Quality over quantity.
Atlus
Like most of us, Game Pass is off to a slow start after the holidays, adding just three games in January. Before you check out the trio of absolute bangers, there’s still time to play one of the excellent games leaving Game Pass this month.
January 19 (Cloud/Console/PC)
Persona 3 added the social sim features that still define Persona today. In Persona 3 Portable, you’ll split your time between attending high school and investigating the mysterious Dark Hour, when demons overrun your otherwise ordinary town.
January 19 (Cloud/Console/PC)
Building on Persona 3’s Social Links system, Persona 4 Golden likewise splits its time between school sim and demon slaying, this time set during a wave of murders in rural Japan.
January 20 (Cloud/Console/PC)
Monster Hunter Rise scales things back a bit from the massive Monster Hunter World, but it’s still a game you could easily lose days to. It adds new features to the series’ hunting and crafting loop, like the Wirebug grappling hook.
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is a dark game with a bizarre premise, forcing its characters into a competition to murder one of their own without being discovered. Its fascinating characters and detective gameplay have made it a hit.
Nobody Saves The World puts a new twist on action RPG basics, letting you transform freely between 18 classes. The real fun comes in combining the abilities of its many forms to make your own unique build.
One of the chillest games currently on Game Pass, Pupperazzi is about taking pictures of dogs. If that’s somehow not enough for you, you can also dress up and play with a whole bunch of pups while exploring Pupperazzi’s vibrant environments.
Co-op shooter The Anacrusis ends its Game Preview period on Game Pass this month. Set on a stranded spaceship, it pits you and three others against hordes of aliens. Impressions have been positive so far, so it may be worth checking out in its last week.
Survival sim We Happy Few takes place in a deeply creepy dystopia where people are forced to take mood-enhancing medications to keep the peace. Despite mixed reviews, We Happy Few is full of interesting characters to back up its wild premise.
Focused on a sport that’s halfway between disc golf and air hockey, Windjammers 2 is a lightning-fast one-on-one sports game. It’s packed with colorful characters, each with their own unique moves.