Digital Trends
This was a 12 months of low lows and excessive highs for Xbox.
On one hand, Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition confronted an entire lot of scrutiny and Bethesda’s Redfall was a bust. On the opposite, Xbox Game Studios lastly began to launch first-party video games extra constantly in 2023, some long-awaited video games lastly launched, and the Activision Blizzard deal ultimately went by means of. Microsoft now appears to be like to maintain that momentum going into 2024 because it integrates the Call of Duty writer into its group and tries to maintain up the first-party consistency with video games like Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II and Avowed.
Before shifting ahead, it’s a superb time to look again and analyze the very best video games on Xbox this 12 months. Some had been made internally, whereas others secured day one Xbox Game Pass releases. If you owned an Xbox Series X or Series S, or just use Game Pass on PC, there have been lastly fairly a number of notable video games so that you can play this 12 months. Here are seven of our favorites from a packed 12 months for Xbox.
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Starfield
Bethesda Softworks
Starfield was the largest story of the 12 months for Microsoft, giving Bethesda its first actually new IP in a long time. While it may be too bold for its personal good typically, it retains the magic that made video games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim particular. There’s an enormous universe to discover, and in lots of corners of it, there’s a chance to seek out new quests and characters that make every playthrough really feel emergent. Combine a surprisingly well-written sci-fi narrative and a stage of character and skill customization commonplace in Bethesda Game Studios’ titles, and you’ve got one of the crucial bold RPGs of the 12 months. Microsoft wanted Starfield to be nice to vary the tide of the dialog surrounding Xbox — and it delivered, even when it wasn’t the easiest recreation of 2023.
Hi-Fi Rush
Xbox Game Studios
While Starfield may be probably the most notable Xbox console unique Microsoft launched this 12 months, Hi-Fi Rush was probably the most shocking. This rhythm-action recreation is not like something The Evil Within developer Tango Gameworks had accomplished earlier than, so it was surprising when it shock launched in January following a Developer_Direct livestream. Even extra spectacular? It’s among the best video games of 2023. Tango Gameworks discovered the proper approach to meld the motion and rhythm genres collectively, creating an expertise that’s as rewarding to play as it’s to hearken to. It contains a wealth of accessibility choices that make it extra approachable, so gamers of any talent stage can provide Hi-Fi Rush a shot. This ought to be the gold customary for Xbox exclusives going ahead.
Forza Motorsport
Xbox Game Studios
Turn 10 Studios lastly delivered a mainline Forza Motorsport this console era, and it’s every little thing the racer wanted to be. It’s one of many best-looking video games on Xbox Series X and S, as each automotive and monitor is realized in gorgeous element. Although it’s extra simulation-focused than the free-roaming Forza Horizon 5, Forza Motorsport remains to be participating due to the way it constantly doles out expertise factors, even throughout races, relying on how nicely one zips by means of sure monitor segments. While there won’t be a lot room for simulation racers to innovate or change issues up anymore, Forza Motorsport executes the idea at such a extremely polished stage that I’m content material with this being a basis that Turn 10 can construct on for the remainder of this console era.
Cocoon
Annapurna Interactive
Those searching for a standout indie on Xbox can’t go fallacious with Cocoon. This is the most recent mission from Jeppe Carlsen, who was the lead gameplay designer of the basic Playdead titles Limbo and Inside. The distinctive aptitude that made these video games particular is totally current in Cocoon, a singular journey the place gamers should resolve puzzles by pushing orbs round. The twist: the orbs can include worlds inside them, and gamers must leap between the worlds in these orbs to resolve a few of the puzzles. Cocoon explores this idea to the fullest, presenting a singular and exact imaginative and prescient that’s a rarity in video games these days. Playdead hasn’t launched something new since Inside, however Cocoon triumphantly carries that legacy on its again like an orb.
El Paso, Elsewhere
Strange Scaffold
If you’re extra of an motion participant, El Paso, Elsewhere may be extra your velocity. A contemporary interpretation of the gameplay formulation established by the primary two Max Payne video games, Strange Scaffold’s newest makes use of its retro gameplay and aesthetic to strengthen this vampiric journey’s otherworldly setting and narrative. Come for the badass fight in opposition to hordes of supernatural enemies, however keep for the gripping emotional narrative about shifting on from relationships and abuse. This top-notch indie could have gotten missed at this 12 months’s Game Awards, however that shouldn’t cease you from testing El Paso, Elsewhere on Xbox (or PC) in case you haven’t already.
Minecraft Legends
Mojang
Mojang continues to indicate how Minecraft could be rather more than only a survival crafting recreation, and that was obvious this 12 months with the real-time technique spinoff Minecraft Legends. Developed with Blackbird Interactive, Minecraft Legends combines the bottom constructing of a recreation like Age of Empires with the unit-commanding of Pikmin to create a technique expertise that feels uniquely Minecraft. In multiplayer, it’s fulfilling to see your base dynamically constructed, destroyed, and rebuilt over a match. In single-player, raids on large Piglin bases really feel grandiose. This is probably going an entryway into the RTS style for a lot of younger players, and it’s truthfully a stable place to begin. It’s not an Xbox unique, however it’s from an Xbox studio, so it simply feels proper to play one of many 12 months’s greatest technique video games on the Xbox Series X or S.
Lies of P
Neowiz
The thought of a Soulslike primarily based on Pinocchio may sound silly, however Neowiz made it work with Lies of P. The peculiar action-RPG understands what makes FromSoftware’s greatest titles work and is the closest factor to a Bloodborne successor that we’ve gotten since its launch in 2015. The ties to Pinocchio are weird, however in addition they give Lies of P’s world a singular aptitude as this demented tackle a childhood basic unravels. You’ll look ahead to seeing which aspect of the basic story get twisted subsequent. Soulslikes could be hit-and-miss, so for Lies of P to work with such an odd idea is a testomony to the expertise of its builders. It’s been on Xbox Game Pass since day one too, in order that’s the place to test it out in case your curiosity is piqued.
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