Nobody Saves The World (Xbox Series X|S)

Canadian developer Drinkbox Studios never lets us down with the sterling quality of their indie releases, with the likes of the superb Guacamelee series, Severed and Mutant Blobs Attack rounding out an impressive back catalogue.

And so, it's quite understandable that we've all been waiting with baited breath for their latest game, Nobody Saves The World, to finally arrive on Xbox Game Pass, with the studio once again pretty much nailing it. This is a colourful and clever dungeon-crawling romp with a bevvy of smart mechanics up its sleeve, including the ability to transform into everything from a robot, to a ghost, dinosaur, rat and warrior knight as you blaze a trail through its wonderfully well-designed dungeons and boss battles. As we said in our review, "this is one of the slickest indie RPGs we've played in quite some time" and another great addition to Game Pass that you should check out ASAP.

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Norco (Xbox Series X|S)

Geography of Robots' 2022 point and click adventure, Norco, has slipped onto Xbox recently and, if you haven't heard of this one before, if it hasn't shown up on your radar, you should know that it's one of the very best games released in 2022.

A sublime pixel art point and click adventure, this sits right up top with the likes of Kentucky Route Zero as a shining example of what's possible within this magical genre. Norco is a surreal, darkly comic, disturbing, uplifting and educational tale set in post-apocalyptic America. One of its creators comes from the real life Norco, Louisiana, lending to the game's authentic hyperlocal focus with melds so well with its sci-fi elements to create a world that feels genuine, one that draws you fully into a narrative that covers environmental matters, capitalism, class identity and so much more. Norco is an important game that speaks to who we all are and what we've become, and it's an experience you should absolutely check out ASAP.

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

OlliOlli World (Xbox Series X|S)

Roll7 returned to its wonderful side-scrolling skate series earlier this year to bring us a revamped, retooled and really rather rollicking new take on its slick and addictive vert-ramping action.

OlliOlli World retains the satisfying and technical gameplay of its predecessors, dialling up the difficulty as you dig deeper for a proper challenge as you get to grips with its many, many tricks and courses. It also adds a new 2.5D plane from which to view the action, with a wonderful new graphical style, branching paths through its campaign, character creation, customisation AND a delightful story to bring the whole thing together. This one's an arcade delight!

  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Xbox Series X|S)

You're probably well aware of this one already — Moon Studios followed up the outstanding Ori and the Blind Forest with Ori and the Will of the Wisps in 2020, and ended up making an even better sequel. It serves as a 2D metroidvania with breathtaking backdrops and challenging gameplay, along with a masterful score from Gareth Coker. If you haven't had a chance to try either of these games yet, you should probably start with the first one (they're both on Xbox Game Pass), but we think the Will of the Wisps is not just the best game in the series so far, but it's also one of the best Xbox games available today, period.

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Outer Wilds (Xbox One)

The multi-award winning Outer Wilds has earned a ton of accolades for very good reason. It's a game which is best experienced with no prior knowledge going in, well, perhaps outside of the basic premise that you're tasked with exploring space whilst stuck in a crazy time loop that sees you die and restart, with certain persistent elements remembered each time around. If that's not an intriguing premise, we don't know what is.

Outer Wilds has a beautiful soundtrack, a gorgeous art style, and a central mystery that will keep you invested until the very end. It doesn't hold your hand either, and that's the real beauty of it — you feel in complete control and once the puzzle here has been solved, it's extremely rewarding.

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Overcooked! All You Can Eat (Xbox Series X|S)

If you want to really test your familial relations then Overcooked! All You Can Eat is just the game for you and your kin. Cooking together in real life can be a disaster, so luckily Team 17 has enabled you to run your own madcap restaurant with hilarious results that won't end in real life trauma!

As you complete a variety of increasingly wacky challenges and create evermore elaborate dishes, you'll have to communicate ultra efficiently with your chef partner to ensure you get the best results. Of course, the whole thing quickly devolves into manic slapstick stupidity as you're having to balance multi-dish mayhem against a strict time limit and a kitchen that never quite behaves itself, resulting in a super fun, hectic multiplayer experience for the whole family.

  • Xbox Game Pass? No, but Overcooked 2 is!

Oxenfree (Xbox One)

2016's Oxenfree, a supernatural mystery/graphic adventure is an immediately engrossing mix of teenage drama, coming of age story and creepy supernatural mystery that hooked us right in.

Taking control of Alex, a teenager who's on their way to a weird local island with pals Ren and Jonas, this is a dialogue heavy, choice-driven game that whilst a little slow at times, does a fantastic job of keeping you fully invested in its narrative for the duration of its running time.

With a wonderfully atmospheric graphical style and plenty of scope for multiple replays, this is a unique and interesting graphic adventure experience you should definitely try out!

  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Prodeus (Xbox One)

Prodeus turned out to be an absolutely incredible surprise when it first arrived on Xbox Game Pass, and we've been having an absolute blast with it ever since. Think of this as a retro shooter in the style of classic DOOM, but also reimagined using modern techniques. Sounds cool, right? It plays just as good as it sounds!

We went hands-on with Prodeus back in September of 2022 and praised it as "our favourite shooter of the year so far", stating that "if you've got Game Pass and like shooting aliens and space marines into bloody little chunks with huge guns whilst loud rock music shakes the plaster off your walls, well, you're in for quite a treat."

Enough said!

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Rain On Your Parade (Xbox Series X|S)

Taking cues from the delightfully slapstick carry on of Untitled Goose Game, Unbound Creations' Rain on Your Parade casts players as Cloudy the cloud, a little fella who just wants to go be with the rest of his cloud kin. In order to do so he needs to traverse 40 levels that task him with playing the villain, acting the hero and everything in between.

As you move Cloudy through the game's wonderfully cute cardboard cut-out world, you'll use your weather powers to soak innocent punters, destroy entire levels, save lives and all manner of other antics which usually end up devolving into plenty of slapstick comedy. With cute unlockable clothing to collect for Cloudy and plenty of fun dialogue along the way, Rain On Your Parade makes up for its lack of challenge with good old fashioned entertainment.

  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Risk of Rain 2 (Xbox One)

You may have missed Risk of Rain 2 when it released back in 2019, but that's ok, we're here to tell you now that this is one exquisite action roguelike you absolutely need to play.

With its distinctive, stripped back graphical style it may be tempting to dismiss this one, but you really shouldn't, as Risk of Rain 2 is a deep, strategic joy and a game that belies its somewhat simplistic outward appearance. It's all about the loot here, it's all about growing evermore powerful, collecting and upgrading, mixing and matching and combining powers until you're stronger than you ever thought possible.

As you power-up here, the world and your enemies scale up to match you until the action at the heart of it all becomes absolutely ludicrous. With ten different characters to choose from, each of whom brings their own wildly different style of play to proceedings, this is a roguelike that just never stops feeling good. It's a constant, never-ending, addictive as hell joy of a thing, an action game that does away with all of the frills and unnecessary stuff, leaving just you, your enemies and tons of sweet power-enhancing loot.

  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Rocket League (Xbox One)

We've said it before and we'll say it again, Rocket League seems as though it's destined to appear on pretty much every single list we make on here, it's just that good!

Psyonix's brilliant blend of vehicles and futuristic football is one of the very best arcade games we've played in a very long time. Immediately engaging and as fun for newbies and it is for seasoned pros, the chaotic action here is just so massively addictive and moreish. Matches are just the right length and there's depth here, take on a team who know what they're doing and you'll see some sublime shooting and defensive skills on display.

It may look like throwaway madness but this is one of the most refined, finely balanced and pure fun games available on Xbox, it's also completely free-to-play and constantly updated, improved and added to by the devs! No wonder it's still going strong a full six years after it first released.

  • Xbox Game Pass? No, but it's Free-To-Play

Rogue Legacy 2 (Xbox Series X|S)

Oh boy. Rogue Legacy is one of our favourite indie games of all time and this sequel, somehow, manages to best it.

Cellar Games' Rogue Legacy 2 is, quite simply, a must-play and one of the very best in its genre. It's an experience that nails that addictive core gameplay loop that makes roguelikes so moreish, gives you bright and colourful levels to bound through, tons of sweet loot and wonderfully crunchy action to indulge in as you bound through its meaty main campaign.

As we said in our 9/10 review, this is a sequel that tidies things up, refines every aspect of the original, gives players more agency to choose how they progress and does away with a lot of the needless grind and frustration inherent in roguelikes, resulting in a dazzling game that's almost impossible to put down. Prepare to become entirely addicted.

  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Sable (Xbox Series X|S)

Shedworks' debut offering, Sable is an ultra-stylish, freeform RPG adventure with a pastel art style that's got everyone excited to dive into its amazing looking desert landscapes.

Telling the story of a young girl searching for a mask for a rite of passage into her nomadic desert clan, Sable doesn't have any combat or set narrative, instead allowing you to simply exist in its exquisite world. You'll spend most of your time here gliding around on your hoverbike, searching through the ruins of starships, meeting NPCs, gathering masks and other customisable bits and pieces and generally just soaking in the delightful ambience.

Sable is a relaxing, rewarding and unique solo adventure that's well worth taking.

  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Saturnalia (Xbox Series X|S)

If you're looking for a fantastically original slice of survival horror action with a truly unique art style and atmosphere to boot, look no further than Santa Ragione's superlative Saturnalia.

This is, by far, one of the most intriguing games we played in 2022, a properly horrible horror adventure - and we mean that in the best way possible - that drags you into a twisted and shifting world full of physical and spiritual terror.

Set in the picturesque Sardinian town of Gravoi, Saturnalia sees you take control of four protagonists who arrive on the island to celebrate the Festival of St Lucia but get far, far more than they ever bargained for. With a unique and disturbing visual style, a tight narrative and puzzles that suit the mood of the whole thing perfectly, this is a wild and unforgettable trip that we highly recommend taking. It's like nothing else out there right now.

  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (Xbox One)

Shovel Knight harkens back to retro 2D side-scrollers platformers of yore with its wonderful pixel art style, plinky plonk music and seemingly simple gameplay. However, this is no straight-up tribute act, as what Yacht Club Games has actually delivered here manages to stay true to its influences whilst delivering a sublime modern spin on the genre.

This is tight, precise, immaculately designed stuff; a swaggering, smart-arsed, super slick experience that's chock full of humour, clever references and some cracking bosses and battles. Even better, this Treasure Trove edition comes packed with multiple extra modes, including a Super Smash Bros-style brawler. Shovel Knight may look like your run of the mill retro pixel effort, but it's actually one of the most addictive, endearing and just straight up fun games we've played in a long, long time.

  • Xbox Game Pass? No