The Searchtoplay Blog

This article is also available as YouTube video. Microsoft’s Subscription Finally Hits Its StrideMicrosoft launched Game Pass back in 2017 and it’s been a great service for recent years but they finally started pushing it to its full potential at the end of 2024, and the beginning of this year.Even though the subscription price for Game Pass Ultimate has gone up recently, and now costs €18 or $20, it’s still one of the best deals in gaming right now, especially considering the inevitable price increases to standalone games which might soon cost close to $80 or even $100. With this in mind, the price doesn’t seem so high already. Here’s a look at the most exciting Game Pass releases this year, and what’s still coming soon. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (December 2024)In December 2024, Game Pass got the first banger that was highly anticipated but still exceeded expectations for many people - Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.Indie has not been in games for a while, and many people were missing out on this franchise. Some of the younger gamers weren't even there when the last good movies were out.It’s finally changed, and we got a truly good action-adventure with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, perfectly capturing what made this franchise so great in the past. The game has great stealth, exploration, close-up fighting mechanics, puzzles, and an interesting enough story to keep you engaged. Also, Troy Baker as Indiana Jones was really good.Check the full review of the game on the YouTube channel, if you're curious to learn more about the game. Ninja Gaiden II Black & Ninja Gaiden 4 (January 2025)But let’s move on to 2025. In the beginning of the year, we started getting more and more surprises and great games on Game Pass, not only in the AAA sector but also in small, yet no less exciting AA releases.The year started with a surprising release of Ninja Gaiden II Black - a complete remaster of the legendary Ninja Gaiden II from Xbox 360 times. In addition to that, Ninja Gaiden 4 was also announced, the first main entry to the series since 2012, and of course, it’s published by Xbox Game Studios and launching day one on Game Pass. Avowed (February 2025)Then we got a new AAA RPG from Obsidian - Avowed. It’s a classic first-person RPG in the world of Pillars Of Eternity. Although this game might not blow everyone away, it’s still a very solid, good old big RPG which is still a rare beast. So every launch of such games is a win. Avowed follows the Obsidian RPG formula they used with The Outer Worlds. The game feels and plays very similarly but in a fantasy world. March’s BangersNext, Game Pass had a strong March with four great day-one releases: South of Midnight, Blue Prince, Oblivion Remaster, and very successful Expedition 33.South of Midnight is an action-adventure game with stunning and unique visuals with a kind of dark animation style. This game is an Xbox and PC exclusive, for now at least, and a pretty good answer to PlayStation’s Kena: Bridge of Spirits released a few years back.Blue Prince is an indie game made almost entirely by one person. The game is a unique puzzle adventure where you explore a house with a large number of rooms but with a limited number of steps. Every day the house changes its layout so you have to start over slowly unraveling its secrets. A very cool game that I would have easily missed if not for Game Pass.Then, we got another surprise that absolutely blew away RPG fans and it’s The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. The game was announced and released on the same day, and it wasn’t just a small resolution update but a full-blown remake of the game from the ground up on Unreal Engine 5. Bethesda and Microsoft quite underplayed it by calling it remastered, which actually gives them even more credit.Oblivion, of course, doesn’t need an introduction as it’s a classic Bethesda RPG that came out back in 2006 in a long-running series Elder Scrolls. This type of remake makes me super happy to see. It’s also a great chance for many new generations of gamers to try the game that preceded Skyrim or even familiarize themselves with the Elder Scrolls franchise for the first time. A great gift for all gamers.This release reminds me that in the time of endless leaks in the industry, we still have great surprises, and releasing the game right away was a great move from Xbox.Finally, we got Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. This game is not only the biggest release and surprise of Game Pass but also of the whole gaming year of 2025 so far.I was keeping my eye on the game ever since I saw its first trailer and gameplay announcement. I like JRPGs, and I love when developers experiment with established mechanics, but I couldn’t even imagine how amazing this game turned out to be.The game is taking a standard jRPG formula and twisting and modernizing it. What we got is an incredibly beautiful game with French charm and a unique and interesting story. We have many things we love about JRPGs: an interesting leveling system, turn-based fights, but we also have a lot of quick-time event mechanics in fights which I didn’t know were missing from the turn-based formula. I don’t know how I’ll be playing without them now. Plus, the game has an incredible Dark Fantasy setting inspired by Soulslike games. This game is an raving success, especially as a new IP and debut game of the studio, absolutely unmissable this year. The game is currently the number one rated game in 2025 according to Opencritic.I think for the success of Clair Obscure, at least partially, we have Game Pass to thank. Completely new franchises often struggle to achieve great sales, but with a subscription service like this, it gained enough buzz from players picking it up and eventually achieved the success it deserved.All these releases were a huge gift for all Game Pass subscribers, but it’s just the beginning. Recent and Upcoming HighlightsWe recently got the highly anticipated prequel to the modern DOOM series: Doom: The Dark Ages. The game has landed very well with the reviewers scoring 86 on OpenCritic and 85 on Metacritic. We also recently received another successful remake of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4.If no delays occur, later this year we will also get The Outer Worlds 2, another game from the RPG wizards at Obsidian, Gears of War: Reloaded - a remaster of the first game in the classic Xbox series, Subnautica 2 - a sequel to the very popular survival game, and many more great other games.All in all, it really feels like Microsoft is finally delivering on the full potential of Game Pass. Not just with quantity, but with variety, quality, and even surprises. And if the rest of 2025 looks anything like the first half, it might be the best year the Game Pass has ever had.Keep playing, take care and I’ll see you soon.