Great game! I'm yet to beat it, buy I'm loving it.
My hot take: in fact, I'm enjoying the combat! Maybe I'm a simpleton, lol (for your information, I'm one of the few who enjoyed the Hellblade II combat).
@FraserG I don't know if I am missing it, but Hellblade II is on the program too and I don't see it on the list.
And hi there again guys, been out for some time now. This is the first post I write since my mom passed away on December 2024 😭😭. She was an avid gamer. In fact, she waited with me for the release of Hellbalde II on May 2024, we were one of the first to play it on release time...💔💔
@Medic_alert I get you, it seems like you have described my gaming habits, haha!
On topic: I have decided to go now with the Play Anywhere feature, so I am always looking for deals on games which have that feature, so I can buy it only one time and I can play it on my XSX and my Ally.
And for third party, yeah, Xbox is my go to, specially for newer games.
The Switch has been for exclusives and some games on the NSO service.
Love that they will include Player Immortality. Playing a game like Control with that feature, with an immortal Jesse Faden, is cool and relaxing as hell!
Now that you mention it, I lost the chance to grab some good games on the Games with Gold program, like this one. And all because I played mostly on Team Blue prior to 2020. So, when I got back to Team Green, It was nice to see my old games I bought back on my 360 along with the chance to access all the cool exclusives I missed on the Xbox One era!
@NEStalgia Yeah, I remember those first two Hitman games... bought Hitman 1 physical on PS4 (a nice steelbook edition, btw), and then came the mess with Hitman 2...
I'm glad I bought the complete trilogy when it released on XSX. By that point, part of the mess was fixed, at least. It's a shame that this publishing mess put some gamers off, because I think ioi, now as a publisher, have a great potential to deliver something superb and something well planned right from the beginning.
The only downside to this news is that we haven't seen the game yet...which may be good or bad, depending on who you ask. I hope when they finally reveal something, a release date won't be too far...
@NEStalgia I know, I have been playing P5 on its Royal version recently (I've started the vanilla version two or three times: one when one friend lent me his copy, another one when I bought it, then I got sidetracked with another games, sold my copy when I sold my PS4, lol).
This time I bought it on the Xbox store on a sweet sale, and I'm playing it on my Series X/Ally. But I found some things intertwined on the main game, things I didn't recall being there on the original version, and I was like "shoot, what's this?". Not bad by any means, but a strange feeling nevertheless.
Maybe Sega and Atlus get their act together and start selling DLC, like they did recently with P3R.
But, you know...Sega always find a way to sabotage itself (jk!).
@NEStalgia I am almost sold! But I don't know if I'll buy it right now, or if I'll wait for a Complete/Royal Vengeance Edition for PS6/neXtBOX two years from now (in good Atlus fashion).
@Elbow I play Killer7 very often, and I got the Silver Case games (I think there are two) on the backlog. I love the No More Heroes saga (and glad 3 is on Game Pass), but I have not finished Travis Strikes Again for whatever reason.
@Marxally For some reason, it doesn't show the Play Anywhere feature on my Xbox Store page, but it does say playable on PC, so I guess it's on the program!
Just the article I was waiting for! Thank you, @FraserG!
The Play Anywhere program is one of the main reasons I'm sticking with Xbox this gen - my main consoles are now my XSX and my ROG Ally. It is a shame that MS isn't adding many games to his program. I guess it is difficult to convince publishers to sell only one license to play on PC and Console (some even sell the same game both on the Windows Store and the Xbox Store - like 505 Games with Control, without cloud saves).
@Elbow I totally get you - I was planning to buy Persona 5 Royal on Steam, but I saw this game is on the program, so I bought it on the Xbox Store - and it's really great to have the ability to play between console and a handheld PC (Sega seems to be very supportive of Play Anywhere). And yeah, it is totally bonkers that some XGS aren't on this program.
Yeah, I checked the Xbox app and there it is, the magic date of 7th of October is back. I'm back in the game for that 1000 points reward - that is, of course, If I can get some nice achievements this week
@NEStalgia Man, I am in the same boat...last Atlus game I have beat is P5S. Yesterday I started P5R as I finally bought on Xbox (which is on the Play Anywhere program, so I can play it on my Ally too).
But I have SH2, SMTIV waiting on the backlog.
FWIW, I loved SMTV gameplay wise (even though the story was very 'meh' - played it on Switch, but must likely I will sell it to buy the Vengeance version on Xbox) so I'm curious about how it did not gel with you.
@NEStalgia Oh, thank you for the info. I'm a little peasant when it comes to this, lol! I didn't know that 8K was relevant for VR, as I'm yet to decide if VR is for me.
VR feels like it has (had?) the potential to be the "next big thing" in gaming, but so far, I haven't seen this "revolution" (as far as I see it).
Well, let's see what October brings...in the meantime, I will rock with We Love Katamari REROLL+Royal Reverie, a game I have always wanted to try, and now I can through Game Pass.
Back in the day, I remember I only had a handful of games to play on my PS2 (namely, Devil May Cry 1-3, San Andreas, MGS 2&3, Killzone, God of War 1&2, Killer7 and Silent Hill 2).
Between indies, digital distribution (making easier to get games which you can only import in the old days), freebies (like those of the Epic Store and Games With Gold), subscription services and more studios doing more games, I think I am provided for life with great games to play.
@Fiendish-Beaver I'm looking forward to Lake House too. I loved AWII. In fact, it's the only game I have bought ever on the Epic Games Store (and I think I will be the only one) to play it on my Asus Rog Ally.
I have posted many times how great the Play Anywhere feature is. And yes, it would be great if MS could lure more devs into this. It's great to pay only once for a game and play it on PC and console, with cross saves and all.
So, with that in mind and getting back to the topic at hand, I'm very happy with my Xbox Series X + Game Pass Ultimate + Asus Rog Ally combo, so no, I'm not in a hurry to get a "Pro" version of any console yet.
Game Pass was a great and easy to understand proposition at an affordable price a couple of years ago.
But sadly, here we are now, with MS being the laughingstock of the subscription model with tiers that are harder to understand than a Kojima written plot 😂.
@NEStalgia Yeah, Satya has a more robust collection of promises on IA than the total quantity of games that are available on the Windows Store on PC, which is dishearteningly disappointing.
We have talked previously about this, and I may sound like a broken record, but that Play Anywhere feature could have been a killer one. Pay for a game on the Xbox/Windows Store and play it across Xbox and PC. But most games released on Xbox aren't even on the Windows Store! Shame that nobody (publishers and even MS and/or Xbox itself) wanted to support this program.
By the way, on topic, it may be nice if the Xbox Store would display which games support the Play Anywhere in a clearer manner (I think some games that have the feature sometimes aren't tagged as such, but I haven't checked the store in a while). But given that nobody cares about Play Anywhere...
@NEStalgia I too have a non-Extreme Ally, and fortunately I bought it on sale earlier this year. So (or at least, I would like to think, 'cause I haven't checked the prices yet) this new upgrade will make the "vanilla" models of the Ally a little cheaper and make it a better value proposition for those still on the fence. Because, when the Ally does work as it should (and is not randomly crashing due to Windows), it is really a great device, all things considered.
Comments 349
Re: Opinion: South Of Midnight Dev Could Become An Xbox Game Studios Gem
@Ryu_Niiyama I'm planning to buy it too - I will gladly support this kind of efforts.
Re: Opinion: South Of Midnight Dev Could Become An Xbox Game Studios Gem
Great game! I'm yet to beat it, buy I'm loving it.
My hot take: in fact, I'm enjoying the combat! Maybe I'm a simpleton, lol (for your information, I'm one of the few who enjoyed the Hellblade II combat).
Re: Nintendo's Doug Bowser Just Channelled One Of The Most Infamous Xbox Quotes Ever
@Kaloudz Yeah, Geoff truly put the nail in the coffin in Mattrick's job 😂.
I guess in 2043 when one executive from SoTendoSoft presents the Switch Series Y/Z Pro 9, we will have a good ole “Don Mattrick moment”, lol.
Re: Nintendo's Doug Bowser Just Channelled One Of The Most Infamous Xbox Quotes Ever
@Kaloudz Nah, I don't like the guy - but I like that we still can get a laugh every decade or so with his infamous line, lol.
BTW, IIRC, the guy interviewing Don was Geoff Keighley, right? How things have changed for those gentlemen in 10 years...
Re: Xbox Spring Sale 2025 'Sneak Preview' Now Live, 400+ Games Discounted
@FraserG Oh, didn't know that! Thank you very much, chief! I will look into that 😄.
Re: Nintendo's Doug Bowser Just Channelled One Of The Most Infamous Xbox Quotes Ever
@Kaloudz you can say what you want, but you can't deny that my boy Don is a legend, lol.
Re: Xbox Spring Sale 2025 'Sneak Preview' Now Live, 400+ Games Discounted
That Banishers game looks cool, has anyone tried it?
Maybe I will bite the bullet with Guardians of the Galaxy and Gotham Knights, played those two when they were on GP and had a blast.
Re: Review: South Of Midnight (Xbox) - A Fantastic, Soulful Outing From Xbox Game Studios
Looking forward to play this later!
I don't care if MS ports games to other platforms - I think their first party output this gen has been great (like Hellblade II and Pentiment).
Re: All Games With Xbox Play Anywhere Support
@FraserG I appreciate your words chief, as always 🙏🙏🙏.
Re: All Games With Xbox Play Anywhere Support
@FraserG I don't know if I am missing it, but Hellblade II is on the program too and I don't see it on the list.
And hi there again guys, been out for some time now. This is the first post I write since my mom passed away on December 2024 😭😭. She was an avid gamer. In fact, she waited with me for the release of Hellbalde II on May 2024, we were one of the first to play it on release time...💔💔
Re: Talking Point: What Do You Want To See From Xbox In 2025?
The rumored handheld and more games on the Play Anywhere program...
I know, a man can dream.
Re: Reaction: Like It Or Not, Xbox Has Gone Full Throttle On Multiplatform
It would be cool if they included a PS5 photo with the caption "THIS IS AN XBOX".
Re: Surprise! Death Stranding Director's Cut Is Now Available On Xbox Series X|S
@GamingFan4Lyf IIRC, aren't they called "mules"?
Re: Surprise! Death Stranding Director's Cut Is Now Available On Xbox Series X|S
@Ricky-Spanish Hahaha, I was thinking the same!
I've just bought it with my reward points. Hope to see the sequel on Xbox too.
Re: Review: Alan Wake 2: The Lake House (Xbox) - Connecting The Dots To Control
@Fenbops Agreed, Control is superb!
Re: Review: Alan Wake 2: The Lake House (Xbox) - Connecting The Dots To Control
Loaded up and ready to go when I come home from work!
Re: Talking Point: Xbox & Nintendo Switch Owners, How Do You Split Your Third-Party Purchases?
@Dm9982 @NEStalgia It's not an addiction, I swear! I can quit whenever I want...
Wait, maybe I will double-dip one more time, just for that new Atlus Ultimate edition...
Re: Talking Point: Xbox & Nintendo Switch Owners, How Do You Split Your Third-Party Purchases?
@Medic_alert I get you, it seems like you have described my gaming habits, haha!
On topic: I have decided to go now with the Play Anywhere feature, so I am always looking for deals on games which have that feature, so I can buy it only one time and I can play it on my XSX and my Ally.
And for third party, yeah, Xbox is my go to, specially for newer games.
The Switch has been for exclusives and some games on the NSO service.
Re: Alan Wake 2 Is Getting A Free 'Anniversary Update' On Xbox Series X And S
Love that they will include Player Immortality. Playing a game like Control with that feature, with an immortal Jesse Faden, is cool and relaxing as hell!
Can't wait for the Lake House DLC!
Re: Four Games Announced For Xbox Game Pass At October's Partner Preview Showcase
I'm going to try it out Firebreak, even if I'm not super into co-op FPS. Otoh, I'm a massive Remedy fanboy...
Re: Ryse: Son Of Rome - The Story Behind This Classic Xbox One Launch Title
@Banjo- Glad to see you too, my friend!
Now that you mention it, I lost the chance to grab some good games on the Games with Gold program, like this one. And all because I played mostly on Team Blue prior to 2020. So, when I got back to Team Green, It was nice to see my old games I bought back on my 360 along with the chance to access all the cool exclusives I missed on the Xbox One era!
Re: Hitman Dev Hopes New James Bond Game Will Become A 'Big Trilogy'
@NEStalgia Yeah, I remember those first two Hitman games... bought Hitman 1 physical on PS4 (a nice steelbook edition, btw), and then came the mess with Hitman 2...
I'm glad I bought the complete trilogy when it released on XSX. By that point, part of the mess was fixed, at least. It's a shame that this publishing mess put some gamers off, because I think ioi, now as a publisher, have a great potential to deliver something superb and something well planned right from the beginning.
The only downside to this news is that we haven't seen the game yet...which may be good or bad, depending on who you ask. I hope when they finally reveal something, a release date won't be too far...
Re: Ryse: Son Of Rome - The Story Behind This Classic Xbox One Launch Title
@Banjo- Yeah, Ryse is very cool. In my case, it was one of the first games I played on Game Pass, on December 2020.
Re: Ryse: Son Of Rome - The Story Behind This Classic Xbox One Launch Title
Great feature, @FraserG! Thank you!
I'm looking forward to more features like this.
Re: Review: Metaphor: ReFantazio - Atlus Proves It's Still The King of JRPG-Land
@NEStalgia I know, I have been playing P5 on its Royal version recently (I've started the vanilla version two or three times: one when one friend lent me his copy, another one when I bought it, then I got sidetracked with another games, sold my copy when I sold my PS4, lol).
This time I bought it on the Xbox store on a sweet sale, and I'm playing it on my Series X/Ally. But I found some things intertwined on the main game, things I didn't recall being there on the original version, and I was like "shoot, what's this?". Not bad by any means, but a strange feeling nevertheless.
Maybe Sega and Atlus get their act together and start selling DLC, like they did recently with P3R.
But, you know...Sega always find a way to sabotage itself (jk!).
Re: Review: Metaphor: ReFantazio - Atlus Proves It's Still The King of JRPG-Land
@NEStalgia I am almost sold! But I don't know if I'll buy it right now, or if I'll wait for a Complete/Royal Vengeance Edition for PS6/neXtBOX two years from now (in good Atlus fashion).
Re: Roundup: Metaphor: ReFantazio Is An Xbox GOTY Candidate As Early Reviews Roll In
Oh, this game keeps looking better and better... I am now considering buying it day one (or close to launch date).
Re: 10 Great Games That Have Been Added To Xbox Play Anywhere In 2024
@Elbow I play Killer7 very often, and I got the Silver Case games (I think there are two) on the backlog. I love the No More Heroes saga (and glad 3 is on Game Pass), but I have not finished Travis Strikes Again for whatever reason.
Re: Xbox Japan Takes Us Through A Tokyo Game Show Journey, Featuring Phil Spencer
Cool to see the team at TGS.
On a side note, glad that Metaphor:Refantazio will come to Xbox.
Re: 10 Great Games That Have Been Added To Xbox Play Anywhere In 2024
@Marxally For some reason, it doesn't show the Play Anywhere feature on my Xbox Store page, but it does say playable on PC, so I guess it's on the program!
Re: 10 Great Games That Have Been Added To Xbox Play Anywhere In 2024
Just the article I was waiting for! Thank you, @FraserG!
The Play Anywhere program is one of the main reasons I'm sticking with Xbox this gen - my main consoles are now my XSX and my ROG Ally. It is a shame that MS isn't adding many games to his program. I guess it is difficult to convince publishers to sell only one license to play on PC and Console (some even sell the same game both on the Windows Store and the Xbox Store - like 505 Games with Control, without cloud saves).
@Elbow I totally get you - I was planning to buy Persona 5 Royal on Steam, but I saw this game is on the program, so I bought it on the Xbox Store - and it's really great to have the ability to play between console and a handheld PC (Sega seems to be very supportive of Play Anywhere). And yeah, it is totally bonkers that some XGS aren't on this program.
Re: Xbox Suffers From Temporary Outage As Microsoft Confirms Server Issues
@Fiendish-Beaver Oh thanks for the heads up!
Yeah, I checked the Xbox app and there it is, the magic date of 7th of October is back. I'm back in the game for that 1000 points reward - that is, of course, If I can get some nice achievements this week
Re: Metaphor: ReFantazio's First Review Is Getting Everyone Hyped For The Full Release
@NEStalgia Well, I'll get Vengeance when it gets a discount (and it will be a great chance to use my hard erned rewards points, lol).
And I will check Fantazio too - but man, a 17 hours prolog? I'll bet the full game it will be massive.
Re: Metaphor: ReFantazio's First Review Is Getting Everyone Hyped For The Full Release
@NEStalgia Man, I am in the same boat...last Atlus game I have beat is P5S. Yesterday I started P5R as I finally bought on Xbox (which is on the Play Anywhere program, so I can play it on my Ally too).
But I have SH2, SMTIV waiting on the backlog.
FWIW, I loved SMTV gameplay wise (even though the story was very 'meh' - played it on Switch, but must likely I will sell it to buy the Vengeance version on Xbox) so I'm curious about how it did not gel with you.
Re: Xbox Suffers From Temporary Outage As Microsoft Confirms Server Issues
@Fiendish-Beaver @Old_Man_Harper I'm the same.
I thought I was misremembering the date of 7th of October!
Re: Opinion: As The Dust Settles On PS5 Pro, I'm Still Glad Xbox Didn't Bother
@NEStalgia Oh, thank you for the info. I'm a little peasant when it comes to this, lol! I didn't know that 8K was relevant for VR, as I'm yet to decide if VR is for me.
VR feels like it has (had?) the potential to be the "next big thing" in gaming, but so far, I haven't seen this "revolution" (as far as I see it).
Re: October 2024's Xbox Game Pass List Is Looking Surprisingly Empty So Far
Well, let's see what October brings...in the meantime, I will rock with We Love Katamari REROLL+Royal Reverie, a game I have always wanted to try, and now I can through Game Pass.
Re: Konami Unveils Huge Metal Gear Solid Collection Update With Improved Resolutions
@GamingFan4Lyf Lol, that line will never get old!
Re: Konami Unveils Huge Metal Gear Solid Collection Update With Improved Resolutions
@themightyant Totally agreed.
Back in the day, I remember I only had a handful of games to play on my PS2 (namely, Devil May Cry 1-3, San Andreas, MGS 2&3, Killzone, God of War 1&2, Killer7 and Silent Hill 2).
Between indies, digital distribution (making easier to get games which you can only import in the old days), freebies (like those of the Epic Store and Games With Gold), subscription services and more studios doing more games, I think I am provided for life with great games to play.
Re: New Microsoft Rewards Bonus Will Reward Some Players With 1000 Points Per-Month
Cool! Now I can win some points by playing Game Pass titles on my Ally.
Re: Roundup: All The Xbox Reveals From September 2024's State Of Play Event
@Fiendish-Beaver I'm looking forward to Lake House too. I loved AWII. In fact, it's the only game I have bought ever on the Epic Games Store (and I think I will be the only one) to play it on my Asus Rog Ally.
Re: Sony's PS4 Exclusive 'Predator: Hunting Grounds' Is Finally Coming To Xbox
@ralphdibny Was it that bad? IIRC, I downloaded it from PS Plus, but I never actually played it, lol.
Cheers, mate, happy gaming!
Re: Review: Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP (Xbox) - The Cheerleader Zombie Hunter Juliet Returns
Thank you for the review!
I will get it eventually, as I have never played it, even if I am a great Suda51 fanboy.
Re: Poll: How Much Would You Pay For An Xbox Series X Pro?
@MinervaX Exactly this.
I have posted many times how great the Play Anywhere feature is. And yes, it would be great if MS could lure more devs into this. It's great to pay only once for a game and play it on PC and console, with cross saves and all.
So, with that in mind and getting back to the topic at hand, I'm very happy with my Xbox Series X + Game Pass Ultimate + Asus Rog Ally combo, so no, I'm not in a hurry to get a "Pro" version of any console yet.
Re: Indiana Jones And The Great Circle Hits Xbox This December, And A PS5 Port Is Officially Coming
Doom and gloom comments on 3...2...1...
Re: Xbox Begins Rolling Out 'Game Pass Standard' To Insiders For Just $1
@NEStalgia @armondo36 @WhiteRabbit Good ones!
Game Pass was a great and easy to understand proposition at an affordable price a couple of years ago.
But sadly, here we are now, with MS being the laughingstock of the subscription model with tiers that are harder to understand than a Kojima written plot 😂.
Re: Talking Point: What Improvements Would You Like To See Made To The Xbox Store?
@NEStalgia Yeah, Satya has a more robust collection of promises on IA than the total quantity of games that are available on the Windows Store on PC, which is dishearteningly disappointing.
We have talked previously about this, and I may sound like a broken record, but that Play Anywhere feature could have been a killer one. Pay for a game on the Xbox/Windows Store and play it across Xbox and PC. But most games released on Xbox aren't even on the Windows Store! Shame that nobody (publishers and even MS and/or Xbox itself) wanted to support this program.
By the way, on topic, it may be nice if the Xbox Store would display which games support the Play Anywhere in a clearer manner (I think some games that have the feature sometimes aren't tagged as such, but I haven't checked the store in a while). But given that nobody cares about Play Anywhere...
Re: These Are The Top-Selling Games In The Xbox Ultimate Game Sale 2024
GTA V as number 1... A 10+ year old game that still sells that good makes you think, uh?
Re: Asus ROG Ally X Reviews Suggest It's The Best Xbox Handheld Yet
@NEStalgia I too have a non-Extreme Ally, and fortunately I bought it on sale earlier this year. So (or at least, I would like to think, 'cause I haven't checked the prices yet) this new upgrade will make the "vanilla" models of the Ally a little cheaper and make it a better value proposition for those still on the fence. Because, when the Ally does work as it should (and is not randomly crashing due to Windows), it is really a great device, all things considered.
Re: Talking Point: Two Months On, Did Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 Live Up To The Hype?
@TheSimulator Oh, good point. I didn't read that bit about combat (or If I did, I forgot). Thank you!