For whatever reason, there was nothing that really grabbed me last year in terms of selecting a Game of the Year in our big Pure Xbox poll – even the likes of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 and Metaphor: ReFantazio were titles that I just couldn’t get invested in beyond the first couple of hours.
In fact, do you know what I voted as my Pure Xbox Game of the Year for 2024? Aaero 2, which is a rhythm game that perhaps 0.5% of people reading this opinion piece have actually played. It’s an amazing title, but it’s also lost in a sea of high-quality indie games that are releasing all the time – and most importantly, it’s not part of Xbox Game Pass.
Game Pass can be the catalyst for proving to large groups of players that you’ve created something special, and Aaero 2 would really have benefited from that. That said, it’s thanks to Game Pass that I’ve found something that’s actually replaced Aaero 2 at the top of my list, and unsurprisingly it’s the ultra-addictive indie hit Balatro.
I first played Balatro back when it was released in February of last year, but quickly refunded it on Steam and decided that I couldn’t get into a game that’s based around poker. I didn’t understand poker hands, the game just seemed a bit simplistic to me, and to be honest I wasn’t really in the right mindset to get fully invested in it.
Over the year though, I’d occasionally read an article or watch a YouTube video about why Balatro was the best game of 2024, and yet it felt like nobody could really explain it. You have some cards, you have to play some poker hands to earn points, and then there are Jokers that modify your cards and allow you to earn more points. OK, that sounds alright I guess, but is there really enough depth here to turn this into a Game of the Year candidate?
The answer is yes, and it’s taken Xbox Game Pass to reveal it to me. Since starting it over the weekend, I’ve become enraptured by its addictive qualities and trying to constantly beat my previous run, and I’ve already bought it for another platform already! It’s definitely got that “just one more game” feel, and I could see myself playing it for decades.
I’m not going to discuss the intricacies of Balatro right now – there are plenty of people in the comments who will likely help out with that if you wish (as will our review), and to be honest I think it’s just a game you need to play for yourself. Give it a try, allow at least an hour to see if you become invested by it, and be warned that it can be very addictive.
What I really want to sum up is that this is what Xbox Game Pass can do. There are so many great games I’ve played via the service that I’d never have tried otherwise, and it takes a situation like this to remind me that I probably don’t delve into the library enough. We’ve seen so many exciting additions in 2025 alone, and it’s only been two months!
Don’t forget about the stuff outside of Game Pass too though. We highlight some of the most intriguing Xbox indie games every month here at Pure Xbox, and there are many more besides – players are getting treated to some amazing stuff right now, and in an ideal world, Game Pass would provide them all with the visibility they truly deserve.
