Xbox Game Pass Hidden Gems (March 15): No More Heroes III

Are there really No More Heroes out there? Travis Touchdown might disagree.

Welcome to Xbox Game Pass Hidden Gems, our weekly (and we mean it this time) look at titles found on Microsoft's "Netflix For Games" service you might not have considered.

There are hundreds of games available to play on Game Pass - especially when you factor in all the titles on EA Play via Game Pass Ultimate. While the major new releases and legendary classics get the most attention, there are plenty of other games that slip through the cracks that are worth your time.

Considering you never know when a particular title will leave the service, it's prudent to check some of these games out while you have the chance. Fortunately, this week's title was added just this very week, meaning you don't have to rush to download it. We just highly recommend you do.

Let's take a look at Suda51's No More Heroes III.

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Just what is No More Heroes III, anyway?

The No More Heroes series began life on the Nintendo Wii in 2007. Players take control of Travis Touchdown, a layabout otaku and pro wrestling fan whose only thing going for him is an awesome name. After buying a "beam katana" (totally not a lightsaber for, you know, legal reasons) online, Travis finds himself mixed in a world of assassins. In order to survive, he needs to become the #1 assassin on the planet - literally.

Clearly, this (spoiler alert) works out for him, as three more titles in the series follow this. Will Travis Touchdown survive the insane intergalactic events in No More Heroes III? You'll have to play to find out! The odds are pretty good that he will, though, let's be honest.

The third part of the game starts out with a great parody of Steven Spielberg's E.T.: The Extra-Teresstrial. A young boy discovers a child alien - named FU (pronounced "Foo") - abandoned on Earth and helps him return to his home planet. Except when the alien returns to Earth twenty years later, he's become - to quote Garthan Saal from Guardians of the Galaxy - a major "A-hole."

Much like the original, Travis needs to work his way through nine other bosses - "assassins" in the first game, "superheroes" in this one - before taking on FU himself and saving the world and all that.

There are two things you need to know about this game. First, it controls like a friggin' dream. NMH3 manages to take the controls that used the Nintendo Switch's joycons and flawlessly adjusts them for an Xbox controller. Travis is quick, the combat is smooth, and everything flows perfectly.

Secondly, the game is funny. Now, obviously, your mileage may vary depending on your sense of humor (the game is saved every time Travis enters a toilet to... go "number two"), but it's not all sophomoric gross-out jokes, either. The title is loaded with satire, skewering movies, games, and all sorts of other forms of entertainment.

You don't need to have played any of the previous No More Heroes titles to understand or even appreciate this new one. In fact, the plot is kind of secondary to attacking bad guys with your laser sword and finishing them off with pro wrestling moves.

Is No More Heroes III really a "hidden gem" on Game Pass? Well, not as hidden as most, as the game's cult following and Suda51's reputation give this one more exposure than most. Still, its weirdness and its association with primarily Nintendo consoles mean it could very well fly under the radar of a lot of Xbox fans.

If you like 3rd person action games, wacky humor, and intense combat, No More Heroes III is one game you should really give a chance to.