Formerly known as Xbox Live,Xbox Game PassCore is the base membership ofMicrosoft’sgame subscription service. Is it worth the monthly fee? That depends entirely on whether you are interested in the curated collection of games that comes with this monthly subscription service.
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10Grounded
Grounded is afun survival action-adventure gamethat is an homage to the classic 1989 movie, “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.” In the game, you choose one of the four playable characters: Pete, Max, Willow, and Hoops, as they awake to find themselves shrunk to the size of an ant.
Trapped in a backyard that is now as large as a rainforest, you will need to deal with all manner of insects that are now considerably larger than you. You will also need to manage hunger and thirst, as is the case with the standard survival game mechanic.
Those with arachnophobia will be glad to learn that there is an accessibility option for you to tweak how ‘scary’ the spiders in the game will be.
9Gears 5
The fifth mainline entry inXbox’s premier third-person shooterseries, Gears 5, puts you in the shoes of a new protagonist, Kait. The game delivers everything you liked about the previous installments, with fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping action and a sweeping campaign that will take around 11 hours.
Once you’re done with the single-player campaign, you can switch tolocal split-screenor online co-op with friends and tackle the signature Horde Mode. The game also has a decent selection of multiplayer modes to further extend its replayability.
8Halo 5: Guardians
Step into the boots of the legendary Master Chief once again with Halo 5: Guardians. As a quintessential game for your Xbox games library, Halo 5: Guardians is a worthy continuation of the Halo series.
Halo 5 enhances player mobility even more than its predecessors, giving you more ways to tackle areas filled with enemies.
The campaign mode will let you control not only Master Chief but also a Spartan IV named Jameson Locke, who is tasked with hunting down the former. As with previous Halo games, Halo 5 comes with an excellentmultiplayer modethat features the classic Death Match and Capture-the-Flag modes as well as a new 24-player two-team battle mode called Warzone.
7Psychonauts 2
The cult-classic 3D platformer gets a much-deserved sequel with Psychonauts 2. Tim Schafer and developer Double Fine finally continue the story of a psychic wunderkind, Razputin “Raz” Aquato.
Psychonauts 2 is afantastic 3D platformerthat features a Tim Burton-esque aesthetic and an interesting story wherein you travel into the minds of other characters to resolve their traumas.
Fortunately, Psychonauts 2 is a far more polished game than its predecessor, with smoother controls and a more intuitive camera. The game has received generally favorable reviews, and its handling and portrayal of psychological issues are made with the utmost sensitivity while injecting wit and humor in all the right places.
6Fallout 4
Fallout 4 is an action RPG developed by Bethesda and released in 2015. If you are not familiar with the premise of the Fallout series, it is Mad Max but with a 1950s aesthetic and a post-apocalyptic finish.
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You will choose between two characters, a male or female, that you will name as you look for your missing child that was taken from you while your character was still in cryogenic sleep. The storyline is straightforward, but the world of Fallout is vast, and it is easy to get lost in various side quests or look for secrets in the vast open world of Concord, Massachusetts.
The game alsoallows you to construct settlements, which will surely eat up a lot of your time.
5Dishonored 2
The sequel to the critically acclaimed first-person action stealth game, Dishonored 2, offers more polished gameplay and a slew of new powers that will allow you to tackle each level as you wish. you may go Rambo-style with guns blazing or take a more tactical, stealthy approach that will require you to utilize all of Corvo and Emily’s skills to their fullest; the choice is entirely up to you.
The ability to play the game however you want is Dishonored 2’s biggest draw. While the story does seem lacking compared to the first one, the gameplay and freedom that you get while playing make up for the lackluster plot.
4Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
An indie darling from Ninja Theory, Hellblade: Sensua’s Sacrifice is adark and grimthird-person hack-and-slash adventure with outstanding use of facial and motion capture. Those two elements are integral to the telling of Senua’s tale, as the game goes deep into themes of psychosis.
Ninja Theory also approached the topic of portraying psychological problems with the utmost care and respect, with the help of neuroscientists. The game is linear, which limits replayability, but the journey is worth it, and Hellblade is a game that everyone should experience at least once.
3Doom Eternal
The only thing they fear is you. Is there any better way to hype up your character than that? Doom Eternal once again places you in the blood-soaked boots of the Doom Slayer as he mows through armies of demons with an assortment of brutal weapons.
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Doom Eternal further pushes the envelope regarding fast-paced first-person shooters by adding dashes, grappling hooks, and horizontal bars that will allow you to zoom across levels like a tornado and be as damaging as one. If you ever want agame where you are the “final boss,” then Doom Eternal fulfills that fantasy.
2Forza Horizon 4
Forza Horizon 4 is a stunningracing game set in an open-world environmentthat was developed by Playground Games and released in 2018. Forza Horizon is pretty much the undeniable rival of Sony’s Gran Turismo series, and while determining which is better boils down to personal preference, the fact that Forza is considered to be on Gran Turismo’s level (maybe even above) is a testament to its quality.
With a total selection of 750 real-world licensed cars, there are tons of vehicles to tinker with for gearheads. If you are a fan of racing games and exclusively play on an Xbox, Forza Horizon 4 is a must-have addition to your library.
1Ori And The Will Of The Wisps
Another indie darling with a superb rating on Metacritic, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a gorgeous 2DMetroidvaniagame that is not only visually jaw-dropping but also tells a beautiful and emotional tale. As with all Metroidvania games, Ori will focus primarily on exploration and upgrading your character to gain access to previously inaccessible sections of the map.
That means a lot of backtracking, but with how striking the game world is, backtracking is a welcome activity. Ori and the Will of the Wisps is one of the most beautifully unique games around, and that alone should be reason enough for some to consider getting that Xbox Game Pass Core subscription.
