August was quite the month for Xbox news. Gamescom was huge for the brand, not only for upcoming video games, but also for the release date of the ROG Xbox Ally X handheld. With all those exciting announcements, you might have completely missed what games were just added to Game Pass. I know I say it all the time, but the quality of games Xbox is getting on this service is almost too good to be true. This weekend, you can relive one of the best shooters from Xbox’s history, now with cross-platform support, a divisive but high-profile action RPG less than a year old, and make sure you’re ready for a big DLC launch coming soon. Whatever you’re in the mood for, one of these unbelievable games will hit the spot this weekend.
Gears of War: Reloaded
During the height of the console wars of the Xbox 360 and PS3 days, Gears of War was Xbox’s flagship exclusive before Halo 3 hit the scene. Spawning a franchise still going strong, that first game introduced the world to soldiers built like brick walls, rifles with chainsaw bayonettes, and some of the tightest third-person shooting ever developed. Gears of War: Reloaded brings the visuals and frame rates up to levels we could only dream of back in 2006. If you didn’t know it, you’d never guess this game was almost 20 years old playing it now. The campaign is still a blast to run through in co-op, but the multiplayer is where the real fun begins. Now that PS5 and Xbox players can go head-to-head with cross-platform support, competition will be extra fierce.
Gears of War: Reloaded is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
There’s no denying that Dragon Age: The Veilguard was subject to quite a bit of discourse when it came out. While there’s no sense in giving any oxygen to the bad-faith arguments about accessibility or diversity, there are some fair arguments about the game’s story and writing being lackluster compared to what came before. For my money, it is a game that mostly plays it safe. It isn’t bad, just not willing to let the player actually have as much agency as the series typically does. Gameplay, though, is good fun and offers plenty of build variety. This is a full-on action RPG, though, so don’t expect the more tactical gameplay of the original. If you were hesitant about picking it up before, there’s no harm in giving it a weekend to see if it wins you over through Game Pass.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
I know I have suggested playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle before, but it is worth highlighting again for those who didn’t make time for it before or haven’t touched it since launch. Not only is it a great immersive sim-style game that feels like it slipped under most people’s radar when it came out last December, but it has major DLC coming out next week on September 4 that you should get caught up for. Order of Giants promises to explore more of the Nephilim Order and will bring Indie to new locations from the main game. Since mystery and puzzle-solving are so key to this game, a lot of the plot and details are left up in the air for now. What I can say is that making sure you’ve played, or are fully refreshed, on the main game is paramount before jumping into the DLC.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
