3 new Xbox Game Pass games to play this weekend (August 16-18)

By Tomas Franzese Published August 16, 2024

Xbox has only received five new games so far this August, but three of them share a theme. The connective tissue between all of these additions is that they’re new versions of older classics. With collections for some bombastic first-person shooters and cartoony platformers, and a remake of a crime action game, Xbox Game Pass‘ classics catalog has just been fleshed out with some excellent titles that come easily recommended. If you’re looking for something to play on Microsoft’s subscription service this weekend, consider checking out one of these three games.

Mafia: Definitive Edition is a full-on remake of the 2002 mafioso crime action game Mafia. It’s a Grand Theft Auto alternative set in a fictional 1930s city based on Chicago that follows the Italian mob in control of the city at the time. While Mafia never reached the heights of GTA, all the games in that series are creative and interesting in distinct ways. When it comes to the first Mafia specifically, the city of Lost Haven is an intricately detailed setting and provides a solid backdrop for a mob story that fans of movies like The Godfather or Goodfellas will enjoy. A fourth Mafia game is in development too, so now is a good time to get a better idea of how the series started. Mafia: Definitive Edition is available to play across PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Cloud Gaming via Game Pass Ultimate. It’s also available on PS4.

The first two Doom games need little introduction, as the hellish first-person shooters are responsible for putting the game genre on the map. This is the definitive release of those games. Doom + Doom II not only comes with previously remastered versions of those two titles but several additional episodes (including a new one called Legacy of Rust), remixed soundtracks by Andrew Hulshult, mod support, and 16-player online support for Deathmatch and co-op. If you’ve never played Doom or Doom II before, this just gave you the perfect reason to do so ahead of the release of Doom: The Dark Ages next year. Doom + Doom II is available across PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Cloud Gaming through Game Pass Ultimate. It’s also on PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch.

Earlier this month, another Activision Blizzard game came to Microsoft’s subscription service in Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, which was Vicarious Visions’ 2017 remasters of the first three Crash Bandicoot games. Naughty Dog’s Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped are all classics, and Vicarious Visions did a great job refurbishing them so they look more vibrant than ever before. While it’s unknown if a new Crash Bandicoot is in the cards right now at Activision or Toys for Bob, which recently spun off independently from Microsoft, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy became a must-play addition to Xbox Game Pass the moment it was added. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is available through Game Pass Ultimate across PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Cloud Gaming. It’s also on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.