One of last year’s best action games is free to play on Xbox with Game Pass this weekend
Have Game Pass Core or Ultimate? You can dive into these four games for free right now.
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What you need to know
When you think of the best games that came out last year, award-winning titans like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2 instantly come to mind, as do other popular games like Diablo 4 and Lies of P. One that I feel went under a lot of radars, though, isDead Island 2, a sequel to the classic zombie ARPG that finally emerged after almost a decade of development hell. Its visceral melee combat, amusing writing, stunning visuals, and ridiculously impressive gore and dismemberment physics all made it one of my favorite games of 2023 — and this weekend, you can play it on Xbox for free as long as you have Xbox Game Pass Core or Ultimate.
That’s because Dead Island 2 — along with Code Vein, Warstride Challenges, and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 — are free to play on Xbox consoles from now until Sunday, February 18 at 11:59 p.m. PT for allXbox Game Pass CoreandXbox Game Pass Ultimatesubscribers thanks to the return of theFree Play Days event.
Notably, subscribers to the standardXbox Game Passtier that doesn’t include console multiplayer arenoteligible for these offers, so you’ll need to upgrade to Ultimate for it if you want to take advantage of the event.
To play each game, you can either add them to your library while signed into theofficial Xbox websiteor download and install them from the Xbox Store while on your Xbox console (you’ll find all four of them on the Free Play Days tab). Keep in mind that the PC versions of these games aren’t on the Microsoft Store, so you’ll have to use a console to play them for free this weekend (you can grab the original Dead Island gamesas well asCode Veinfor 85% off andNickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2for 50% off on Steam right now, though).
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Something folks still using a last-gen console will be happy to hear is that aside from Warstride Challenges, these Free Play Days games can all be played on Xbox One systems as well as the newerXbox Series XandXbox Series Sconsoles. You’ll be missing out on improved visuals and performance, of course, but even so, it’s great that players on older systems can join in on the fun.
Microsoft is also offering some substantial discounts on each of the four featured games during the event, which makes it easier to buy them for permanent access if you end up enjoying them. The best of these is a colossal 85% markdown on Code Vein, though you can also save $30-40 on various Dead Island 2 editions as well as $25 on Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 and $5 on Warstride Challenges. Oh, and heads up, PC players:
Great games on offer this weekend
These are arguably some of the best games I’ve ever seen come to Free Play Days, with all of them sporting mostly positive reviews across the platforms they’re available on. As I said before, I love Dead Island 2 — check outmy reviewfor more on why — but I also strongly recommend Code Vein, which is essentially “anime Bloodborne” with vampires tons of great buildcrafting options. It’s one of the stronger non-FromSoftware Soulslikes on the market, for sure (my colleague Arielle Danan even considers it one of thebest Soulslikes on Xbox and PC).
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I’m not much of a fighting game guy, so I can’t speak to the quality of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2, but it seems like an awesome follow-up to theoriginal gamethat’s got more content and polish. I haven’t played Warstride Challenges either, but it’s got glowing reviews and looks like a blast for those that enjoy “boomer shooter” gunplay and movement mechanics.
Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he’s been an avid fan since childhood. He’s been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you’ll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he’s not writing or gaming, there’s a good chance he’s either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once.Follow him on X(Twitter).
