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[MOTM]

Monster Hunter World leaving GamePass in a weeks time ... Was always on the fence about it as from all the videos and reviews I watched I couldn't get the appeal. May just give it a shot now and see what the fuss is about. Will buy it if I end up liking it.

 

[MOTM]

Posted this in a different thread but I want to say it here cause I'm pumped.

Picked up a Series X last week at GameStop. I've got a 55' Samsung QN90A arriving tomorrow. Can't wait to explore Game Pass! Thinking of Dirt5 as the first download. Decisions, decisions...

Not sure what type of games you like but as first downloads check out Gears 5 too. And IMO FH4 is better game in every aspect than Dirt 5 if you're into racing.

 

[Dave_at_Home]

Not sure what type of games you like but as first downloads check out Gears 5 too. And IMO FH4 is better game in every aspect than Dirt 5 if you're into racing.

I'm in the mood for a sit back and relax arcade style racing game so I guess I may have to check out both.

 

[WoodyStare]

 

[Banjo64]

Anyone else think the last couple of months have been a bit sparse in terms of quality additions? Obviously we had the remainder of the Bathesda drop at E3 but the regular drops have been very lacklustre in my opinion. We have some quality to look forward to like Hades, Flight Sim, Psychonauts, Forza and Halo for the remainder of the year but it would be nice to have a random drop of a high quality game.

 

[jshackles]

Bug Fables is the shit. Seriously guys, if you love the original Paper Mario games then play this.

 

[WoodyStare]

Anyone else think the last couple of months have been a bit sparse in terms of quality additions? Obviously we had the remainder of the Bathesda drop at E3 but the regular drops have been very lacklustre in my opinion. We have some quality to look forward to like Hades, Flight Sim, Psychonauts, Forza and Halo for the remainder of the year but it would be nice to have a random drop of a high quality game.

Yeah I would agree with this in general. I guess Yakuza: Like a Dragon was their big addition recently but I’d like to see more as well. It’s also nice knowing that eventually any EA game will make its way to the service. Shouldn’t be too long before they add the Mass Effect remasters and It Takes Two.

Only a few weeks now before some of the bigger games start releasing more consistently.

 

[Dane]

Anyone else think the last couple of months have been a bit sparse in terms of quality additions? Obviously we had the remainder of the Bathesda drop at E3 but the regular drops have been very lacklustre in my opinion. We have some quality to look forward to like Hades, Flight Sim, Psychonauts, Forza and Halo for the remainder of the year but it would be nice to have a random drop of a high quality game.

I think they should put some removed games, it had grown so fast that there's not much of content to put now because pretty much everything worth is there or had been there.

 

[Banjo64]

I think they should put some removed games, it had grown so fast that there's not much of content to put now because pretty much everything worth is there or had been there.

Agree with that, they could surely bring back games like Yooka-Laylee etc. Surely games like Shovel Knight wouldn’t be impossible to bring in.

 

[Chukhopops]

Anyone else think the last couple of months have been a bit sparse in terms of quality additions? Obviously we had the remainder of the Bathesda drop at E3 but the regular drops have been very lacklustre in my opinion. We have some quality to look forward to like Hades, Flight Sim, Psychonauts, Forza and Halo for the remainder of the year but it would be nice to have a random drop of a high quality game.

It feels like the approach is one or two big games or day 1 games and some filler added, compared to before where it was more consistent but older.

Since there will be one big game every month until the end of the year I wouldn’t expect much from the other added games except potentially some good indies.

 

[SportsFan581]

It was another good month. I don't have an issue with the bigger and/or newer game approach. I think part of what makes these announcements seem a little less remarkable is the fact that they've laid out the table of the most notable additions for the year, so we aren't surprised by those when they get added in. I can totally understand them announcing things in advance though, need to show everyone that the value is there for the upcoming months so that everyone keeps subscribing.

 

[Kagey K]

It was another good month. I don't have an issue with the bigger and/or newer game approach. I think part of what makes these announcements seem a little less remarkable is the fact that they've laid out the table of the most notable additions for the year, so we aren't surprised by those when they get added in. I can totally understand them announcing things in advance though, need to show everyone that the value is there for the upcoming months so that everyone keeps subscribing.

Even though they’ve already showed some big hitters for the rest of the year, I still think they have a few surprises up their sleeve.

Plus every month can’t be huge, I actually need some time to play some of these games.

 

[SportsFan581]

Even though they’ve already showed some big hitters for the rest of the year, I still think they have a few surprises up their sleeve.

Plus every month can’t be huge, I actually need some time to play some of these games.

Yeah, I would never complain about any extra surprises.

I always miss a few things that I figure I'm going to try, there is just too much on offer. 1st world problems.

 

[CrustyBritches]

Prodeus and Iron Harvest look really interesting. Installing now so I remember to play them this weekend.

 

[drhankmccoyphd]

So I just got my series s and game pass ultimate for 3 months. It looks like I can get achievements and redeem them for free months of gp? My question is 1) do these redemptions work with gp ultimate and 2) is there a preferred way to rack up points aside from normal achievements?

 

[Bridges]

So I just got my series s and game pass ultimate for 3 months. It looks like I can get achievements and redeem them for free months of gp? My question is 1) do these redemptions work with gp ultimate and 2) is there a preferred way to rack up points aside from normal achievements?

The best way to do this is MS Rewards. Every day, you can get 270 points by searching on Bing, around 70 points for completing the "daily challenges", 50 points for earning your first achievement in a day, several hundred by completing the xbox weekly challenges and promotions, and 15 for opening the gamepass app on your phone and opening a Game Pass game on your Xbox. If you get 35,000 points you can redeem it for 3 months of GPU. If you do your searches every day and collect your bonuses, you can stay subscribed without ever having to pay for it again.

 

[cormack12]

The best way to do this is MS Rewards. Every day, you can get 270 points by searching on Bing, around 70 points for completing the "daily challenges", 50 points for earning your first achievement in a day, several hundred by completing the xbox weekly challenges and promotions, and 15 for opening the gamepass app on your phone and opening a Game Pass game on your Xbox. If you get 35,000 points you can redeem it for 3 months of GPU. If you do your searches every day and collect your bonuses, you can stay subscribed without ever having to pay for it again.

How? Don't you get told to use your reward points after a certain time?

 

[Bridges]

How? Don't you get told to use your reward points after a certain time?

I have yet to be forced to spend any points, so I don't know if that's true or not. I do redeem for the 3 months every time I have enough points for it though, currently good up til November and less than a thousand points away from three more months. There is also a chrome extension that helps you get your daily points faster that another member here kindly introduced me to, cuts down the time pretty significantly.

If you do the daily challenges you can get enough for 3 months in about 2 months, and it helps that sometimes they give bonuses for buying new releases. I was planning to buy NieR Replicant anyway, but because I went into the rewards sections and activated a punch card for it I got 6000 points for buying the digital version. Stuff like that helps.

 

[SportsFan581]

How? Don't you get told to use your reward points after a certain time?

Not as long as you never do the auto-redeem thing.

 

[Dave_at_Home]

Been diving deep into Control and its pretty damn cool. Love the atmosphere. Girlfriend seems to be pretty into the story as well.

The second game I downloaded off Game Pass has been nothing but pure joy.

Hotshot Racing


Looks amazing on my new TV and it's just simple fun. Love the classic look. A total nod to Sega's Virtual Racing.


Honestly, dudes. I cannot recommend this game enough. If you don't want to delve deep into a single player story, or some hectic multiplayer mayhem (although the game does offer that), than this is it. How can anyone not enjoy fun drifting with bright and simple throwback graphics? Has that, "I just walked into an arcade in the mall and this is what stood out" feel. Love it.

Edit: I can't believe I forgot to mention how much of a throwback it is to Daytona USA.

 

[Bernd Lauert]

NFS Hot Pursuit Remastered just dropped. Gamepass is the reason why I can't be too angry with lazy ports from EA. I know that half a year down the line, I'll be able to play it without additional cost anyway. And there is no urgency with remasters so I can wait. Downloading rn.

 

[elliot5]

How? Don't you get told to use your reward points after a certain time?

Your points never expire. If you redeem them for Credit in the store then that expires after 90 days I think. Maybe 30 days I don't remember. Basically, hoard your points until you want something for certain, unless you want the $10 monthly recurring discount to spend on microtransactions or DLC or whatever around $10.

 

[BigBooper]

NFS Hot Pursuit Remastered just dropped. Gamepass is the reason why I can't be too angry with lazy ports from EA. I know that half a year down the line, I'll be able to play it without additional cost anyway. And there is no urgency with remasters so I can wait. Downloading rn.

I've been playing it a little. It's fun, but I forgot how intense the rubber banding is. Looks pretty. EA told me my password was too weak for this game for some reason and that I had to change it. Weird that it works fine for all the other EA games I have.

 

[jshackles]

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

Just checked I have 74,060 reward points

 

[Banjo64]

The best way to do this is MS Rewards. Every day, you can get 270 points by searching on Bing, around 70 points for completing the "daily challenges", 50 points for earning your first achievement in a day, several hundred by completing the xbox weekly challenges and promotions, and 15 for opening the gamepass app on your phone and opening a Game Pass game on your Xbox. If you get 35,000 points you can redeem it for 3 months of GPU. If you do your searches every day and collect your bonuses, you can stay subscribed without ever having to pay for it again.

I don’t see the value in converting it to Game Pass. You can often find it really cheap on sale. I’m using mine for hardware instead.

 

[BigBooper]

Cash it in for the automatic store credit every month, where they give you a discount. Then you can use it to buy anything xbox.

 

[elliot5]

I don’t see the value in converting it to Game Pass. You can often find it really cheap on sale. I’m using mine for hardware instead.

Yep I've already paid for 3 years of game pass. In that time, I should be able to have enough for a mid gen refresh if one comes out or is rumored. Then I can just continue to top off game pass or do whatever with it

 

[MOTM]

Edit: nevermind

 

[WoodyStare]

 

[WoodyStare]

I like how someone is using a PlayStation controller in that ad. I remember trying Gears/Halo with the PlayStation controller and it just felt so transgressive, but it worked well.

 

[JLB]

Anyone else think the last couple of months have been a bit sparse in terms of quality additions? Obviously we had the remainder of the Bathesda drop at E3 but the regular drops have been very lacklustre in my opinion. We have some quality to look forward to like Hades, Flight Sim, Psychonauts, Forza and Halo for the remainder of the year but it would be nice to have a random drop of a high quality game.

Yeah, last two months were not as great as others. I dont like yakuzas, and since the main focus was there...

 

[OmegaSupreme]

I want to check out Iron Harvest. I've been searching for a good rts.

 

[Schmick]

Every now and then I come across a post that talks about a game in a very positive light. Usually a game I have never heard off. Most recently that game mentioned was Prodeus. Futhermore Prodeus is a new addtion to the Game Pass for PC library.

So, since I have GPU I thought I'd give it ago.

Wow.

What a game! An amazing FPS. Admittedly I haven't play an awful lot but already I can see a great game. I think what makes it stand out is the fast pace and satisfaction grabbing those kills from a combination of graphical effects and sound. The map design also is top notch.

So from this thread I thought it would be nice opportunity to pass on your thoughts and recommendations on the latest additions to the Game Pass library (console or PC). I think every now and then a game can get lost amongst the heavy hitters. Although there's no reason not to talk about those either.

Score for Prodeus (so far).... 9/10

 

[martino]

Edit: wrong thread

 

[Captain Toad]

Nothing I see myself playing this month. Last month was Yakuza: Like a Dragon which I just finished on GamePass. 8.5/10. I loved that game, great JRPG.

Speaking of JRPGs, where is Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon?

 

[Jemm]

FYI There is a Gamepass thread :

Xbox Game Pass General Discussion

Monster Hunter World leaving GamePass in a weeks time ... Was always on the fence about it as from all the videos and reviews I watched I couldn't get the appeal. May just give it a shot now and see what the fuss is about. Will buy it if I end up liking it.

www.neogaf.com

You mean this same thread you posted in?

 

[Kagey K]

You mean this same thread you posted in?

A mod might have merged a thread from the main page into here.

 

[soulbait]

So I started a new thread with this topic, but apparently that was no allowed due to past threads evolving into bickering and such it was locked. They did not merge it into here, so I will just copy paste my message here:

First, just know I am a GamePass fan. I signed up for it as soon as it was available and overall I have been extremely happy with the service. I still think it is the best value in gaming right now, and has allowed me to play games that I would have not tried before due to no added cost to try them out.

I have heard many concerns from various people about GamePass and it becoming the "Netflix of gaming." Most of these concerns I either shrug my shoulders at or consider them to be coming from fanboys on the other side who just cannot accept something that is good from the console maker that is not their choice. However, I do I have one concern: the results of devaluing the investment the gamer has themselves in the game. Let me explain.

One of the things I love about living in the times we are living in right now are music subscription services. I subscribed to Zune's music service (I know, I know) shortly after it came out, and have been a subscriber of Spotify and Google Play Music (screw you Google for forcing the change over to YouTube Music, which sucks). The idea of having access to millions of songs at anytime, is great to me. At any point, I can listen to almost any artist I like, from various decades, with just a press of a few buttons. Similar to my gaming tastes, my music tastes vary greatly, so having access to so many artists is a great tool for me. However, there has been a downside to all of this immediate access to music: listener investment is low.

When an artist releases an album now, they must grab your attention right away, or you will just move on and listen to something else. Before, this was different. When you went out and purchased an album, it took more effort, so you were more invested. If you would listen to the album the first time and you did not like it, you actually would give it a few more tries, due to the investment you had in it. You paid money directly for the album, You had to go out to the store to buy the album. You had to take efforts to listen to the album. All of this adds up to a physiological effect of you investing time and money into it, so you want to get your "monies worth" out of it. You still might not like the album after five or so listens, but you still gave it a shot to try to get worth out of it. Today's music? Not so much. Don't like it after the first listen, on to the next one. Little do you allow the album to "grow on you."

The issue with this is not only is music an artform, but it is also a business. And these businesses make money per listen of their songs. If an album does not grab enough listens in a short amount of time, then well it is a failure. This produces where artists are less willing to take risks and want to just appeal the lowest common denominator, making formulaic songs appealing to the widest audience possible. This has always been an issue with music, making music that is radio friendly, but at least then you had genre specific radio stations you were aiming for, trying to hit a certain crowd. If you look at today's more pop-music, it is pretty blan across the board. Where are the artists that are pushing the envelope and moving music forward? Now I know this is very much a generalization at a whole, and there are many niche genres that still have a lot of experimenting going on, but this is mostly in the indie scene and not coming from the larger publishers.

I am concerned about similar results happening in gaming, if GamePass like services become the norm. We already have seen the decrease in developers willing to take risks in new approaches in gaming due to the cost to develop. What happens when all gamers has a constant large library of games to choose from, without having any "investment" in those games? Do they try out the game beyond the few minutes and then completely abandon it if it does not grab their attention? Does this force game developers to make more formulaic games that are target to appeal to the widest market, without pushing gaming forward? I know some will say that these issues are currently present in gaming and indie games are where you need to go for new ideas in gaming, but there are still large games pushing forward. Does GamePass like services slow that down?

I know the other side of the coin of this argument is that GamePass encourages trying out new things. Just like with music subscription services, I have tried things I would not have before. But I am a music lover and a game lover. I am someone who wants to try new things and stretch my interests. The average music listener or gamer though? Are they willing to try more than beyond a few minutes?

I think this issue is still several years away. Right now it is not an issue directly related to the service, but could very well be in the future. Hopefully game publishers and game developers are aware of this possible issue, and are working on solutions to where they can still push forward the medium, while still making enough money to not fall into the formulaic trappings. I think fans of games like you and I will still be willing to experiment with new games, but will there be enough of us versus the more common gamer to make it worth it?

TLDR: my concern is, similar to music subscription services, GamePass will push gaming to be even more focused on the lowest common denominator and formulaic games versus games that pushes the medium forward and developers who are willing to take risks.

 

[reksveks]

I had typed a long response on what's changed in music and why games are more like video than music.

Basically music streaming has only had two observable changes, shorter songs cause of ecpms and more focus in the first 6 seconds (why songs jump to the verse) and even the latter effects works on new artists. That latter effect is cause of the radio feature in streaming services.

 

[CrustyBritches]

I am concerned about similar results happening in gaming, if GamePass like services become the norm. We already have seen the decrease in developers willing to take risks in new approaches in gaming due to the cost to develop. What happens when all gamers has a constant large library of games to choose from, without having any "investment" in those games? Do they try out the game beyond the few minutes and then completely abandon it if it does not grab their attention? Does this force game developers to make more formulaic games that are target to appeal to the widest market, without pushing gaming forward?

Game Pass democratizes game discoverability. xCloud takes it to the next level. It's the new age game rental service overlord in the vein of Gamefly or Blockbuster Game Freedom Pass, but without the hassle. For the price of a single game purchase you're able to access to hundreds of games, and more importantly scores of day-1 releases.

Youtubers and Twitch streamers made the old gaming media largely irrelevant because it allowed you to see an enthusiast play or discuss it. In that same manner, Game Pass takes it a step further by allowing you direct access to hundreds of games, so the average gamer can make their own call about the game.

So yeah, your AAA highly marketed game has to compete against indies and AA games on an even playing field. Reviewers and fanboys can't tell people what to play. People don't have to feel anxiety over $70 investments, causing them to either justify playing crap, or never try something new because they fear losing their investment. These are good things.

 

[jshackles]

TLDR: my concern is, similar to music subscription services, GamePass will push gaming to be even more focused on the lowest common denominator and formulaic games versus games that pushes the medium forward and developers who are willing to take risks.

Game Pass's financial model (the money that Microsoft pays developers) favors longer engagement over pretty much anything else. If you make a game that people actually play, the platform will reward you greatly. While it sucks to think that this could easily lead to the lowest common denominator being the most financially successful games, you have to understand that this system was put in place to incentivize developers to generate value rather than push boundaries.

The good news is that Game Pass doesn't require any sort of exclusivity deals. Nobody (that I'm aware of) is developing a game that will ONLY be available on Game Pass. In fact, I believe Microsoft REQUIRES developers to also have their game listed on the Xbox storefront for purchase so that's always going to be an option for people. The kind of dystopia you're describing above would probably only happen in a scenario where purchasing games outright would be considered expensive or otherwise unobtainable (such as an economic collapse) and Game Pass became the only viable financial option. If something like that comes to pass, society is probably too fucked for a lot of people to be mucking about with video games. In the real world, people who make video games will still try to produce their best possible work and push boundaries so that they can stand out against the competition.

 

[FoundryMusic]

I'm just glad there's plenty of people on this forum who want us to pay more for games because.....err....Sony.

 

[CrustyBritches]

Just finished a new playthrough of DOOM Eternal with RT+DLSS on GP PC. Haven't played since around launch, but I love the gameplay it's so fucking intense and fully justifies the existence of the Wolverine Ultimate controller.

I wanted to get into Prodeus and Iron Harvest, but I got distracted by Eternal. I'll get to those, but I think next I'll go back and wrap up on the last level of D&D Dark Alliance.

Alrighty, finished D&D Dark Alliance campaign. It was rough around the edges, but I had fun with it. Just started Prodeus and it has that old-school DOOM or RoTT feel to it. It was hard to stop pushing buttons from DOOM Eternal after just finishing it. Little gameplay snippet...

 

[Chukhopops]

Prodeus is amazing, it’s a love letter to the old Doom-likes and one of the biggest surprises of the year for me. If you have a high refresh rate monitor it’s magical.

I can’t believe they made that with a 100k Kickstarter.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

 

[BusierDonkey]

 

[Pantz]

Bloodroots (new on Game Pass) seems pretty fun so far.

Thanks for the kinda-free surprise game, Game Pass!

 

[bender]

Sony should counter with Creed.

 

[SportsFan581]

It's so weird that they tweeted to point that out specifically. They have a quirky twitter profile.

Don't get me wrong though, no doubt a useful feature for those playing via Xcloud that don't have an Xbox controller.