I’m a little over a month into my free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate trial. Things have been going alright, but there have been some bumps.
First off, my MacBook Air does not get along nicely with the Xbox wireless controller I purchased from Costco. The controller easily connects to the laptop using Bluetooth, but is not consistently recognized (yes, even when I’m using Microsoft Edge). This means that starting a living room Xbox session can be difficult, so I mostly just stick to the desktop in my room.
Unfortunately, even on my desktop I run into minor annoyances. The Bluetooth USB adapter that I purchased from a no-name brand in China sometimes has driver issues. I’ve been able to get around it in a hacky way, but I probably should’ve spent the extra $5 and gotten a TP-Link.
Also, our home internet is a little slow for cloud gaming. I suspect this is because my other family members are heavy internet users. Anyhow, the images on screen when playing Halo or Forza sometimes become pixelated and fuzzy. More than once, I have been completely disconnected altogether.
With these factors in mind, I can’t help but have second thoughts about keeping my membership. The fact that I have been regularly missing gaming days makes the misgivings even stronger. However, I can safely say that I’ve had a good time. Considering how little I spend on entertainment, $15 a month is a pittance; most likely, I’ll keep Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (at least until I find something else to waste my money on).
