Now I'm someone who unfortunately lives pay check to pay check, so I don't have that luxury of being able to put down £50+ on a game every other month or so. Typically, I would either go without, take it out of my food budget or just wait to get it when it goes on sale.
And I'm pretty sure a lot of you relate to this, especially in today's ridiculous financial climate!
So when I got an Xbox Series S for Valentines Day last year, I was pleasantly surprised at just how many games I could play for a mere £10.99 a month- even new releases and exclusives.
The only downside to this is that when a title leaves Game Pass, you would have to purchase the full game but considering I'm spending less than £12 a month to get a vast amount of games to play, it's a fair trade off in my opinion.
Here are five cozy games on Xbox Gamepass for January 2023:
Beacon Pines
Beacon Pines is this very cute but creepy adventure style game set within a book, where you're not only the player but also the narrator. Basically you play through the game and dictate the story as you guide the main character through uncovering the sordid mystery that surrounds your town. It's quite unique as the story can be rewritten and split off into many paths that match the players choices.
DIsney Dreamlight Valley
Can you believe that this game is currently free on Game Pass?
Disney Dreamlight Valley is a stunning, chilled simulation game- think along the lines of Animal crossing and Stardew Valley but with some of your favourite Disney characters!
Here you assist characters like Mickey Mouse, Elsa etc to progress the story whilst also cleaning up and designing the town to your own tastes! Despite some of the bugs and crashes that I've encountered with this game, I feel like it is far superior to Animal Crossing!
Unpacking
Initially I purchased this in 2021 on the switch with the remaining points I had left, only to discover a few months later that this was actually free with Gamepass!
Unpacking is a unique title in which you kind of play as a female character through various stages of her life and unpack all of her belongings to fit her current home. Despite the game making something as mundane as unpacking, addictive and relaxing, there is also a rather deep and rather sad undertone to the story which you uncover as you progress.
I highly recommend this game to anyone!
Coffee talk
I'm not going to lie, at first this game didn't really appeal to me but after seeing how Monica Kim recommended it in one of her videos, I just decided to bite the bullet and download it- after all, it's free with Game Pass.
Coffee talk is this very relaxed game set in a universe where modern times meets fantasy and you play as a barista operating this late night coffee shop. It's basically your job to make their drinks and just listen to various stories of your patrons! The script is so well written that many moments made me laugh or gasp in shock.
Grim Fandango
Now this game has been around for a very long time however I could not resist recommending this - especially considering that it's currently free!
Grim Fandango is basically a point and click adventure game where you play as Manny, who is a travel salesman in the land of the dead and after uncovering some really shady practices within your place of work, you have tasked yourself with finding one of your clients whilst also trying to stay alive.
It somewhat has this really cool, noir feel to the game and voice acting is really top notch!
I have played this game numerous times but I will always go back to it as it's a really enjoyable and unique title.
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So these were just five of my personal recommendations for cozy games that you can play for right now with Xbox Game Pass!
As mentioned, Microsoft do change their library monthly, I may try and do this as a monthly thing, so please subscribe to my website to stay up to date!
*Disclaimer. I am not affiliated with Microsoft or any of the companies who made the games above. I purely made this list as a recommendation.