SacredPYRO

Cool trailer, no need to show gameplay, we all know what Tell Tale games are about. Will be a day one purchase for me unless GP wants to save me some money

This and Tales from the Borderlands were my favourite

@ChopperCampbell there hasn't been a 10k punch card for nearly a year, at least in the UK. You are right though, lists like this always used to get me through them.

Having a blast with Dreamscaper even if the "real world" stuff is a little lacklustre. The combat encounters are a little less hectic than other roguelikes and it's a nice change of pace. Can comfortably get to the 4th world everytime so should be finished by the weekend.

Gonna be cracking on with ME:LE addition too.

Infinity Ward CoDs are the only ones I care about, the others always just feel off. Played the first free MP weekend for the MW reboot and purchased it there and then. Played Cold War and Vanguards free weekends and didn't bother.

Loved the first 2 Oddworld games but never played this, I think due to the change in genre. Judging by the comments I'll have to give it a spin.

Also I love seeing Phil play the nice guy. MS would have been well aware of this happening in advance. They probably even passed up on the acquisition themselves.

From reading the statements yesterday Bungie are also looking to go into different medias. With Sonys movie business they can do just that. I never got into Destiny but from my understanding it has a very deep lore and with Sonys success at the cinema recently they maybe looking to use that.

Also Sony don't currently have any live service IPs of their own so Bungies knowledge could very well help them generate extra revenue from some of their games.

I think it is a good move by Sony adding a few more pieces but I also feel they may have over paid.

@Balta666 please stick with Lost Odyssey, it is my favourite JRPG. I don't remember the voice acting being that bad, although I couldn't play FFX because of the same reason.

For me I'm on NSTW although I'm currently stuck on a dungeon and my frustration is building. Also got FH5 to hopefully grab the last cheevo and Warzone with the lads.

Excited for everything coming to game pass other than that we don't really know yet. I hope MS can sort the studio culture out but that won't happen overnight.

As others have mentioned I also hope they free up some studios from the CoD factory. Get away from yearly releases and get me excited about new CoD games again. That being said by the time the deal goes through I think most of the studios will already be working on CoDs up to 2026 and it would be a difficult decision to pull them out mid development.

I might actual give them all a blast this month.

Got XCOM 2, that was the last physical disc I own. All digital now, so even less reason to get off the sofa 🤣

@FatalBubbles I had the drums for GH and I will admit Rock Bands version was better, I still have great memories of playing the full band set up on GH with my nieces.

I just felt like GH was less serious than Rock Band and would love to see a revival to play with my kids now.

@LX_FENIX underated comment of the year so far 🤣

To complete the What Remains of Edith Finch quest you have to play the game until the first 'dream' sequence. You take control of a bird and have catch a rabbit. Pretty simple stuff and if you go straight for it should take no more than 15 mins. I think the bedroom you need is up the stairs to the right and accessed via a crawl space in the opposite room. I could be wrong though, this is from memory 😅

Used to play every weekend with my brother and niece. Loved every second of it. Unfortunately commitments change and we can no longer play as regular. I still think SoT is the best exclusive title Xbox owns, just my opinion of course. I will say it's hell to play solo though🤣

@Jmjfrank cheers for that. I really want it but there's no point if it still has issues.

@gollumb82 @DrJamesOxford I'm still living in hope for a remaster/remake of the original.

Is the GTA trilogy in a working state yet or should I wait for a future sale?

Don't think it was in this sale but picked up Blue Dragon, never got round to it when it released so it has been tucked into the back log if Game Pass ever relents with its releases.

@isturbo1984 I see your point about needing to finish the game multiple times to get the full story. For me though the gameplay was so tight and enjoyable that those extra runs weren't a chore. The RNG element of the boons and the heat level modifiers made every run different and challenging. I also liked how after every run there was new dialogue to listen to so even on a death it still felt like progression had been made.

I enjoyed Curse of the Dead Gods but with a smaller weapon/relic pool it lost it's replay value a lot quicker.

Regardless of our respective opinions Hades does deserve a place on this list. I couldn't get in to Undertale but there is no denying it is a critically well received game.

The Gardens Between is a little time manipulation puzzle game. Took me between 3-4 hours to complete but is unique in its premise and definitely worth a look. It was on GP last year but I'm sure it's relatively cheap if you want a look.

@isturbo1984 fair enough if you don't like the game but to say people who do are high is a bit much. It's a rogue like game, you are supposed to play it multiple times and you need to beat it more than 10 times if you want the post game ending. Personally I loved it, 100% it and still jump on every now and then for a quick run.

Quality list and as others have mentioned there are still plenty missing for me. Shows the strength of Xbox Indies when a list of 40 is still missing some bangers. I'll add The Gardens Between to this as no one else has mentioned it.

Have to admit though if it wasn't for GP I would not have even tried most of these, so thank you GP.

Nearly finished my legendary all skulls run on Halo. Not gonna lie, I have cheesed it with the tank gun but it has still been a good challenge. After that I'm torn between Deaths Door or Nobody Saves the World.

Started ME:LE last weekend but forgot how much of a slog the first game is. Need to motivate myself to finish it so I can play the others.

@UltimateOtaku91 I see it the same way. SP exclusives are the best way to get more console sales imo but anything with a live service/mtx element is huge lost revenue if not multiplatform.

I am an Xbox gamer mostly but I do hope Phil lets PS have Crash and Spyro as well. It would seem harsh and weird to me to make them Xbox exclusive in the future. The term "legacy titles" was used in the Bethesda acquisition but I didn't feel like any of those IPs had a PS legacy unlike those.

@VOODOO85 I can't see them making Call of Duty exclusive. The shear number of sales/mtx on the PS install base far outweighs console sales/GP subs gained by making it exclusive. Microsoft knows this

Bethesda games on the other hand are nowhere near as popular (Although so much better imo) so the console sales and subs gained can make up for the loss of software sales from PS users.

@GuyinPA75 Just let people enjoy their hobby man. Everyone likes different things. I think it's great to see random people helping others out when they will receive absolutely nothing themselves.

Unpacking is in my play later list so now's the perfect time to start

@Bdbrady I hope they never do that and I won't lose sleep over it. Just enjoy the most consumer friendly deal in gaming I have seen for the 30 years I've been gaming.

In the years since game pass first launched I reckon I have played more games and a wider variety of genres than I played in all the years previous combined. I love it and will continue loving it while it stays like this.

I was hoping for a Skyrim announcement

Reminds me of MW lobbies. I had a lot of questions for my mum during those days. Such an active social life she had.

But seriously it needs to stop, the problem is removing chat from the idiots without hampering teamwork and communication from those wanting to play together. It seems that most people just mute everyone nowadays to avoid this bull. I'm genuinely shocked when I get a game of Halo with team mates on mics and usually ask to party up when playing ranked.

Great game and visually stunning. Although an amazing game it's not my personal GOTY. Really pleased it's getting awards though.

Can't wait to see what they do with the expansions, PG always go to town with the horizon add ons.

Had a quick hour on campaign this morning and had 4 or 5 achievements pop as soon as I loaded up. Nice to know I can start using quick resume now too.

@UltimateOtaku91 it might not be day and date because it's not an Xbox Game Studios game, just a console exclusive. No doubt it will be on game pass within the year though.

Nice additions, was halfway through Backbone before it got pushed into the backlog, now I can play when at work.

@BundyDanger the "gesture" controls for spells and interacting with Creatures would have been a perfect fit for Kinect but that ship has sailed now.

Psychonauts 2
Forza Horizon 5
Halo Infinite
The Ascent
Hades

As much as I love Forza and Infinite, Psychonauts was a sequel that was long overdue and did not disappoint in any way. The Ascent was an awesome mix of RPG and twin stick shooter and looked absolutely incredible. I was upset when it was over because there wasn't really any replayability. Hades was awesome but we all knew that for a year before release.

@Handy_Man I feel Rare are back on track now, Sea of Thieves is an absolute masterpiece (even if lacking content at launch). Imo it is the best, current, exclusive IP that Microsoft has. It may not be to everyones taste and sucks to play solo, but it is the most fun/laughter I have had in a video game in the last 5 years at least

I would literally kill for someone to bring back the Black & White series.

Halo, Forza and going to see if the new map can rekindle my love for Warzone.

Nice that the Series S is finally getting some love but that is not for me.

@ChopperCampbell my thoughts too, but I think if it was PS exclusive it would have been plastered all over the end of the trailer like Xbox do with Game Pass.

Anyway with Quantic Dream at the helm I feel safe that this Star Wars game is in great hands.

Looks amazing but expected no less after the first one. Shame no release date, was hoping for a cheeky late 2022 but more realistically 2023 now.

As Halos go, it is the most Halo I have Halo'd since Halo 3. I know a lot of people loved Reach but I was disappointed in the story because I was hoping to play the novel. That expectation was on me though not the game itself. So it's the best the series has been since 3 imo.

@InterceptorAlpha I know what you mean about Legendary being easy. I thought I'd start on Normal just to get a feel for it and grab all the collectibles. After the first boss fight though I felt like I couldn't die so started again on Legendary and it's not as challenging as I remember. Like you said, I think it's down to the fact that every weapon can be useful for once so you're never left underpowered when low on ammo. Just pick up the next gun and carry on blasting. Plus the abundance of grenades around the environment to pick up.

Overall, solid experience, great gameplay, more Halo + grappleshot. 9/10

@FraserG keep up the good work. I'm on night shift anyway so I shall be checking the site whenever I get chance.

Good thing they announced Serious Sam 4 today so I've got something to play until Thursday 🤣

First sentence, "Some Xbox fans might look back on the days of the Kinect in a negative light"

Yes, yes I do.

I hated the thing and the games that were with it. Still don't really know why, I used to have loads of fun with the Wii.

@UltimateOtaku91 Buyouts happen to get consumers into the ecosystem, in the recent case of Zenimax. Microsoft needed games to get people in the door and the amount of studios acquired can do just that.

As much as I see your statement and in someway agree with you that it's business and they all do it. I'd like you to look at it from Xboxs plans. Phil says he's not interested in console wars and by that he has always meant hardware. You do not need to own an Xbox to play any MS first party game going forward, a phone, tablet or PC can get you in to a game. No longer can any studio under the Xbox banner create a game solely for a console and that to me is a big win for the gaming community as a whole.

So yes the buyouts are just business but I also believe Xbox are trying to get "their" games to more people/households without the need for the console itself. Hence "Not interested in console wars", he is just trying to grow Xbox as a brand, specifically GP

Also to the point of subscriptions if Sony wanted PS Now on Xbox Phil would literally say "Yes, if you take GP" but, Sony like the closed ecosystem, it is what has made them so successful to this point.

While I do like how in depth these DF write ups are, as others have said it makes little difference to the average gamer. The strong take for me from most of the reviews is that the game is fun and the most Halo a game can be.

I do like the nit picking that these for videos do for developer feedback though. Like how they've noted the slight "stuttering" in cut scenes and 343 is already looking into it. This sort of feedback is generally not something the gaming community as a whole would cry about and is definitely useful.

All in all, I've had a blast with MP so far and can't wait to dive back in as Chief for what seems a unanimous improvement on 4 and 5.

So this is why I suck, now I have a better excuse than lag 🤣

@Halucigens sweet, I'll get that done this afternoon, thanks for the heads up.

With the issues they had last month with the Xbox top 10 punchcard I would advise people to wait a few days before trying to complete it. Nice to see they've removed it from these quests for the Monthly Bonus Round.

I completed the Top 10 punchcard on the first day and although it gave me 2 ticks for completing it the punchcard didn't award me the 500 points so I couldn't complete the Monthly Bonus Punchcard.

Was a big issue over on the MS Rewards Reddit. Contacted support and they credited me 3500 points. 2500 for what I missed, 500 to use on the sweepstakes I missed (banked them) and 500 for the trouble.