Comments 777

Re: Five Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass In Early November 2025

RiverGenie

Stalker 2 is certainly one of my top 5 games of the current gen consoles.

I am looking forward to the PS5 release not that I intend to buy that version as I already own the ultimate edition on xbox. My hope is that we will see the game engine update with the PS5 release and then maybe they will start to concentrate of the story dlc content.

Re: Poll: Which Was Your Favourite Xbox Game Pass Title From October 2025?

RiverGenie

@Fiendish-Beaver yup i jumped in with the premium edition and had nothing else planned for a few days so was able to put in the extra time.

Apparently you can still finish the game even if you become a murder hobo and slaughter everyone you meet so I wouldn't worry too much if you do that again.

I know I made some choices in my first run that in hindsight were not good ones and made some parts harder. Still actions & consequences are part of what I enjoy in these sort of games so being held accountable for those choices just adds to the fun.

Re: Poll: Which Was Your Favourite Xbox Game Pass Title From October 2025?

RiverGenie

@Fiendish-Beaver First play through was just on normal but i will up the difficulty up for my future runs now I have an idea of what i am going to face.

Even on normal some of the boss fights were tough for me. A lot of that difficulty came from being a stealth melee build which is pretty op generally but in most boss fights you can't stealth them. Once the stealth advantage goes away things can get real dicey real quick.

My current idea for my very hard run is to try and do a pacifist run with a focus on talking my way through encounters or letting my companions do the dirty work when that isn't possible. Not sure if it will work but it will be fun to try.

For reference it took me just over 50 hours on normal. I know I missed stuff simply by not meeting certain skill checks or locking myself out of some faction stuff with the choices I made.

I won't tell you how many other places you will visit but you have a lot of fun ahead of you.

Re: Poll: Which Was Your Favourite Xbox Game Pass Title From October 2025?

RiverGenie

The Outer Worlds 2. Completed my first play through and have plans for at least two more with different builds / faction choices. Then I have two story dlc to look forward to as well in the future.

That said I am also enjoying Powerwash Sim 2. This game just tickles the be chill and happy part of my brain so its a nice change of pace.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (October 25-26)

RiverGenie

Well I refunded The Outer Worlds 2 because the grass wasn't working and made the game literally unplayable .... is something I would never say and I am enjoying myself immensely with said game.

If you like rpgs it does so much that just makes the experience so much fun. The standout for me so far is the flaws system which is basically the game looking at what you do a lot and offering you a boon & flaw based on your actions.

You might crouch a lot as a stealth character so the game might offer you increased crouched movement speed but every time you crouch your knees pop making a sound that enemies might hear. I have had others all based on what I am doing in my game play. While you don't have to take them it does make things more interesting & unique when you do.

Its not perfect (see aforementioned grass for example) but no game ever is and The Outer World 2 does way more good than bad its not even close.

I could write more but I want to go back & play so that saved you all from an even bigger wall of text critical hit 😉

Re: Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (October 24)

RiverGenie

I haven't purchased many games for my PS5 as a lot of the releases are sequels to franchises i didn't enjoy on the first go around.

However one of the games i did buy was Pacific Drive & is one of the standouts. Its a slow burn of a game and can certainly be wonky at times but boy when it grabs you & it doesn't let go.

Fantastic experience & was well worth my time.

Re: Hands On: Is The Outer Worlds 2 Obsidian's Third Xbox Success Of The Year?

RiverGenie

@Fiendish-Beaver Thank you for confirming you got your key before start of early access and its something I will think on for the future preorders.

I have used the service (as cdkeys) before but not on a preorder and something about the way the worded the delivery of keys didn't sit right to me so I went with an over abundance of caution this go around.

Either way all good and hopefully we all have a fantastic time tomorrow.

Re: Hands On: Is The Outer Worlds 2 Obsidian's Third Xbox Success Of The Year?

RiverGenie

@UndyingInsurgent95 @Lup I have always found having companion romance options in most games way too be forced and in a lot of cases is just used as an excuse to flash some T&A which is were the "romance" usually ends. So i understand the half baked comment from Obsidian.

Not every game needs it and I find it more refreshing when a game does its own thing rather shoe horn something just because everyone else does.

Re: Roundup: Here's What The Reviews Say About PowerWash Simulator 2 On Xbox Game Pass

RiverGenie

I played a bit of the first one but found it a bit frustrating when you left a pixel of dirt somewhere so it wouldn't complete till you found it so I never got round to finishing it.

I really enjoyed Crime Scene Cleaner though. Despite the subject matter was quite calming to play & much more forgiving if you missed a pixel of blood.

Might give Powerwash Sim 2 a shot at some point but my gaming plate is a little full right now so it won't be anytime soon.

Re: Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (October 21)

RiverGenie

I picked up Evil West in a sale a while back and enjoyed my time with it a lot. Not that I expect to play NG4 for long as its not really my cup of tea but I will give it a shot.

That said because i can start playing The Outer Worlds 2 in a couple of days I won't be playing either of them anytime soon.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (October 18-19)

RiverGenie

On Xbox replaying Dying Light 2 and finding it a better overall experience than DL: The Beast. Everything just flows better from the parkour, traversal in general and the combat. The Beast just feels clunky in comparison.

That said I expect The Beast will get there eventually (DL2 certainly didn't launch like that.) but right now I am finding DL2 a better game for me.

On PS5 I have been doing some daily race multiplayer in GT7 just to keep my race craft in good shape. Can't wait to see how the spec 3 update shakes things up in a couple of months.

Re: Xbox Indie Showcase Announced For October 2025

RiverGenie

@Fiendish-Beaver I have to be honest since the price increase I have spent some time pricing up a mid range gaming pc as an option for the future.

I am with you though I prefer the console experience but well I don't owe Xbox or Sony any loyalty so I will use what's best for me.

Re: Xbox Indie Showcase Announced For October 2025

RiverGenie

@Fiendish-Beaver. Same.

At old price Game pass ultimate for me was for the AAA day 1 games and multiplayer access for the most part.

Not really interested in indie games and at the new price the value is not there for what I want anymore.

Oh well 🤷‍♂️

Re: Roundup: Here's What The First Reviews Are Saying About NASCAR 25

RiverGenie

From what I have seen this looks good and a decent sim.

There are a few road courses such as Watkins Glen International sprinkled into the various series that the game covers but obviously it's majority of tracks are ovals.

Not a fan of ovals personally so probably won't be getting this but if you are a fan of turning left this seems like a decent choice.

Re: Xbox Journalist Says Latest Rumours Are 'A Huge Challenge For The Brand Right Now'

RiverGenie

@themightyant So you are agreeing that you are drawing conclusions and then we wonder why rumours are endemic at the moment.

I have said in my comment that I believe it's a bit of both things and not soley one cause but in case you missed it I will spell it out. It is my BELIEF that the current situation is due to tough market conditions and a company trying to get a quicker return from it's investment.

I also didn't say that the price increase was either good or bad for consumers because I don't know everyone's circumstances so can't speak for them. I can say for myself when my sub price goes up (it's still showing £14.99 as my next payment) it's highly likely that I will drop to a low tier.

Hope that clears things up but please feel free to ask for any other clarification if you require it

Re: Xbox Journalist Says Latest Rumours Are 'A Huge Challenge For The Brand Right Now'

RiverGenie

@themightyant so can you provide proof that the ABK purchase is directly responsible for the recent price increase. Or maybe just maybe it's just a challenge for everyone at the moment in pretty much every market not just consoles.

The truth is probably it's a bit of both but to not expect any price increases ever from Microsoft (or anyone in this industry) well I think you would have more luck stopping the tides from making a shoreline wet.

Re: Talking Point: How Often Do You Replay Games?

RiverGenie

Sometimes for me. Often when a sequel releases I will replay the previous game(s) just to get back up to speed with a franchise.

Or if I want to compare the old with the new which is what I am doing now by replaying Dying Light 2 so I can have a fair comparison to DL The Beast.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (October 11-12)

RiverGenie

I finished Dying Light : The Beast. It was a mostly ok & fun experience overall if a little clunky at times. The beast mechanic in this game is a fun power trip for a bit but it also kind of removes any feeling of danger or tension from a lot of the encounters. It was nice that the story ties up a lot of loose ends from the previous two games & certainly sets things up for more story, either as dlc or another full game.

While it was fun I still think I enjoyed DL2 more just because it wasn't as clunky & it was much more tense experience. Just in case my memory is playing tricks on me I downloaded DL2 again for another play through.

Before I start that I will be in Atomfall to play the recently released dlc called The Red Strain. Played it a bit this morning and its seems to be another science gone wrong story so basically more Atomfall, which isn't a bad thing imo.

Re: Strange Xbox Email Suggests Game Pass Price Increase Doesn't Apply To Certain Members

RiverGenie

I haven't seen this messaging but I have seen other reports of it.

The price of my next sub payment hasn't change and is still showing £14.99 rather than the new price. My next payment isn't till December this year so I guess I will keep an eye on it for now & if it stays the same then I guess I stick with ultimate. If it does change to the new price structure then I will drop to one of the lower tiers.

Re: Talking Point: How Do You Feel About Ubisoft+ Classics Being Added To Game Pass Ultimate?

RiverGenie

@Ricky-Spanish the thing I find most unreal is that they willfully ignore when their platform of choice are raising prices, like it's ok for them to do it but not anyone else. They also have blinkers on with regard to it not happening again in the near future.

My prediction is the other side will see a similar hike probably not this year but certainly before the end of Q1 2026 but hey it just Microsoft who are 💩 and the folks who use their services are a cult!

Re: Talking Point: How Do You Feel About Ubisoft+ Classics Being Added To Game Pass Ultimate?

RiverGenie

@datamonkey read other comments but tldr: Microsoft are not the only company making cuts or raising prices they are just the most recent and to a bigger degree. I mean it was only a couple of month ago that the last PlayStation console price increase was done for example.

This is industry wide and its not just tied to a single company making a large acquisition its bigger and more multifaceted than that.

I know where I would lay some of the blame but I won't discuss politics on a gaming website.