Just like Hollow Knight: Silksong at the beginning of the month, Hades 2 is taking over gamers’ lives now that it’s fully graduated from early access. It’s a delightful sequel, and will surely be a contender for various end-of-year awards when 2025 is all said and done.
However, like Silksong, it is a challenging game, and being sent back to the start after a failed run can be frustrating. In between those runs, when you need something else to take your mind off fighting Chronos, check out what Xbox Game Pass has to offer. This week’s recommendations include a trio of exciting collections.
Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection
In just a few weeks, Ninja Gaiden will return for the second time this year. Following this summer’s standout Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, the long-running series will return to 3D thanks to PlatinumGames’ Ninja Gaiden 4. If you’re hoping to prepare for that moment by replaying the three games that preceded it, you might want to act fast. Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection is leaving Xbox Game Pass on Sept. 30. That means that you only have a few days left to play Ninja Gaiden Σ, Ninja Gaiden Σ2, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge with your Game Pass subscription.
I recommend taking advantage while you can so you can experience three beloved action games that still feel distinct from today’s genre games. They’re all proudly difficult bloodfests that very much know how to escalate the stakes to absurd degrees. If you miss your shot, don’t worry: You’ll still be able to play this year’s Ninja Gaiden 2 Black on Game Pass, the Unreal Engine 5 remaster of the second entry. —Giovanni Colantonio
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
We’re coming up on four years without a new Halo game, but that’s fine, because the old Halo games aren’t missing in action. In fact, they’re all on Game Pass, with many included in the Halo: The Master Chief Collection. You can play through one of the strongest shooter campaigns of all time in Halo: Combat Evolved; watch the beginnings of the Arbiter-Chief bromance unfold in Halo 2; still bask in the glory of Halo 3, the game that’s still commonly referenced in ongoing updates for Halo Infinite; and get a taste of the best multiplayer in the series, as seen in the online mode for Halo [mic cuts out suddenly]. —Ari Notis
Tomb Raider Survivor Trilogy
Tomb Raider’s been at the back of my mind this month, ever since Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner was confirmed to take up the dual pistols of Lara Croft in Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming Tomb Raider TV series. While Croft is now primed for the small-screen spotlight, she hasn’t had a main series game since 2018’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the third and final entry in the Survivor Trilogy (sadly, there was no crossover with Survivor or its jungle-trotting host, Jeff Probst).
Together, Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider charted Croft’s origin, giving her a gritty (and painful) journey on her way to being a bonafide Tomb Raider. They’re great, balls-to-the-wall action games, in the vein of the Uncharted franchise, and well worth binging through. —Austin Manchester