Best Xbox Game Pass Games 2023

Searching for the best games on Xbox Game Pass right now? Check out the best titles included with a Game Pass subscription.

If you’re looking for a list of the best games on Xbox Game Pass right now, then you’ve come to the right place.

With a library of 100+ games and a monthly cost of just $5 for Xbox consoles and $10 for PC, Game Pass is one of the most valuable gaming subscriptions.

In this list, we’ll highlight the best Xbox Game Pass games to play in 2024, including the best game pass games to play with friends across PC and console.

If you would like to suggest a topic for us to cover in the future, reach out to us on TwitterFacebookInstagram, and YouTube to share your thoughts!

Related:The Best Xbox One X Accessories (2023 Reviews)

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Somerville is a cinematic sci-fi adventure game on Xbox Game Pass that comes courtesy of indie game studio Jumpship.

Players are cast as a husband and father struggling to make his family whole after a world-shattering catastrophe occurs.

In an effort to keep his family together and unravel the mystery of Earth’s strange new visitors, he’ll set across a vivid rural landscape.

Considering Jumpship is a new studio with ties to developer Playdead, the similarities between Somerville and games like Limbo and Inside are worth noting.

Guybrush makes a bold comeback in Return To Monkey Island, the first new entry in the nostalgic adventure game series created by Ron Gilbert in over a decade.

Picking up after the ending of LeChuck’s Revenge, the game follows Guybrush’s journey to discover the secret of Monkey Island once and for all.

Much like its predecessors, Return to Monkey Island centers on traditional point-and-click- gameplay wherein players explore locations to solve puzzles.

New players are encouraged to take advantage of a handy recap compendium designed to clue you into the events leading up to this installment.

Heavily influenced by the visual works of H.R. Giger, Scorn is an FPS puzzle game that does a fine job of establishing its dark and moody atmosphere.

At the start, players are dropped in a nightmarish world made up of fleshy architecture, gross-looking enemies, and weird bio-mechanisms.

This is further compacted by dimly-lit, maze-like environments filled with fog and eerie sounds that make you feel like you’re trapped in an otherworldly cave.

The game nails the creepy atmosphere it’s going for while offering unique puzzle-solving gameplay and some light combat sequences.

Without a doubt one of the best JRPGs on Xbox Game Pass, Persona 5 Royal is an enhanced port of the beloved game by Atlus.

In it, players take on the role of a new transfer student attending high school in Japan and encountering a host of eccentric classmates, teachers, and other characters.

Joining forces with friends to form the “Phantom Thieves of Hearts,” they’ll engage in battles and summon Personas to help end the tyranny of corrupt adults.

Royal expands the base game with a slew of new characters like Kasumi, Takuto, and Jose, as well as additional cutscenes and a third-semester storyline.

The follow-up to Asobo Studio’s critically acclaimed action-adventure game invites players to embark on yet another heart-rending journey.

Moving on from the original game’s medieval France setting, A Plague Tale: Requiem sees brother and sister duo Amicia and Hugo traveling far south.

During their journey, they’ll set out to explore new regions while finding their place in a brutally breathtaking world twisted by supernatural forces.

The sequel introduces more action-driven combat with a host of new weapons and tools at the player’s disposal.

Building off of classics like Theme Hospital and the more recent Two Point Hospital, Two Point Campus is a lighthearted tycoon business sim game.

Players are tasked with building and running their own campus university complete with staff, classrooms, students, and curriculums.

While business sims are known for their complex systems, Two Point Campus keeps things light, allowing you to bask in all its zany humor.

To this point, the game features cartoony graphics and enough bizarre predicaments to make even the most stone-faced players chuckle.

Now out of Xbox Game Preview, Grounded offers a challenging survival sandbox experience set within the confines of a suburban backyard.

The only catch is, your character is shrunk down to the size of an ant, and pretty much everything in the yard wants to kill you, including giant spiders.

For taking risks, the game rewards you with a host of resources and crafting materials for making better tools, gear, and furniture for your base.

The yard is also filled with tons of cool things to discover such as secret areas and new traversal options for those brave enough to explore.

Next up, The Legend of Tianding is an indie 2D beat ‘em up that incorporates martial arts techniques into its combat system.

In it, players assume control of a Taiwanese folk hero as he carries out a mission to rob the rich, feed the poor, and above all else, fight for what’s right.

This quickly proves difficult as the main character encounters a host of corrupt officials and thugs draining the lifeblood of Taipei City.

To save his home, he arms himself with a tanto, waist sash, and Kung Fu moves that can be further enhanced using magic talismans.

Anyone who’s played Young Horses’ hit adventure game will know there’s more to Bugsnax’s yummy-looking animals than meets the eye.

What exactly? Well, we’ll let you find out for yourself since the game’s mystery is a large part of what makes Bugsnax so exciting to play.

In it, you play as a journalist tasked with looking into the mysterious Snaktooth Island to sleuth out why its inhabitants have gone missing.

Along the way, you’ll encounter cute food-like creatures that can be baited into traps, fed delicious condiments, and persuaded to reveal secrets about the world.

Forza Horizon 5 is a Microsoft first-party title that builds upon the success of its predecessors, namely the arcade-inspired Forza Horizon sub-series.

Developed by Playground Games, it drops players into a loving recreation of Mexico’s deserts, cozy towns, pristine beaches, dense forests, and more.

Throughout the world, players encounter a variety of activities beyond racing along with tucked-away secrets and the occasional scenic view.

Whether you’re a car buff, a diehard racing fan, or simply like to explore unique environments to your heart’s content, you can’t go wrong with Forza Horizon 5.

Inspired by games like The Legend of Zelda, Tunic is an isometric action puzzle game with hyper-difficult bossfights and mysterious game mechanics.

Players assume control of an adorable fox hero as he explores a vibrant world collecting pages to reveal the world map and in-game manual.

Combat is tough and challenging, requiring you to combine melee and magic attacks with precise dodges.

It’s charmingly old school in this respect and is best recommended for anyone who enjoys Zelda-like dungeon crawlers.

Next up is Paradise Killer, a hybrid first-person platformer and visual novel set in a gorgeous neo-vista setting.

Players take on the role of a detective investigating a whodunit mystery that requires them to track down and interview an eccentric cast of characters.

Over time, new conversations become available, allowing you to explore different angles and posit your own theories about what happened.

The game draws heavily from vaporwave aesthetics and has a synth-heavy soundtrack that will keep you vibing as you search for clues to solve the murder.

Shredders is an extreme sports sim that sees your character looking to break into the snowboarding scene at the biggest competitive event of the year.

To earn a spot among the best of the best, you’ll have to hone your skills by carving up mountains and performing tricks off rails and ramps.

The game was designed to be played with a standard gamepad and features extremely detailed controls reminiscent of games like Skate.

 Along with a full story mode, Shredders supports online multiplayer where you and your friends compete for the top score.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is a third-person shooter that combines great storytelling with thrilling squad-based combat centered on a ragtag team of misfit superheroes.

In it, players assume control of Star-Lord as he leads his oddball crew across the cosmos stirring up trouble, battling foes, and shaping the fate of the galaxy.

As the story progresses, players will form a unique bond with their team, enhance their skills using RPG progression, and learn powerful tag-team beatdowns.

Following its release, GOTG has won several awards for Game of the Year and is regarded by many as one of the best games of 2021.

One of the most zen games on this list, Unpacking simulates the familiar experience of organizing your personal possessions after moving into a new home.

Over the course of eight house moves, players are given a chance to experience the emotional weight that comes with reflecting on life throughout the years.

Gameplay is a mix of block-fitting puzzles and home decoration, as players are encouraged to create satisfying and aesthetically pleasing living spaces.

It’s a meditative experience that includes a relaxing soundtrack by BAFTA award-winning composer/audio director Jeff van Dyck.

Developer Hazelight Studios has a knack for pushing the envelope for modern couch co-op games like It Takes Two.

In it, players take control over an unhappily married couple who find themselves trapped in their daughter’s hand-made dolls after announcing their divorce. 

The pair are then forced to embark on a fantastical journey spanning genre-bending platforming levels that offer unique challenges and loads of mini-games.

It Takes Two can be played via online multiplayer and local split-screen, with only one person required to own a copy of the game.

Death’s Door is one of the best indie dungeon crawlers to come out of 2021 and is often praised for its unique blend of Souls-like combat and Zelda-inspired puzzles.

In it, you play as a humble crow working for an authoritative afterlife company that goes after incompliant souls by any means necessary.

Gameplay focuses on hack-and-slash combat, with the Crow able to chain together different abilities and equip various weapons.

The game is presented in a third-person, isometric perspective that offers a clear view of the battlefield and sprawling dungeon environments at all times.

Even though Tetris hasn’t really changed much in the 30+ years it’s been around, developers constantly find new ways to iterate on the iconic puzzler.

Two that come to mind are the Nintendo-exclusive Tetris 99 and Tetris Effect VR, the latter of which was adapted for PC and console as Tetris Effect: Connected.

This game uses various visual and auditory cues corresponding to your tetrominoes’ placement as it relates to the music that plays in the background.

As you progress, so too does the music, evolving in tempo and rhythm as you reach tense moments where blocks rapidly descend onto your screen.

Celebrated for its RPG mechanics and player-driven story, Mass Effect has a rich and quite controversial history of releases, spin-offs, and most recently, rereleases.

In it, players take on the role of Commander Shepard as they fight to save the universe from a race of powerful machines called Reapers.

Shepard is joined by diverse companions with military, medicine, and engineering backgrounds ready to lend a hand in battle and weigh in on decisions.

Considering the first entry was released in the early 2000s, the best way to play the original trilogy is via the remastered Mass Effect Legendary Edition.

Although the original Age of Empires revolved around human history throughout the Stone and Iron Ages, later installments have shifted their focus to the Middle Ages.

Age of Empires IV is a largely successful attempt at recapturing the original trilogy’s magic while offering new experiences tailored for both veterans and newcomers.

In it, players are tasked with managing their civilization’s workers and military units, eventually turning their small population into a mighty nation.

The game features a 30-hour campaign that sees you advancing through the ages while collecting resources, waging war, and unlocking new technologies.

Microsoft Flight Sim has existed for nearly four decades and continues to improve with each new installment.

The latest iteration borrows textures and other data from Microsoft’s Bing Maps to simulate Earth in its entirety, including terrain and bodies of water.

On the structural side of things, Flight Sim uses Microsoft’s Azure Cloud technology to generate 3D representations of mountains, forests, and airports.

The end results are quite astonishing, with accurate recreations of notable landmarks such as the Grand Canyon, Mount Fuji, and even our own backyards.

At first glance, Ori and the Will of the Wisps looks like a fun, family-friendly 2D action-platformer with endearing art and heartwarming characters.

However, once you start playing, you quickly realize both its story and gameplay are designed to tear you apart and leave you devastated.

From precise platforming to a harrowing narrative that pits you against terrifying beasts, Ori will break you down over and over again until there’s nothing left.

While the game’s steep learning curve is bound to be a turn-off for some, those who persevere will be treated to one of the best Metroidvanias of the last decade.

Next up, we have the Xbox-exclusive pirate game Sea of Thieves, which launched in a rocky state but has improved tremendously over the course of several updates.

This is in large part due to Microsoft’s commitment to helping developer Rare get the game where it needs to be and supporting the Sea of Thieves community.

In it, up to 4 players come together to form a pirate crew as they steer ships, sail the ocean seas, and seek out booty across islands and shipwrecks.

Along the way, they’ll encounter evil skeletons and enemy players who may try to initiate battles, overtake ships, and claim riches as their own.

No doubt the most popular Game Pass title, Minecraft is a must-play for anyone who enjoys open-world survival games or simply building to their heart’s content.

In it, you break blocks for resources to construct various tools, weapons, and furniture while exploring new biomes.

Thanks to cross-play support, Game Pass subscribers can link up with friends across both console and PC, as well as join different servers.

While we don’t recommend signing up for Game Pass solely to play Minecraft, it’s definitely a nice touch to an already well-rounded service.

When the Master Chief Collection debuted in 2014, it was a hot mess littered with game-breaking bugs and glitches.

Partnering with other studios, it would be six years before 343 Industries managed to bring the collection up to the level of quality fans expected.

This culminated in an enhanced version being added to the Game Pass library in 2020 that includes Halo 1-4.

Complete with support for high-res displays, online matchmaking, and LAN multiplayer, MCC is the definitive way to relive your Halo memories.

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Justin Fernandez

As a fan of both indie and triple-A games, Justin finds joy in discovering and sharing hidden gems with other passionate gamers. In addition to reporting on the latest and greatest titles, he manages GamingScan’s social media channels.

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