We’re in somewhat of a lull for Xbox Game Pass right now. While Xbox heavily marketed Metaphor: ReFantazio and launched Persona 3 Reload into its subscription service earlier in 2024, Metaphor:ReFantazio is not on Xbox Game Pass on day one. Thankfully, an all-timer of a horror indie game came to the service this past week, just in time for Halloween. Some other great RPGs also arrived during Tokyo Game Show 2024, so you can check those out on Xbox Game Pass if you’re looking for something new to play on the subscription service.
If you’re looking for something spookier to play on Xbox Game Pass this month, then Inscryption is the optimal choice. This indie game became critically acclaimed upon its release in 2021 because of how it wasn’t afraid to blend genres and break the fourth wall as players try to break out of a card game they’re playing in a remote cabin. It’s best to go into Inscryption unspoiled, so I’ll just recommend you check it out via PC, One Xbox Series X/S, or Xbox Cloud Gaming with your Game Pass Ultimate subscription. It’s also on PlayStation 4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch.
October is going to be a great month for RPGs, with Metaphor: ReFantazio and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, but a genre classic game also came to Xbox Game Pass during Tokyo Game Show 2024. Legend of Mana was originally released for PlayStation in 1999 and stands out thanks to its nonlinear structure that lets players create the lands they want to visit next. Square Enix remastered Legend of Mana in 2021 for other systems, but just brought it over to Xbox Series X/S last month, putting it on Xbox Game Pass from day one. This new version of Legend of Mana is available on the subscription service across console, PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming. It’s also on PS4, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.
If Legend of Mana appealed to you, you’ll be happy to hearthat another game in the series came to Xbox Game Pass during Tokyo Game Show 2024. Trials of Mana is a full remake of a Mana game for SNES that was only released in Japan originally. It’s a fully 3D recreation of the Square Enix classic with more modern gameplay features. It has lots of replay value as well because there are multiple characters that players can choose to start the game with. Trials of Mana is available across PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Cloud Gaming with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. It’s also on PS4, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.
The Call of Duty franchise has held a special place in my heart ever since I played my first Black Ops game back in 2010. That game's campaign was something else, with twists and turns that culminated in a mind-blowing finale. We can all admit that compared to those older campaigns, the recent CODs have been lackluster at best, and a complete and utter disappointment at worst. The reboot of Modern Warfare did give me some hope, as the first two installments were actually quite good, but the third game left such a bad taste in my mouth that I wasn’t exactly expecting much from Modern Warfare 4.
After recently finishing the campaign, I can say that this installment is nothing like the recent releases and instead feels closer to the franchise’s roots. For the first time in a long while, the campaign comes across as well-crafted rather than rushed to hit a release date. It arrives three years after MW3, and you can see exactly where all that time went. It seems the studio finally made listening to player feedback a priority.
Epic Games has just announced the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam, which is looking to see how much game development can be squeezed into a very short window. This is running from November 12 through November 15.
Participants can work alone or in teams of up to five people, build in Unreal Engine or Unreal Editor for Fortnite, and bring along “as many AI agents as you want.” Epic explicitly encourages coding agents, AI-generated assets, audio tools, writing tools, and other AI systems. The official event page literally says "Vibe your way to $50k.”
It’s turning into a pretty good time to be a Monster Hunter fan who plays on a phone. Capcom has confirmed that Monster Hunter Outlanders will launch on Android and iOS on October 29, giving the series a new mobile-first game just as Monster Hunter Rise is also preparing to make the jump to smartphones through Netflix.
Outlanders is being developed by Tencent subsidiary TiMi Studio Group under license and supervision from Capcom. Unlike Rise, which appears to be the full console and PC game adapted for mobile, Outlanders is a free-to-play survival hunting game made specifically for phones.