It’s fairly safe to say that January 2023, as a month, isn’t the most exciting for Game Pass users, with just a mere smattering of new titles expected to hit the surface. In fact, it’s those that are moving out of Game Pass which are much more the focus, as 6 of the very finest must-play Xbox and PC games leave the service, TODAY!
Upping and outing from the end of today are six Xbox and PC titles that have made Game Pass their home. In fact, many of them launched straight into the service as Day One releases, ensuring that Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC players didn’t need to fork out any extra cash for them.
Now that changes and whilst you can still grab all of the six that are being removed from Game Pass on Xbox and PC, you’ll now have to crack open the wallet to do so. If you decide to, the Xbox Store will cover what is needed.
But what are those six? Well, expect to see Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Cloud, Console, and PC), Nobody Saves The World (Cloud, Console, and PC), Pupperazzi (Cloud, Console, and PC), The Anacrusis (Game Preview) (Cloud , Console, and PC), We Happy Few (Cloud, Console, and PC) and Windjammers 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC) all popping off.
We’d go as far to say that many of these games are those that you’ll want to be playing on your Xbox or PC, with some seriously decent review scores being handed out to them all.
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc got a 3.5/5 score from usas we cited the interesting concept, unique visual style and varied bits of gameplay. Nobody Saves The World was even more highly praised, grabbing a 4.5/5 review score for its nifty cartoon visuals, engaging gameplay loops and dense map. But it’s the very final paragraph of our review which should sell this one to you – especially now that as it’s leaving Game Pass, full cash outlays will be required – – “Games like Hades have made the dungeon crawler thrive by treating it like a high-end watch. The inner workings are intricate and polished, making it a joy to play over and over. But Nobody Saves the World takes the opposite approach: it doesn’t look inwardly, polishing something to the nth degree. It blows open the doors and makes exploration and development the focus. It gives you the world.”
What else is going on? Unfortunately the strange Pupperazzi leaves Cloud, Console, and PC options, whilst The Anacrusis stays IN Game Preview form, but OUT of Game Pass. It’s probably best that you leave that one until full release a little further down the line – it does look like it has what it takes to blossom into something great though.
We Happy Few (Cloud, Console, and PC) is also shifting focus, as the sequel – the imaginatively named We Happy Few 2 – takes its place as the main thrust of the sneeky peeky action. And Windjammers 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC) is gone too; a game that is proof that the simplest of ideas can work when done effectively.
You’d think that losing six games from a subscription service would be a big deal, especially when those six are of such high quality, but Game Pass is bigger than the individual games that make up its whole, and we’ll no doubt forget all about these as the excitement levels rise with new additions later in the month.
There’s not much coming in January 2023, but you’ve got Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden to look forward to on the 19th (if Persona 5 Royal is anything to go by, they will be huge hits), and Monster Hunter Rise popping up for play on the 20th. From there, all we know about is the arrival of Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition and Inculinati into the service at the end of the month; a time when even more games will be leaving.
For now, pop yourself into the comments below and let us know which of the 6 Xbox and PC games leaving Game Pass you’ll miss most. Surely it’s Pupperazzi, yeah?