The Xbox Series X|S has loads to offer gamers straight from the jump. With Xbox's amazing Game Pass subscription service, gamers have more games at the ready than ever before. In gaming past, the launch of a new console meant players only had a couple of so-so launch titles and they were then left to wait close to a year for anything truly amazing to release.
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After a rough start with the last generation, Xbox is already coming out swinging with making everything about their ecosystem inviting to players, including tons of games at launch. Some aren't the greatest, but let's work our way up the Metacritic list of Xbox Series X|S launch titles.
Most action games are made utilizing the skills of hundreds of different people, but not Bright Memory. A one-man team made this game in its entirety and though it looks great, especially for one person, the critics seem to think it's lacking a bit in quality.
Dead By Daylight is an action/horror multiplayer gamethat puts players in the shoes of survivors one would see in classic horror movies. Also, one player is the overpowered super villain killerwith the sole goal of hunting survivors down. It's a game that players seemingly either love or hate, leading to a poor average score.
Be a menace to the world and play as a giant sentient boulder that lobs smaller boulders with its tongue at armies and structures, trying to deal as much damage as possible in King Oddball. Though a rating of 64 is not terrible by any means, it does seem the gameplay might have been just a tad bit too simple and repetitive for the critics to rate higher.
This classic franchisegives players the ability to take control of simulated characters' lives as they grow, live, and become whothe player destined them to be. The Simsgameshave made their way to consoles before, but primarily they have always played best on PCs. This title seems to be no different, with the critics knocking the clunky controlling.
Yet another solo developed game, The Falconeer is a unique air-flying combat experience for the Xbox ecosystem. Though the game is beautiful and extremely smooth at 120 fps, the critics didn'tfully enjoy the repetitive nature of the game.
Critics unanimously agree thatSea of Thieves is played at its very best when players are with friends, sailing the seas in search of treasure and other players perhaps with a bit too much loot themselves. A score of 69 is nothing to laugh at, but the game was held down for its lack of content outside of the pure pirate experience.
Players that enjoyed the chaotic mayhem aspects of Grand Theft Auto would love this one. Maneater is a game that puts players in the fins of a literal man-eating shark, where players eat all the humans infesting their waters. Many games are plagued with not having enough to do, and Maneater is no different.
Though remarkably fun for thousands of players, Games As A Servicetitles are generally poorly received when looking only at review scores. They just are not for everyone, and usually, the score is based on the first impression of the game's story and mechanics.Destiny 2: Beyond Light is impossible to get an idea of based on the story alone, seeing how the vast majority of the game is the endgame content.
Despite the most recent bug in Watch Dogs: Legion making it near unplayable on the Series X|S, the ability to play as any person in the entire game still holds out and gives Legion a very solid score of 76.
No Man's Sky is the pinnacle of comeback kids. After the game's initial poorly received release, it has completely changed the narrative and became one of the best games for the newest generation. No Man's Sky isn't a Games As A Service game but has absolutely been dedicated to the game's loyal fanbase in evolving the game for the better with every update.
Critics love a game that doesn't over-promiseor over-price for what it is, and Star Wars: Squadrons is exactly what it appears to be.Squadrons is a ship-based galactic dogfighting game taking place entirely in the universe of Star Wars.
Despite agame-breaking bug leaving Series X consoles "bricked", Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is still managing to climb its way up the Metacritic ladder into decent success on the consoles. Hopefully, that bug is fixed soon, or that score of 78 might not stick around.
Borderlands gets a new season with amore optimized take on the most recent chaotic looter-shooter coined as Borderlands 3: Next-Level Mayhem. Borderlands 3 hits even harder this time around taking full advantage of the Series X|S offering 60fps in 4k graphics.
Harmonix brought you plenty of rhythm-based jamming games, but none quite like Fuser. This newest game drops the gimmicky "controllers" like you might see in Rock Band, and instead focuses entirely on mixing many different songs together. Critics and users alike are really enjoying it, making it a real stand-out title for the Series X launch.
The Gears series is no stranger to the top games on Metacritic, but their newest rendition seems to be hitting all the marks. Gears Tactics takes the franchise down a different path going from the action-adventure style to a real-time-strategy game.
Players can go head-to-head in this World War II-era MMO as they battle tanks, naval units, and conquer the skies.War Thunderis a video game users and critics alike keep coming back to, over and over again for its very solid multiplayer war action.
Observer is a psychological thriller and originally released for the past console generation with a solid story, dark themes, and a lot of cyberpunk vibes. Observer: System Redux rebuilta lot of the previous game to make complete use of the new Series X with tons of fancy lighting and completely redone character models.
While almost all games have released for both past and present generations, the biggest side-by-side comparison differences are seen within NBA 2K21. Gamers will be able to see actual individual drops of sweat on the players as they run up and down the court. 2K21 is one of the greatest representations of what this new generation can do.
Get the ultimate rally car racing experience in WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship as players drift their way to the finish line. Critics really enjoyed their time in this racing sim, even if it wasn't too much of an improvement over WRC 8.
Yakuza Like A Dragon is the most recent game in the Yakuza series and the entire game is lauded as wacky, absolutely ridiculous, and a game that achieves exactly what it's going for. This game is just pure fun and the score of 83 reflects that entirely.
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Theme park simulators were much more prevalent back in the 2000s, but new takes on the genre never seem to run out of nostalgia juice. Planet Coaster: Console Edition brings the Planet Coaster PC playersadore to the super-powered home consoles for many more to enjoy.
Dirt 5 makes terrific use of the ray-tracing and 120 fps capabilities that the Series X has to offer, giving players extremely smooth and beautiful graphics as they race through the mud. This is one of the titles Series X reviewers were really enjoying their time and it most certainly shows in Dirt 5's score.
After Halo Infinitewas delayed into the next year, Xbox had to double down on the graphical capabilities of a huge first-party game, and Gears 5 was it. With 4k graphics in 60fps in the campaign and up to 120fps in Versus, they did go all out on this fully optimized version of the latest Gears of War game.
Fortnite has been on the brink of cutting edge innovation from its inception and doesn't plan to stop now. Epic Games made great strides in making the Series X version run at 60fps in 4kwhile also allowing players to play in split-screen,something previous consoles didn't possess the processing power to do.
Each new Assassin's Creed is usually hit-or-miss with the fan base or general gaming public, but everyone has something they absolutely loved from previous games in the series. Assassin's Creed Valhalla takes all of the previous games into account and made a game that almost perfectly blends the old with the new.
The Devil May Cry franchise is a beloved one, and for good reason, but with Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition they went hard with the fan-service. Not only do players get high-fidelity frame-rate modes and 4k graphics, but they also get entirely new ways to play the game along with new characters to play as.
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When Tetris Effect released in 2018, it was highly praised as the greatest Tetris experience since its first release on the NES. Tetris Effect: Connected is the next step for Tetris as it brings in multiplayer cooperative game modes and takes the game originally developed for VR to the living room TV.
Solve puzzles and build a garden into infinity in the first-person puzzle game Manifold Garden. Many games are referred to as "works of art" but Manifold Garden seems to really roll with that idea and make an entire Escher-styled work for players to explore and solve puzzles in.
Apex Legends released out of nowhere back in 2018 and has been wowing gamers and critics alike ever since. Apex is a first-person battle-royal so smooth and dialed into shooter and hero-class mechanics that's even been giving Fortnite a run for its money.
A fully orchestrated soundtrack mixed with hand-painted artwork will obviously generate a game worth playing, but when you throw in an amazing story and solid platforming action you get a one-of-a-kind experience. Ori and the Will of the Wisps is the amazing sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest and improves upon the original in almost every sense.
Forza Horizon is a nearly perfect racing simulation game and the fourth in the spin-off series is the best Forza yet.A massive open world in which players can play together in lobbies shared with 71 other players. Forza Horizon 4 is an absolutely terrific addition for the Series X|S consoles.
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Chad has been engrossed in almost every aspect of video games since he was a child. He played them, talked about them, and even made them when he got a bit older. This dude just really likes video games.
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