This has been a pretty busy week for new releases, with the likes of Another Crab’s Treasure, Stellar Blade, Sand Land, and more coming out. Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s video game subscription service, has also had quite a busy week. Three games in particular stand out as must-plays this weekend for those who want to delve a bit further into the service rather than spend money on a new game.
One is an excellent single-player Star Wars game from 2023 that you might have missed because of how busy last year was for big releases. Another is a new real-time strategy game that earned buzz on Steam in the lead-up to its release. Finally, there’s a Bethesda Game Studios classic that just received an Xbox Series X update that you can experience free of charge via Game Pass. If you’re looking for a new game to start this weekend, but don’t feel like buying something new, give any of these a try.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is the second in what’s being set up as a trilogy of single-player action-adventure games from Respawn Entertainment. It follows the adventures of Cal Kestis, a former Jedi Padawan trying to survive as the Empire dominates the galaxy between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. It goes bigger and better than its predecessor, 2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, as it has larger areas to explore, more abilities, and ambitious set pieces.
On top of all that, it tells an emotional story about the trauma survivors of terrible events face and how grief can create feelings of obligation that can hurt our personal lives. In an era where new Star Wars content is a mixed bag, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a bright spot. Publisher EA added this game to its EA Play service, and because EA Play is included with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, those who are subscribed to Game Pass’ highest tier can now check out this game across PC and console.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is available on PC and Xbox Series X/S via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. It’s also available on PlayStation 5.
Manor Lords
A passion project made by a single person over the course of seven years, Manor Lords was one of this week’s day-one Xbox Game Pass releases. It’s a medieval real-time strategy/city-builder hybrid game where players start by building up a small settlement, but eventually exert influence over entire regions. They can engage in large-scale battles in an attempt to become the dominant lord of the land.
This is an early access game, so some features are missing, but it still has very solid bones that should make it appeal to fans of games like Age of Empires. There’s something inherently satisfying about this kind of game as players can see how your settlements and units grow and get more powerful as they expand. It’s not casual friendly and locked to just PC Game Pass at this time, but if this kind of game sounds very appealing to you, I wholeheartedly recommend checking out Manor Lords.
Manor Lords is currently available in early access on PC.
Fallout 4
Although there wasn’t a new Fallout video game ready to release alongside Amazon Prime’s Fallout TV show this month, Bethesda did release a current-gen upgrade for Fallout 4 on April 25. This update created an Xbox Series X/S native version of Fallout 4 that came with additional bug fixes, as well as performance and quality modes that let players improve the frame rate or display resolution of the experience. This all gives you the perfect excuse to check out this 2015 postapocalyptic RPG.
The game itself is an in-depth RPG about a vault dweller looking for their child, who was kidnapped while they were in cryostasis in Vault 111. Players are let loose into the American wasteland around Boston, and thoroughly explore it as they search for their child, complete a lot of quests, meet a variety of wacky characters, and use all the junk they find to build settlements. Although its dialogue system is lacking, this is still a very entertaining RPG adventure that will satiate your appetite for more Fallout content after watching the TV show.
Fallout 4 (and its current-gen upgrades) are not just available on PC and Xbox Series X/S through Xbox Game Pass, but on PS5 via PlayStation Plus Extra as well.
