Xbox Game Pass - GUIDE TO BEST DEAL IN FIRST POST

[Mike]

How are the Lego games as couch co-op titles? Or are they not?

[Sarlaccfood]

Just now, Mike said:

How are the Lego games as couch co-op titles? Or are they not?

Best in class I thought.

[Stanley]

2 minutes ago, Mike said:

How are the Lego games as couch co-op titles? Or are they not?

I have never played them any other way, they are a lot of fun. 

[Darren]

I just want to recommend the terribly named Eiyuden Chronicles: Rising, which is a really lovely, simple, and occasionally witty platform-RPG that gets all its mechanics absolutely right. I’d never have given it a second glance without GP but it’s one of my favourite games of the year.

[Jamie John]

5 minutes ago, Darren said:

I just want to recommend the terribly named Eiyuden Chronicles: Rising, which is a really lovely, simple, and occasionally witty platform-RPG that gets all its mechanics absolutely right. I’d never have given it a second glance without GP but it’s one of my favourite games of the year.

 

I've heard good things about this. How long is it, and how JRPG-like?

[Alan Stock]

I got a Gamepass Ultimate trial with my new laptop. My old laptop wasn't very good and I don't have an Xbox. I have been loving it! I hadn't even thought about Gamepass for PC until a friend reminded me it existed (I'd really just been associating Gamepass with Xbox).

 

I immediately added about 15 games to my 'to play' list and installed about 5, including epics like Valheim and Grounded. I get to try Gears Tactics for basically free, I was able to try out Pentiment, and I played hours of Power Wash Simulator which I normally wouldn't bother paying for. The games on my list will keep me going for months so even when I keep up my subscription it will be more than paying for itself even at its fairly high cost of 11 quid a month. When it reaches a point where I've exhausted the games on my list I can just cancel.

 

Its funny because I had kind of dismissed GamePass as having a lot of 8/10 games without too many big hitters. But the PC line-up is surprisingly good, with a nice mix of AAA, Xbox exclusives and top grade Indie titles. It is pricey as a sub service but if there are enough games on the list you want to play it seems worth it. I'm curious what other people's thoughts on Ultimate are who have just been using it for PC games. Do they add enough new titles to make it worth it in the long run? Do they add older games to the catalogue, is there a decent cycle rate on it? I'll definitely sub for at least a few months whilst I get through the must-haves.

[Darren]

20 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

 

I've heard good things about this. How long is it, and how JRPG-like?

 

I’ve been playing for about 6 hours and it’s hard to say but it feels like I might be about a third of the way through. It’s quite JRPG like with all the equipment and items you can buy or craft, but the movement and combat is real time 2D platforming style, and with multiple areas gated off until you get later abilities it’s got a touch of Metroidvania about it too.

 

I should also say there are two options for combat, a normal mode where you manually switch between your characters on the fly and a simple mode where that’s done automatically. I’m using simple mode as I’m not a big fan of real time combat and it suits me perfectly.

[Hawklord]

6 minutes ago, Alan Stock said:

I got a Gamepass Ultimate trial with my new laptop. My old laptop wasn't very good and I don't have an Xbox. I have been loving it! I hadn't even thought about Gamepass for PC until a friend reminded me it existed (I'd really just been associating Gamepass with Xbox).

 

I immediately added about 15 games to my 'to play' list and installed about 5, including epics like Valheim and Grounded. I get to try Gears Tactics for basically free, I was able to try out Pentiment, and I played hours of Power Wash Simulator which I normally wouldn't bother paying for. The games on my list will keep me going for months so even when I keep up my subscription it will be more than paying for itself even at its fairly high cost of 11 quid a month. When it reaches a point where I've exhausted the games on my list I can just cancel.

 

Its funny because I had kind of dismissed GamePass as having a lot of 8/10 games without too many big hitters. But the PC line-up is surprisingly good, with a nice mix of AAA, Xbox exclusives and top grade Indie titles. It is pricey as a sub service but if there are enough games on the list you want to play it seems worth it. I'm curious what other people's thoughts on Ultimate are who have just been using it for PC games. Do they add enough new titles to make it worth it in the long run? Do they add older games to the catalogue, is there a decent cycle rate on it? I'll definitely sub for at least a few months whilst I get through the must-haves.

Gamepass for PC can be subbed to separately at £7.99/month or you can wait for the trial to expire and load up using the instructions on Page 1 to keep Ultimate

[Azrael]

Played Firewatch this evening seeing as it's leaving soon. Thoroughly enjoyed it too. 

 

Then thought I'd give that Vampire Survivors game a wee go to see what the fuss is about,  next thing I know I've lost 2 hours to it. Very addictive 

[Alan Stock]

25 minutes ago, Hawklord said:

Gamepass for PC can be subbed to separately at £7.99/month or you can wait for the trial to expire and load up using the instructions on Page 1 to keep Ultimate

 

Cool, thanks for that.

[footle]

1 hour ago, Alan Stock said:

Do they add enough new titles to make it worth it in the long run? Do they add older games to the catalogue, is there a decent cycle rate on it? I'll definitely sub for at least a few months whilst I get through the must-haves.

About eight to fifteen games a month?
I missed a few EA games when skimming the tweets, so more than that.

 

 

 

 

[AlexM]

1 hour ago, Alan Stock said:

I got a Gamepass Ultimate trial with my new laptop. My old laptop wasn't very good and I don't have an Xbox. I have been loving it! I hadn't even thought about Gamepass for PC until a friend reminded me it existed (I'd really just been associating Gamepass with Xbox).

 

I immediately added about 15 games to my 'to play' list and installed about 5, including epics like Valheim and Grounded. I get to try Gears Tactics for basically free, I was able to try out Pentiment, and I played hours of Power Wash Simulator which I normally wouldn't bother paying for. The games on my list will keep me going for months so even when I keep up my subscription it will be more than paying for itself even at its fairly high cost of 11 quid a month. When it reaches a point where I've exhausted the games on my list I can just cancel.

 

Its funny because I had kind of dismissed GamePass as having a lot of 8/10 games without too many big hitters. But the PC line-up is surprisingly good, with a nice mix of AAA, Xbox exclusives and top grade Indie titles. It is pricey as a sub service but if there are enough games on the list you want to play it seems worth it. I'm curious what other people's thoughts on Ultimate are who have just been using it for PC games. Do they add enough new titles to make it worth it in the long run? Do they add older games to the catalogue, is there a decent cycle rate on it? I'll definitely sub for at least a few months whilst I get through the must-haves.

 

I no longer have the Xbox plugged in, Game Pass on PC is fine - there’s always xcloud for anything that isn’t available on PC (If your internet connection is up to it). 

[thesnwmn]

8 hours ago, Alan Stock said:

<Game Pass love and questions>

 

No offense but... (Just a good example)

 

I find it weird when people on here don't know what is available on Game Pass or its full scope (i.e. PC or XCloud). Of course not everyone should know everything but it's still surprising. The biggest change to how you acquire games since digital.

 

I guess it's easier to forget the PC element but again, it's crazy to miss that everything MS do comes to PC and how much of everything else is actually on PC as well these days. Outside of Sony/Nintendo content and some more Japanese focused stuff I'm surprised when something isn't on PC now.

 

But this all just highlights how tricky getting Game Pass it's next 29 million subscribers might be. Making people aware of what's there. What formats they can play on. That they could just dip in for a month or two at a time.

[Rayn]

9 hours ago, Jamie John said:

 

I've heard good things about this. How long is it, and how JRPG-like?

The main story is about 10-12 hours long. If you want to mop up everything for achievements it'll take you anywhere between 15-20 hours in total. 

 

Edit: It's not very jrpg like, it's a 2D sidescrolling adventure game with some light rpg elements. It is a bit dialogue heavy during the first couple of hours, mind, and it takes some time to get going but once it opens up it's a great experience. Can't wait for the proper game to release next year. 

[Transient Curse]

1 hour ago, thesnwmn said:

I find it weird when people on here don't know what is available on Game Pass or its full scope (i.e. PC or XCloud). Of course not everyone should know everything but it's still surprising

It is interesting, you would assume that video game fans on internet forums would know all about it, especially with so many evangelists around. 

 

Has Microsoft not advertised it well enough? 

[footle]

7 minutes ago, Transient Curse said:

It is interesting, you would assume that video game fans on internet forums would know all about it, especially with so many evangelists around. 

 

Has Microsoft not advertised it well enough? 

It’s not that interesting.

 

let’s take Alan as an example:

- doesn’t have an Xbox, so unless he’s really interested in pros and cons of different consoles it’s not relevant to him in the console space because he’s not a console warrior

- didn’t have a modern pc, therefore not really as relevant in the pc space

- probably doesn’t give a toss about cloud gaming

 

so why would he know the ins and outs.

 

(sorry Alan)

[thesnwmn]

1 minute ago, footle said:

It’s not that interesting.

 

let’s take Alan as an example:

- doesn’t have an Xbox, so unless he’s really interested in pros and cons of different consoles it’s not relevant to him in the console space because he’s not a console warrior

- didn’t have a modern pc, therefore not really as relevant in the pc space

- probably doesn’t give a toss about cloud gaming

 

so why would he know the ins and outs.

 

(sorry Alan)

 

Of course it's sensible for most people to not necessarily know (Alan just the trigger here, nothing personal). 

 

And obviously once he had a PC he found out. So it's proof it does work too.

 

But i guess it's because I read most threads here (at least in a cursory fashion) regardless of my active engagement. I'm interested in PSN without a PlayStation. I'm interested in Fortnite even though I don't play or want to. Grounded doesn't interest me to play but the tales and people's takes fascinate me.

[cassidy]

10 hours ago, Jamie John said:

 

I've heard good things about this. How long is it, and how JRPG-like?

I completed it earlier in the year and it took me just shy of 16hrs. 

[Transient Curse]

1 hour ago, footle said:

It’s not that interesting.

 

Well, I thought it was. Microsoft's giant multi billion dollar bet hasn't managed to get it's messaging across to video games fans who are engaged enough to post on video game forums is how I read it. 

 

But nevermind.

[Alan Stock]

Nothing taken as personal, no worries. You pretty much nailed it on my account. I don't have a next gen Xbox. This is the first PC I've owned that stands a chance of running a lot of these games at anything above lowest quality settings. I am very well versed in the gaming sphere so I was aware of Gamepass for PC. But like you say because of the previous factors I've been an outsider looking in, with all my Gamepass knowledge second hand from forums, game websites, friends and podcasts. Most people offline who I chat about PC games with just use Steam. I have a massive Steam library so my first excitement on getting a new PC was all the new games on there I'd be able to play.

 

What I didn't realise was what a big catalogue Gamepass PC has, and most of all how many non-exclusive titles they have on there. I do agree from a marketing point of view they probably aren't raising awareness about their PC offerings. I've never seen or heard an advert that simply outlines the PC gamepass and how many games they have, or examples of games they have on there.

 

I do reckon there is a large audience on PC that just uses Steam, who are completely unaware of Gamepass on PC. And when Microsoft is offering up lots of games like Grounded or EA games which retail at 30-40 quid on Steam, suddenly a Gamepass subscription could make a lot of sense to Steam users.

[thesnwmn]

2 hours ago, Alan Stock said:

I do reckon there is a large audience on PC that just uses Steam, who are completely unaware of Gamepass on PC. And when Microsoft is offering up lots of games like Grounded or EA games which retail at 30-40 quid on Steam, suddenly a Gamepass subscription could make a lot of sense to Steam users.

 

Problem with a large part of the PC audience is that they're just as tribal as the console crowd. It's just that it's about digital stores rather than platform.

 

Their reaction to the Epic store and the like is hilarious. I understand they want simple or something but many of them are so deeply entrenched in Steam they won't look much beyond it. Any real PC gamer who has a reasonably broad taste in games not at least dipping into Game Pass is insane.

[ScouserInExile]

On 06/12/2022 at 19:19, Mike said:

How are the Lego games as couch co-op titles? Or are they not?

 

On 06/12/2022 at 19:21, Sarlaccfood said:

Best in class I thought.

Oh interesting. The boy has started taking an interest in playing more games, but he only really likes playing two player with me. This might be a good one to try.

 

I think I've asked a couple of times, but recommendations for anything easy to play and couch co-op on GP?

[James Lyon]

20 minutes ago, ScouserInExile said:

 

Oh interesting. The boy has started taking an interest in playing more games, but he only really likes playing two player with me. This might be a good one to try.

 

I think I've asked a couple of times, but recommendations for anything easy to play and couch co-op on GP?

 

Gang Beasts, Human Fall Flat and Turtles. There's also Ben 10 which the kids liked and seemed decent enough.

[MidWalian]

41 minutes ago, ScouserInExile said:

 

Oh interesting. The boy has started taking an interest in playing more games, but he only really likes playing two player with me. This might be a good one to try.

 

I think I've asked a couple of times, but recommendations for anything easy to play and couch co-op on GP?

 

Lego Star Wars Skywalker saga has just come out on it and has split-screen coop.

[shirubagan]

My GPU lapses at the start of January — the upgrade Gold path from OP still works, right?

[moosegrinder]

As far as anyone knows. Let it expire, load up on guns, bring your friends. with Xbox Live Gold up to 3 years and convert for £10.99.

[thesnwmn]

I really should get round to registering www.doesgoldstillconverttogamepassultimate.com with a page that just says Yes in the middle of it (which I'll change to No) when it doesn't.

[AK Bell]

1 hour ago, moosegrinder said:

As far as anyone knows. Let it expire, load up on guns, bring your friends. with Xbox Live Gold up to 3 years and convert for £10.99.

 

I get to do that next week, so I expect this exploit to end this weekend.

[tobert]

4 hours ago, ScouserInExile said:

 

Oh interesting. The boy has started taking an interest in playing more games, but he only really likes playing two player with me. This might be a good one to try.

 

I think I've asked a couple of times, but recommendations for anything easy to play and couch co-op on GP?

I played through It Takes Two with my 7 year old and (outside the slightly odd story) both loved it.

 

Gold Standard for Coop gaming for me

[zoo]

4 hours ago, tobert said:

I played through It Takes Two with my 7 year old and (outside the slightly odd story) both loved it.

 

Gold Standard for Coop gaming for me

I'd second this, It Takes Two is a great game to play with your kids, we loved it. I bought the star wars saga in the summer and i finished it, my son dropped in for a little while, but no the engagement we had with it takes two.