The Game Pass Portal Just Spat Out Three Absolute Belters: Here's Your Weekend Sorted
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Jeff dives into the latest Xbox Game Pass additions, exploring the roguelike perfection of Hades 2, the experimental brawling of Absolum, and the long-awaited seamless space flight update for Starfield.
Right, so I was staring at the Xbox Game Pass library this morning, and bloody hell, it’s started to look like a digital wizard’s workshop after a particularly messy explosion. There are something like 900 titles in there now, which is frankly an absurd amount of choice. You know the feeling—you spend forty-five minutes scrolling through the ‘Recently Added’ section, your eyes glaze over, and you end up playing a game you’ve already finished three times. It’s the Netflix Curse, but for thumbs.
Thankfully, the legends over at Polygon have been doing some serious investigative work. Austin Manchester recently laid out a roadmap for the weekend of April 17-19, 2026, highlighting three heavy hitters that have landed on the service. If you’re looking to lose your Saturday to a screen, these are the spells you should be casting. I’ve been digging into the details, and honestly? It’s a mix of perfection, experimentation, and a very long-overdue redemption arc.
### The Witchy Perfection of Hades 2
First up, we have the heavy-duty heavyweight: *Hades 2*. Now, I’ve been keeping a close eye on Supergiant Games for a while, and they’ve finally brought this masterpiece to the Xbox and PlayStation crowds after its stint on PC and the Switch 2. If you haven’t played it yet, what have you been doing with your life? Sorting your sock drawer?
You aren’t playing as Zagreus this time. Instead, we’re stepping into the boots of his sister, Melinoë. She’s a bit more... shall we say, ‘magically inclined’ than her brother. She’s on a mission to save her father, Hades, and she’s prepared to die as many times as it takes to get the job done. According to Austin Manchester’s report for Polygon, it’s the best roguelike around, and I’m inclined to agree.
What fascinates me here is the ‘witchy’ weaponry and the returning Greek gods. There’s something deeply satisfying about the way Supergiant handles progression. It’s that ‘just one more run’ loop that feels like a literal enchantment. You fail, you get sent back to the start, you buy a new upgrade, and suddenly you feel like a god-slaying genius. It’s the ultimate ‘what happens if...’ game. What happens if I combine this lightning boon with this dash? Usually, the answer is ‘everything on the screen dies spectacularly.’ It’s brilliant, even if it does make me feel a bit like a toddler playing with matches in a fireworks factory.
### Absolum: The Brawler That Refuses to Be Normal
Next on the list is a bit of a curveball called *Absolum*. Now, I’m always a bit skeptical when a developer says, ‘It’s a classic genre, but with a twist!’ Usually, the twist is that they forgot to make it fun. But *Absolum* seems to be doing something genuinely clever. At its core, it’s a fantasy beat-’em-up—think *Streets of Rage* but with more magic and less denim.
As Giovanni Colantonio noted in the original Polygon piece, the twist here is that it’s also a roguelike. You’re reshaping your fighter with perks during every run. I reckon this is a bold move. Beat-’em-ups are usually about mastery and muscle memory, while roguelikes are about chaos and adaptation. Smashing them together is like trying to mix oil and water, but apparently, it works because of the level design.
There are hidden paths and secrets tucked away everywhere, meaning that when you die (and you will, likely at the hands of someone called the Sun King), you aren’t just annoyed—you’re curious. You want to see that other path you missed. It’s that sense of discovery that keeps a game from feeling like a chore. Is it the cleanest genre mash-up in history? Maybe not. But I’d much rather play something experimental and slightly messy than something polished and boring.
### Starfield: The Redemption of the Star-Sailors
Finally, we have to talk about the elephant in the room: *Starfield*. Yes, the game that launched back in 2023. I know, I know—we’ve all had our say about the ‘Bethesda jank.’ But it seems Bethesda has been busy in the workshop, because this latest update is a bit of a game-changer.
The big news? You can now fly between planets seamlessly. Bloody hell, it only took them a few years, right? But in all seriousness, this is exactly what the ‘curious gamer’ in me wanted from the start. One of the biggest gripes people had was the constant loading screens—it felt like traveling through space via a series of very dull elevators.
Austin Manchester points out that while the main story is still a bit of a MacGuffin hunt, the freedom to explore is finally where it needs to be. You can even set up your own asteroid bases now. Imagine that: your own little fortress floating in the void, where you can kick back and ignore the galaxy's problems. It’s that ‘Bethesda DNA’—that sense that you can just wander off and find something weird—finally being given room to breathe.
I’m still a bit skeptical about whether this fixes *everything*, but I love a good comeback story. It’s like a wizard who accidentally turned himself into a frog finally finding the counter-spell. It might have taken a while, and he might still have a bit of a green tint, but he’s back in the game.
### The Final Verdict
So, what’s the move? If you want pure, polished adrenaline, go for *Hades 2*. If you want something weird that challenges your reflexes and your curiosity, give *Absolum* a bash. And if you just want to get lost in the stars without a loading screen breathing down your neck, it’s time to reinstall *Starfield*.
Game Pass can be a bit of an overwhelming void, but this weekend, the void is actually staring back with some pretty decent options. Just remember to come up for air occasionally—the real world doesn't have boons or asteroid bases, and the coffee is much harder to come by.
Stay curious, mates.
Tags: Xbox Game Pass, Hades 2, Starfield, Indie Games, Roguelike
Original article: Polygon