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Best Xbox One Games

Updated March 2023
Bottom line
Pros
Cons
Best of the Best
Microsoft Gears 5
Microsoft
Gears 5
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Epic Gears Experience
Bottom Line

Gears 5 is a perfect balance of expert storytelling, terrifying monsters, high-action gameplay, and jaw-dropping visuals, making it an absolute must-play.

Pros

Features a gorgeous and impactful campaign. Extremely tense co-op Escape mode. Fight off waves of Swarm creatures with friends in Horde mode. Versus mode is better than ever.

Cons

You’ll want to buy a 4K TV just for Gears 5.

Best Bang for the Buck
Xbox Game Studios Sunset Overdrive
Xbox Game Studios
Sunset Overdrive
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Rock the Apocalypse
Bottom Line

Hilarious, creative, expansive, and overflowing with off-the-wall action, Sunset Overdrive is an inexpensive white-knuckle thrill ride you can’t miss out on.

Pros

Insane momentum-based gameplay. Battle countless mutants. Survive and explore Sunset City your way. Wacky weapons and customization options. Extremely affordable.

Cons

We hope you appreciate rude humor.

Rockstar Games Red Dead Redemption 2
Rockstar Games
Red Dead Redemption 2
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Action-packed
Bottom Line

Explore numerous 19th century American landscapes as the Van Der Linde gang leader known as Arthur Morgan.

Pros

Create a bond with your horse and explore the visually pleasing map of 19th century America. Converse with others throughout the game and make your own decisions that will influence oyur honour as well as those who follow you.

Cons

Not for beginners.

Xbox Game Studios Forza Horizon 4
Xbox Game Studios
Forza Horizon 4
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Large Open-World
Bottom Line

With realistic graphics, a massive world, and over 450 licensed cars, this is the most ambitious and largest Forza game on the market.

Pros

Forza has always been known for its stunning graphics, but Horizon 4 stands out as the pinnacle of Forza games. World is filled with numerous races and activities, and every car gives players a unique experience.

Cons

The game eventually becomes repetitive. The game urges you into a race or activity, which can take away from properly experiencing the open-world.

Xbox Game Studios Rare Replay
Xbox Game Studios
Rare Replay
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Timeless Classics
Bottom Line

Whether you grew up with Rare’s many hits or want to see what the big deal is, this inexpensive bundle features premium platformers, racers, shooters, beat ‘em ups, and so much more.

Pros

30 games from legendary game developer Rare, including Banjo-Kazooie, Conker’s BFD, and Grabbed by the Ghoulies. Behind the scenes features. Awesome value. Affordable.

Cons

Some of your favorite Rare games may not be here.

Why trust BestReviews?
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and all opinions about the products are our own. About BestReviews  
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and all opinions about the products are our own. About BestReviews  
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We buy all products with our own funds, and we never accept free products from manufacturers.About BestReviews 
HOW WE TESTED

We recommend these products based on an intensive research process that's designed to cut through the noise and find the top products in this space. Guided by experts, we spend hours looking into the factors that matter, to bring you these selections.

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Models
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185
Consumers
Consulted
30
Hours
Researched
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Buying guide for Best Xbox One games

Kids and adults alike enjoy playing video games, and a good game is like a good book — some keep your attention for a long time, some are quick to get through, but you always move on to the next sooner or later. Anyone who enjoys playing the Xbox One is constantly in need of new games.

Microsoft released the Xbox One console in 2013, and with new titles constantly being released, years’ worth of games are available. They have both popular and more unique titles in several different genres, for all different ages and abilities, making it difficult to know which game to get.

If you have no idea where to start in your search for Xbox One games, BestReviews has given you a leg up with suggestions for some of the games we think are among the best and even more information on what to look for when shopping for Xbox One games.

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If you’re looking for an Xbox One game for a child or teenager, keep age-appropriateness in mind. Check the game ratings, as well as reviews from owners.

Considerations

Microsoft knows what it’s doing with the Xbox One video game console. They’ve had years of practice.

The company started by releasing the original Xbox console in 2001. After so many years of success, the Xbox One became the eighth version of the console, released to compete with Sony’s PlayStation 4, Nintendo’s Wii U, and more.

Versions

But because it’s the eighth in a series of very popular gaming consoles, when you’re buying an Xbox One game, you need to make sure it will work on that version of the system. Some Xbox One games have backward compatibility with previous versions of the console: the Xbox 360 and the original Xbox. Those games, from your older system, can be played on your newer Xbox One console.

Game genres

You may have a specific genre in mind when you think about Xbox One games, but there is actually a wide variety of genres available, making them suitable for every age and many different interests.

The following are the most common genres that are available for Xbox One games:

  • Shooter: These games usually involve some type of weapon, and it’s nearly always a gun. “First person” shooters are games in which the player views the scene from the eyes of a virtual character.

  • Horror: Inspired by horror films, the obvious goal here is to scare players.

  • Platform: This type of game involves following a character as it runs and jumps over obstacles in its path. Platform games were extremely popular in 1980s coin-op arcades.

  • Puzzle: A fairly obvious genre, players solve puzzles that include traditional puzzles with words, numbers, and logic challenges.

  • Stealth: These games require a player to use skills to stay hidden from a villain of some type.

  • Action/adventure: Another fairly obvious genre, these games involve action similar to what is experienced in an adventure movie.

  • Strategy: To move through these games, a player needs to involve a certain strategy to get from point A to point B. These games quite often have a broader scope than the typical action/adventure game.

  • Racing: This is often involving cars but can involve anything that can be raced — boats, space ships, rafts, and more.

  • Flight simulator: Similar to racing games, flight simulators put you behind the controls of a vehicle. They’re typical very involved; some flight sims, train sims, and boat sims are sophisticated enough to be considered light training for real world situations.

  • Sports: The sports genre can involve any sport at all from football to baseball to hockey.

  • RPG: This genre stands for “role playing game,” and players are required to be a certain character as they role play in some type of fantasy world. As you play, the character becomes stronger and more capable, developing skills and acquiring more and more equipment.

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If you’re finding that you grow tired of your games too quickly, you can look to pre-owned games to both unload your games and get “new” ones.

FAQ

Q. Are all Xbox One games offered digitally, as well as on disc?

A. Nearly all of them are, yes. The only ones that are not offered digitally are games that include some type of peripheral device needed for play.

Q. I have heard that some video games have a regional lockout. Do Xbox One games have this?

A. No. Xbox One is region-free. This means that no matter the region the game originates from, it will work on an Xbox One gaming system.