Call of the Sea | Released in December of 2020, Call of the Sea may have missed the cut for The Game Awards but it has firmly secured a place in The GW&CO Awards 2020 as the Best Xbox Exclusive of the Year. This game takes only 4-5 hours and while I recommend playing through the first time without any guides, both to prevent spoilers and allow you to get immersed into its beautiful story, with the chapter selection screen in the menu after you've completed the game, you can easily use a guide or two to get any achievements you may have missed during your first run-though. If you want to read more about the game, check out our full review here, and if you'd like a glimpse at how the game looks, you can watch some gameplay here.
Day of the Tentacle Remastered | From Double Fine Productions, Day of the Tentacle Remastered is a great way to experience the classic 1993 puzzle adventure game. The best way to play this game is to do it in two playthroughs, one where you play just to enjoy the experience, another to go back and clean up any missable achievements. However, it is quite possible to get it all in one playthrough if you simply check out the list beforehand and play with that in mind. That all said, Day of the Tentacle has a wonderful cartoon art style reminiscent of 90s cartoons and the remaster has better resolution for modern TVs and remastered audio.
Five Nights at Freddy's | This horror series may have been played out and may have received way too many sequels and spin-offs, with more on the horizon, but we're of the belief that the first game is actually pretty good. After all, it helped launch this FNAF craze. If you're easily scared maybe this game isn't the right one for you, but assuming you can get past some jump scares the achievement list for the game is pretty manageable and you can get most just for completing the main game. And if you're feeling really bold, Five Night's at Freddy's 2 is also on Game Pass and has a similar list of achievements to unlock. That being said, for the full 100% you'll need to play both games in 20/20/20/20 mode. This is doable but, be warned, it is also the hardest night in the game.
Full Throttle Remastered | Another Double Fine game, Full Throttle first released right after Day of the Tentacle in 1995. This adventure game from the mind of Tim Shaffer is a much more manageable one, taking roughly half the six hours it takes to 100% Day of the Tentacle. And if you find the game isn't clicking for you, using a guide to streamline the grind will let you complete it in as little as two hours.
Tell Me Why | From Dontnod Entertainment, the developers of the Life is Strange series, comes another personal episodic story about Tyler and Alyson, twins that have been apart for ten years. Tell Me Why deals with mature themes and serious topics but its great visual aesthetic and strong characters are really what make it memorable. The game won the Games for Impact award at The Game Awards 2020.
The Walking Dead: Michonne | Another game we reviewed previously on the site, The Walking Dead: Michonne is not a perfect game but a great self-contained story set in Telltale's The Walking Dead universe. And just like all Telltale Games, you 100% the game just by playing through the campaign. The game follows Michonne, one of the series most beloved characters, before she shows up at the end of season 2. While the gameplay is very basic, simply press buttons when prompted, the story of the game is quite emotional and if you allow yourself to fall into it, the choices you have to make become harder as you begin to care more and more about what happens to each character. If you want a glimpse at the game past a written review, you can also check out some gameplay here.
Unto the End | Let us start with a simple warning. Yes, this game can be completed pretty easily. But to do so requires you to understand the combat mechanics of the game first. Once that hurdle is passed, you can fully enjoy this simple but immersive cinematic platformer in all it's colorful and picturesque glory.
The games on this list are games you actually should play and enjoy, not just ones you can fly through in thirty minutes or use a glitch to get the achievements to pop. If you want that kinda list, it'll be out in a few days. If you want to check out last year's list then click here. For other Game Pass recommendations click here. Oh, and let us know if we missed any easy games down in the comments so we can include them in the next list in a few months.
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