Xbox Game Pass for Console, PC, and Android

LeapingGnome wrote:

It seems like there is a lot of good stuff on Game Pass and more coming. I'm debating picking up a One S to take advantage as I do not buy that many games but I do like to try them to see what sticks with me. Looks like I can get one new for about $250, do you all think the value is there for me? Have you guys been happy with the program so far? I know a bit of selection bias in this thread but I'd like to hear opinions.

The discless Xbox One S comes out next month, FWIW.

I will add my own praise of GamePass. I initially signed up to be able to play Sea of Thieves for $15, figuring I would either buy or not buy that game and then cancel the service. Instead, I bounced off SoT hard but have been having fun doing the "game sample" thing that others have mentioned.

New games announced for Day One launch on Game Pass:
- Killer Queen Black
- Outer Wilds
- Blazing Chrome

Also previously announced, but a reminder:
- Void Bastards
- Operencia
- Supermarket Shriek
- The Good Life
- Afterparty

I have been watching a few videos about Operenica and I am really looking forward to it. It seems like a fun game.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

New games announced for Day One launch on Game Pass:
- Outer Wilds

Aw, I very briefly thought that was Outer Worlds and was pretty impressed that that would launch free on Game Pass.

Definitely interested in a lot of these, though!

I made the same mistake!

Thanks all for your opinions, I appreciate it. I am not sure I am as interested in a disc less model as two of the benefits to me are to be able to get games at Redbox to play for a few days, and to replace my bluray player so I don't have another box under my TV and remote around. I like to simplify what I can. Depends on the price I guess, maybe for $149 or $179 I'd go for it.

I downloaded Operencia this morning, and after finishing the prologue, it feels pretty good! If you do not know, it is a tile based RPG with turn based combat. The movement feels good, as you can look around all you want in a tile, and the traversal from tile to tile is very smooth.

After finishing the prologue, you choose difficulty parameters:
Cartographer: Normal vs Hard (no automap)
Battle-Hardened: Normal vs. Hard (no autosaves, campfires used less frequently)
Permadeath: Normal vs. Hard (progress deleted when all party members die)

I went with normal across the board. I already experienced hard mode back in the 80's and 90's.

There are three classes: Warrior, Hunter, and Mage, along with 4 origins. Everyone is human looking. Then you adjust attributes, pick a few talents (skills in battle), and choose your name (with a randomizer!)

Looking good so far!

I finished the first area of Operencia today. It took about 2.5 hours, but I spent a while looking around for secrets. I finally gave up finding one of the secrets, and I entered the next area. There doesn't seem to be a way for going back to areas you've already been.

I have mixed impressions on the plot so far, but the exploration, combat, and presentation have been great. If you're a fan of Bard's Tale, Might and Magic, or Grimrock, I'd suggest trying it out!

Aristophan wrote:

I finished the first area of Operencia today. It took about 2.5 hours, but I spent a while looking around for secrets. I finally gave up finding one of the secrets, and I entered the next area. There doesn't seem to be a way for going back to areas you've already been.

I have mixed impressions on the plot so far, but the exploration, combat, and presentation have been great. If you're a fan of Bard's Tale, Might and Magic, or Grimrock, I'd suggest trying it out!

This got my interest, its downloading and will report if I can make some progress on the weekend... its getting better every month the game pass, this year we already got:
Operancia, VAMPYR, Crackdown 3, Just Cause 4(released on december), Below, Shadow of the Tombraider(september), plus many, many more...
great games for a flat and affordable price.

I tried Operancia as well - I found the graphics, and voiceacting, and plot, immensely grating. The king is names Attilla, for gods sake, and the voice acting is horrible and they will not stop talking in the hour I played.

It reminds me quite a bit of the presentation and style used in the Hidden Object games. Those are fine, but not exactly the kind of stuff we are used to in RPGs.

There are only three classes, and as far as I can (And in this I may be wrong) very little difference in the way you build your characters, which is the parts I enjoy in these kind of games.

Movement works fine, and graphics in combat are fine though, and it IS a turn based, grid based rpg, but Bards Tale IV, even in the state it is in now, is far superior to this.

You can go back to areas in Operancia you just have to go through a few zones before you get that ability.

b12n11w00t wrote:

You can go back to areas in Operancia you just have to go through a few zones before you get that ability.

Thanks. Something happened in the second zone that made me think this was going to be the case. They do telegraph it very well letting you know when you will be transitioning.

Aristophan wrote:

I finished the first area of Operencia today. It took about 2.5 hours, but I spent a while looking around for secrets. I finally gave up finding one of the secrets, and I entered the next area. There doesn't seem to be a way for going back to areas you've already been.

I have mixed impressions on the plot so far, but the exploration, combat, and presentation have been great. If you're a fan of Bard's Tale, Might and Magic, or Grimrock, I'd suggest trying it out!

After trying it on Game Pass I went ahead and paid for it. Might as well support this genre as best I can, the good ones are few and far between.

I have been really enjoying Operencia. The combat it fun, it looks beautiful, and while not the plot isnt' great it is really nice to have characters. In Legend of Grimrock I felt I just had four different "spells" rather than characters.

Operencia: The Stolen Sun Review "Buy, Wait for Sale, Rent, Never Touch?"

Getting a little weary of shooting people, I had a Game Pass-heavy weekend.

I played the next chunk of Hellblade (completing Surt's area). It's still very impressive in presentation, but I did hit a spot where I died 4 or 5 times in a row. I ended up changing the combat difficulty from the adaptive setting to just "low" because really, I don't think the combat is supposed to be the interesting part of this game. There hasn't been enough training in the combat for me to understand why I'm failing and how to get better, so, bleh, I'm just setting it to easy and mashing my way through it.

I played the opening/tutorial bit of Operencia. I dunno about this one. I'm somewhat intrigued, but also a little put off. It gives off some classic rpg vibes that connect with some nostalgia for this sort of game, but there's also plenty about it that feels sort of slapdash. Something I can't quite put my finger on about the way text appears on screen, the fonts and the formatting I guess, reads to me as a tiny and amateurish PC release. Also I am puzzled by the way movement works: I think the combination of being able to adjust your view while still being stuck to the 4-way movement grid fits together strangely in my brain. I might play more, especially if I continue to see positive feedback on it here and elsewhere, but I may never play it again, too.

I played the first story in What Remains of Edith Finch. It's good! I like the vibe. It's a little slow, and there's something that's a little overly Indie about it, if that makes sense? But it kept my attention and was surprising and strange in a way I found fun. I was slightly disappointed to see that the achievements in it are tied to completing certain parts of the game in specific ways (e.g. catch rabbits in only two swoops). In this sort of game, I much prefer achievements to be along the lines of "complete section 1," "complete section 2," etc. rather than testing some reflex... Making it a measure of your mechanical skill seems at odds with the type of game that it is. Oh well. Based on what I've played so far and what I've heard from others, I'm definitely going to finish this in the weeks ahead.

mrlogical wrote:

I had a Game Pass-heavy weekend.

I played the first story in What Remains of Edith Finch. It's good! I like the vibe. It's a little slow, and there's something that's a little overly Indie about it, if that makes sense? But it kept my attention and was surprising and strange in a way I found fun. I was slightly disappointed to see that the achievements in it are tied to completing certain parts of the game in specific ways (e.g. catch rabbits in only two swoops). In this sort of game, I much prefer achievements to be along the lines of "complete section 1," "complete section 2," etc. rather than testing some reflex... Making it a measure of your mechanical skill seems at odds with the type of game that it is. Oh well. Based on what I've played so far and what I've heard from others, I'm definitely going to finish this in the weeks ahead.

It is not a very long game, and the story it reveals its very special, try to play in the less sittings you can, so you can follow and remember all the members of your family. Im sure everyone gets something very special from the story.

Clockworkhouse on Dec. 20th wrote:

It's silly that Game Pass and Gold are still distinct subscriptions.

It looks like that might no longer be the case. Microsoft is rumored to be rolling out a $15/month "Game Pass Ultimate" subscription that rolls Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass into a single subscription. No idea if regular Game Pass and Gold will be phased out after that.

The list of games on Game Pass that are crossplay on Windows is growing which is great. Downloaded Operencia on my PC and it is really quite fun, the voice acting is pretty cheesy but I am digging it, plan to dive in further.

Yeah I'm looking forward to getting enough free time to dig into it too. I love having it on the Xbox, then when somebody else wants the tv I can slink back into the darkness and continue on pc.

New games coming soon:
- Prey (4/11)
- The Golf Club 2 (4/11)
- Monster Hunter World (4/18)
- The Walking Dead: A New Frontier (4/18)
- Life Is Strange 2: Episode 2 (4/24)
- Resident Evil 5 (4/25)

I'm starting to wonder why I buy games at all any more. There are so many good options on Game Pass now... what more do I really need?

I played a bit of Operencia last night and while the intro part was a bit rough, it gets much better once you create your character. I'm a couple hours in and digging it. Pro-tip: Use the bumpers for turning. It makes the game feel more old school and I enjoyed it more that way.

According to Gamespot the usual $1 for first month deal is being extended to give 3 months for $1 starting Thursday. Probably limited time and only applies to new users. It’s been 2 months multiple times in the past.

I wish Baba Is You was on the list.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

New games coming soon:
- Prey (4/11)
- The Golf Club 2 (4/11)
- Monster Hunter World (4/18)
- The Walking Dead: A New Frontier (4/18)
- Life Is Strange 2: Episode 2 (4/24)
- Resident Evil 5 (4/25)

Whoa, there is some really good stuff in there! Honestly this saves money because I have no impulse to buy games now.

Surely they are going to have to increase the price at some point? I wonder if this is profitable for MS.

Damn. Monster Hunter World? I came so close to buying that multiple times.

Cool!

I know, this service is just ridiculous. My Best Buy Gamers Club Unlocked membership is expiring soon, so I'm looking out for any game I can preorder now that I would want to buy for full price so I can lock in my 20% off discount, but it's kind of hard to imagine a new game I'm going to want to buy anytime soon. So many great things I have downloaded or that are coming up on Game Pass, just...why buy a full price game at all, unless it's something I'm really desperate for.

Docjoe wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

New games coming soon:
- Prey (4/11)
- The Golf Club 2 (4/11)
- Monster Hunter World (4/18)
- The Walking Dead: A New Frontier (4/18)
- Life Is Strange 2: Episode 2 (4/24)
- Resident Evil 5 (4/25)

Whoa, there is some really good stuff in there! Honestly this saves money because I have no impulse to buy games now.

Surely they are going to have to increase the price at some point? I wonder if this is profitable for MS.

Most of them are on my radar/wishlist... I just bought MHW on PC on the GMG sale last week, had it on my wishlist since release.....

I’ve never tried a monster hunter game. Whenever I hear the gameplay described, I get turned off. I’m looking forward to trying it without the pressure of buying it.

I've tried several Monster Hunter and Monster Hunter-style games in the past, and World was the first one that sticked with me. I had a great time with it.