How Game Pass led me to abandon my PS5 – Reader’s Feature

A reader explains how Xbox Game Pass has become such good value he’s begun to neglect his PS5, while instead playing games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

This past weekend I’ve, like many others, been playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Chatting to a friend who owns a PlayStation 5 for all his gaming made me realise just how good a deal Game Pass has been for me this past year.

I am fortunate enough to own all the main systems but the only subscription service I buy into is Game Pass Ultimate, ensuring that I let it expire and stock up on Game Pass Core and then convert to Ultimate to get a year for approximately £70.

The last time I turned my PlayStation 5 on was nearly a year ago now, right after I finished playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. There has just not been anything exclusive to PlayStation 5 this past year that I’ve personally felt has been worth spending the money on.

Since that time, all my gaming has come via Xbox or PC, with the majority being found on Game Pass. Last summer it was Diablo 4 on Xbox and PC, followed by Dragon’s Dogma 2 on PC via a Steam sale. Heading into late autumn brought on Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6, again on Game Pass so playing on Xbox and PC.

Christmas added Dragon Age: The Veilguard via another Steam sale then, more recently, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, Commandos Origins, and this past week Expedition 33, all via Game Pass. Within this past year I’ve also played briefly some VR in Microsoft Flight Simulator 25, F1 23, Manor Lords, and Ninja Gaiden 2 Black – once again, all included with Game Pass.

I also have the Oblivion remaster installed and ready to go, for when I finish Expedition 33. I’ve played hundreds of pounds worth of games I genuinely would have been considering buying and it has cost me nothing more than that initial £70. I know I don’t own them for the long run, and I’ve got no trade-in opportunities, but also, I never would have played this many different games had I been relying on purchases only, but more likely to have only picked up two or three of them.

I compare this to going to watch a football match or a theatre ticket, which can easily exceed this in price but give me only a couple of hours of entertainment.

My friend is saying he’s gutted to have gone PlayStation 5 this generation, as he feels he really isn’t getting value for money from it on any level and wishes he could be playing half the stuff I have been, especially with the latest Commandos and Expedition 33. Instead, he’s had to wish list them for when they hit the sale on the PS Store.

Contrary to many opinions, he’s actually considering switching to team green for the next gen, in the hope that Game Pass continues to pump out more great games. He has briefly tried PS Plus but found hardly any games on there he wanted to play, so let the subscription expire.

I also want to add how brilliant Expedition 33 has been so far. I’m absolutely loving this game, the aesthetics, soundtrack, and gameplay are amazing. This is what Final Fantasy 16 should have been and proves that you can do turn-based games in the modern-day era and not make it feel like a game from 20 years ago.

The user reviews on Metacritic are hilarious too; one person gave it 0/10 because the camera view is not central to the character but slightly offset. That is clearly a game-breaking issue right there! Lots of people commenting on articles about the QTE being a deal breaker but unlike games such as Spider-Man, the QTEs here actually make sense and once you get the rhythm, which admittedly took me a few tries, you start to get a feel for how the game is meant to be played.

I’m not naturally very good at parrying in games, I’m more likely to run/dodge out of the way than try to time a parry perfectly, but the game encourages the mechanic here and it’s made me persevere for a couple of hours and start to actually land these parries in battles. My advice: don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. If it really isn’t for you, go story mode and just tank the hits. I can’t wait to get back into it tonight!

By reader Adam W

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

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