However, games don’t stay on Xbox Game Pass forever, and with every batch of excellent new releases also comes an array of excellent games that take their leave from the service. December is a very sharp double-edged sword for Game Pass, with juggernauts like Halo Infinite, Among Us, and Mortal Kombat 11 all hitting the service, making its relatively low price tag feel even more like a bargain. Yet, there are also quite a few titles leaving Game Pass that are just as worthy of players’ time, and a few that have already said their goodbyes.
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Games That Left On December 15
December 15 saw the first round of games being kicked off Game Pass this month, with a select few that the removal might have upset some players. One such game is The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan.
With the success of Until Dawn, it only made sense for developer Supermassive Games to capitalize on their own particular style of narrative-driven horror gameplay. Thus, The Dark Pictures Anthology series was created, and the first entry, Man of Medan, has just left Game Pass. While the game saw average critical success, the game’s unique narrative focus and cinematic visual design does set it apart from many games on the service. Even if Man of Medan’s gameplay wasn’t a massive hit with many players, its removal from Game Pass is a bit of a blow to horror fans.
In another hit to Game Pass, Guacamelee! 2 also left on December 15. A Metroidvania with extreme style and visual flair, along with some very tight brawler mechanics, Guacamelee! 2 was not only one of Game Pass’ best brawler games, but also one of its best co-op titles. Guacamelee! 2 offered some excellent four-player co-op, with some very intuitive controls allowing for a wide range of gamers to jump straight in with a friend, regardless of their skill level or experience with the brawler genre. The game being taken off Game Pass is a definite hit, but there are plenty of other great co-op experiences, such as Aliens: Fireteam Elite, which was just added this month.
There were a few more dismissals on December 15, including a few solid Indie titles like the Orwellian Beholder, set in a dystopian police state where players are tasked with spying on their neighbors or disobeying their totalitarian leaders. Wilmot’s Warehouse also left the service, which is a fairly engaging puzzle title. The very challenging, yet rewarding game Unto The End also left Game Pass, as did Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, which is a pretty fun and lighthearted mascot platformer.
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Games Leaving On December 31
Thankfully, players have a little bit of time before the next round of Game Pass cut-offs, with a few titles leaving on December 31. The first up to go is Pro Evolution Soccer 2021, which is unlikely to rock any boats as its widespread critical panning and various bugs and glitches are probably enough to deter most players. While there’s still time to give the game a chance, most might want to just wilfully pass over this one.
A pretty charming little point-and-click adventure game is also leaving Game Pass on December 31. Named The Little Acre, the game follows an Irish engineer, Aidan, and his daughter, Lily, as they stumble into a mysterious fantasy land. The game features intricate hand-drawn artwork and the voice acting helps to give the narrative some charm and character. The Little Acre is also quite short, coming in at around 2-3 hours, so players have more than enough time to get through it in the next week or so.
While The Little Acre leaving Game Pass is certainly a bit sad, the real hard-hitting departure is that of Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, and Yakuza Kiwami 2. The Yakuza games have always been huge in Japan, but over the last few years or so, Yakuza has started to really gain its footing in the Western market. An action-adventure series that’s filled with equal measure camp, charm, and brilliantly responsive controls, the Yakuza games should definitely be given a chance by any player, regardless of their preferred game genre.
Newcomers to the Yakuza series might want to start with Yakuza Kiwami, which is a remake of the first mainline entry in the series, which originally released on the PlayStation 2 in 2005. Yakuza Kiwami 2 is the remake of the second game in the series, while Yakuza 0 is actually the sixth entry in the mainline series, but it acts as a prequel to the first game. So if players only have the time for one game, then they may want to give Yakuza 0 a go, as it’s often considered to be one of the best in the series, and due to its prequel nature, newcomers shouldn’t be too lost.
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