Xbox Game Pass may no longer be the best deal in gaming, but it still offers plenty of games worth checking out, like recent releases Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. December is shaping up to be a great month for Game Pass, with Mortal Kombat 1, Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Death Howl, and more landing on the service.
This week’s recommendations include a Mortal Kombat entry you won’t want to miss, an adventure games that blends the supernatural with the personal, and a zen puzzler.
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
With how many video games launch in a single year, there are always bound to be excellent ones that slip through the cracks. For me, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is one of those nearly forgotten games that deserves to be salvaged from the 2025 abyss. Developed by the creators of Life is Strange, Lost Records takes that game’s narrative adventure format and imbues it with ’90s spirit. Its VHS aesthetic and riot grrrl soundtrack both combine to create an authentic period piece that gets inventive with adapting staples of the era into mechanics. What still sticks with me most of all, though, is a story that teases a supernatural climax only to take players to a more grounded conclusion that ties off an emotional girlhood coming of age story with unexpected power. Don’t sleep on it. —Giovanni Colantonio
Mortal Kombat 11
Before Mortal Kombat 1 arrives on Game Pass, power through the story mode of its predecessor, Mortal Kombat 11. (Nope, it’s not just you — those numbered titles are confusing.) While you won’t necessarily have to have played prior entries MK9 or MKX to enjoy Mortal Kombat 11, the events of its campaign reset the franchise’s status quo for the latest entry, so seeing how its timeline shenanigans shook out is worth an afternoon gaming binge. Mortal Kombat 11 features the characters you know and love in all their nut-punching, spine-twisting glory, like Johnny Cage and Scorpion. Combat is as brutal as ever — maybe even too brutal, but you can be the judge on that. —Austin Manchester
Unpacking
Earlier this week, I played through the brilliant, devastating And Roger in a single sitting. It got me thinking about, well, a lot of things, but partially about how effective games can be when they take a “less is more” approach. Few games nail that ethos as much as Unpacking, Witch Beam’s twee 2021 puzzler. In Unpacking, you play as a woman who, for various reasons, has to move house a lot. You pick things up. You put them down (where they fit). That’s pretty much it. But as you move through this woman’s life (each stage is set in a new phase of her life), you learn more about her — about her quirks, about her ailments, about one serious jerk of an ex. Without a single word, Unpacking imparts a story as deep and rich and moving as the medium’s greatest works. —Ari Notis
