14 December 2025

You’re Probably Sleeping on This 92 Metacritic Masterpiece from 2025 (And It’s Not Expedition 33)

By newsgame

Day one Xbox Game Pass game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 swept The Game Awards, and while that has caused its player count to spike — deservedly so — subscribers should be sure not to sleep on another of the incredible day one games that hit the platform this year. The Xbox Game Pass price hike may have left many subscribers feeling sour about the service, but there’s no denying that it still added some incredible games in 2025.

Indeed, 15 Xbox Game Pass games were nominated at The Game Awards 2025, with day one game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 breaking records with the number of awards it managed to win, including the coveted Game of the Year. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is certainly one of the best video games released in 2025 and, depending on who you ask, one of the best video games of all time, but the other awesome day one Game Pass games deserve credit, too. Besides Expedition 33, I would argue that the best day one Game Pass game released in 2025 was first-person roguelike puzzler Blue Prince, but the fact that it didn’t win anything at The Game Awards may cause it to be slept on compared to Expedition 33.

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Blue Prince is One of the Best Games on Game Pass Right Now

Blue Prince was represented at The Game Awards through two different nominations: Best Independent Game and Best Debut Indie. Unfortunately for Blue Prince, both of those awards went to Expedition 33. However, that shouldn’t discount just how good Blue Prince is. It was good enough to be nominated in multiple categories at The Game Awards, after all, and beyond that, it is actually tied with Expedition 33 on Metacritic. Indeed, both Blue Prince and Expedition 33 have a 92 overall rating on the review aggregate platform. The fact that they are two of the highest-rated games of the year also speaks a lot to the quality of games that were added to Game Pass in 2025.

For those unfamiliar with Blue Prince, the gist of it is that players start in the lobby of a mansion and have three different doors to walk through. When they go to open a door, they are presented with three options for what the room on the other side will be. The ultimate goal is to reach the elusive Room 46, but dead-ends and limited footsteps make that easier said than done. Luckily, there are permanent upgrades and other helpful tools that make progressing through the Blue Prince mansion a little easier, though players should keep in mind that the estate’s layout resets every single day.

On average, beating Blue Prince takes about 10-15 hours, but those that want to truly see everything that it has to offer can expect to put over 100 hours into the game. The game is full of mind-bending mysteries and challenging new puzzles to discover, and unraveling it all is an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s even more fun if you play with a friend, taking turns on runs and having someone on notebook duty when it’s not their turn to actively play.

Blue Prince Won’t Be on Game Pass Forever

Blue Prince is currently available to Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers, but it won’t be on the platform forever. Generally speaking, day one Game Pass games are available for a year at a time, and then they are kicked off the service. There are exceptions to the rule, of course, and so it’s entirely possible Blue Prince will remain on Game Pass longer than expected. Blue Prince launched in April 2025, so chances are it will be removed April 2026 or May 2026. I highly recommend all Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers give it a try while they still can.