Xbox Game Pass gets one of 2024's most anticipated titles next week – from day one

What a year it has been for Xbox Game Pass. First there was Palworld, the dangerously adorable open-world title dubbed 'Pokémon with guns', then Blizzard's Diablo IV dropped, swiftly followed by the game every dinosaur fan needs to play. Well, that run is set to continue with day-one access to the top wishlisted game on Steam. 

That game is Manor Lords, a medieval real-time strategy game/ city builder hybrid from developers Slavic Magic. The best way I could describe it is Total War and Civilisation meets Sim City and that's enough to have me counting the days to April 26th (when it launches). Somehow it was made by just one person too. 

These styles of games can often seem intimidating but that's the brilliant thing about Xbox Game Pass. If you do bounce off of it, then you've lost nothing, and there are hundreds of other games to enjoy instead. 

You play as the Lord/Lady of the manor taking charge of a new settlement. You'll create a town using the gridless city-building system and use a mixture of trade, diplomacy and military might to expand your territory and influence. It looks like an incredibly detailed and immersive title that you could lose days if not weeks of your life to. But it's not the only upcoming Game Pass launch I'm excited for. 

A slightly less serious title is Another Crab's Treasure where you play as Kril, a Hermit Crab setting out on an adventure to buy back his shell. If that wasn't persuasive enough, get this - it's a soulslike. 

That's right, this title is taking inspiration from the likes of Dark Souls and Bloodborne so expect tricky intense combat. You'll use trash as a makeshift shell and as everything "from fashion to firearms" as Kril quests to regain his shell and investigate the mysterious 'gunk' infecting the ocean. It's out on April 23rd/

If neither of those games appeal to you then I don't quite know who you are, but maybe try Fallout instead?