, and is available with Game Pass on Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Superliminal
“Superliminal is as unique as it is genius,” said Lauren Swanson, editorial director at Select. The first-person story places you as a subject in a dream therapy experiment that doesn’t go as planned. The journey to wake up leads you through brilliant perspective-challenging puzzle chambers solvable only by forcing yourself to see your environment differently.
“Uprooting your visual perspective is key to navigating this story threaded with humor, fear, curiosity and enlightenment,” said Swanson. After completing the game, Swanson recommends checking out the Challenge Mode and Developer Commentary walk-through for a deeper dive into the game.
Superliminal is rated E for everyone, and is available with Game Pass on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Hi-Fi Rush
Hi-Fi Rush is a beat-em-up action rhythm game where everything goes to the beat. Your attacks, enemy moves, pulsing lights, cinematic cutscenes, everything syncs up with an awesome punk-rock soundtrack. You play as Chai, a wannabe rockstar going up against an evil megacorporation out to capture him. The story, characters and aesthetic are charming and comic-book-like.
Hi-Fi Rush is rated T for teen, and is available with Game Pass on Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Immortality
Immortality is a critically-acclaimed indie game where you explore three films starring the fictitious actress Marissa Marcel in an attempt to solve the mystery behind her disappearance. James Ellis, Editor at Select Money, probably would not have ever played Immortality, it's a slightly-niche mystery-adventure game. “But since it was included in Game Pass, I played it and really enjoyed it,” he said.
Immortality is rated M for mature, and is available with Game Pass on Xbox Series X|S and PC.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is one of the largest LEGO games ever: it covers the story of all nine core Star Wars films, from The Phantom Menace to The Rise of Skywalker. You can battle your way through each story solo or with a friend, with plenty of lightsaber fights, blaster battles, puzzle-solving and LEGO humor along the way.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is rated E10 for ages 10 and up, and is available with Game Pass on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Escape Academy
Escape Academy is a great puzzle game for beginners. “It's essentially a giant escape room game,” said Swanson. You play as a student at Escape Academy, and are tasked with solving over a dozen escape room challenges. “It's not terribly challenging, so it's mostly entertaining for beginners.
Escape Academy is rated T for teen, and is available with Game Pass on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Hitman: World of Assassination
Hitman: World of Assassination is a bundle that includes Hitman 3 and all of its extra downloadable content. While the title may sound action packed, Hitman is really a tense, stealthy puzzle game. In each level, you are tasked with assassinating a target. How to do that without getting caught is up to you, and can get very, very complicated. There are dozens of solutions to every problem, making the game endless replayable and creatively liberating.
Hitman: World of Assassination is rated M for mature, and is available with Game Pass on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord combines the strategy, action and role-playing genres together into a massive medieval war game that’s immersive and challenging. “It can be difficult to master the combat but it's infinitely replayable,” said David Shimomura, editor in chief at Unwinnable.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is rated M for mature, and is available with Game Pass on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Minecraft
There’s a good chance you’ve already played Minecraft, the best-selling game of all time. It’s a block-style open world game where you can craft nearly anything and explore a nearly limitless world. While it’s fun alone, playing Minecraft with friends, where everyone can collaborate on exploring deep underground caves or building a huge castle, is another level of fun.
Minecraft is rated E10 for everyone 10 and up, and is available with Game Pass on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
It Takes Two
Swanson and Select Editorial Operations Associate Rebecca Rodriguez both recommend It Takes Two, an odd, funny and unique two-player action-adventure game. Players work together to battle enemies, solve puzzles and more, all while controlling a bickering couple working to heal their fractured relationship.
It Takes Two is rated T for teen, and is available only with Game Pass Ultimate on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S systems.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Halo is one of Microsoft’s most iconic shooter franchises. Halo: The Master Chief Collection collects six Halo games into one, with remastered graphics and improved performance. You take control of Master Chief, or John-117, a super soldier tasked with defeating various alien threats and defending humankind. Each game comes with support for online multiplayer, where you can battle it out in large maps.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is rated M for mature, and is available with Game Pass on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery
“Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery is probably the most charming time you’ll ever have with a videogame,” said Shimomura. It’s a short mystery game where you play as the “#2 best investigator” investigating three mysteries, “the case of the haunted island,” “the case of the invisible wizard,” and “corruption at cowboy county.” It’s a family-friendly adventure game filled with humor and fun characters.
Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery is rated E for everyone, and is available with Game Pass on PC.
Gang Beasts
Rodriguez also recommends Gang Beasts, a hilarious party game where you and up to three friends fight in a free-for-all all as round, gelatinous, slapstick humanoids. Your objective is less to throw punches and kicks but more to shove friends into, or off of, various hazardous obstacles, eliminating them from the game. You can also team up to fight against enemies
Gang Beasts is rated E10 for everyone 10 and up, and is available with Game Pass on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
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