We’re approaching New Year’s Eve, and several games will be leaving Xbox Game Pass on that day. If you’re wondering what you should play this weekend and are a Game Pass subscriber, you should give these games a shot before they leave Microsoft’s video game subscription service. Specifically, I’m highlighting two charming indie games and a bombastic crossover fighting game this week.
BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle Special Edition
BlazBlue is a long-running Japanese fighting game franchise. It hasn’t managed to break out worldwide in quite the same way Guilty Gear did, but the closest it got was with BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle. This game took the hardcore fighting mechanics and stunning anime-inspired visuals of the series and used it for a 2v2 tag-team crossover game. While BlazBlue characters are still part of Cross Tag Battle’s roster, it features several guest fighters from RWBY, Persona 4 Arena, Under Night In-Birth, Arcana Heart, Senran Kagura, and Akatsuki EN-Eins. It’s an eclectic mix of fighters you won’t find in any other game, so Cross Tag Battle is worth a shot if you’re a fan of any of the franchises featured in this crossover.
The PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Cloud Gaming versions of BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle Special Edition leave Game Pass on December 31. It’s also on the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.
McPixel 3
The first thing players do in McPixel 3 is eat a bomb and then poop it into a toilet, which perfectly sets the stage for this hilarious game. McPixel 3 is essentially made up of a bunch of small minigames where the titular character is put in hilarious situations that players have to solve to get out of them. There are different outcomes depending on what you interact with, making each of McPixel 3′s goofy scenarios a riot to experience. Think of it as an expanded take on WarioWare’s microgames formula. This is a light, comedic indie game that will brighten up your spirits as 2024 comes to an end.
The PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Cloud Gaming versions of McPixel 3 leave Game Pass on December 31. It’s also on Switch, PS4, and PS5.
Close to the Sun
Finally, we have Close to the Sun, which is my recommendation for fans of adventure games. This is a first-person adventure game that follows a journalist named Rose as she searches for her sister aboard the Helios, a giant vessel that once stood as a haven for genius scientific minds. It’s mostly abandoned when Rose arrives, though, so players spend time exploring, slowly piecing together what happened to Rose’s sister and the other inhabitants of Helios. It’s Bioshock meets Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture meets SOMA — an eclectic mix worth experiencing before Close to the Sun leaves Game Pass.
The PC, Xbox One and Xbox Cloud Gaming versions of Close to the Sun leave Game Pass on December 31. You can also check it out on PS4 or Nintendo Switch.