Persona 3 Portable blends tactical RPG gameplay with social simulation
(Picture: Atlus)Xbox Game Pass is one of the best-value offerings in gaming. Starting at £7.99 a month, players can access a library of hundreds of rotating games free to download to their Xbox Series or One console. If you pay for Game Pass Ultimate you get a whole bunch of EA games and PC titles too.
Xbox Game Pass titles include high-profile titles, including every Microsoft Studios and Bethesda title as they become available: think Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Doom, Gears of War, Fable and so on.
So what’s coming to Game Pass in January? So far, it looks like being a quiet month but those who enjoyed Persona 5 when it arrived on the service last year are well served this month, with two classics from the series added.
If you’re looking for something else be sure to check out the Xbox Game Pass highlights for December 2022 too.
Xbox Game Pass highlights for January
Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden
Back in October 2022, Game Pass subscribers were treated to Persona 5: Royal, an enhanced version of the PS3 and PS4 title with a whopping 95% score on Metacritic.
Now those same subscribers get a chance to go deeper into the lore of the long-running RPG series, with two earlier titles from the series that combine turn-based monster battles with life in a Japanese high school.
Blending tactical RPG gameplay with social simulation, these are both enhanced ports of the PS2 originals. Persona 3 first came out on PS2 in 2006 but this is the enhanced version of the PSP port. Persona 4 Golden, meanwhile, is based on a Vita port of 2008’s PS2 title. Both are coming on January 19.
Monster Hunter Rise
You can probably figure out what is expected from you in Monster Hunter from the title. It is exactly as it sounds: you have to slay or capture a selection of huge monsters using your weapons, tools, environment and raw cunning.
As games go, it’s as tricky as the beasts you end up slaying, and won’t be to everyone’s tastes. But this latest instalment, which was originally an exclusive to Nintendo Switch in March 2021, is a great place to start for new players, and is coming to Game Pass on its Xbox and PlayStation release date of January 20.
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
“All hail: King of the losers!”
If that soundbite (and others) gives you nostalgia then you’ll want to get your hands on Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition, which is coming to Xbox and Cloud Game Pass on January 31 (it has been on PC Game Pass for some time).
For those unfamiliar it’s one of the all-time great real-time-strategy (RTS) games with a focus on combat. Unlike the likes of Civilization there’s no path to victory that doesn’t involve wiping your enemies off the face of the map. And it’s all the more satisfying for it.
What else is coming to Xbox Game Pass in January?
Below, you can see all the titles coming to Xbox Game Pass in December along with their platform and Metacritic score. Note that new releases won’t get a score until the reviews are in, while others have too few for an average to be generated.
Date |
Game |
Platform |
Metacritic Score |
January 3 |
Stranded Deep |
Xbox, PC, Cloud |
65% |
January 19 |
Persona 3 Portable |
Xbox, PC, Cloud |
89% |
January 19 |
Persona 4 Golden |
Xbox, PC, Cloud |
87% |
January 20 |
Monster Hunter Rise |
Xbox, PC, Cloud |
88% |
January 31 |
Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition |
Xbox, Cloud |
84% |
January 31 |
Inkulinati |
Xbox |
TBA |
TBC |
Roboquest |
Xbox |
TBA |
Game Pass vs Game Pass Ultimate: What’s the difference?
There are three tiers of Game Pass available. Game Pass for console or PC is £7.99 a month and Game Pass Ultimate is £10.99.
As the name and price suggests, Game Pass Ultimate is the best of the bunch, offering PC and console games. It also bundles Xbox Gold for online multiplayer access on console and cloud gaming, where certain titles can be streamed to any device with a web browser, from your phone to your laptop.
Game Pass Ultimate and the PC version include access to EA Play, which provides a whole library of extra games from Electronic Arts, a studio known for everything from the FIFA and Madden sports series to Apex Legends and Mass Effect.
In short, Game Pass Ultimate offers a lot more value for an extra £3 and is well worth it if you play across formats, compete online on Xbox or like your EA titles. Paying for Gold and EA Play separately would cost an additional £10.98 a month and you wouldn’t get cloud streaming.
