Pure Xbox's Reviews
The Quarry sees Supermassive Games back on top form with a spiritual successor to the superlative Until Dawn that comes mighty close to knocking that classic off its lofty perch. There's a fantastic cast of well-observed characters to get to know here, a narrative that packs in several threats and plenty of twists, turns and light-hearted moments to sit alongside its shocks and juicy revelations. With jaw-dropping visuals, a cracking soundtrack and plenty in the way of replayability in order to see every outcome on offer, this is an interactive horror experience that's well worth jumping into.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey may have went bigger in terms of sheer size, and Valhalla has gone on to further improve and enhance the flow of combat - but there's no doubting that Origins' majestic setting, its characters, iconic locations and sense of mystery, have yet to be topped. With some absolutely belting DLC to get your hands on once you've wrapped up the beefy main campaign here, this is one game that we absolutely urge to you pick up on Xbox Game Pass. If you've already played it, it's worth jumping back in here for the 60fps upgrade, and if you're coming to this one new, well, prepare for an almighty Egyptian adventure.
Kao The Kangaroo is a hard one to sum up, then, because while it definitely feels low-budget, clunky and frustrating at times, it's also a platformer packed with plenty of fun and memorable moments. It feels like the developer went the extra mile to inject some ambition into this game and craft something that deserves a place alongside the behemoths of the genre, even if it can't meet the lofty heights of a Crash Bandicoot or a Super Lucky's Tale. It's nice to see Kao punching above his weight in 2022, and not just being relegated to an easy cash grab.
Sniper Elite 5 is the very best entry in this long-running franchise to date. Karl Fairburne's latest WW2 adventure effortlessly mixes jaw-dropping campaign environments, improved close quarters combat and ruthless enemy AI, resulting in a game that puts this series firmly into the top tier of action titles once and for all. With highly replayable missions stuffed full of secrets and side quests, a clever new PvP Invasion mode, full campaign co-op and a ton of unlockables and multiplayer modes to dig into, this is a hugely entertaining offering that's sure to delight long-term fans and new recruits in equal measure. It's time to get to work perfecting those slo-mo X-Ray ball shots.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong is certainly a super-stylish narrative RPG, and it's one that gets off to a strong start, offering up a truly intriguing premise, before falling victim to tedious investigative gameplay, undercooked conversational aspects and a host of bugs that make progress frustrating at points. There's just too much jank here, levels are too rigid, there's not enough freedom in how you go about your investigations or use your vampiric powers to really make things sing and, as a result, we're left with a game that fails to fully live up to its early promise. It's not a bad effort, but with a little more care and polish, it could have been so much more.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is a distinctly average prequel/spin-off that gets itself bogged down in busywork and repetitive running in circles, overshadowing its core dungeon-crawling and town-building action in the process. The combat here certainly has some reasonable ideas, the story is decent enough at providing a setup and it all looks very pretty, but there's just far too much in the way of unnecessary padding and jank to make it feel as though it's really worth your time and effort beyond gleaning a few insights into next year's full adventure, even at this budget price point. Fingers crossed 505's main course is much more satisfying.
Much like In Other Waters, this is a game you simply need to sit down and play in order to fully appreciate, as no screenshot or explanation will fully do it justice, and having it release on Game Pass is just the ticket to entice interested parties to try their hand. We urge you to dive in here, as this is a game of real style and substance with multiple endings to mop up as you peel back layers and dig deeper into Eldin's Eye and its inhabitants. Citizen Sleeper is a unique and thought-provoking adventure that's truly taken us by surprise.
Trek to Yomi is a game of two halves, where slightly repetitive combat does bring things down a notch. However, that other half — made up of the game's visuals, characters, storyline, atmosphere and overall polish — is so good that you'll want to carry on trekking right until the end. More involved combat could have elevated this one to being potentially one of our very favourite Game Pass games, but make no mistake, this is an adventure you'll want to head out on.
What you're left with is a sequel that players are more likely to stick with, which makes them more likely to appreciate all the other bells and whistles, story aspects, cool bosses and upgrades that have also been packed in here. Yes, Rogue Legacy 2 doesn't fully escape from the repetition and inherently grindy nature of its genre but, in giving players more agency and control over how difficult things are, it's evolved from a somewhat frustrating - and very often rage-inducing - experience into a far more chilled and, in turn, addictive roguelite that we're genuinely having quite a lot of trouble putting down. This one's up there with the very best we've played so far this year.
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is an excellent expansion of a bonafide classic interactive adventure. We'll admit we were slightly concerned that returning to something so masterful, expanding and adding to such a carefully constructed experience, could somehow dilute the magic, but we needn't have worried. All of the new content here simply embellishes what came before, resulting in a wonderful piece of art that's now better, more ultra and, you might even say, deluxe than ever before. Whether you're coming to this one for the first time or returning to see what's changed, you'll be handsomely rewarded for your curiosity.
Chernobylite is a fascinating survival horror RPG that serves up an enthralling and impressively detailed exclusion zone for players to run a series of dangerous raids in. There may be a few too many gameplay elements chucked into the mix here but strong writing, well designed missions, great support characters and some incredible visual and audio work smooth over most of the rough patches. If you can deal with a some clunkiness with regards to combat and are prepared to work a little to get the most out of it, you'll find a deep and addictive indie gem awaits that does a fantastic job of scratching that S.T.A.L.K.E.R itch.
Even if you’ve been looting and shooting in the Borderlands for the past decade, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is still well worth a look. It’s got fantastic and addictive gameplay, the pacing feels quite good as well, and there are enough new features, enemies, and bosses that will keep you and your friends coming back for more adventures. Tina's fantasy spin-off proves it's more than worthy alongside the mainline entries.
MLB The Show 22 is another brilliant arrival in the series, and once again delivers fluid and gorgeous presentation on Xbox Series X|S. The gameplay remains highly satisfying, while Road to the Show and Diamond Dynasty remain compulsive modes. While 'no money spent' is still pleasingly feasible in the latter, it feels a little more grind-heavy this year, so hopefully that will ease off. Elsewhere new commentary is welcome, but is too short on lines this time around.MLB The Show, as a series, does feel like it needs a leap at some point; as another steady iteration, though, this latest entry is still a standout sports sim and a must for baseball fans.
It always felt like LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga would struggle to live up to its lofty promise of delivering essentially the most expansive Star Wars game to date, but the team at TT Games really have done an amazing job on it. We've still got a few nitpicks, and we also wish it included online co-op support, but there's no denying that it's a stunningly beautiful and brilliantly ambitious take on the world of Star Wars complete with endlessly enjoyable gameplay and enough side-content to keep you busy for many, many hours to come. We've been waiting so long for this game to arrive, and we're pleased to report the Force is definitely strong with this one.
Weird West is a fantastic debut from Wolfeye Studios, a slick and addictive action-RPG that delivers a top-notch narrative alongside some delightfully chaotic combat in a world that absolutely oozes atmosphere. The Arkane DNA is evident here in the slick selection of powers and abilities, the choice-driven storylines and combat that gives you the tools to experiment, to toy with your enemies and approach problems from multiple angles. Side missions are delightfully well-written, there's a ton of dungeons, looting and crafting to dig into and, beyond a handful of buggy enemy encounters, the whole thing looks, sounds and plays like a dream.
Tunic is a fantastically clever adventure that kicks off in familiar Zelda-esque fashion before branching out to become its own thing entirely. There's an exquisitely designed world to explore here, a great big puzzle-box to probe and prod at as you progress through a story that's got just the right amount of mystery and intrigue about it to keep you hooked in. Combat can be a little clumsy at points early on but it improves as new powers are introduced and the game develops and grows into a surprisingly big, surprisingly challenging experience that's absolutely one of our favourite games of 2022 so far.
In our view, Shredders is an ideal Xbox Game Pass game. It's a game most players will get a few hours of enjoyment from, complete the missions and grab some achievements, and then move on. The dedicated fans will keep coming back for the fluid and rewarding gameplay, and maybe to get perfect scores on all those missions. If you go into it expecting a big-budget rival to the likes of SSX and Amped, you might be disappointed with what you find, but taken at face value, Shredders is a fun time and a worthy addition to the sports library on Game Pass.
WWE 2K22 isn't going to surpass the likes of "No Mercy" and "Here Comes The Pain" in terms of fan favourite wrestling games, but in our opinion, it's the best WWE 2K game to date. The gameplay is improved, the graphics are improved, and there's enough content here to keep you busy for a long time, even if some of the new modes haven't quite reached their potential yet. There are still some unwanted series staples here, such as clunky collision detection, but for the most part it's obvious how much progress has been made across the board over the past couple of years, and it's now up to 2K to take things to the next level with WWE 2K23.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök easily eclipses both The Siege of Paris and Wrath of the Druids, serving up a good 40 hours-worth of top-notch action, exploration and challenges across a huge new world map. Combat here is enlivened by Eivor's new Hugr-Rip abilities, skills which also freshen up the game's puzzles and traversal, and the fantastical nature of the story leads to some of the biggest and best boss face-offs we've seen in the series to date. Newcomers may feel a little lost to begin with, there's a lot to get your head around here, but fans of Valhalla should be delighted with this deliciously fantastical new addition to the base game.
Elden Ring is a crowning achievement for FromSoftware and undoubtedly the very best gameplay experience they've yet delivered - and that's really saying something given this developer's incredible back catalogue. The Lands Between deftly combine breathless open world exploration, stunning artistry, immaculate world-building and wondrous adventure with classic Dark Souls combat and dungeon-crawling, resulting in not just the best Souls game to date, but a candidate for one of the very best video games ever made.