By Paula Beaton With such a huge library of games to choose from, it’s easy to feel decision paralysis when trying to choose the best Xbox Game Pass games to play. Whether you’re looking for AAA games, indie titles, or overlooked games you meant to play and never got around to, we’ve rounded up 20 games you should play on Game Pass this September.
There are loads more excellent titles to play than just the ones on our list – these are just the ones we don’t want you to miss out on!
An Xbox exclusive at launch and Day One release on Game Pass, South of Midnight drew positive reviews for its strong black female protagonist, Hazel Flood, unique stop-motion-style animation, Southern blues score, and rich Southern Gothic atmosphere and folklore.
Compulsion Games’ single player third-person action adventure title uses clay-mation and stepped animation to bring its main character and cast of supporting characters — including a singing catfish — to life. It’s a spellbinding experience.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is definitely of the best Xbox game pass games you can play this month. In this first-person action adventure that takes place between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, you play as the titular explorer, expertly voiced and motion-captured by Troy Baker – and it’s the closest most of us will ever get to being an explorer in the flesh.
From the Vatican in Rome, to the jungles of Sukhothai in Thailand and the pyramids of Gizeh in Egypt, you’ll uncover clues in Indie’s journal and take out enemies with a combo of stealth, gunplay, and the iconic whip.
New to Game Pass in August 2026, GameFreak’s post-apocalyptic action RPG sees you play as protagonist Emma, aided by her faithful wolf-like companion, Koo. The game’s colorful visuals, fast-paced combat, and emotionally driven story make it worth a playthrough, even if awkward camera angles during boss fights up the challenge.
Persona 5 Royal returned to Game Pass in June, making it the perfect time to lose hours of your life to this massive JRPG. With a cool acid-jazz and pop soundtrack, and dual high-school simulator/supernatural dungeon crawler gameplay loop, it’s easy to sink over 100 hours into the game, so save this one for your next long weekend.
If you’re in the mood for a huge, highly-detailed medieval sandbox with a deeply engaging narrative and punishing beginning, you might want to check out the sequel to 2018’s Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Though the second game recaps the events of the first, it’s best to play them sequentially, and the first game is also on Game Pass.
In Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, you continue Henry’s journey across 15th-century Bohemia as he fights for justice during a brutal civil war, with a bigger world to explore, more streamlined fighting, and refined crafting.
Star Wars Outlaws is a couple of years old now but is one of the most immersive games you can play as a Star Wars fan. This third-person title is less about Jedis and more about exploration, with fantastic character writing and some great moments of humor. Though missions can feel a little repetitive at times, fully exploring the beautifully detailed world as scoundrel and thief Kay Vess makes it worth it, and the reputation system affects how you’re perceived by various criminal syndicates, ensuring your choices and actions have real consequences.
Anyone who hasn’t played Doom: The Dark Ages yet needs to get on it! A completely fresh take on the franchise’s formula, the game’s massive mech battles, brutal combat, and Shield Saw — one of our favorite weapons EVER — will have you slicing and dicing demon hordes into the small hours.
With an 85 score on Metacritic, there’s loads to love about this sci-fi survival and base management game. You play as Jan Dolski, working alone on an alien planet, and you must create “Alters” or clones of yourself, each one representing a different choice or life path you could have taken. Expect to spend up to 30 hours on a leisurely playthrough, as there’s lots to explore and optional clones to unlock.
One of the best Xbox Game Pass games you can’t afford to sleep on is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. This French dark fantasy RPG blends turn-based strategy with real-time dodging and parrying.
You’ll play first as Gustave, later as Maelle, members of Expedition 33 who set out to destroy the “Paintress”, a creature that causes an annual “Gommage” where everyone over a specific age is wiped from existence. It’s a stunning game visually and and has a ton of side content, so you can become really immersed in the world.
Scoring a solid 80 on Metacritic, Obsidian’s first-person fantasy action RPG flew under the radar for some but it’s definitely worth checking out on Game Pass. The Living Lands is a sprawling open world that’s being taken over by The Dream Scourge.
You’re an envoy from the Aedyr Empire, a godlike with special features and abilities to explore and unlock, and it’s up to you to find out exactly what the scourge is and how it’s spreading — and to save The Living Lands. The game’s dynamic dual wielding and weighty blows are immensely satisfying, while the colorful and varied areas of the Living Lands ensure there’s plenty to explore.
Choose from one of over 550 real-world cars in this huge open-world driving game taking you through the stunning landscapes of Japan. From downtown Tokyo to the city docks and industrial regions, the game features fully customizable garages, car meets, and rare aftermarket cars you can buy and drive. For Forza Horizon fans, this is a must-play, but there’s enough here to tempt those new to the franchise to dive in, too.
Balatro is an insanely addictive poker-themed roguelike deckbuilder where you score points totals, called “Chips” to beat rounds of increasing difficulty. Without diving into the mechanics, it’s critically acclaimed for a reason, scoring a well-deserved 90 on Metacritic. It’s also way too easy to sink dozens of hours into the game thanks to countless combos and satisfying progression.
Obsidian Entertainment’s sequel to 2019’s The Outer Worlds is the game to dive into if you’re looking to immerse yourself for hours, with a completion time of around 45 hours for the main story and all side quests. It’s a vast game, with the same wry humor as its predecessor, a deep role-playing mechanic that means every conversation, choice, and character trait matters, and improved gunplay and combat from the first game.
You play as an Earth Directorate agent investigating the Arcadia star system, with a customizable background and character traits. We won’t spoil anything, but let’s just say using your Shrink Ray on enemies before physically squishing them is just about the most fun you can have!
For those who prefer their games a bit darker, Diablo IV is a classic for a reason. Though you don’t need to have played the other titles in the franchise, we’d definitely recommend it as the story is canon, taking place around 50 years after Diablo III and featuring familiar characters such as Lorath Nahr. With gorgeous gothic art, fluid combat, and world-class voice acting, it’s easy to lose hours in the game, and streamlined levelling makes it easy for new-to-Diablo players to jump right in.
The Yakuza games are some of the best Xbox Game Pass games around, and Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth is one of the best games in the series. Turn-based combat, dual protagonists Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu, and huge array of side activities ensure you’ll never be bored. The narrative here has drawn some criticism for its pacing, but overall it’s a strong entry in the franchise for fans, and a great entry-point for those new to the Yakuza world.
Many people couldn’t believe it when Routine, a game stuck in development hell for 13 years, finally saw the light of day in December 2025. First announced back in 2012, most of us had all but given up hope that the game would ever make it to release, so it’s well worth checking it out since it’s on Game Pass. Lunar Software’s debut title is impressive — and not for the easily scared!
This first-person survival horror throws you into a 1980s retro-futuristic abandoned lunar base packed with hostile patrolling robots. With no waypoint markers, maps, or HUD, you’re on your own, aided by your C.A.T. (Cosmonaut Assistance Tool), so every detail is important, and the sound design builds a sense of creeping dread — did we mention the robots are genuinely unsettling and disarmingly strong? They can kill you in a couple of hits, so you’ll spend a lot of time hiding and running.
There’s a deep layered narrative here too that you’ll uncover through exploration, so we won’t spoil anything.
Planet of Lana II and the first Planet of Lana game are a couple of the best Xbox Game Pass games, and playing them back to back is the way to experience full immersion into Lana’s world. With its haunting soundtrack, this hand-painted puzzle adventure game sees you uncover the truth about Lana’s home planet and her companion, Mui.
The follow up to Ori and the Blind Forest picks up the story right after the first game’s events as you fight to protect the owlet, Ku. With gorgeous, hand-painted artwork and a fully orchestrated original score, the game features improved combat and a longer story — plus you’ll take on some truly epic bosses, like Shriek, a corrupted giant owl. If you haven’t played the first game yet, it’s available on Game Pass too.
With Resident Evil Requiem’s release earlier this year, it’s the perfect time to dive back into some older RE titles, like Resident Evil Village, one of the best Xbox game pass games you can enjoy this month.
Set across a semi-open-world Romanian village connected to four intensely creepy and different domains, including a gothic vampire castle, it’s the perfect blend of classic survival horror, puzzles, and fast-paced action as you face off against enemies like the 9-foot-tall vampire Lady Dimitrescu.
Cleaning up murder scenes might not sound like the most fun you could have on your Xbox, but there’s something hugely satisfying about taking a wrecked, blood-spattered restaurant or apartment and returning it to normality. That’s where you come in as your job is pretty much to make things as spick and span as possible, including disposing of bodies and evidence!
You’ll also find valuables like expensive watches just lying around — and since you’re doing this to earn money for your daughter’s medical bills, nobody’s likely to miss them as long as you get the job done. No two crime scenes are the same and the whole experience is surprisingly chill.
Which of the best Xbox Game Pass games will you be playing first this month? If you’re looking for even more inspiration, check out our pick of games landing on Game Pass this week (September 7th-13th).
Olivia Davies