We’re big fans of the sheer value offered by PC Game Pass. There are now nearly 500 games available in its heaving vaults, including a host of recent triple-A titles that would set you back $60 or $70 each were you to buy them outright. Modern gaming ain’t cheap, but at $10 a month PC Game Pass can ease that financial burden by bundling together the latest and greatest games together in one place.
March marks another big month on Game Pass, as the first of Blizzard’s prestigious games. following the acquisition by Microsoft, makes its debut on the platform. Here’s the best of what Game Pass has to offer this month.
Diablo 4
The joy of slicing through hell’s minions like a shark fin through particularly pliant water hasn’t abated in the near-30 years since Diablo’s release. Diablo 4—the first Blizzard game of hopefully many more to come to Game Pass—continues the trusty loop of cutting down hundreds of demonic foes, frantically picking up the loot they drop, and incrementally upgrading your equipment while praying for those Legendary drops. It’s more of the same, sure, but a new gory-Gothic makeover, open-world design, and interesting online-only setup spice up that trusted formula.
For our reviewer Tyler Colp, Diablo’s fourth iteration continues to burn as brightly and eternally as the fires of hell itself, as he deemed it “a fascinating Diablo game with a malleable skill system, build-defining loot, and thrilling open world events.”
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
In a retro-tinged defiance of the grotty 40K aesthetic, Boltgun is an old-school Doom-style first-person shooter where the corrugated corridors, hostile planetscapes, and towering industrial-Gothic cathedrals contrast with bright explosions and splatterings of gore emitted by the neon-coloured forces of Nurgle (and other disciples of Chaos) you shoot and slice through.
The sprites are beautifully detailed, each gun has a real oomph thanks to great sound design, and the Ultramarine you play as even does little lore-appropriate quips, harking back to the days of wise-cracking Build Engine shooters like Duke Nukem 3D and Blood. Our Noa Smith gave it a glowing review, praising its “sense of identity distinct from other Warhammer games.”
SpongeBob SquarePant: Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated
2003’s Battle for Bikini Bottom was one of the highpoints in SpongeBob’s up-and-down video game career, so over two decades on it’s probably about due for a remake. Part platformer, part puzzler, with a healthy dash of exploration, this remake brings back the voice cast and comical dialogue of the beloved TV show in a 15-hour romp through a lovingly realised Bikini Bottom.
You can switch between SpongeBob, Patrick and Sandy, taking advantage of their unique abilities to traverse levels and think outside the box to solve puzzles. Its accessible mechanics make it a lovely gateway into 3D platformers for younger gamers, while providing plenty of nostalgia for adults who grew up with the show back in the 2000s.
Lightyear Frontier
The cosy farming of Stardew Valley and murderous mechs of Armored Core may not seem like natural of bedfellows, but think about it: those rocket launchers are just as handy for mining rocks as they are for wreaking destruction, a grappling hook can be used to pull down trees for wood, and if you convert those flamethrowers to waterguns then you become a highly efficient piece of agricultural machinery.
Yes, Lightyear Frontier is a game that gives mechs a more productive purpose, letting you and up to three friends use bipedal machines to build a home on a peaceful faraway planet. It’s a quaint palette-cleanser to some of the more rigorous gaming activities available on Game Pass.
Control: Ultimate Edition
With Remedy’s connected game universe gaining a ton of prominence thanks to the all-singing, all-dancing success of Alan Wake 2 last year, it’s a great time to check out the other game from the same mythos, Control. Set in The Last House—the shifting, maze-like headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control—which investigates weird phenomena like ghosts, aliens, and toasters that act as gateways to other dimensions, you play Jesse Faden, the psychically-powered new Director of the Bureau.
Problem is, a dark force from another dimension has leaked into the building, and your job is to put it all back in its place—mainly by telepathically throwing office furnishings at possessed office workers. We loved the game here at PCG, and the Ultimate Edition bundles in the two story DLCs which flesh out and complete the wonderfully weird tale (even tying it into the events of Alan Wake 2).
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