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Wacky shooter Excessive On Life, solely every week after its preliminary launch on PC and Xbox Sport Go, is at present the preferred sport on the service, beating out big-name Xbox titles and long-running video games like Minecraft. It’s an indication the shooter has quite a lot of followers, but in addition a sign of simply how sparse Xbox’s massive, first-party choices have been in 2022.
Launched on December 13 on Sport Go, High On Life received mixed reviews from critics and initially was a large number at launch. Shortly after launch, a patch fixing a number of the worst efficiency points hit and the game is more playable now (when you don’t thoughts Rick and Morty-like humor.) And it appears lots of people have determined to present Excessive On Life a go, in line with the restricted knowledge we’ve through Xbox.com and the Sport Go app.
On the official Xbox website, you may see a basic listing of the “Most Standard” Sport Go video games, and in line with that website—as of 5:20 p.m. EST on Dec. 19—Excessive On Life is the preferred title out of the whole Sport Go assortment. A look on the Sport Go app on Android and iOS reveals an analogous story, although the listing on the app is barely totally different, with Lego Star Wars not in second however sixth. (My guess for the slight discrepancy: the app and web site are pulling from the identical knowledge however at totally different instances.) In the meantime, on the PC Sport Go app, Excessive On Life can be on the high, forward of Darktide and Microsoft Solitaire.
So on the one hand, it is a good thing for Excessive On Life developer Squanch Video games and Justin Roiland. Lots of people are taking part in the brand new shooter throughout Xbox and PC. That’s nice for all the oldsters (and AI algorithms) who labored exhausting on the sport, and it’s good to see a brand new IP doing nicely in an period of gaming the place it appears every thing is a remake, sequel, or reboot. However however, this additionally looks like a small indictment of Sport Go’ present state and its lack of robust, latest first-party releases. Whereas Sony and Nintendo are placing out massive exclusives like God of Warfare and Pokémon, Microsoft in 2022 has been unable to ship its personal related big-name titles.
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This yr, Microsoft has only released one new game for Xbox and PC that was developed by one among its personal inner studios: the historic narrative sport Pentiment by Obsidian. No matter what you concentrate on that sport, that’s not an important output when in comparison with Sony or Nintendo.
As compared, in 2021 Xbox Sport Studios launched Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, Psychonauts 2, and Age of Empires IV. Would Excessive On Life have performed almost as nicely and been as common on Sport Go in 2021 going up in opposition to these titles? I don’t know. I can’t look into alternate dimensions. However I do suppose an absence of huge video games from Xbox (and in general this year) has helped smaller and medium-sized titles, like Evil West and Excessive On Life, do higher than standard. Which, in the long term, is an efficient factor. However how for much longer will a big chunk of Sport Go subscribers preserve paying for the service if the biggest games that arrive on it arrive elsewhere and Xbox’s massive hitters, like Gears and Halo, are nowhere to be seen?
