3 best Xbox games on Game Pass that I'd happily have paid full price for
Take my money (hypothetically speaking)!

Xbox Game Pass is one of the best deals in entertainment, let alone gaming, and in my years of subscribing I have played countless great games I might otherwise never have touched, or even discovered if not for Microsoft’s service.
Its own first-party games usually join the service permanently from the day of their release, but some of my favourite Game Pass games are entirely unrelated to the likes of Forza and Halo.
Some I'd happily have paid the full price for to play on Xbox Series X. Here are three of them.
Rematch
These days, I regard myself as a very casual FIFA/EA Sports FC player at best, which sadly means that any time I drop into an online lobby, I do so fearing the worst about what’s going to happen on the pitch.
For this reason, I was determined to get in there early with Rematch, the Paris-based developer Sloclap’s typically slick take on a multiplayer football game.
Rematch undeniably lands somewhere on the more arcade end of the spectrum, focusing on small-sided games and turning its nose up at tedious rules that forbid things like fouls, offsides and breaks in play.
You’re also restricted to controlling one player in the team, making things like positioning off the ball as important as the mazy runs you attempt when a teammate reluctantly passes it to you.
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts
It is a lot more interested in spectacular individual moments than in realistically simulating the beautiful game, and it’s all the better for it – even if I’m already hopelessly lagging behind the elite players in this, too.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
By merging old-school Final Fantasy-inspired adventuring with a brilliantly told melancholic story and one of the most dynamic turn-based battle systems ever put into a game, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is arguably the biggest surprise hit of 2025.
Its inclusion on Game Pass from day one probably helped, too.
If Clair Obscur has somehow passed you by, the game takes place in a sort of dark fantasy interpretation of France, where the people of Lumiere are sent out on an annual expedition to destroy the Paintress, a being responsible for gradually wiping out the fictional island’s population.
It starts bleak and only gets darker from there, but the excellent writing and huge twists along the way will have you gripped until the credits.
And as for the combat, which has more than a hint of Super Mario RPG in its incredibly satisfying real-time dodge, parry and attack system, let’s just say I’d find it very hard to go back to the traditionally static turn-based affairs of old.
Planet of Lana
I’m an absolute sucker for a cinematic 2D puzzle-platformer, and while a fair few of those have graced Game Pass, the one that’s stuck around in my head for the longest in recent years is Planet of Lana.
You play as a girl named Lana whose fictional home planet is invaded by sinister alien machines. With only her cat-like pet, Mui, for company, the pair of survivors set off to rescue Lana’s abducted sister.
Gameplay in Planet of Lana is a mix of platforming and light puzzling, usually involving Mui, who you’re able to command around levels. There are also plenty of tense stealth sequences, as Lana is not able to attack the hostile invaders head-on.
Nothing about Planet of Lana hasn’t been done before, but its perfect pacing, satisfying brain-teasers and absolutely gorgeous Ghibli-inspired sci-fi world make it well worth five hours of anyone’s time. And with a sequel recently announced for 2026, now is the perfect time to jump in.

Matt is a freelance tech, entertainment and lifestyle journalist who has spent the best part of a decade writing about all three – and more – for various websites and in print. Previously news editor of Stuff, Matt has also written for the likes of GQ, Esquire, Shortlist, iMore, Trusted Reviews, Digital Spy and, of course, T3. When not playing video games or daydreaming about shiny new gadgets and pasta recipes, Matt can usually be found dancing around the kitchen, celebrating that his beloved Tottenham Hotspur finally won a trophy, at last.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.