Xbox has run a pretty neat program over the years called ID@Xbox that promotes independent developers and allows them to publish their games on Microsoft’s console. The program was built off the back of the Xbox 360’s marketplace, which famously became a haven for indie games in the late ‘00s and early ‘10s, such as Bastion and the original Geometry Wars. Xbox remains a powerhouse for indies, thanks in no small part to their frequent releases on the platform’s Game Pass subscription service, which provides access to hundreds of games (many of them indies) on a rolling basis. Now, Xbox is holding a sale on a number of its ID@Xbox titles, and we’ve gone to the liberty of picking out a few games you should pick up. Alternatively, a few of these are available on Game Pass but, in my opinion, the last year has borne out that subscriptions are theft and ownership is the way forward. Without further ado, comrades, the highlights of Xbox’s ongoing sale.
Deep Rock Galactic
Deep Rock Galactic Is one of my favorite games of the last several years. In the middle of the dreaded pandemic, I rekindled my relationship with my closest friends in the world over games like this and Left 4 Dead. Cooperative first-person shooters in which you face endless onslaughts of enemies are just a wondrous recipe for the most fun imaginable in games, and Deep Rock Galactic taps that vein for all its worth. You are dwarves who are sent on hellish expeditions to mine resources for a blatantly awful corporation and I love how much Deep Rock Galactic feels built to facilitate a workplace sitcom. You have a nightmare day in the mines, but when you come back to your base, there’s a bar that you can all drink and dance at, and there are small secrets and games hidden around for you to engage with you as you engage in idle late-night banter with your pals.
Besides that, Deep Rock Galactic is one of the most accessible live-service games, with a deeply welcoming and dorky community that yell “Rock and stone” at each other in passing. It has a seasonal model but every season is completely free, and the developers have even made it possible to go back and unlock every battle pass that has come and gone. The game’s also wildly deep, offering four distinct classes of character with their own weapons, tools, skill trees, and customization options. And if you want to be especially hardcore, you can always amp up the difficulty of your missions, or jump into endgame dives. Deep Rock has something for everyone, and it’s a steal for just about $US10, though it’s also available on Game Pass.
Desert Child
Desert Child is just plain old-school cool. Clearly developed by folks who love Cowboy Bebop, it’s a game in which you vibe out to lo-fi hip hop, race people on hoverbikes in slickly animated sequences, and stop into ramen shops to refuel between bouts. Along the way, you also pick up odd jobs and bounties because despite your skill as a racer, you’re also flat broke. If you want relaxing meditations on the future of the gig economy in an anime-inspired pixel art game that’s short and sweet, you can’t go wrong picking up Desert Child for just $US3.
Amnesia series
Amnesia: The Dark Descent is probably the single most important horror game of the 2010s. Inspiring a handful of imitators that have seemed to lap it ever since, like the Outlast games, Amnesia gave rise to the genre of horror titles that disempowered the player character. Rather than provide tools or weapons to combat the terrors with, Amnesia has always leaned into the notion that these nightmares are absolutely terrifying things that we’re better served running away from. Amnesia plunged players into darkness, asking them to take care of their sanity and flee from things that dare lurk in the dark.
Since the first game was released, Amnesia has spawned a series of increasingly weird and experimental games, including Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs and the immersive sim Amnesia: The Bunker. Though The Bunker is available on Game Pass, it is also on sale for $US10 bucks right now. Amnesia: Collection (compiling The Dark Descent, A Machine for Pigs, and Justine) is going for $US4.49. Another sequel, titled Amnesia: Rebirth, is also available for the same price.
Gang Beasts
Gang Beasts has been a staple of game nights forever. A party game all about flopping around while duking it out with your friends, Gang Beasts is a certifiable good time, especially if y’all are already feeling a little silly. The joy of Gang Beasts, as well as similar games like Party Animals, is in how messy it is. They’re games built to be taken as jokes, and because of that, they are the easiest to get into. Seriously, suggest this to your game night friends, or throw it on if you’re having a party, and I’m sure it’ll have its fans by the end of the night. You can pick up Gang Beasts for $US8 or alternatively check it out on Game Pass.
Overland
Do not let Overland’s cute polygonal look fool you, this tactics game is tough. But therein lies the satisfying feeling of triumph that Overland’s so good at producing. Part strategy game, part roadtrip survival sim, Overland is a grueling trek across post-apocalyptic America where subterranean aliens threaten your ability to simply refuel your car, which you need to maneuver to the end of every stage in order to succeed and live to see another day. Because there is such a scarcity of things in the apocalypse, Overland is much more about making the best of a constantly shitty hand than ever growing into some all-powerful brute that wipes the floor with any challenge. It’s a different take on a strategy game that I don’t think got a fair shake when it first came out, but you can fix that by picking up Overland for $US8.
Paradise Killer
Paradise Killer is the only game I’m recommending purely based on the praise of everyone around me. I’ve heard time and time again that this visual novel features some of the best writing of the last few years, and wraps it up in gorgeous character art and a wonderful premise about unraveling the mystery of a serial killer on an island dubbed a paradise. If vaporwave aesthetics and a game I’ve heard is more or less like “if Ace Attorney fucked” rings any amount of bells for you, you might want to get in on Paradise Killer for $US6.
Sable
Sable is one of the most gorgeous games I’ve played. Rendered in a completely arresting visual style, Sable is like a pacifist’s 3D Zelda game. You are the young Sable as she embarks on her Gliding, a kind of coming-of-age ritual that members of her nomadic tribe must make at a certain point in their lifetimes. In practice, you spend the game piloting her hoverbike over the most beautiful desert, going from town to town sifting through people’s troubles, and trying to piece together the person that Sable wants to be. At the end of the game, you must pick a mask that’ll communicate to the world what that is. It is one of the most overlooked games of the last few years, it’s endlessly charming, and you can look at it all day and still constantly find new things to be in awe of. Sable is an absolute must-have game and you can pick it up for $US8.74.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2/ 40K Darktide
The Warhammer games have been around forever, but it does feel like they’ve been enjoying a bit of a renaissance of late. A lot of folks are looking forward to the upcoming release of Space Marine 2, which looks great, but if you’re looking for a different speed of game to enjoy with friends, perhaps consider Vermintide 2 and/or Darktide. These cooperative first-person shooters are similar in style to Deep Rock Galactic and Left 4 Dead, though they hew closer to the latter thanks to their mission-based gameplay. Vermintide 2 is a perennial favorite, having been supported for a number of years with free and paid DLC that added new missions and character classes to the dark-fantasy game. If Warhammer’s traditional sci-fi trappings are more your speed like they are mine, Darktide, which released just about two years ago, should be up your alley. Though it started out in a rough spot, Darktide is doing better these days, and the developer behind both has shifted the bulk of its resources to supporting Darktide well into the future. You can pick up Darktide’s imperial edition for $US24 and the ultimate edition of Vermintide 2 (packing some hefty paid expansions) for $US11.
Enter the Gungeon
Enter the Gungeon is just a blisteringly ludicrous game. If you need the elevator pitch beyond that incredible name, here it is: you are a Gungeoneer who must plumb the depths of procedurally generated dungeons filled with enemies themed after guns and bullets—all the while picking up increasingly exotic weapons yourself—in order to find a gun to kill the past. Need I say much more? I will anyways. Enter The Gungeon is a game I’ve never beaten, but one that I’ve frequently enjoyed watching, especially at charity speedrunning events like Awesome Games Done Quick. Seeing everything the game has to offer, including content across numerous free updates, always leaves me craving a return to the gungeon, which has some of the most dynamic gameplay ever seen in a roguelike. It feels good to play and features hilarious gun puns, I don’t know what more you could want from a game. You, too, can become a pun-spewing gungeoneer by picking up Enter the Gungeon for $US4.49.
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