TOL - A Great Week for Gaming

Hey it's Tarrmu and welcome to Thinking Out Loud and in today's video we'll be talking about the past week that was for games that dropped that both dropped on Game Pass.

So it is no secret at this point that Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is an incredible video game, and one that very likely has the capacity to be the game of the year. The consensus between both fans and critics alike holds the game to universal acclaim, and as someone who has finished the game, I too myself have a lot to say about this game as I do believe that this is truly something special. But couple this with the long rumored and worst kept secret that is the Oblivion Remaster which further muddies the debate around what makes a game a remaster and what makes one a remake, but we'll get into all of that in this video.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is An Absolute Masterpiece (Review)

Overview There’s something undeniably powerful about a story that manages to captivate you from the very beginning—one that introduces characters who resonate, a world that demands your attention, and a premise that feels impossible to ignore. These are the kinds of games that don’t just entertain—they

Tarrmu's ReviewsTarrmu

But the cherry on top for all of this is if you have an active Game Pass subscription you'll be able to access and play both of these games, which to me is an absolute steal, and seriously I talked about his last year, but I absolutely do believe 2025 will go down as a juggernaut year for video games.

Let's start with Expedition 33, this game is already a frontrunner for the Game of the Year, and for me personally currently is my current game of the year, but I'm still making my way through KCD 2 and Split Fiction is easily another contender. But for me, Expedition 33 is a special game, that has an interesting take on turn-based combat taking many old ideas from different JRPG's and factoring in their own unique twist, and a narrative and world that is rich and full of substance. But I'll save all of my comments for my review. But I think Expedition 33 alone is a huge win for video games, and this is a success story in of itself for the week.

But that wasn't all the long rumored Oblivion remaster drops and not only does it drop, but this game is considered a remaster, it's absolutely wild to me, at first. But it begins to make sense when you realize that although this game is running in Unreal Engine 5, the original code, radiant ai and all the little quirks that made the original Oblivion tick the way it did. The work that Virtuous and Bethesda put into this experience is absolutely wild and Virtuous have absolutely nailed striking the balancing act of preserving what made Oblivion special, whilst providing a new coat of paint, even if some of the more vibrant and bloom effects. But overall, Oblivion's remaster is a massive win, and a high bar for what we consider a remaster.

Now the real cherry on top to all of this is that if you have Game Pass, then both of these games were ready to install and play as soon as they released, which for one week of releases is absolutely nuts, and if you are interested in either of these games then the value proposition that Game Pass offers is an absolute no brainer for these games. It has been an absolute crazy win for Game Pass and it has been great to see both these games thrive with strong player counts through Steam, and you can only imagine through Game Pass. But yeah this is one week in a year that is becoming more and more stacked.

But let me know what you think and what you're playing. Are you making your way through Oblivion for the first or hundredth time, or are you setting out to stop The Paintress in Expedition 33. Let me know in the comments below.

As always I am Tarrmu, and this has been Thinking out Loud, thanks for watching