Keri Russell

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate stands out for offering a vast library of games playable across Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC at a monthly rate of $17. Subscribers benefit from monthly additions of new games, such as Dead Island 2, alongside perks like online multiplayer access and discounts on non-Game Pass titles. Recent additions to the service include NBA 2K24 and MLB The Show 24, with more anticipated titles like Diablo 4, marking the first Activision Blizzard addition to Game Pass. Check out the new games now available on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Open Roads is an easy game to get lost in. It tells a twisting tale about generational trauma — the tension, lies and love between mother and daughter — with all the comfort and warmth of an early 2000s network drama like Gilmore Girls or Charmed. As a former suburban teen myself, this game left me feeling equally exposed and understood.

Things haven't been easy for Fullbright, the company that most famously produced Gone Home back in 2013, a slice of indie narrative heaven that won plaudits. After the excellent (but less virally successful) Tacoma in 2017, it's now back with another long-awaited game, Open Roads — except, in fact, the name Fullbright has been scrubbed from the final product after allegations of a toxic workplace culture sprung up a few years ago. The game's instead credited to the 'Open Roads Team'. Delays and slow progress have seen it slip years from its original release window, but the game is here at last: a short and sweet story-driven road trip.

Xbox Game Pass has added three new games today, including one promising day-one release and Diablo 4. The latter is the first Activision Blizzard game to reach Xbox Game Pass since Microsoft acquired the company in late 2023.

Sometimes, it takes a tragedy to connect with your family.

There are times when Open Roads hits alarmingly close to home. Early on in this interactive road trip, your 16-year-old protagonist Tess turns around to reach for a bag perched in the back of her mom’s vintage station wagon – without skipping a beat, she’s accosted by her mother, Opal, from behind the wheel. The altercation flooded my brain with memories of family road trips in the early 2000s: “You can’t just turn around. It’s unsafe,” my dad would say from his vehicular throne, despite how frustratingly close I was to grabbing my Game Boy. Parental authority and nostalgia are just a few of the powerful tools Open Roads harnesses to deliver a playful and relatable story about coming of age in the early aughts, however, hastily resolved problems and the lack of an engaging mystery also make this adventure a little too predictable to leave a lasting impression.

I own a jacket that’s eerily similar to Tess’ in Open Roads. It’s a blue bomber with yellow and burnt orange accents, and it’s not the only thing that Tess and I have in common. As she leisurely explores her childhood bedroom in the first few minutes of the game, Tess comes across set pieces that ground her environment in the early 2000s. There’s a chunky black television set and scattered DVD cases, little bottles of bright nail polish, a black-and-white strip from a photo booth, newspapers remembering 9/11 and hunting for bigfoot, and a bright pink tube of sickly sweet lip balm. These are the leftovers of her adolescence — the room is disheveled and largely empty, with most of her possessions packed away, ready to move. Tess picks through the room’s remaining photos and yearbooks, her hand-drawn fingers reaching out to interact with 3D objects, revealing more of her backstory with each touch. The cuff of her jacket is jarringly familiar every time it enters the frame.

In my bedroom, I have a drawer lovingly dubbed my «drawer of sentimentality.» There's a hat signed by various members of my favorite bands of a 2010s Warped Tour, tickets to some of my favorite movies, sticks from my last year on drum line in high school, and cards. Birthday cards, Christmas cards, «just because» cards, ones I got for graduating high school, ones I got for graduating college – So. Many. Cards. I struggle to throw cards away with personal greetings. I struggle to throw out anything that means something to me, even more than a decade later, so my sentimental stuff lives in a single drawer to keep me in check. 

Following a solid albeit not outstanding 2023, adventure games fans can look forward to the release of several long-anticipated titles throughout 2024. As usual for this genre, the selected titles offer a unique mix of intrigue and serenity (sometimes seamlessly intertwined) that you are unlikely to find elsewhere.

It was back in 2020 when Fullbright announced Open Roads, a family road trip tale, that was expected to release in 2021. However, the game was delayed but Open Roads has now re-emerged with a new release date, with that date being February 22nd, 2024. A new trailer has also been released to confirm the date.

Open Roads, the narrative adventure game starring Keri Russell (The Americans, Star Wars Episode IX: Rise of Skywalker) and Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End), finally has a release date, nearly three years after its initial reveal at The Game Awards 2020. It hits consoles and PC on February 22, 2024. 

It was back in 2020 when Fullbright announced Open Roads, a family road trip tale, that was expected to release in 2021. However, the game was delayed but Open Roads has now re-emerged with a new release date, with that date being February 22nd, 2024. A new trailer has also been released to confirm the date.

Streaming services have everything these days. They don’t really — in fact, the average streaming library is substantially smaller than you think it is — but it can certainly feel like it when you’re wading through lists of shows. These are not decisions to take lightly; committing to a show is inviting it into your home, heart, and head for several hours at least.

Jennifer Lawrence's R-rated comedy “No Hard Feelings” and the more family friendly animated movie “The Monkey King” from director Stephen Chow are among the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you

The is topped by Cocaine Bear.