Best Xbox Game Pass Games For April 2024

Remnant 2

Available for Consoles and PC

Do you love the idea of modern action games buoyed by deeper role-playing mechanics but find yourself continuously let down by modern games that never seem to get that combination of concepts right? Remnant 2 may be the game for you. 

Remnant 2 wraps its almost Soulsborne-like action mechanics around genuinely deep RPG concepts. Character building is complex, inventory management is engaging, and the sidequests in this game rival some of the best sidequests in many “proper” RPGs. Even better, Remnant 2 is a top-tier multilayer Game Pass title. – MB

Resident Evil 2 Remake

Available for Consoles and PC

Resident Evil 7 revitalized Capcom’s signature survival horror franchise after the underwhelming Resident Evil 6. While RE7 isn’t available through Xbox Game Pass, the first modern remake of retro RE games, Resident Evil 2, is.

In Resident Evil 2, players can revisit the iconic halls of the Raccoon City Police Department and once again fend off zombies and bio-organic weapons of every shape and size. Graphics and audio are, understandably, leagues beyond what the original was capable of on the PlayStation One. Moreover, the remake does away with the tank controls and fixed camera angles for a more organic, more claustrophobic experience.

While Resident Evil 2 improves significantly on the survival horror formula, no aspect is upgraded quite like the scare factor. Not only are the monsters more terrifying than ever before thanks to the upgraded graphics and lighting, but the game adds a new layer of fear with Mr. X. While this nigh-immortal enemy was in the original, in the remake, he has been upgraded to always stalk players. This addition increases the game’s tension well beyond the original Resident Evil 2, if not most other horror games. – AG

Slay the Spire

Available for Consoles, PC, and Game Pass Core

In Slay the Spire, you are tasked with working your way through a series of fights and events that eventually result in you facing off against an indescribable horror. Death restarts your run, and the only way to thrive and survive is to slowly build the best deck possible from action cards you receive along the way. 

Arguably one of the best deckbuilding and best roguelite titles out there today, Slay the Spire brilliantly combines two genres known for their low barrier of entries, surprising depth, and dangerous addictiveness. The only thing more difficult than finding consistent success in this game is imagining the force of will it takes to pick up this title and simply be able to walk away from it shortly thereafter. – MB

Stardew Valley

Available for Consoles, PC, and Game Pass Core

There wasn’t much hype surrounding Stardew Valley when it officially launched in 2016. Over time, though, millions of people discovered the sometimes seemingly infinite pleasures of this elaborate love letter to the Harvest Moon franchise. The absolute coziness of this game’s soundtrack, visuals, and general vibes is certainly a draw, but it’s the shocking depth of running your own farm and small-town life that makes Stardew Valley so special.

Best of all, Stardew Valley has been updated since its release and continues to receive love to this day. Between its split-screen co-op play, expansion-like content additions, and ability to lull you into hundreds of hours of gameplay one in-game day at a time…well, do you really need any other Game Pass title? – MB

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

Available for Consoles, PC, and Xbox Game Pass

Nostalgia can be quick to betray you, but there are just some experiences that are truly timeless. If nothing else, Shredder’s Revenge shows that those hours spent with those classic Konami TMNT beat-em-up titles were spent experiencing some of the finest Games that genre ever gave us. 

While Shredder’s Revenge sticks pretty close to the formula those games established so long ago, it wisely updates those titles in ways both great and small. The result is a nearly perfect example of what happens when the greatness of times gone by is brought into focus with the help of modern niceties and innovations. Cowabunga indeed. – MB

Titanfall 2

Available for Consoles and PC

Respawn Entertainment is responsible for more than a few beloved titles, including Apex Legends and the Star Wars Jedi series. While the company’s first title, Titanfall, isn’t anything special, Respawn turned its luck and reputation around with the sequel, Titanfall 2.

Titanfall 2 is a well-realized FPS that takes place in a futuristic setting where wars are decided by highly mobile Pilots and their giant robots, the titular Titans. The Game combines an eclectic armory of hi-tech weapons with a robust movement system that lets players double-jump and wall-run all over the map. On-foot Gameplay is a blast since a steady hand is just as important as one’s parkour skills, but the Titan Gameplay dials it up several notches. While they aren’t as fast as Pilots, they are still light on their feet (for their size) and come across as awesome lumbering tanks of overwhelming firepower. And yet the Game manages to balance the abilities of Pilots and Titans and make neither feel too overpowered.

While Titanfall 2’s multiplayer is still going strong despite the game’s age, the campaign is in a league of its own. Players control the Pilot Jack Cooper and team up with Titan BT-7274 on a quest to…ok the story isn’t that important, but the campaign shines thanks to its characters and dialogue. Titanfall 2 manages to humanize Jack and BT-7274 and make them bond organically. – AG

Tunic

Available for Consoles and PC

Most games include tutorials. Some teach players everything about each mechanic, while others only skim over the basics before shoving audiences out the door. Tunic, meanwhile, combines these strategies.

Tunic combines elements of classic Legend of Zelda games with Dark Souls mechanics. Players are given minimal directions and have to use items they pick up to fight through enemies, all while the action unfolds from an isometric perspective. While combat isn’t hair-pullingly difficult, it is challenging and forces players to maintain a stamina bar as well as constantly upgrade stats and weapons.

Tunic’s claim to fame is its in-game manual. Players collect pages as they progress, and each one adds new information, ranging from hints of where to go and how certain controls and mechanics work. However, the manual doesn’t spell things out; it retains an air of mystery because most of the passages are written in untranslatable languages. Players are both told what to do and have to figure things out as they go, which is fairly refreshing. Also, I can’t help but appreciate Tunic for making the manual look like those that came in older video game cases. – AG

The Quarry

Available for Consoles and PC

The Quarry is essentially the spiritual sequel to Supermassive Games’ brilliant Until Dawn. While it’s not quite on the level of those horror masterpieces, The Quarry features all the well-rendered characters, complicated choices, and incredibly effective jump scares that made Until Dawn one of the best PlayStation 4 games. 

The Quarry is also one of those games that just feels perfect for Game Pass. It’s fairly short and its replay value is limited to your desire to make different choices, but horror fans will struggle to find a more effortlessly compelling cinematic experience. To borrow an observation I believe I heard someone else mention at some other time, The Quarry offers a unique and irresistible combination of Triple-A production and B-movie charm. – MB

Vampire Survivors

Available for Consoles, PC, and Game Pass Core

If complicated modern games have you feeling down, consider Vampire Survivors. After all, it’s an overhead action title that limits your interactions to eight degrees of moment and the occasional item to pick up or upgrade to pick. If it was a browser game in 2006, it would have been the best browser game of 2006. 

Much like those browser titles, you may find yourself spending more time playing Vampire Survivors than any other Triple-A Game out there. It’s just so easy to lose yourself in what is essentially a bullet hell Game where you are the bullet hell. Despite its relative simplicity, there is just enough skill and chaotic randomness in this Game to ensure that none of its 30-minute (or less) runs will ever feel like quite enough. You must do better and press further. – MB

Yakuza 0

Available for Consoles and PC

When Sega announced the latest Yakuza game, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, the company surprised audiences across the globe by revealing the game would launch on Xbox One and Series X/S before PlayStation 5. This game would mark the Yakuza franchise’s second glorious revitalization; Yakuza 0 was the first.

As its name suggests, Yakuza 0 is the prequel to the original Yakuza (and its remake, Yakuza Kiwami). From a narrative perspective alone, audiences should play Yakuza 0 before every other entry in the main series (all of which are available through Xbox Game Pass) because it serves as an excellent introduction to series mainstays Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima. That and the narrative is arguably one of the franchise’s best, which is saying something since every Yakuza title has a dramatic story with plenty of twists and turns, as well as humorous side missions.

Gameplay-wise, Yakuza 0 lets players explore a small. yet bustling, city, beat up random thugs and rival gang members, and kill time with a glut of side activities. All these features have their own dedicated mechanics that, when taken together, create a solid experience greater than the sum of its parts. Yakuza 0 served as the blueprint for all subsequent Yakuza Games. – AG