Technologies
Best Games on Xbox Game Pass: Hi-Fi Rush, Valheim, and More
Give these games a try.
An Xbox Game Pass subscriptionis almost essential for Xbox owners. The service, which runs $10 to $15 a month, not only includes a large, ever-changing catalog of games to download and play, but also bundles access to online multiplayer services. Each month, Microsoft adds new games to the service.
Read more: Best Game Subscription Services
If you’re on the fence about Game Pass, or just looking for some suggestions about what to play, below are some recent and classic favorites on the service.
Valheim is a multiplayer survival game based on Norse mythology that has been a hit with PC gamers since its release in 2021. On March 14, the game makes its way to Xbox Game Pass letting players explore the world of Valheim and build their own bases to fend off the monsters of the world. Up to 10 players can join up with crossplay enabled between Xbox and Steam players.
New and noteworthy
Recent hits
- Forza Horizon 5
- Pentiment
- As Dusk Falls
- Citizen Sleeper
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Death’s Door
- Farming Simulator 22 (no, really)
- Sea of Thieves
- Deathloop
- Halo Infinite
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Outer Wilds
- Psychonauts 2
- Vampire Survivors
- Tetris Effect: Connected
Read more: Best Cloud Gaming Services
Must-play classics
- Assassin’s Creed Origins (and AC: Odyssey)
- Batman: Arkham Knight
- Dishonored 2
- Dead by Daylight
- Fallout 76
- Doughnut County
- Skyrim
- Grim Fandango
PC gaming picks
- Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
- Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
- Solasta: Crown of the Magister
- Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector
- The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
- Expeditions: Rome
- Wasteland 3
We’ll keep this list updated with new additions and new staff suggestions. You can also check out our picks for the best games on PlayStation Plus.
Dan Ackerman/CNET
Game Pass has evolved far beyond its Xbox-bound origins to become a subscription that delivers something for everyone who plays games, and now encompasses console and PC game downloads, access to online multiplayer services, a deal with gaming giant EA and a cloud-based service that streams games to nearly any device.
Microsoft offers several versions, but because of how the features are sliced up between them, only the $15-per-month Ultimate plan, with all the benefits detailed above, really makes sense. Read our Xbox Game Pass review.
Game console reviews
Technologies
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Dec. 27
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 27.
Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s pretty long for a Mini Crossword, and some of the clues are tricky. The answer to 10-Across is not an expression I use, for sure. Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.
If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword
Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
Mini across clues and answers
1A clue: Fashionable
Answer: HIP
4A clue: Product sold on «The Office»
Answer: PAPER
6A clue: One writing a performance review
Answer: MANAGER
8A clue: With 5-Down, redundant synonym of «outcome»
Answer: END
9A clue: Quiet ___ mouse
Answer: ASA
10A clue: Gives constant compliments, in slang
Answer: GASESUP
12A clue: Ski mountain bump
Answer: MOGUL
13A clue: Uneasy feeling
Answer: ANGST
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: Personally involved
Answer: HANDSON
2D clue: Hoppy beer, for short
Answer: IPA
3D clue: Mythical horse whose name is an anagram of 10-Across
Answer: PEGASUS
4D clue: Last word in the palindromic sentence «A man, a plan, a canal …»
Answer: PANAMA
5D clue: See 8-Across
Answer: RESULT
6D clue: Ryan of «When Harry Met Sally …»
Answer: MEG
7D clue: Genre for Playboi Carti and Cardi B
Answer: RAP
11D clue: Something in an Easter basket
Answer: EGG
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Dec. 27, #460
Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Dec. 27, No. 460.
Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a real challenge. That purple category wants you to hunt out something related in four different words, and it’s a toughie. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.
Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Something you save.
Green group hint: An Olympic sport.
Blue group hint: Toronto pitchers.
Purple group hint: Think about the alphabet and look for something hidden.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Memento.
Green group: Types of wrestling.
Blue group: Blue Jays to win Cy Young Award.
Purple group: Ends in a homophone for a letter of the alphabet.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is memento. The four answers are collectible, keepsake, memorabilia and souvenir.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is types of wrestling. The four answers are arm, freestyle, Greco-Roman and sumo.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is Blue Jays to win Cy Young Award. The four answers are Clemens, Halladay, Hentgen and Ray.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is ends in a homophone for a letter of the alphabet. The four answers are batter’s eye (I), blue jay (J), golf tee (T) and pool cue (Q).
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
Technologies
Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Dec. 27, #1,652
Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Dec. 27, No. 1,652.
Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Today’s Wordle puzzle came together pretty quickly for me this time. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.
Read more: New Study Reveals Wordle’s Top 10 Toughest Words of 2025
Today’s Wordle hints
Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.
Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats
Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.
Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels
Today’s Wordle answer has one vowel.
Wordle hint No. 3: First letter
Today’s Wordle answer begins with B.
Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter
Today’s Wordle answer ends with H.
Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning
Today’s Wordle answer can refer to a quantity of goods produced at one time.
TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER
Today’s Wordle answer is BATCH.
Yesterday’s Wordle answer
Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Dec. 26, No. 1651 was SPEED.
Recent Wordle answers
Dec. 22, No. 1647: CONCH
Dec. 23, No. 1648: GLINT
Dec. 24, No. 1649: SPOOL
Dec. 25, No. 1650: PRISM
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
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