It’s a Party in This Week’s Good-Ass Games at Good-Ass Prices!

Happy Friday, folks! This week’s list has a little something for everyone, no matter what you’re playing on. We got a fighting game, a platformer, and a whole-ass service, so let’s get to saving you some money.

Injustice 2: Legendary Edition, $14.99 (PlayStation)

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is less than a week away, and if you just can’t wait to get your fix of a gritty take on the DC universe, this one’s for you. Injustice 2 is a fighting game set within an alternate take on the DC universe where the death of Lois Lane resulted in Superman punching a hole in Joker’s chest and making himself the world’s dictator.

I know, It’s some wild shit. In my opinion, Injustice 2 easily takes the cake for best campaign in a fighting game ever. Does part of that stem from me being a lifelong DC Comics stan? I mean, probably, but there’s still a really engaging story here. The cutscenes have incredible presentation, all of the heroes sound like they should, and the game does a great job of justifying this darker take while also staying true to the characters.

Beyond that, it’s just a damn good fighting game. Developer NetherRealm is also the creator of the Mortal Kombat series, so it should come as no surprise that this game nails the fundamentals. The legendary edition comes bundled with all of the game’s DLC characters, so if you’ve ever wanted to stomp the Joker with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, here you go.

Super Mario Party, $38.99

The Mario Party series lost its footing after its initial outings on the N64 and Nintendo Gamecube. Super Mario Party marks a delightful return to form for the series. As the title says, this is a party game. If you’ve never played a Mario Party game, it’s essentially a virtual 1-4 player board game where you compete against other players in minigames between turns. The goal of the game is to collect more stars than your opponents. You can do this by landing on certain spots on the board, buying one, or straight up jacking them from your opponents. As you can imagine, this typically leads to some heated moments if you’re playing in a group.

This is a perfect game for the whole family to be able to enjoy, or to play with your homies once you’re fully vaccinated and can start having small gatherings.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, $14.99/mo

Alright Xbox gamers, take a knee. Now, I always try to search the Xbox marketplace for sales, but there are only so many times I can recommend the same three Ubisoft series, and I feel like I’ve hit that limit.

So, instead I’m going to make the case for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Now, I know that making the transition from that annual live subscription to a monthly fee comes with the caveat of spending more money, which I typically don’t recommend you do here. The value proposition of Game Pass Ultimate is worth it in my opinion.

The service has games on games on games. In fact, today Xbox announced that 20 Bethesda games were coming to the service, including Dishonored 1&2, Rage 2, all of the new Wolfenstein games, and The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. Additionally, every Xbox exclusive comes to the service the same day as launch.

I subscribe to the service, and I’ve played so many games that I was curious about but wasn’t necessarily $40-$60 curious about. For example, I’ve recently been checking out Quantum Break and have been pleasantly surprised at how much I’m enjoying it. Would I have enjoyed it as much if I paid $60 for that privilege?

So if you’re an Xbox gamer, and you haven’t gotten Game Pass yet, what are you doing, b? Alright, now stand up and go take a lap. You heard me, take a lap!

That will do it for today’s list, I hope I gave you some solid options to carry you through this weekend. PlayStation has three different sales happening at the moment so you’re bound to find some heat, and Amazon currently has quite a few Switch games on sale to celebrate 35 years of Mario.

As always stay safe, wash your hands, wear a mask, and play more video games.