Microsoft has done phenomenal work reviving and revitalizing the Age of Empires franchise and it is an absolutely blessed time for the strategy genre, especially if you are an Xbox Game Pass subscriber who is looking for a new experience. Microsoft has done phenomenal work reviving and revitalizing the Age of Empires franchise. I can’t put the Xbox edition of Age of Empire IV down; I am truly absorbed by the new way to play.

House Flipper 2 is a massive improvement over the first game. While it can have some issues with a controller it’s not enough to keep me from recommending the title. Painting, Planting, Selling, and Flipping has never been a more enjoyably chill vibe than it is here.

Death Howl is amazing. It takes the deck builder and the Soulslike and makes something I didn’t know I was missing. As a Day One Game Pass title on PC, it’s there and ready if that interests you. The game comes to consoles on February 19th, 2026. It is a 30+ hour playthrough with incredible highs, even at its most frustratingly difficult moments.

Ghostwire: Tokyo is finally on Xbox, and of course, it’s on Game Pass. It features fast and fluid combat, that takes a little too long to get going. The gorgeous recreation of Japan is hampered by severe performance issues in all but the ugliest graphical mode, but the story is interesting enough to push on through. It might not reach the highs of the studio’s title Hi-Fi Rush, but few games do and Ghostwire: Tokyo is a damned fun game in its own right.

Frostpunk 2: Console Edition is a bold and mostly successful attempt to bring a demanding, systems-heavy experience to a wider audience. The game’s moral complexity, ideological tension, and survival mechanics are as potent as ever. Its reworked controls and UI show clear care and understanding of the platform — even if they’re not perfect. This isn’t a game for everyone. It’s dense, demanding, and emotionally draining at times. But for players who want strategy with substance — who like the cold bite of hard choices and the thrill of pulling a city back from the brink — it’s a standout.

F1 25 is a quite small upgrade over F1 24, but the presence of Braking Point 3, content from the F1 movie and improved career options ensure more unique race experiences, especially for solo players who want to do a full immersion of the Formula 1 experience.

There isn’t a ton new about PowerWash Simulator 2, and that is exactly what I wanted. What is improved, from the graphics to the streamlined cleaning processes, makes what was already a serene experience into one of the most chill vibes you can find in gaming.

The Outer Worlds 2 is a confidently made game. It is perfectly scoped, with excellent gameplay, writing, and voice acting. The combat and movement are the biggest step up over the original. Whether you have played that title or not, if you want a choice-heavy, narrative-rich adventure in a far-off solar system, then this game is worth a download or Game Pass or buying outright.

Yearly sports titles tend to be small upgrades. College Football 26 is different, as CF25 set the groundwork after over a decade away. ’26 takes a more-is-better approach and smashes it. This is one of the best-playing and most realistic-feeling college sports titles I have ever played.

Resident Evil Village’s Gold Edition is a solid way to experience the full campaign and all its extra content for newcomers. It’s $50 for the whole thing, or $20 if you already own Village and want the new expansions. RE:Verse is a huge miss, but the third-person camera, expansion, and Mercenaries content more than make up for it.

Game length is about right and although there is very little narrative, the story does come full circle and has a satisfying conclusion. If you are looking for a chilled-out, unusual puzzle-solving game I heartily recommend this one.

Cult of the Lamb is awesome.

Signalis is a rather fascinating adventure with gorgeous retro visuals and excellent audio colluding with an exciting story and lore and great story to offer a world absolutely worth exploring. It’s therefore also a huge shame that it’s let down by repetitive and annoying puzzles that have the player run back and forth in identical corridors, a painfully limited inventory and an unimpressive combat model. Fans of old school horror games and space sci-fi should still find Signalis an interesting experience, and those subscribed to Game Pass can try it day one on the service.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake is still a journey worth taking, and remains a shining example of how gameplay and narrative can combine to produce something that only this medium can provide. However, fans of the original will find little new here outside of a very nice coat of fresh paint and some easy to obtain achievement points.

Its relatively limited budget is felt in many ways, with various invisible walls, flawed collisions and more to slightly hamper the experience. Yet, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Twirlbound’s open world adventure, as its cute visuals, on point humor, infectious sympathy and solid gameplay loop kept me more than intrigued enough to keep pushing on, with the end credits rolling before the game’s relatively limited scope would start hurting. Keep an eye out for this one, as it’s a pretty fun ride.

Above all, the team at SMG Studios have created a game with all the LEGO charm one would expect, full of the sort of variety only LEGO can bring, and a selection of mini-games that produced all the screaming, laughter, competition and fun one would want from a family-friendly title. Definitely one to break out on game nights.

Voidtrain is a fantastic game in a genre I rarely enjoy. Hypetrain Digital deftly weaves an intriguing, emotional story into a thoroughly enjoyable gameplay loop. It’s launching into 1.0 on Xbox Game Pass, and it is well worth checking out solo or with friends.

Kentum is a rare gem—funny, smart, and mechanically rich. It’s the kind of game that sneaks up on you, then refuses to let go. If you loved Tiny Rocket Lab, this is its chaotic, sarcastic older sibling with a PhD in cloning and a minor in existential dread. Whether you’re here to build the ultimate base, explore a mysterious world, or just laugh at ORB’s one-liners, Kentum delivers.

Magical Delicacy is a beautiful albeit tedious 2D Metroidvania. It’s fun is hampered by clunky platforming and resource management that get in the way of what I want to be—a witch that can cook, not a scavenger.

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is an odd return to what has been a mostly mediocre series. It fixes multiple issues, mainly control-wise from the past titles, without adding much else. It isn’t great to look at, and while it can be fun to play, its poor balance as you progress kills any joy to be found after not too long.

An incredible achievement. Spanning 9 feature-length films yet never feeling like it overstays its welcome while featuring tons of actually funny stupid jokes, solid gameplay, gorgeous graphics, great voice acting, and all the nostalgia you could ever wish for this game is a triumph.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is about as good a remaster as you could hope for. It doesn’t look to reinvent the gameplay, instead focusing on smart tweaks where possible. What is remade are the graphics, and Virtuous has done a stupendous job keeping the feel of the original while overhauling every single pixel. It’s available on Game Pass, is fully Play Anywhere, and retails for $50 otherwise. Oblivion is an easy recommendation, as one of my favorite games is now that much better.

Syberia: The World Before is a remarkable adventure game that keeps its legacy adventure charm and is a worthy continuation of Ms. Walker’s story. It is a game that all of Microids and B. Sokal can, and should be, proud of.

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is both an excellent unofficial sequel to the classic Jet Set Radio games and a smart evolution and modernization of the formula to better fit modern sensitivities and to offer more variety. Sure, the story could have been better and maybe Team Reptile could have swayed farther from Jet Set Radio… but this is exactly the game fans of the franchise want and deserve.

The brand new Arcade handling model is incredibly accessible and could open up the game to a brand new audience, though it needs some tweaks, as the AI simply can’t keep up with the endless grip of the players’ “cheated” bikes. The presentation has improved, thanks to a revamped UI and the powerful Unreal Engine 5, though Milestone’s visuals here are hardly a screamer (pun intended) at this point. With various other smart additions and changes, MotoGP 25 is the biggest update the series has seen in years, and it’s pretty much all for the better. Maybe it lacks a little bit of that extra coating that characterizes some of the finest 4-wheel racers on the market, but rest assured: if you want to race bikes on traditional circuits, MotoGP 25 is the place to be.

Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 is about as much of a continuation as one should expect from an arena fighter sequel. You’re here for the spectacle, for Demon Slayer, and a game you can pull out to play with friends on a whim and not much more. The fights are extravagant as they are beautiful and for me, that’s more than enough. And I’m sure anyone eyeing this game feels the exact same way.

Giant Squid have taken a giant leap forward with Sword of the Sea, fusing gameplay, music and art together to form what I feel is their best work yet. Sword of the Sea might be on the shorter side, but through some sublime ‘hover-swording’ and wonderful design, they’ve given us an imaginative skatepark to play in for as long as we’d like. Bitchin’.

It’s the simplicity of the game that makes it so much fun to play—it’s just done so well. The gorgeous visuals, solid score, and strong gameplay system make The Mageseekers: A League of Legends Story so easy to recommend to anyone. This game is way too good to pass up on.