You could say Xbox is having a bit of a rough go of things lately. Microsoft is in the process of putting its flagship franchises on PlayStation (oh, hello, Master Chief), Valve is coming for Xbox’s lunch with the impending Steam Machine, and Microsoft is self-owning by raising the cost of Game Pass Ultimate to $30 a month, up from $20. While Game Pass may not be the best deal in gaming any longer, it still has a library of hundreds of games worth spending time with during your weekend gaming binges.
This week’s recommendations include an indie award-winner, an alternative to the latest COD, and a fighting game any comic reader should play.
Balatro
There was a time when I’d largely written off all things “roguelike” as an abrasive trend for dudes who collect hot sauce and order the spiciest curry on the menu. But Balatro changed all that. At first, I was lured in by the retro aesthetics and my fondness for poker. What I discovered was a deep and satisfying strategy game that’s all about playing the kinds of illegal hands that would get you thrown out of any casino on the Vegas strip. Rig your deck right, and you can set the world on fire with stinker hands like high cards and pairs. Or you can finagle your way into five-of-a-kinds every single round. There are infinite ways to win in Balatro. Learning them all, through trial and error, is a big part of the fun.
One of the great solo-dev success stories of the last decade, Balatro has gone on to sell more than 7 million copies since it launched in 2024. It was nominated for Game of the Year and took home Best Indie and Best Debut Indie at last year’s Game Awards. It’s easy to learn but impossible to master, and even blown runs have value by letting you unlock new cards to experiment with later. This is the kind of game you can enjoy in 20-minute bursts, but it can also make a six-hour flight go by in a snap. —Jen Glennon
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Call of Duty campaigns are hit or miss (like my aim, hey-o!), but the Black Ops 6 campaign is an unambiguous bullseye. It plays all the greatest hits of FPS campaigns — airport level, desert level, secret bunker level, top secret bunker level. But Black Ops 6‘s campaign shines when it takes creative leeway with what a military shooter can be. One mission has you schmoozing NPCs at a political gala, barely firing a weapon the entire stage. Another leans hard into fictional hallucinogens to trap you in a trippy hellscape full of marauding demons. A third is functionally open-world, a mini Far Cry unto itself. Black Ops 6‘s campaign subverts pretty much all expectations of what you’d expect from the series. It even has puzzles! Sure, Black Ops 7 is out this weekend. Pop over there if you’re looking for multiplayer. But if you want a terrific FPS campaign, Black Ops 6 is still your best bet. —Ari Notis
Injustice 2
Brainiac has been confirmed as the Big Bad of James Gunn’s next DCU flick, Man of Tomorrow, according a Thursday report from TheWrap. Good ol’ Supes will seemingly team up with no-good Lex Luthor to take the collector of cities down. While Man of Tomorrow may be the villain’s live-action film debut, he’s had a sizable impact in comics, on TV shows, and video games. One of the best games ever made starring costumed crusaders is 2017’s Injustice 2, and it shows just how terrifying Brainiac can be as a villain, and serves as a preview of what a hero-nemesis team-up to stop him could look like.
Injustice 2 takes place on an alternative Earth, so that hero is Batman and his nemesis is Superman, who broke bad in the first game (took over the world, killed Shazam, was an all-around douche canoe). Developer NetherRealm Studios excels at storytelling in its fighting games, and Injustice 2 is one of its best, featuring expected heroes and fun surprises duking it out across iconic locales from the pages of DC comics. The gameplay is heavy, intense, and so satisfying, especially when you pull off a bone-crunching combo (Mortal Kombat’s X-Rays not included). —Austin Manchester
