Microsoft’s Game Pass service is easily worth the price of admission. Many might balk at the concept of having their video game library locked behind a subscription service, but the fact is subscribers get access to an incredible selection of titles spanning from indie darlings to triple-A blockbusters for a surprisingly affordable monthly fee.

Related: Everything You Need To Know About Xbox Game Pass

With such a dizzying array of fantastic titles on display, it can be a daunting task deciding which ones are worth a player’s time. Given that the cost of entry is taken care of with the subscription fee, the most pressing matter is determining the best use of your hard drive space. Thankfully, the diamonds of this collection are readily apparent. Here’s a look at the greatest games that Xbox Game Pass has to offer.

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The selections listed here will include games available on EA Play, which is included with a subscription to Game Pass Ultimate.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

The adventures of the Master Chief have never been as accessible as they are in the Master Chief Collection. This gathering of Halo games is the definitive collection of 343 Industries’ endeavors to immortalize the series. Not only is every mainline Halo game (not counting Halo 5: Guardians) included, but the fantastic Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach were added as well.

From beloved campaign co-op to thrilling Firefight matches to iconic multiplayer modes, the Master Chief Collection has it all. Anyone who thinks of themselves as a Halo fan should consider it a must-play from Xbox Game Pass. And for those who have never completed the Master Chief’s saga, there is no better way to finish the fight.

Celeste

Games typically take players on a journey, but Celeste gives whole new meaning to this concept. Players control Madeline, a young woman set on climbing to the top of Mount Celeste. Along the way, she must face her inner demons while remaining steadfast in her goal. The poignant story is wrapped in the trappings of a demanding platformer, but the tough nature of the gameplay ties in to the themes the story shares with its players. Celeste is not for the faint of heart, but seeing it through to completion is incredibly rewarding.

TOEM

Not every game has to be an epic quest with an intricate storyline or a competitive battle royale with twitch-skill duels that determine whether or not you take home first place. Sometimes, all you need from a game is a quiet time taking cute pictures.That’s what TOEM offers. You go off on the straightforward adventure of exploring your world and taking photos of adorable events and charming creatures. And that’s all there really is to it.

Now some may claim that the simplistic nature of the game makes it boring. What are games for if not to engage and entertain you? But TOEM goes above and beyond with how snug and comforting it feels. It isn’t here to challenge you; it isn’t here to rate the quality of your photos. TOEM is here to be played, completed, and enjoyed in one bite-sized sitting. And if that sounds darn right delightful, then TOEM is the game for you.

Maquette

Like Superliminal before it and Portal before that, Maquette is a puzzle game that takes a concept and just runs with it for the entirety of its playtime. Where Portal played with physics and Superliminal played with perception, Maquette has you solving puzzles that play with the idea of a recursive world. In each “area,” you have a little table in front of you that you can interact with, and doing so affects the literal larger world around you.

And the cherry on top of this delightful concept is that Maquette features a heartfelt story for you to uncover as you go along. No spoilers, but both the ingenuity of the puzzles and the emotional payoff of the story make Maquette a title not to be missed.

Grand Theft Auto V

Brought back to Xbox Game Pass once again, Grand Theft Auto V’s vibrant open-world setting of Los Santos is a prime reason for players to stay home and immerse themselves in a digital life of crime and skullduggery. Countless hours can be spent enjoying the game’s various activities and diving into the gripping story.

Playing through GTA V is a gaming experience like no other; the freedom of exploring a living, breathing city is brought to home consoles with masterful game design. GTA V is ridiculously fun, which eases the pressure of its intense heists, chaotic car chases, and other criminal enterprises.

Bramble: The Mountain King

With a healthy helping of atmospheric horror and a dash of terrifying folk tale tropes, Bramble: The Mountain King is exactly the game you are looking for if you want to be entertained and creeped out at the same time. Think Little Nightmares with more of a fantasy-esque setting. The majority of the gameplay revolves around light platforming and puzzle-solving to progress, but if you’re focusing solely on the gameplay, you’re doing Bramble a huge disservice.

Just as with games like Little Nightmares and Inside, a large part of the game’s brilliance stems from its environments. Both the areas you guide the small child you are playing as through and the sounds that haunt your ears as you do so contribute to making the title a hidden gem within the Xbox Game Pass library. It’s not a lengthy adventure, so Bramble: The Mountain King is the perfect game to download if you want a bite-sized but high-quality game to play in your spare time.

Amnesia: The Bunker

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is well known for putting the indie horror scene on the map. It shone a limelight on the creativity that flourishes in indie spaces, especially when it came to scaring the living daylights out of players. After several sequels that did not reach the same heights of notoriety as the original, The Bunker is here to reclaim the horror-inducing crown the series deserves. Deviating from the typical narrative-driven gameplay of all its predecessors, The Bunker almost feels like a horror roguelike as it creates a manual save system that sees you managing resources you collect on your runs throughout the bunker.

Set during the trench warfare of World War I, a monster stalks a head-wounded-so-conveniently-amnesiac soldier through the darkened, echoing tunnels of an underground bunker. Your objective is to escape, but every step you take runs the risk of drawing the deformed creature to your position. Amnesia: The Bunker breathes fresh air into the series, so if you’re a fan of horror and you want to explore all the terrifying titles available on Xbox Game Pass, it should be your first stop.

Hypnospace Outlaw

Hypnospace Outlaw is a love letter to the late-90s (and more specifically early-2000s) era internet. It's a parody of life online during the wild west days of surfing the world wide web. Anyone who grew up during the era will get a kick out of seeing the style brought to life on modern platforms. Despite being an alternative version of history, everything players engage with inside the game is inspired by real-world tools and trends.

Related:Games Of The 90s With The Best Replay Value

And while there aren't any name brands, it's easy to spot the overt influences of early-era Windows, GeoCities, and more. Yes, Hypnospace Outlaw makes its satirical version of the internet feel so real that it's easy to be nostalgic for a simpler version of the real-world web.

Chicory: A Colorful Tale

Chicory wears its influences on its sleeve; it's a fresh take on classic Zelda games, specifically A Link to the Past. That being said, fans of the genre will immediately recognize the influence of Okami from the PS2-era because of the game's emphasis on painting mechanics.

In Chicory, you play as an adorable bipedal dog that the player inadvertently names themselves, who ventures across the land solving puzzles and dungeons. As much as it is a traditional 2D action-adventure game, it has enough mystery and surprise in store that it captures a lot of the magic these games had back when they were first released. A joy for fans of the genre.

Cassette Beasts

Nintendo consoles are usually the places you turn to for pocket-monster-hunting fun. Why wouldn’t you? With the dozens of Pokemon games available, they are the go-to spots for monster-catching. Cassette Beasts brings that joy to Xbox Game Pass subscribers, and not only does it hearken back to the Pokemon games of yore (the best ones), it brings fantastic tweaks to a battle system that ran the risk of becoming stale.

You and your cassette beast journey across New Wirral fighting Ranger Captains and Archangels all in an attempt to get your character back to their home. But honestly, in a title this charming, with the cutest retro aesthetic ever applied to a Pokemon-like game, why would you ever want to leave?

The Last Case Of Benedict Fox

The first thing about The Last Case of Benedict Fox that catches your eye is its striking visual style. Sharp purples with hazy orange backgrounds mix with eerie shadowed tentacles and pink globules as you help Benedict navigate the inner workings of memories and other dimensional spaces. Lovecraftian themes are perfectly encapsulated in the game’s art style, and luckily the game gives you a lot of space to breathe in this mesmerizing atmosphere.The second thing you’ll notice as you wind your way through The Last Case of Benedict Fox is how challenging its puzzles are.

Oftentimes for games that style themselves as a hybrid between a puzzle game and a platformer, puzzles are second considerations to the platforming aspect. The opposite is true in the case of Benedict Fox. The combat is semi-serviceable and the platforming a tad floaty, but the puzzles are where this title shines. It has perfectly balanced puzzle-solving to be rewarding without being numbingly easy. It’s a rather short jaunt, and you shouldn’t come for the combat or the platforming so much as the mind-benders and environments.

Loop Hero

Loop Hero is not everyone’s type of game, but if you enjoy piecing together lore from fragmentary interactions, working through mish-mashed roguelike elements with a deck-building focus, and immersing yourself in a delightful retro aesthetic, then Loop Hero was made with you in mind. You and your lone hero make your way through a crumbling and forgotten world, building it as you go along and encountering environmental obstacles and fantastical threats.

As with many roguelike games, the grind through each run can get a bit repetitive, but the unique nature of Loop Hero’s gameplay is engrossing enough to keep you invested for an incredible amount of time. It’s darkly charming, and if its initial premise grips you long enough for one or two runs, you can bet your best cards that it will hold you for a long while yet.

Ghostwire: Tokyo

Roaming a Tokyo filled with nothing but monsters from Japanese horror stories and the empty clothes of citizens who have been ghosted out of existence might sound like a terrifying prospect, but Ghostwire: Tokyo makes it a thoroughly enjoyable experience. That’s not to say elements of horror are absolutely missing from Ghostwire, but the title is more focused on the action of its combat than jump scares.

You play as a young man who has mysteriously survived the “vanishing” of the rest of Tokyo’s inhabitants and finds himself partnering with a paranormal entity. He then has to battle it out with various spirits and the group responsible for everything that has happened. It’s a marginally chilling tale, but many of the narratives of the side quests are more emotionally gripping. And while the combat might feel a bit rote, the atmosphere of Ghostwire: Tokyo is superb, and anyone interested in playing could play it for that reason alone.

Quantum Break

When it came out, Quantum Break wasn't met with glowing praise by the wider gaming community. It's packed with live-action full-length TV show episodes that bookend each of the game's chapters — all of which feel in service of business decisions, not creative direction.

Related: Story-Heavy Games To Play If You Like Life Is Strange

Still, setting all that aside, Quantum Break looks great, has a lot of fun superpowers to toy around with, and tells a fun story (albeit an often silly one). Like many Xbox exclusives (see: Ryse: Son of Rome and ReCore) from the early Xbox One era, Quantum Break is an oft-ignored but worthwhile single-player adventure.

Minecraft Legends

As Minecraft Dungeons did with the Diablo formula, Minecraft Legends takes a swing at real-time strategy games, and for the most part, it succeeds in offering a streamlined version of the genre. Controls have been simplified so that even if you’re not familiar with the tactics needed to handle a typical RTS title, you can keep up with the combat regardless. And the overworld of Minecraft is one that’s easily approachable, especially if you’re a fan of the original sandbox game.

You’ll be happy to know the units you control in battle are familiar, from explosive Creepers to stalwart Golems. There is a campaign you can play through to show you the basics of the game, and multiplayer offerings you can try dipping into that will (potentially) keep the game’s community active. It’s nice to see the Minecraft empire expanding, and if you’ve ever wanted to try out an RTS game without worrying about getting swamped with mechanics you don't understand, Legends is a fantastic starting point.

Goat Simulator

Though there are plenty of strategic titles available to play on Xbox Game Pass, sometimes all anyone really needs is the ability to be a goat for a short while. Thankfully, Goat Simulator has this covered. The delightful physics of the game can keep players busy for hours, long after they’ve uncovered many of the secret achievements and hilarious references it contains.

The joy of being a destructive goat is brought to life in this riot of a title by Coffee Stain Studios. And while the actual functions of being a real-life goat are largely ignored for comedy’s sake, the fantastical nature of Goat Simulator keeps entertainment levels at an all-time high. Look like a goat. Act like a goat. Be like a goat.

Iron Brigade

A lot has changed about the wide world of “Horde Modes” and tower defense in the ten years since Iron Brigade (formerly Trenched) was released in 2011. Luckily, Double Fine’s commitment to its games having a strong sense of personality and wit help Iron Brigade stand the test of time. There’s no arguing that Iron Brigade feels ‘old’ compared to even something like Gears 5’s Horde which has nearly endless approaches to every conflict and encounter.

But the simple pleasure of defending a fortress from waves of enemies online with friends makes Iron Brigade an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a weekend romp with pals online. The game moves quickly from stage to stage with just enough upgrades and customization to keep things interesting.

Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom - The Prince's Edition

Like its predecessor, Ni No Kuni 2 is a family-friendly JRPG that lets players roam around a gorgeous world inspired by the works of Studio Ghibli. While the sequel doesn’t have the same amount of 2D animated cutscenes or the excitement of being a debut title in a franchise, the world of Ni No Kuni 2 is as loveable as ever.

It’s hard not to be smitten with the game’s punny writing (see Master Pugnacious, a bi-pedal talking Pug), and easy, but gleefully fast combat. It’s not a game that will keep players occupied for months to come, but it’s a simple world to be swept up in with visuals and sound design that make it easy to love.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI is a culmination of a decades-long series. It captures the essence of what makes a Civilization game a Civilization game. And that’s the constant, neverending pressure to play one more turn. Yes, as a turn-based strategy game, there's a rather steep learning curve if you decide to try your hand at Civilization VI. It’s not the friendliest game a beginner of the genre could turn to, not by a long shot.

But mastering its mechanics is just part of the appeal. Maintaining your burgeoning civilization is just the tip of the iceberg, and keeping track of the various systems needed to do so is a monumental task. But once you’ve gotten into the groove, and your cities start to take on the better sides of their characteristics and you know what trees you’re going to invest in, Civilization VI hits its stride, and man, does it keep a good pace.

Valheim

The Viking game that everyone has long been waiting for has made its way to Xbox Game Pass. No, we’re not talking about Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. We’re pumping our fists in the air for the arrival of Valheim. It’s still in early access, appearing in Game Pass’ library tiles as a Game Preview, but what is there is a lot of fun, and many have been waiting for Valheim’s console debut for a long time. Iron Gate takes the cooperative nature of what makes Minecraft so engrossing and couples it with thrilling combat encounters in the form of several boss fights.

You and friends can not only build your very own Viking homestead in this eternal realm, but you can pit yourself against the different bosses of this procedurally generated world. As with any sandbox survival game, there’s a lot to discover in Valheim. It’s the sort of title that rewards you with player moments rather than shuttling you toward cinematic fights that play out the same way for everyone. And the most exciting thing about Valheim thus far is that its current state of immense entertainment is still a work in progress. We can’t wait to see Valheim in all its fully realized glory.

Guilty Gear Strive

It’s hard to nail down exactly what makes a good fighting game, but if we had to point to one of the best examples currently on Game Pass, it would be Guilty Gear Strive. It expertly balances the deep mechanics of any fighting title worth its salt with the ease of entry needed to entice newcomers to the genre to stick around. The “campaign” is minimal; it’s more a movie than it is an interactive experience.

But once past that, you can host and invite friends to fighting matches, practice moves on your lonesome, or participate in the game’s multiplayer offerings housed within The Tower. So much experimentation in terms of combat is available thanks to the more-than-decent roster of characters, and once you’ve found your favorite and mastered their combos, you’re in for fights of a lifetime. So while we still can’t pin down what would be the absolute perfect fighting game, we know that Guilty Gear Strive comes damn close.

Age Of Empires II: Definitive Edition

Age of Empires II was the pinnacle of the series. Not only do many consider it to be the best Age of Empires game and one of the best real-time strategy titles around, it’s also believed to be just one of the greatest video games ever made (in an ever-increasing and genre-spanning list). Now the Definitive Edition of this iconic title has made its way to the Xbox Game Pass library, and we couldn’t be more pleased.

Related: PC Exclusives That Deserve A Remake

It updates quite a few aspects of the aged original, with better visuals and more civilizations to pick from, but it clearly remains true to the things most loved about Age of Empires II. You manage your armies and maintain your burgeoning cities in much the same fashion as you used to. And did we mention there’s co-op? We’re all about those comp stomps.

Atomic Heart

Let’s address the Rapture-sized elephant in the room. No, Atomic Heart is not the BioShock spiritual successor you’ve been waiting for. The narrative falls short in several regards, not the least of which is the manner in which the protagonist speaks and interacts with the people (and robots) around him, and the disparate nature of the gameplay elements Atomic Heart tries to blend prevents it from being a masterpiece.

That said, it can be a hell of a lot of fun to play. When you’ve learned to properly combine Charles’ abilities with decent melee combat and relatively solid gunplay, mowing down the crowds of robotic opponents becomes as mindlessly enjoyable as chowing down on your favorite chips. And have we mentioned how great the game looks? The intro sequence alone is enough to impress in terms of visuals, but Atomic Heart consistently aims to introduce new environmental styles to wow your eyes.

Skate 3

Available for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers courtesy of EA Play, Skate 3 is a classic. Even if you’ve never been skateboarding a day in your life, the enjoyment you can find in Skate 3 is undeniable. The amount of tricks you can perform, the areas you can skate in, and the bones you can break all contribute to making one of the most entertaining games you can play. To cap it all off, you can play Skate 3 online with friends to “compete” against each other or just zoom around parks one-upping each other.

If you know someone who has played Skate 3, you can guarantee they have at least one story of some amazing thing they did while playing, complete with a hilarious anecdote about how the ragdoll physics turned what could have been a failed trick into a burst of genuine laughter, the kind of laughter that hurts your face. Skate 3 shows how old it is in the graphics department, but it’s still aged incredibly well.

Astroneer

The world can never have too many delightful sandbox games set in space. In Astroneer, you explore different planets, collecting enough resources to make your way to the next one, all the while building little bases on each one to serve your exploration needs. There’s admittedly a bit of wonkiness when it comes to moving around on the various planets, and you can expect your rover and other methods of transportation to get…stuck on occasion.

But the difficulties you encounter as you comb the surface of each planet are all part of Astroneer’s charm. It combines the mindlessness of a must-mine-for-minerals kind of game with the grit-your-teeth nature of a survival game. It’s simple, fun, but a challenge nonetheless. And have we mentioned the fact that you can play with friends?

Surgeon Simulator 2

Some simulator games pride themselves on how true-to-life their simulations can be. For example, Farming Simulator is a series that clearly dedicates itself to the pursuit of realism when it comes to tending and managing your own farm. Surgeon Simulator 2 is not one of those games. If anything, Surgeon Simulator 2 prides itself on being the exact opposite of what real surgery is like. You and some friends can take on the roles of “surgeons” in a goofy-looking facility, treating patients who need vital organs or limbs replaced.

The controls for playing are purposefully stiff and confusing, as physics-based humor is the star of the title. You’ll be able to laugh your way through surgeries as you accidentally pull off legs from patients, scramble to inject them with syringes full of a substance that halts blood loss, and hammer away at rib cages in order to reach a person’s heart.It sounds gruesome, but the team at Bossa Studios handles everything with good humor and an eye on enjoyable cooperation.

A Plague Tale: Requiem

A Plague Tale: Requiem enlarges the conflict we were introduced to in its predecessor. And while some may prefer the smaller-scale encounters and narrative beats experienced in Innocence, there is no denying the scope of what Asobo Studios attempts in its sequel. Amicia and Hugo are back, with even more aggressive enemies to contend with and a political conflict to get embroiled in. Amicia is clearly capable of handling things as Requiem leans in toward the combat aspect of its gameplay.

Related: Mistakes Everyone Makes While Playing A Plague Tale: Requiem

Requiem feels like one of Sony’s iconic narrative-driven games, and the performances for each character are incredible. If you’re an Xbox fan but have been feeling like you’re missing out on single-player experiences, A Plague Tale: Requiem is a good place to start.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R

Originally released in 2013, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R is a remastered version of the PlayStation 3 fighting game. YES! YES! YES! The R does 'stand' for Remaster.

It's hard to argue for All-Star Battle R against more modern games in the genre like Dragon Ball FighterZ or Mortal Kombat 11, but even for non-fans of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, there's a simple joy in choosing from a wide roster of characters and not needing to take the combat quite as seriously as something from a top tier franchise. Ultimately, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R isn't a game that's going to endure the test of time like its contemporaries, but it has an enormous roster of characters from one of the most inventive manga/anime series of all time. And of course: it's going to be a treat for all JoJo fans to see so many characters and their stands brought to life in a game.

Darkest Dungeon

Make no mistake, Darkest Dungeon sets players up for a brutal, turn-based roguelike experience. Cast as the unlucky beneficiary inheriting a cursed estate, players must recruit a party of daring-yet-vulnerable adventurers to root out the corruption that has overtaken it. Combat is as deadly for the body as it is the mind — characters have a sanity statistic that will erode as they’re subjected to the Lovecraftian horrors inhabiting the various biomes, driving them to depths of madness.

“Lovecraftian horrors” is quite literal here, as the themes and creature designs are very clearly inspired by Lovecraft’s timeless tales of cosmic horror and rendered in a brilliantly vibrant, almost comic book-like art style. Add in the voice talent of Wayne June narrating the experience and you’re in for a memorable (if grueling) adventure.

GoldenEye 007

GoldenEye 007 is one of the most iconic pieces of 3D game history. Not only did it popularize first-person shooters on home consoles, paving the way for Halo: Combat Evolved four years later, but it introduced a generation of players to basic FPS modes like Team Deathmatch. It was a technical marvel when it was originally released, and is one of those games that enthusiasts need to at least try even without personal nostalgia for it. And hey, history aside, it still has an incredible campaign and does a great job with the James Bond IP and soundtrack.

All that said, fair warning: There is no online play with the Xbox version of GoldenEye 007.

Hi-Fi Rush

Hi-Fi Rush is a rhythm action game, which means players are rewarded for landing hits in time with the game's music. Luckily, Hi-Fi Rush puts a lot of design into making sure that even rhythm-challenged players will have a good time with its combat.

From its brisk pace to its gorgeous candy-colored aesthetic, few games scream, "Try me!" quite as immediately as Hi-Fi Rush. The game's polish immediately makes itself known with visual frills at every turn and fully-voiced cutscenes. Without spoiling anything, Hi-Fi Rush does great work with its licensed music, straddling genres to keep the game's music fresh and exciting throughout.

Persona 4 Golden

If the arrival of Persona 5 Royal on Xbox Game Pass was a joy to you, then your enjoyment levels should be tripled at this point. Both Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden have made it to the Game Pass library. It is indeed a rich time for Persona fans. Everything you loved in Royal can be found in Persona 4 to some degree, and it is a fantastic feeling to delve a bit backwards into the series’ history.

While not as stylized as its eventual successor, Persona 4 offers one of the most charming and heartfelt stories in gaming to date. The relationships you build with your fellow characters feel just as meaningful, and the enhancements made to the graphics and gameplay heighten the experience as a whole. So if you’re one of those players who dipped their toes into the Persona franchise with Persona 5, don’t hesitate to cannonball into Persona 4.

Monster Hunter Rise

One of the biggest mistakes you could make before playing Monster Hunter Rise is to compare it with World. These are two games set in the same universe, but they are entirely different beasts. That said, both are equally good in their own ways. Monster Hunter Rise makes for a fantastic starting point for anyone new to the series. Its mechanics have been streamlined, erasing a lot of the challenges you can find in World.

Related: Monster Hunter Rise: Overpowered Builds

So if a light introduction to Monster Hunter is what you’re looking for, then Rise is perfect for you. In addition to that, ever since Monster Hunter: World was removed from Xbox Game Pass, there’s been a decidedly Monster Hunter-shaped hole in our lives. Rise fills that gap while providing a more polished and accessible experience.

Ori And The Blind Forest

The sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest can be found further down along this list, but it was a major oversight not to include its predecessor. Where Will of the Wisps developed a robust combat system that integrated perfectly with Ori’s skill set, Blind Forest laid some phenomenal groundwork for nearly every other aspect of that game. The jaw-dropping visuals, the incredibly responsive platforming, and rewarding progression system were all things Ori and the Blind Forest excelled at.

Quite frequently, you’ll hear the game compared to Hollow Knight, and that’s an apt comparison to make. Both games are haunting and beautiful to look at while giving players that perfect blend of exploration and discovery you get in most successful Metroidvanias. If any of this sounds appealing, you shouldn’t skip out on playing Ori and the Blind Forest; you’d be doing yourself a massive disservice.

Stranded Deep

If a combination of games like The Forest and Raft appeal to you, then Stranded Deep is sure to be a pleasant time. While it’s not breaking new ground, it is comfortably situated as a decent dip into the survival genre. You maintain your health, hydration, and skin protection as your character struggles to escape the collection of islands and open ocean they’ve crash-landed onto. When you first start out, you should stick to land and shallow water because the deep ocean is home to nightmarishly huge sharks.

But as with most survival games, you can build yourself up to take on the terrors of the sea and find a way home. Craft some weapons, construct a base, and survive. Stranded Deep carries the essential building blocks of the genre. If you know the routine, you’ve got this one in the bag.

High On Life

Made by some of the minds behind Rick and Morty, High on Life is the zany FPS experience you’ve been waiting for. You can’t go three minutes in the game without confronting the humor and crassness fans have come to know and love from Justin Roiland. Hell, you can’t go one minute in the game.

But humor aside, High on Life is an entertaining shooter game that combines a solid foundation of FPS mechanics with the sort of platforming you’d expect to see in 3D platformers of old. If you’re looking for something hilarious and engaging (and you’re in the mood to play a video game instead of watching a show), we most heartily recommend playing some High on Life.

Immortals Fenyx Rising

It would be very understandable if you feel some fatigue with the Assassin’s Creed formula. Despite freshening things up with Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla, Ubisoft has earned its reputation of frequently releasing a huge open-world game with numerous side quests contained within it, all of which amount to a progressively more and more tiring experience with each successive entry.

Immortals Fenyx Rising still has the foundation of what you’d expect from a Ubisoft open world, but it’s been given more life and vivacity with its charming story, downright rewarding upgrade system, and an art style that lends a fun flavor to the Greek mythology the game follows. Immortals Fenyx Rising is as delightful as it is surprising. So while you may elect to skip the next Assassin’s Creed entry, this outlier from its developers is a must.

Aragami 2

Solidly designed cooperative stealth-action games are a rarity, but Aragami 2 manages to pull it off in fine fashion. As a member of a clan of undead ninja-guardians, it falls to you and up to two stealthy comrades to utilize various shadow powers, stealth, and good, old-fashioned katana combat to harass, harry, and sabotage an invading army as it pillages your homeland and slays your people.

Related: Beginner Tips For Aragami 2 You Need To Know

Aragami 2’s stealth and combat mechanics straddle a fine line between simple accessibility and depth, providing just enough nuance to get players hooked but dodging a learning curve that seems impenetrable to newcomers. It’s definitely worth more than a spin, especially if you have a couple of friends to bring along for the ride.

Dishonored

Dishonored is a classic, and while its successor (also on this list) improves on multiple aspects (loud nonlethal takedown options for starters), nothing quite feels as good as the original. Corvo’s journey to take vengeance (or find justice, depending on what route you take) is one for the ages. No matter what scenario you’re placed in, you feel like you have options for how you choose to respond.

Do you want to throw glasses and bottles in different directions to confuse the guards as they try to gather for whiskey and cigars? You can. Do you want to find the high ground and constantly jump-assassinate unsuspecting victims below you? You can. Do you want to struggle to be a good person, choking out and dragging the people who get in your way to broom closets so no one finds them and alerts the whole building? You can try. Though Corvo was thrown in jail and is constantly hounded by the law for a crime he didn’t commit, Dishonored is all about freedom. And few games capture that quite like it does.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

As soon as it was announced that LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was going to make it to Game Pass, we knew it was going to earn a spot on this list. LEGO games in general are a font of fun when it comes to cooperative experiences, and The Skywalker Saga is actually one of the best LEGO games you could play right now. You get to journey through a galaxy far, far away, diving into each Star Wars film that comprises the main storyline thus far.

The vista of planets you visit is awe-inspiring, though admittedly very block-shaped given the visual limitations of a LEGO brick world. The usual foundations are here as well, giving you the collectathon experience of a lifetime and allowing you to unlock the most beloved members of the Star Wars universe. If you like entertainment, you’ll love The Skywalker Saga.

Amnesia: Rebirth

Though Amnesia: Rebirth did not hit as strongly as The Dark Descent in the cultural zeitgeist, it’s a frightfully well rendered narrative of a person’s journey overcoming the darkness within and without. Your character, Tasi Trianon, must uncover why a catastrophe has struck her expedition and crashed her plane into the Algerian desert and why she can’t remember anything of what happened.

Related: Beginner Tips For Amnesia: Rebirth

As you’d expect from one of Frictional Games’ titles, Rebirth is a harrowing experience. But what you might not expect is the heart-wrenching tragedy of many of its events. The emotional upheaval in Amnesia: Rebirth is double what you might have felt in The Dark Descent and Soma combined. So if you like your horror games to masterfully interweave with deeper themes, don’t skip out on Rebirth.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season

Telltale’s The Walking Dead series has set a quiet foundation for your narrative adventure experiences within the Xbox Game Pass library. While newer titles like As Dusk Falls surprise and delight us, we can never forget the adventure that Lee and Clementine set us on all those years ago. With the addition of The Final Season to Game Pass, you can now experience the entirety of Clementine’s journey.

The narrative twists and turns of her final story are just as heart-wrenching as you remember, if not more so since you know this is the end of the road. Your choices throughout the game feel impactful, as they always have, but this time you feel it even more so as you see the person you have shaped Clementine to be has grown into the person who shapes someone else’s path. Prepare yourself to shed a few tears.

Return To Monkey Island

If a joyful and hard-as-nails puzzle game is what you’re searching for, then Return to Monkey Island is the X at the end of that particular treasure hunt. This is the triumphant continuation of Ron Gilbert’s beloved point-and-click adventure series. Fans of the originals will find a lot to love here, from the same humor you know and love to the head-bashingly frustrating (but still fun) puzzles to work through.

It’s a nostalgic challenge from start to finish. You might need a handy guide available on your phone just in case a specific section has you stumped, but at no point does this detract from your enjoyment. And the thrill of figuring out a head-scratcher by yourself? Chef’s kiss.

Signalis

Signalis is a sci-fi survival horror game with a PS1 aesthetic. But its homage to a bygone era of horror games isn't only skin deep. Signalis profoundly understands what made the original Resident Evil games and the original Silent Hill such triumphs. It doesn't rely on tank controls or copious amounts of jump scares — it's a game with a tense ambiance, and it knows how to use it effectively. Everything from its sci-fi theming to its incredible sound design elevates the game's (great) puzzles and survival management gameplay. Fans of the genre absolutely must try Signalis.

Norco

Norco is a dystopian sci-fi tale of collective loss. It's a point-and-click adventure game in the vein of narrative games like Kentucky Route Zero or Mutazione. It's an especially cynical story about a world (this world) coping with its own existence and melancholy. Still, despite being an altogether brooding game, Norco isn't humorless; it's packed with personality including a loveable cast that makes peeling back the layers of its dense world a rich and fulfilling experience. An absolute must for anyone who prizes writing in games.

Pentiment

Looking at gameplay pictures of Pentiment is not enough to fully grasp its charm, though it does showcase the artistic style you’ll find throughout the game. To boil down Pentiment to its genre as a simple narrative adventure is a disservice to what Obsidian Entertainment has made here. We’ve long known Obsidian to be masters at crafting immersive storylines and grounded dialogue, and they showcase their skill here by choosing one of the most unique time periods and settings in the history of gaming.

You play as an artist learning to become a master at a Benedictine monastic church, and while that might sound like an environment that is as dry as a dusty old book, it is artfully (pun intended) brought to vivacious life thanks to Obsidian’s narrative talents. We don’t want to spoil too much, but if there was ever a game you needed to risk playing even though you knew nothing about it, it’s Pentiment.

Somerville

If you’re a fan of games like Limbo and Inside, then elements of Somerville will definitely appeal to you. The game is highly atmospheric, imparting its story to you wordlessly through small character actions and background events. However, there are a few key differences between what you find in Somerville and what we’ve experienced in, let’s say, Inside. Rather than playing like a 2D puzzle platformer, Somerville adds an extra dimension a la Little Nightmares.

In addition to that, you have companions with you in the form of your family and your dog. It’s a very short game, so diving in and losing yourself in this harrowing story about some sort of alien invasion is not a huge ask. It’s the perfect game to play when you want some light puzzles (and chase sequences) with excellent environmental storytelling.

Prodeus

It feels like an egregious error to have not included Prodeus here sooner. Launched in early access, the unbridled potential of this modern take on the beloved “boomer shooter” genre is palpable from the moment you open the menu. If you have a fondness for the look of Doom (1993) but wished it was as speedy and relevant as Doom Eternal, Prodeus is the game you have been waiting for.

Related: Prodeus: Best Weapons, Ranked

Details on the plot are scarce; you’re more or less thrust into missions where you have to destroy demon-looking aliens or alien-looking demons. But the story doesn’t matter. Prodeus is all about the rush of gunplay. You hurtle through levels using the variety of weapons at your disposal a la the original Doom. Even though it’s in early access, it feels incredibly polished already. Prodeus is a rush of fun that any fan of first-person shooters needs to play.

Vampire Survivors

On paper, Vampire Survivors is one of the simplest games you’ve ever heard of. You move your little Castlevania-esque character across a screen, slowly accruing power-ups that activate automatically to attack the increasing swarms of foes that shamble about you. That’s basically the whole game. But my god if it isn’t the most engrossing thing you could be playing right now. Easy to dive into, hard to leave, Vampire Survivors is this year’s best roguelike.

Originally on PC, it has become available on Xbox consoles as well. It is an ingenious addition to the Game Pass library. All too often you might find yourselves wondering what big time investment you should install and play next from within the catalog of games available on Game Pass. Vampire Survivors possesses the digestibility of a mobile game with the polish of an arcade classic.

Amnesia: Collection

Technically speaking, Amnesia: Collection comes with three games: The Dark Descent, A Machine for Pigs, and Justine. And while certain titles within this collection are definitely more memorable than the others, as a whole, they are all fantastic horror additions to the Xbox Game Pass library. The Amnesia series redefined what it meant to be a small, indie horror game. Despite not possessing the same budget as a triple-A title, The Dark Descent captured our attention and terrified us by masterfully using what elements it could.

An intriguing narrative is laid out before us through amazing voice acting and well-written, in-game notes. And the atmosphere is second to none. The occasional jump scare is doled out in perfect measure, so the tension of wandering through the dark is punctuated by spikes in fright. The first game is a stand-out title, and the entire collection is worth the time it takes to creep through the haunting storylines just so you can experience the phenomenon that is and was Amnesia.

Soma

Frictional Games is largely known for their wildly popular indie horror title, Amnesia: The Dark Descent. And while Soma did not reach the same levels of Let’s-Player popularity, it shows definite improvement and more polish than its predecessor. The level of story-telling in Soma is so enhanced, replaying The Dark Descent feels disappointing in comparison. Questions of consciousness and morality are expertly presented to players alongside all the horror and unnerving atmosphere you would expect from one of Frictional’s games.

Trapped in the deepest recesses of the ocean after an apocalypse has wiped out the rest of humanity on the surface, the premise alone is terrifying. But the darkened corridors, haunting environments, and emphasis on running instead of fighting all contribute to making Soma one of the best horror experiences you can try.

Persona 5

Persona 5 is decidedly Cool.

Mechanically, it doesn’t stray far from conventional JRPG elements, but it’s such a flashy game, with so much style and panache, it feels remarkably modern. It goes to show how far art direction can go in making a game world come alive. The story follows a group of high school students, each with their ambitions and plots, working together to curb the wicked intentions of the surrounding adults. Despite its staggeringly long runtime, it still feels like a spoiler to go into much more detail than that.

Suffice to say the plot of Persona 5 is gripping (and rich enough to support a sequel in a completely different genre) which is no surprise considering Persona 5 is already a game that walks between genres, including JRPG, social/romance sim, and even some light adventure elements. Even with its daunting length and traditional riff on the genre, Persona 5 is an absolute must-play and a marquee release for Xbox Game Pass.

Scorn

Scorn is a difficult game to categorize as it incorporates elements of walking simulators, horror games, puzzle games, and first-person shooters into one, uniquely atmospheric title. Since it’s so tough to pin down, it’s very likely players will approach Scorn expecting one thing and getting another.

However, if you walk into Scorn and just let the game do its thing, you’ll find it to be one of the most interesting experiences within the Xbox Game Pass library. There is no dialogue expounding an intricate story for you, no lore documents hidden in the crevices of the environment for you to read, and no hints if you get stuck in a certain section. While this might sound daunting, it’s actually one of the best things about the game.

The lack of hand-holding allows you to explore your surroundings, with only guesswork and the barest of theories to help you piece together the “story” of this decrepit, alien world. And we haven’t even mentioned the visuals of this place. Largely inspired by the work of H.R. Giger, every landscape, corridor, and enemy type just screams biomechanical grotesqueries. You may spend more time staring at what Scorn’s textured doors and wriggling keys look like than actually using them.

Immortality

Immortality lists a few important content warnings before players even start the game. Take heed. It's an adult game, and it doesn't skirt around its mature themes.

Immortality is a video mystery thriller set in the world of film production, and it could easily be ruined for some players with even slight spoilers. Other than taking time to make sure it’s a game that's appropriate for you, go in blind: the joy of Immortality is in unraveling its plot and many mysteries.

With that said, the mechanics of Immortality are pretty straightforward. At the outset players are presented with a series of video clips that can be scrubbed forwards and backward. At any point, players can pause the footage and click a part of the frame to be shown another clip with a similar person, pattern, or object. And that's it — no more details

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Odyssey takes Assassin’s Creed into the era of Greek antiquity, giving players the opportunity to explore the “pre-history” of the franchise’s central conflict between the Assassins and Templars through the eyes of an exiled Spartan warrior-turned-mercenary. To frontload the obvious caveat, it does iterate on the action-RPG roots set in Origins. While some may find that divisive, it’s hard to argue that it hasn’t been polished tastefully. While cementing the game in action-RPG territory does detract from the franchise’s stealth-action hallmarks, the sheer amount of variety introduced via varied weapons and combat skills is a welcome detour from the established Assassin’s Creed standards.

The setting itself is beautifully rendered. Whether sailing or journeying by horseback, Odyssey’s open-world take on Ancient Greece is vibrant, stunning, and packed to the brim with content. There is a lengthy main questline, of course, but the number of side quests, whether radiant or story-based, verges on the absurd — however, it’s hard to fault a game as ambitious as Odyssey for simply having too much to do. Needless to say, you’ll have a delightfully deep timesink on your hands.

Costume Quest

Costume Quest is a family-friendly RPG set against a lovable Halloween backdrop. It's not a game loaded with complex systems or deep progression, but it more than makes up for that with cute characters and terrific writing. The game follows a cast of kids in their Halloween costumes on a nighttime adventure. Battles take place in turn-based instances with Paper Mario-style quick-time events to apply bonus damage or effects. But the best part is, of course, seeing the cast of characters take on their respective costumes’ abilities

Chock-full of easter eggs and collectibles, Costume Quest does have more than enough fun to unpack for anyone looking for a theme-appropriate weekend of gaming. Fans of Double Fine's brand of quirky writing and joie-de-vivre should absolutely make room for their short foray into spooky season.

Chivalry 2

Chivalry 2 is pandemonium. After a surprisingly thorough tutorial where the game teaches players how to expertly wield giant broadswords (naturally unwieldy weapons), players are entered into a team-based multiplayer siege or battle royale where all that training goes out the window. Chivalry captures the chaos of having 64 players with swords collide with each other and fight for survival. There's nothing else quite like it.

Related: Chivalry 2: Mistakes New Players Need To Avoid

Complete with a dedicated "scream" button, every player in a match is experiencing their own little piece of a loud, brutal, and sometimes silly medieval war. It can take some practice for any one player to make an impact on the larger battle, but even the most timid footsoldier will have fun laying siege to a castle.

Metal: Hellsinger

Shooting demons to some rippingly good metal music is enticement enough to play Metal: Hellsinger, but having to do so to the exact beat of the music makes it a must-play of your Xbox Game Pass library. Other games have already tried this tactic of having players take actions to the tempo of their soundtracks, but few have felt as good as Hellsinger. Bear in mind, this is not some narrative-engrossing title like The Last of Us. If you’re playing Metal: Hellsinger, you’re doing it to shoot up hellish demons to some blood-pumping music, and that’s it.

It feels supremely satisfying, almost akin to the feeling you get from cleaning a muck-ridden surface in PowerWash Simulator. Obviously, the major difference is that Metal: Hellsinger is less on the relaxing side and more on the this-is-heckin-freakin-awesome side of things.

SpiderHeck

Chaotic fun is the name of the game when you’re playing SpiderHeck. Picture a far more frantic and neon-looking version of Super Smash Bros., complete with little spider fellows and glowing weapons to pick up in the arena. It’s just so easy to jump into SpiderHeck, and it’s hard to put down.

Not only does it give you a chance to fight against buddies on your couch or online strangers, SpiderHeck features a PvE mode where you and a team work together to fend off robotic-looking opponents in the various map layouts available. Flying around the seemingly low-gravity arenas with your webs and scampering across unstable platforms might throw you off at first, but once you learn how to settle in with the chaos, SpiderHeck will have you hook, line, and sinker.

Slime Rancher 2

Slime Rancher 2 is currently a game preview available on Xbox Game Pass, but fans of the original will find a lot to love here, even if the game is incomplete. Most of your favorite slimes have returned, along with some adorable new ones. For example, we now have Cotton Slimes, with adorable bunny ears and a proclivity to hop out of any enclosures you make for them unless you spring for high walls (and possibly the air net).

A couple of the systems have been reworked as well, but overall, this is the Slime Rancher you know and love. This is the game you’re going to sink hours into as you lovingly build your ranch up and explore the environs of Rainbow Island. It’s just a fantastic and delightful addition to your library.

Hardspace: Shipbreaker

Despite its harsh setting and dystopian narrative, Hardspace: Shipbreaker is a 'zen' simulation that has players slowly disassembling spaceships. Without spoiling any of the game's gripping plot, players find themselves at the mercy of an all-powerful mega-corp that needs near endless resources to fulfill its obligations. Each new objective introduces a new craft that needs to be slowly and meticulously cut down and sold for parts.

As the game progresses, players unlock new tools that make taking on bigger (and more dangerous) ships more viable. But make no mistake: Hardspace: Shipbreaker is always about, well, breaking ships (in space). It won't be for everyone, but fans of desperate narratives or soothing gameplay (see: PowerWash Simulator) should make sure to give Hardspace: Shipbreaker a try.

Deathloop

Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda has already reaped dividends, and the arrival of Deathloop on Xbox Game Pass is yet another trophy of the deal. Xbox Series X|S owners can now play Arkane’s highly stylized time loop title. Players are thrust into the confused mind of Colt Vahn as he wakes up on a beach only to realize he’s been stuck on an island that is going through a recursive loop every day. His job? To break the loop.

Several elements of Arkane’s immersive sim formula can be found in Deathloop, but a lot of them have been streamlined to make way for a PvP experience. Other players can invade your game as a character named Juliana, who is intent on preserving the loop. It’s a fun title, and one that signals Arkane’s willingness to experiment with the genre they are so well known for.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is a love letter to JRPGs. It borrows from Dragon Quest, Pokemon, and Final Fantasy and weaves some of their most cherished ideas into a classic story of fantastical creatures, grand kingdoms, and wrathful witches. Not only is it a near-perfect encapsulation of 30 years of JRPGs, but it’s one of the most gorgeous games ever made, thanks to the art and animation of Studio Ghibli (also known for their incredibly rich and lush world-building).

While Ni No Kuni may not reinvent the wheel or evolve the genre, it is a game that wears its heart on its sleeve, and nails everything it sets out to achieve. There are a lot of games that try to capture the magic of mid-90s console role-playing, but Ni No Kuni set the bar for JRPG nostalgia in 2013, and it has yet to be topped.

Sunset Overdrive

A lot of players will never be able to get past Sunset Overdrive's 'attitude' — it's ripe with corny fourth-wall-breaking humor and zany antics. But it would be a shame to dismiss Sunset Overdrive, because its dazzling art style and speed make it one of the more propulsive open-world games available on Game Pass. Of course, this should come as no surprise from the makers of Marvel's Spider-Man for PlayStation who cut their teeth on traversal mechanics and design here with Sunset Overdrive.

Sunset Overdrive regularly takes advantage of its own best elements (the game's traversal mechanics and bright colors) to create some jaw-dropping levels with over-the-top setpieces. It has more than a handful of must-see moments.

Mirror's Edge

The original Mirror's Edge was a breath of fresh air, with a one-of-a-kind aesthetic that expertly guided players through its stylized world. The game puts players in the shoes of Faith Connors who is parkouring her way across rooftops and corporate buildings couriering messages from one end of the map to the other.

Mirror's Edge is a game that demands players to repeat and perfect its stages, prioritizing speed and style. And while first-person platformers are often derided for being hard to parse, years later Mirror's Edge is still a blast to play and a feast for the eyes.

Kameo: Elements Of Power

When Kameo was first released as a launch title for the Xbox 360, it was derided for not ushering in a new generation of adventure gameplay — which, to be fair, it didn't. That being said, Kameo is an excellent addition to the pantheon of games modeled after 3D Legend of Zelda titles.

While it didn't set a new bar for the genre, it's a delightful family-friendly(-ish) experience with some really novel gameplay ideas and mechanics. In Kameo, players can transform between different magic creatures, each with their own puzzle, combat, and movement abilities (not wholly dissimilar from the mask variations in Majora's Mask). Anyone looking to scratch that Zelda itch should at least give Kameo a try.

Unravel

Where Unravel really thrives is in its impressive presentation. Everything from its visuals to music and beyond are gorgeous without being one-note. And crucially, Unravel is a game that can be enjoyed by anyone comfortable using a controller to steer their player (in this case a lovable yarn doll named Yarny), from one edge of the screen to the other.

It's a game that players can feel at home with, a fairly by-the-numbers 2D puzzle platformer in the style that has players jumping between obstacles and solving physics-based puzzles. Its plot can feel a bit heavy-handed, but the sum of its parts makes Unravel one of the best physics-based platforms from the last decade.

The Gunk