Xbox Game Pass: Best Games Available on Console and PC


Microsoft’s new consoles are undoubtedly exciting, but one of the ecosystem’s best features is Xbox Game Pass.

The “all you can play buffet” subscription service allows access to over 100 games on Xbox consoles and PC, and while each on their own is well worth the price of admission, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate merges the two at a lower price point (£10.99 per year).

If you're new to Xbox, have invested in a gaming PC, or are simply looking to brush up on the Xbox Game Pass library, we’ve got this list to get you started.

Read More: Xbox Game Pass August 2021 Lineup

Xbox Game Pass: Best Games Available on Console and PC

CLICK HERE TO BUY: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 3 Month Membership at Amazon - £32.99

Ark: Survival Evolved

Available on Console and PC

Have you ever wanted to tame a dinosaur? Of course you have. Ark: Survival Evolved sets players loose on a huge island and tasks them with surviving and then thriving among huge beasts of the prehistoric age and fantasy.

Battletech

Available on PC

If you like giant robots (and who doesn’t?), then Battletech is perfect for you. Offering turn-based, XCOM style combat but with the micromanagement of building walking tanks the size of buildings, Battletech is well worth a look.

Dead Cells

Available on Console and PC

One of the finest indie releases of the last few years, Dead Cells is as compelling as it is challenging. You play as a recently revived corpse tasked with fighting your way to freedom via Metroidvania combat and exploration, as well as looting new and improved items along the way. Be warned - die, and you’re sent back to the beginning.

Destiny 2

Available on Console

Bungie’s shooter/MMO hybrid might be a little on the grindy side for some, but Game Pass offers the base game as well as every expansion - including last year’s Beyond Light. If you’ve ever wanted to shoot aliens and earn sweet loot as a space-age superhero, now is the best time to catch up.

Dishonored 2

Available on Console and PC

One of the last generation’s most underrated titles, Dishonored 2 is an assassination adventure that bends to your will. Want to use cool powers like freezing time to cut swathes through enemies? Go ahead. Want to slink through the shadows using teleportation like a steampunk bogeyman? You got it. Dishonored 2 is a celebration of open-ended game design that you really should play.

Forza Horizon 4

Available on Console and PC

Forza Horizon 3 was excellent, but its immediate sequel turns everything up a notch. It’s got a huge map (set in the UK, of all places), it has some of the most drool-worthy cars ever committed to polygons, and between rallying through country roads, stunt driving for a movie, or simply trying to set off speed cameras, there’s plenty to do.

Gears 5

Available on Console and PC

It may have dropped the “Of War” from the title, but Gears 5 is just as bloody, cathartic, and gorgeous as its forebears. Satisfying third-person shooting has never looked this good (particularly on Series X), with a locked 60 FPS – and 120 in multiplayer. The new Hivebusters DLC expansion is included, too.

Gears Tactics

Available on Console and PC

It’s Gears by way of XCOM, and it’s brilliant. Offering a lengthy campaign with upgradeable soldiers and some true tactical head-scratchers, Gears Tactics could have been a filler entry in the franchise but translates the core series to a new perspective with relative ease.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Available on Console and PC

Sure, you’ve likely played Halo before, but not like this. Including Halos 1, 2, 3, 4, Reach and ODST, the Master Chief Collection has been updated for the latest Xbox consoles and PC to allow for higher frame rates and sharper resolutions. Crashlanding on the first Halo ring now feels almost as transformative as it did all those years ago.

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Available on PC, Coming to Xbox In 2021

When is a game not a game? When it draws from real-world map data to create a frankly incredible aviation experience, we’d imagine. Microsoft Flight Simulator transcends gaming and is almost a tech showcase in and of itself.

No Man’s Sky

Available on Console and PC

Despite its controversial launch, No Man’s Sky has grown into one of the most life-consuming titles in gaming history. Offering a procedurally generated galaxy to explore, players can mine, colonise, document, and battle to their heart’s content. It looks gorgeous on the new hardware, too.

Sea of Thieves

Available on Console and PC

Rare’s pirate sandbox may not have received a huge amount of buzz at launch, but it’s grown into a feature completely, sea-shanty singing, plank-walking, skeleton-shooting masterpiece. If you have friends to play with, there are few better ways to spend your time, and there's now a Pirates of the Caribbean crossover to dive into, too.

Slay The Spire

Available on Console and PC

Card-battling and rogue-like may sound like a bizarre mishmash of genres, but Slay The Spire expertly weaves one into the other. Players battle their way through all sorts of monsters, with each death serving as a lesson as you power up your deck. In fact, the only bad thing about Slay The Spire is just how addictive it can be – do try and look away every once in a while, yeah?

Spiritfarer

Available on Console and PC

Looking for an emotional journey? Then look no further. Spiritfarer tasks players with helping adorable spirits find their way to the afterlife, while also forming bonds with them along the way. It’s about celebrating life and saying goodbye all at once, and it’s beautifully told.

Tetris Effect Connected

Available on Console and PC

Sure, it’s Tetris, but this ain’t your Daddy’s Tetris. Deftly tying the classic puzzle game to a pounding soundtrack, as well as managing to mix in a great new multiplayer mode, Tetris Effect: Connected is well worth a look – and will showcase your TV’s HDR like nothing else.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege

Available on Console

If you're playing on console and are looking for a tense, attacker vs defender shooter, then Siege should be an instant download. Pitting two teams against each other on maps with destructible environments and where every shot counts, Game Pass subscribers get access to the deluxe edition - meaning you unlock a sizeable roster of Operators from the off.

Wasteland 3

Available on Console and PC

Turn-based isometric RPGs may not be everyone’s jam, but Wasteland 3 proves that the genre can offer great production values. It’s a rollicking ride through snowy Colorado that sees players making decisions in both combat and dialogue, and is one of the best Microsoft studios titles we’ve seen yet.

Yakuza: Like A Dragon

Available on Console and PC

The entire Yakuza franchise is now available through Game Pass, but the franchise's latest instalment is a great place to start, offering new character Ichiban Kasuga and a bizarre take on turn-based combat. Come for the absurd JRPG references, stay for the heartfelt plot and incredible characters.

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