Persona 3 Reload leads a surprisingly strong batch of Xbox Game Pass additions

digitaltrends.com:

Microsoft unveiled the next batch of new Xbox Game Pass titles, which are dropping between January 18 and February 8. Of the seven new titles coming to the video game subscription service over that time span, four are new games being added on the day of their release. The most noteworthy of those games is Persona 3 Reload, Atlus’ highly anticipated remake of an RPG classic.

Persona 3 was first released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in 2006 and came to North America just a year later. While its sequels would go on to garner a bit more immediate acclaim, Persona 3 provided the solid foundation that they all built on. It is darker than those future entries, though, as you’ll go from living your life as a Japanese teenager to shooting a gun at your own head to summon a Persona in stylish turn-based battles.Persona 3 is considered one of the best RPGs of its generation, and this remake brings the experience to modern platforms with a visual overhaul that makes it look more like Persona 5.

Digital Trends’ Giovanni Colantonio recently went hands-on with the remake and said it was a “solid way to revisit a classic RPG with a modern sheen.” It’s one of the highest-profile game releases of the first half of 2024, so it’s a significant day-one addition to the Xbox Game Pass catalog. This is the full list of games coming to the service, including strong indies like Brotato, over the next couple of weeks.

• Turnip Boy Robs a Bank – January 18
• F1 23 – January 18
• Palworld – January 19
• Go Mecha Ball – January 25
• Brotato – January 30
• Persona 3 Reload – February 2
• Anuchard – February 6

Microsoft also used this blog post to confirm that the Hitman: World of Assassination trilogy will leave Xbox Game Pass on January 31. These are some of the best modern stealth action games, so definitely check those three games out before they leave the service’s catalog at the end of the month.