Best EA Play Games On Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2

The Plants vs. Zombies series has been immensely popular over the years, so much so that it has inspired a variety of unique spinoffs that transcend the “tower defense” genre that it started in. Nowadays, Plants vs. Zombies fans can hop into a card game, or even a first-person shooter inspired by the franchise. The latter has developed a cult following thanks to its unique characters & fun PvP gameplay elements.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare amped up the action for fans of the series by giving them a battleground to duke it out with an array of projectiles. It was a well-received release but Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 perfected the formula. With tons of characters to unlock, abilities to find, & even a small story mode to conquer, this is one of the better multiplayer shooters available on Game Pass.

SSX (2012)

There are a lot of unique sports releases out there that let players hop into the shoes of athletes both fictional & non-fictional. Titles like Tony Hawk Pro Skater, Rocket League, & Knockout City let players hone their skills across sports that are outside the norm of Football, Baseball, & Basketball. These titles are imaginative & action-packed, focusing on high-octane arcade-like action for skating, “car soccer,” & dodgeball.

Another great (& over-the-top) addition to this type of sub-genre is SSX. This snowboarding release sees players racing down mountainsides against A.I. opponents or other players while simultaneously pulling off a myriad of mind-bending tricks.

Burnout Paradise Remastered

There are a h&ful of great racing game franchises, but Burnout is sometimes overlooked in favor of series like Need for Speed, Gran Turismo, & Forza Motorsport. This is because Burnout drops the “racing simulator” moniker in favor of intense action & crashes. Players that are looking to bully the competition by ramming them into oncoming obstacles will love Burnout Paradise Remastered’s gameplay, which sees the series take more of an open-world approach.

This is a great game for racing fans & one that rewards aggressive racing & recovery skills.

It Takes Two

In November 2021, It Takes Two was added to EA Play &, by extension, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. One of the best co-op experiences of recent years, It Takes Two cannot be played solo as its multiplayer component is directly tied to the narrative. A married couple on the brink of divorce are shrunk & wind up on a wild & perilous adventure as they try to make their way back home.

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Split into levels, It Takes Two constantly shakes up its gameplay & setting to ensure that the journey never grows stale. Along with just being a lot of fun to play, Hazelight’s title tells an emotionally moving story about partnership & family.

FIFA 22

EA Sports’ yearly releases tend to be very polarizing. For some, these titles are the only games they play throughout the year, while others see them as representing EA at its worse. With FIFA 22‘s cycle of relevance coming to a close, anyone genuinely interested in jumping into this game has likely already invested hundreds of hours into Ultimate Team.

That said, there might a select few people who were tempted to pick up the soccer game but held off. The online modes are still active & will likely continue to be so well into FIFA 23‘s lifespan, & Career mode is naturally a viable option. Although the franchise’s single-player content has been stagnant for a while, playing a season or two as Real Madrid or Liverpool in FIFA 22 can be fun.

Skate 3

Although players recently saw the “revival” on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater with the remakes of the first two titles, there are still those out there that prefer a more “grounded” skating sim. Skate 3 offers up some of the best physics in the genre, underlined by addictive gameplay that takes practice & dedication to master.

A vibrant world to skate through, customization options, & some downright hilarious ragdoll effects combine to create one of the best skating simulators on the market. Many players have been calling for a continuation of the series & are hopeful a new entry is poised to release in the near future. For now, players can jump into Skate 3.

Grid Legends

With Dirt & F1 under its belt, Codemasters has crafted a few of the best racing games on Xbox Game Pass. As a franchise, Grid has not proven to be as consistently successful as the developer’s other br&s, despite the series debuting with one of the genre’s st&out releases of the 2000s.

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Xbox Game Pass has 2019’s Grid & 2022’s Grid Legends, two solid racers that deliver ridiculous levels of speed. The sequel exp&s on the 2019 release by introducing more tracks, vehicles, & a story-driven Career mode, giving Grid Legends the edge over its predecessor. The game controls well & gives players quite a bit of freedom in terms of customization & rules, allowing them to tailor races to match their preferences.

Star Wars Squadrons

Squadrons packs in a trifecta of appeals to prospective players — it’s an in-depth space flight sim, it’s a highly competitive multiplayer title with a high skill ceiling, &, of course, it’s a Star Wars game. Needless to say, there’s a lot to love here.

The single-player campaign unfolds a narrative largely set after the Rebel victory at Endor & the destruction of the second Death Star.

It shifts the player between two polar perspectives throughout the missions: that of Vanguard Squadron, a cadre of veteran Rebel starfighters, & Titan Squadron, a feared & elite cohort of Imperial pilots.

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers have access to five Need for Speed games: Hot Pursuit Remastered, Rivals, Need for Speed, Payback, & Heat. The last four were all developed by Ghost Games (EA Gothenburg) & have their positives, but Criterion’s Hot Pursuit is arguably the best of the bunch. The Burnout developer hit the ground running with the EA franchise, crafting an experience that more than delivers on the license’s promise of speed.

Hot Pursuit Remastered spruces up the visuals & adds a few details to the tracks, but the core gameplay remains unchanged from the 2010 release since there is very little that could have been done to make the game more enjoyable to play. People yearning for an arcade racer need look no further than Hot Pursuit Remastered.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Continuing the Star Wars takeover is Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. This one was released to critical acclaim, with many comparing it to other difficult third-person releases like Dark Souls & Nioh. It’s definitely one of the best story-driven Star Wars games to release in recent years, challenging players to unlock its lore by navigating its difficult levels.

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Those that love the feeling of third-person action games will definitely want to put this one at the top of their list. Even players who aren’t well-versed in Star Wars lore or that “into the universe” should still find a lot to love about the release.

DiRT Rally 2.0

The st&ard Xbox Game Pass subscription provides access to some fantastic racing games such as Forza Horizon 5, but fans of the genre should really consider subscribing to the Ultimate version as EA Play is absolutely stacked with racers. Along with Need for Speed entries, the subscription provides access to a plethora of Codemasters’ projects, ranging from arcade racers such as DiRT 5 to sims like F1 2020 & DiRT Rally 2.0.

All of these games are great in their own right, but DiRT Rally 2.0 just about edges out the competition since it is arguably the definitive rally racer. Newcomers to racing sims will likely feel overwhelmed during their first few hours with Codemasters’ game, as DiRT Rally 2.0 comes with a steep learning curve. The effort is worth it, though.

The Sims 4

The Sims franchise is one of the most wildly popular life simulation games around, if not the most popular. The Sims 4 is available on EA Play & contributes to the diversity of titles in this collection. Customization is the name of the game, & The Sims 4 lets you meticulously craft a home life & a career with a great degree of personalization.

While fans of the franchise might be eagerly anticipating an announcement for the release of The Sims 5, a host of updates has kept The Sims 4 a fresh experience over the years since its initial release.

Titanfall 2

Titanfall 2 has Enormous robots, Cold guns, & wall-running parkour maneuvers. That should probably be enough to appeal to any FPS/mecha enthusiast, but even that relatively short-yet-sweetly bombastic description sells it a bit short. Respawn knows what it’s doing when it comes to designing a tight FPS title, as all of Titanfall 2’s mechanics just feel polished in a way that seems rare in today’s gaming industry.

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The campaign’s also incredibly well-written & engaging, following pilot-in-training Jack Cooper as he’s prematurely thrust into the pilot’s seat of a Titan named BT-7274, which features a show-stealing personality & wit all its own. Titanfall 2 is often referred to as a criminally underrated gem in the FPS genre, & it definitely deserves a playthrough.

A Way Out

Definitely one of the best EA Play games, A Way Out is a must-play for a couple of friends looking to experience a narrative game together. A Way Out follows two convicts as they Wreck out of prison & make their escape from the authorities. Gameplay mainly consists of walking around & interacting with objects in the world. However, many moments in the game introduce new elements that keep playing through the story fresh.

From quick-time event button-mashing to FPS-inspired shoot-outs to action-packed brawler segments, A Way Out borrows from multiple genres, making it an unforgettable & hilarious game from start to finish. Though certain story beats feel forced & dialogue can sound awkward, this endears the game to players instead of alienating them.

Battlefield: Rotten Company 2

The Rotten Company games are fantastic first-person shooters, ranking among the strongest entries in a franchise that is hardly lacking in quality. Both games feature single-player campaigns revolving around Preston Marlowe & the titular company, along with multiplayer options that are (naturally) not that active nowadays.

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Rotten Company 2 marks a small but notable improvement over its predecessor, fine-tuning the gunplay & controls to make for a more streamlined experience. In 2010, this game had one of the best online scenes in the FPS genre, & while the world has moved on, there is still a lot to appreciate about this package. The single-player campaign is also great & justifies a download on its own.

Dragon Age: Origins

The entire Dragon Age series is available on EA Play, & each entry has value. As good as the sequels are, Dragon Age: Origins is still the place to start for anyone looking to dive into BioWare’s fantasy RPG franchise. An ambitious, sprawling adventure with multiple starting points & companions to unlock, Origins drops players into a world rich with detail, history, & intrigue.

Although the battle system is superior on PC, the more streamlined version found on consoles is perfectly fine & provides a strategic element to combat scenarios. Origins delivers the goods in the gameplay department, but the game’s crowning achievements are undoubtedly its story & characters.

Dead Space

In space, no one can hear you scream. But they can sure as heck hear you scream aboard the USG Ishimura. Cast as Isaac Clarke, players are dispatched as part of a repair team tasked with fixing the aforementioned mining vessel after its communications go mysteriously silent — only to discover that horrible, mutated flesh monsters known as Necromorphs have overtaken the ship & murdered the greater majority of the crew.

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Dead Space leans into an action-heavy end of the horror spectrum, as Isaac has access to a wide variety of interesting weapon options when it comes to dealing with the Necromorph threat. But the visceral combat & omnipresent tension are nothing short of masterfully executed & really work to its benefit.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition

In January 2022, Mass Effect Legendary Edition was added to EA Play & Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, making it the definitive way to experience this genre-defining sci-fi trilogy. The Legendary Edition fine-tunes the games to create a more consistent experience, with 2007’s Mass Effect receiving the most significant updates. Although the sequels’ original versions hold up well, the franchise’s first entry has aged quite a bit, so the Legendary Edition‘s quality of life improvements make a significant difference.

Compared to most other remasters, Mass Effect Legendary Edition goes the extra mile in its attempt to modernize the projects. Newcomers to the series should start with this package; conversely, long-time fans who prefer the originals can still play those via EA Play & Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Black

Due to there being so many modern FPS games on the service, Black can only be described as one of the best games on EA Play when someone takes into consideration that it was released in 2006. The genre has Advance far since then, & while this game is dated in quite a few ways, Criterion’s shooter still holds up well enough to recommend.

Black is also perfect for a subscription platform like Xbox Game Pass since it is a single-player title that can be completed within a few brief hours. Along with rock-solid gunplay, this FPS delivers blockbuster-style action, great sound design, & gorgeous visuals that rank among the best on the original Xbox.

Sea Of Solitude

Sea of Solitude tells a personal story about loneliness. This theme is presented through the eyes of Kay, a woman who finds herself floating on a sea above a drowned city. Throughout her voyage to discover her memories, she meets monsters that echo people from her real life.

Sea of Solitude is not the sort of game typically associated with EA, but the company has published its share of indie projects over the last decade. Although heavy-h&ed in execution, this title’s ambition is admirable, & Kay’s journey might strike a resounding chord with players who have gone through similar experiences. Sea of Solitude is perhaps not one of the greatest games on EA Play & Xbox Game Pass, but it is perfect for this type of platform.

Super Mega Baseball 3

Sports games & EA go h&-in-h&, & EA Play has something for just about everyone. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate includes Madden NFL 22, UFC 4, NHL 21, NBA Live 19, & Rory McIlroy PGA TOUR, just to name a few, but these franchises are Enormous enough that anyone interested in them has likely already played a few matches. However, Super Mega Baseball 3 is a bit more of an unknown property & might be ignored by everyone besides the most ardent of baseball fans.

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Do not be fooled by its title & exaggerated character designs, Super Mega Baseball 3 offers quite a comprehensive & realistic interpretation of its titular sport, coming packed with all sorts of features & customization options. At the same time, the game prioritizes accessibility, particularly in its control scheme & difficulty settings.

Peggle

Peggle’s name should be whispered in the halls of best/underrated puzzle games of all time. This delightful title from PopCap Games is as masterful as it is unobtrusive. Players simply shoot balls at pegs & make specific-colored pegs disappear using only a set number of balls. However, the iterations of this gameplay loop are what makes Peggle so fantastic.

Different “characters” possess different abilities which makes eliminating the pegs in the most optimal way possible an engaging challenge. Some shoot off multiple balls at once instead of just one. Others turn your ball into a fiery inferno that eliminates large swaths of pegs in a single pass. Though Peggle can be a short experience, it is a fun one. EA Play’s library is made all the sweeter by its inclusion.

Dante’s Inferno

It will be a cold day in hell when God of War appears on Xbox Game Pass, but Dante’s Inferno is a decent replacement. Kratos’ 2005 adventure inspired a few developers to follow suit, & Visercal Games’ gory poetic romp was perhaps the most obvious copycat to rise up from this movement. While it does not reach the lofty heights of the PlayStation franchise, Dante’s Inferno is a competent & entertaining action game that delivers satisfying kills & decent platforming.

The scythe is an enjoyable weapon, & Dante also has access to a number of magic attacks & projectiles that add some variety to encounters. The game even has an interesting mechanic that gives players the opportunity to either punish or absolve enemies, granting unholy or holy experience points respectively. These determine which abilities can be unlocked.

Alice: Madness Returns

The follow-up to 2000’s American McGee’s Alice, Alice: Madness Returns finds the eponymous girl returning to a Wonderl& that is very different from the one most people are familiar with. This Wonderl& is twisted, sadistic, & nightmarish; naturally, such an aggressive setting requires a fitting protagonist, & this version of Alice can hold her own in battle with the strongest of them (think Devil May Weep‘s Dante & Bayonetta‘s Umbra Witch).

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Besides fun gameplay & a wicked story, Alice: Madness Returns features some of the most mesmerizing visuals & environments in gaming, ones that manage to be simultaneously breathtaking & haunting.

Battlefield 1 Revolution

Though it may have made for an awkward naming convention, Battlefield 1 is likely the franchise’s most unique outing in terms of aesthetic & setting. Where most contemporary MilSims & tactical shooters cover the well-trodden ground between World War 2 & the modern era, Battlefield 1 went back a few pages further & into a setting that the genre (& video games as a whole) rarely visit — the harrowing trenches of World War 1.

Of course, the core Battlefield formula is still well afoot with Dazzling (& destructible) s&box environments, in-depth vehicular gameplay, & huge multiplayer battles on a scale & scope rarely rivaled outside of MMO titles. But it’s the distinct World War 1 aesthetic that ties this one together — the design of the historical tanks, for instance, really drives home the point that this was a turning point in world history on a myriad of levels.

Lost In R&om

From the same developer responsible for Fe, which is also on EA Play & Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Lost in R&om oozes creativity out of every fiber of its being. Set in a kingdom where a roll of the dice determines someone’s destiny, Even, a young girl, heads out on an adventure to rescue her sister from the Queen. Along the way, she befriends Dicey, a strange living die that proves to be instrumental to the game’s battle system.

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Lost in R&om has a mesmerizing art style that allows each of its six realms to spring to life with an excess of personality & flavor. Each environment is enchanting. The game also takes quite a few risks with its combat, crafting a peculiar system that takes ideas from the deck-building genre.

Army Of Two

Army of Two is in a weird place since, on its own, the 2008 game really is not all that great. That’s not to say it is devoid of positives; in fact, its cover system was a step above most other third-person shooters released during this era. However, even the game’s best features were not particularly impressive in 2008, let alone in 2022.

So, why did this game make the Carve? Well, Army of Two has a ridiculously fun couch co-op. Unfortunately, the online mode is no longer active, & couch co-op can take some work to get it going, so Army of Two‘s best days are behind it. That said, in the right setting, this game hits the spot like nothing else.

Crysis Remastered Trilogy

Yes, the Xbox Series X/S & Xbox One can run Crysis. Crytek’s remastered trilogy compiles all three games, & EA Play subscribers have access to the full set at the click of a button. Crysis‘ legacy is dominated by its graphics, which turned the first game into something of a meme, & the entire trilogy has aged pretty well in this area. Visually, they were & still are impressive.

The Crysis games are not just pretty, though. While not particularly groundbreaking, all three titles are above-average first-person shooters set within large open areas that give players some wiggle room in how they approach encounters. In this regard, the sequels are a Carve above the first game, although even the original is still fun.

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