Xbox Game Pass makes superb survival game free for limited time to dominate your weekend

It’s almost time for the weekend, folks, and if any Xbox owners out there are looking for something to play, look no further.

Everyone loves a free demo, but they only grant you access to a tiny snippet of the full game, which can be frustrating if you finish it and are eager to play more. Like us with Onimusha: Way of the Sword.

Xbox goes a step beyond demos, though, and happily drops full games playable for a limited-time, regardless of your Xbox Game Pass membership.

This weekend, you’ll be able to play The Alters in its entirety, and you’ll be so glad that you did.

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The Alters is the latest emotional free-to-play game bestowed by Xbox

For those unaware, the higher tiers of Xbox Game Pass come with their own set of games unobtainable by the lower tiers.

The Alters is one such game, as while you can play it with Xbox Game Pass Premium and Ultimate, it’s not included with Essential.

From July 9 to July 12, however, it’s available for everyone, so there’s no need to upgrade your membership if you’d like to play.

The latest round of Free Play Days also lets you play MLB The Show 26 and Stuffed for a limited time.

Sci-fi enthusiasts are going to love The Alters. It's a gut-wrenching survival game that challenges you to escape a desolate, but hostile world as the sole survivor of an expedition.

Stranded and alone, protagonist Jan Dolski must do anything to complete his mission. Unfortunately, there’s only so much he can do himself.

To help him endure, Jan takes advantage of a mysterious quantum computer, which he can use to look back through his own timeline and create clones based on all the different paths he never walked down. For instance, at one point in his life, Jan could have become a talented engineer, who’s perfect for keeping the base up and running while the real Jan continues his exploits.

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Every Jan has their own talents and personality. They're also expertly portrayed by Alex Jordan, who’s starred in games such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

The Alters combines the tension of life in outer space, the levity of Jan’s more humorous clones, and the emotional turmoil of reflecting on your own life choices, good and bad.

It’s playable at no additional cost for all Xbox Game Pass subscribers from the time of writing to July 12, and, remember, this isn't a demo. You get access to the full game, and since HowLongToBeat reckons you can finish it in around 20 hours, that’s more than enough time to beat it over the weekend if you’ve got nothing else to do.

Don’t worry if you don’t get it finished in time, though. You can either continue playing by upgrading your Xbox Game Pass subscription to Premium or higher, or it’s currently on sale for $17.49/£14.87.