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Xbox One

Xbox One logo

"Jump ahead."

The Xbox One is the watercooler successor to the Xbox 360.

The third console from Microsoft had a rough launch. When shown off to the world for the first time, the presentation was more focused on the non-gaming entertainment you could do with the system. What really rubbed people the wrong way was all the anti-consumer features that were going to be included. The system would have to be connected to Microsoft's servers every 12 hours or else the system wouldn't work. The system required the second gen Kinect to always be connected. Used games might be possible, but it would be up to publisher to decide that. Also, the system would not be backwards compatible with any past Xbox 360 or Original Xbox titles. It also forced a rename of the original Xbox, since most people colloquially called it the Xbox One.

After getting thoroughly chewed out by everyone (including a few deep jabs from Sony at E3 2013), Microsoft was force to renege on most of the controversial features. The system still launched at $499 though. Microsoft eventually got wise and got rid of all the people responsible for the controversy. They eventually brought in people who knew the Xbox was a gaming brand first and foremost. They did add a ton of Xbox 360 title to Backwards compatibility and even a few Original Xbox titles. Along the way, Microsoft snatched up a ton of developers to make exclusive games for them. The system even got some decent console exclusives (Cuphead and PUBG).

Eventually,two new redesigns of the system were released. The first was a smaller, more compact version called the Xbox One S. Its 40% smaller, a bit more powerful than the original model, capable of playing 4k Blurays, and was the first Xbox since the original to include an internal power supply. The second was a bit of an overhaul, the One X. This included all the enhancements of the One S, but allowed certain titles to be played in proper 4k resolution and with HDR.

Microsoft has since announced the Xbox Series X for launch in Holiday 2020, but have promised to keep the platform alive. They've gone so far as to say there won't be any exclusive Series X titles for the first few years. Meaning both systems will have the latest first party titles from Microsoft. Certain games will even come with a copy for Series X so you don't have to buy it again.

System Specs & Details[]

  • 8GB DDR3 RAM
  • 8 core "Jaguar" CPU
  • non-replaceable 500 GB/1 TB internal Hard Drive, External Hard Drive support available
  • Blu-Ray/DVD
  • Wifi with ethernet port in back
  • HDMI in-out
  • USB 3.0, three ports
  • Region-Free (physicial and digital, cross-region store purchases possible without needing alt accounts)
  • Always Online by default- Internet + working servers needed to play many games.
  • Mandatory use of cloud saves. All games and Apps (even Youtube) may fail if the Xbox network is acting up. More details.
  • Day One update required to be able to use the system offline.
  • Backwards compatible with select OG Xbox and 360 games, some with Xbox One X enhancements. As of 2019, Microsoft has no plans to release more backwards compatible titles. At least not until their new ninth gen console is out. Full list of backwards compatible games
  • Xbox Live Gold Required for online play. Can import and use your Xbox 360 profile.
  • Achievements will be ported from Xbox 360 along with your profile
  • Mandatory game installs of even disc-based games
  • Games with Gold: Every month, Xbox Live Gold users will receive two free Xbox One titles and two free Xbox 360 titles, all digitally. The Xbox One titles can be downloaded and played so long as you keep your subscription, while the 360 titles are yours to keep forever. All forthcoming 360 titles will be backwards-compatible, so you basically get four free games every month.
  • Game Pass: A sort of Netflix for games where you have access to dozens of games. You can download them on your console and play them offline. Games are constantly being added but also being taken out. Microsoft has said that all of their future first party titles will be available day one on Game Pass. List of games
  • Game Pass Ultimate: Gold + Game Pass for console and PC. Arguably one of the sweetest deals to play a bunch of games without breaking the bank. PC Game Pass is still in beta and the list of games is honestly not that great.

Spec Source and More Details

The List[]

A-on is short for Always Online. For this list it means that the game requires an internet connection to have all it's features. If the game servers or the internet are down then the game will not work correctly. In short, this game will most likely not be functional outside of this console gen as game servers are taken down due to games getting older. For a general rule of thumb, any game that holds multiplayer above single player and any Ubisoft title is suspect to A-on features.

Disc-based titles[]

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Box Art Title Genre A-On Description
Ac7x Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Flight Combat No Ace Combat is back! After multiple pathetic attempts to westernize or go free-to-play, Bandai Namco finally said "fuck it" and let Project Aces make a traditional style game again. After a twelve year wait the results are pretty fucking good. The graphics are amazing and the game plays like a dream. The story is...pretty dissapointing. It tries to hit those sweet melodramatic notes from past games but kind of falls on it's face with awkward pacing and generally uninteresting characters. Overall it's maybe a slight step down from the PS2 Holy Trinity but it's still very deserving of it's name. Has online multiplayer dogfights that are awesome but anyone still playing it is stupidly good. If you can get enough friends together for a private lobby it's a lot of fun.

Also available on PC

Aix1 Alien: Isolation Survival Horror No Survive in a ship full of hostile aliens, malfunctioning androids, and paranoid crew mates out to kill everything that moves. Actually has decent AI unlike the other Aliens game on this platform, so don't get the two mixed up!

Pacifist protip: the stun baton is a lethal weapon to humans.

Also available on PC

Assassin'sCreedIVBlackFlag(XboxOne) Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Action-Adventure / Stealth / Pirate Simulator Yes Prequel to ACIII (also technically a sequel if you consider the modern day story), you play as the pirate captain Edward Kenway on his quest for glory and riches, during which he will meddle with both Templar's and Assassin's affairs.

The story is set on XVIII century Caribbean sea with many naval sections. Being a pirate is so fun you'll be sad when you're forced to go onto dry land. The world map is huge and contains lots of additional (mostly filler) stuff to do. Overall it's one of the best entries in the AC franchise.

Note: If you play offline, you will be unable to access certain naval convoys, white whales, and social treasure chests you can only find when your friends find them online.

Batman Arkham Knight Xbox One cover Batman: Arkham Knight Action/Adventure No Fourth entry in the Batman: Arkham series. After Joker's death, Gotham City goes mad as Scarecrow teams up with the mysterious Arkham Knight to wreak havoc. You know the deal by now - punch bad guys, do detective work, punch more bad guys. But this time, you can use the Batmobile, a feature that is great at first until they ask you to keep using it over and over again. Also, Scarecrow-induced hallucinations give you even more Joker screentime, which may or may not tickle your fancy depending on how much you like Mark Hamill. While it has its rough edges, it's still a worthy conclusion to the Batman Arkham series.

Note - As WB Games is publishing this title, there is already a metric fuckload of DLC cut up and sold in tiny bite-sized packages (unless you bought the season pass). Most opinions on the DLC are somewhat mixed, especially concerning how long they are, so I would suggest holding out for the inevitable GOTY edition if you want it THAT much.

Bayovanqx1 Bayonetta & Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle Action No Two of the greatest action games of all time in one package. In Bayonetta, you play as a dominatrix witch who needs to rediscover her past by killing demonic angels and angelic demons. Vanquish is a fast paced third person shooter where you play as a government agent in a super suit trying to recapture a space station from Russian forces.
BlazBlue Chrono Phantasma Extend Xbox One cover BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend Fighting No The spiritual successor sister series to Guilty Gear. Features HD sprites, 3D backgrounds, and loads of animu. CE adds even more characters and balance tweaks, as well as a "visual novel" minigame about the events of its manga spinoff, Remix Heart. inb4 MaiOlev.
Blodsx1 Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Metroidvania No Koji Igarashi's return to video games after almost a decade comes in the form of a spiritual successor to his amazing run of Castlevania games. Bloodstained is another very good one of those, but don't expect anything super new or exciting. The graphics are pretty ugly but the music is solid and the gameplay is a lot of fun. If you've played Iga's Castlevania games then you know what you're in for and if not then play at least Symphony of the Night first.

Also available on PC

Contx1 Control Action/Adventure/TPS No From the folks who made the first two Max Payne games and Alan Wake. You play as a fugly lady looking for her brother and finds herself as the new director of this X-Files style government agency tasked with overseeing and covering up supernatural occurrences. Over the course of the game you acquire cool powers and upgrades to your gun. Has some small metroidvania elements. The main appeal is the style and world design which are dripping in cool supernatural conspiracy shit.

Also available on PC. GOG or Steam recommended.

Nsanex1 Crash Bandicoot N-sane Trilogy Platformer/WOAH No Crash is freaking back! This collection is a wonderful remake of the first (and the only remarkable) three games of the series, originally made by Naughty Dog. Graphics are are superb but the physics, despite being good and on point, are not 100% accurate to the original games, making the learning curve surprisingly steep at the beginning, but nothing that will make you tear your hair out.
Darksrex1 Dark Souls: Remastered Action RPG No A port of the original Dark Souls and the Artorias of the Abyss expansion. Looks nicer and runs better(especially the Blighttown area). Massively influential action-RPG with a sophisticated dark fantasy setting and cryptic, melancholy storyline. Spiritual successor to Demon's Souls. Explore an inter-connected world full of dangerous enemies and well-hidden secrets while leveling up your character according to your preferred build. There's plenty of variety and replay value. Features asymmetrical online co-op and versus play. Notoriously difficult and mysterious. Considered one of the best games of its generation.

Also available on PC

Darks2x1 Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin Action RPG No An upgraded version of Dark Souls II. Includes all of the previously released DLC. Enemy placement is wildly different from the PS3 version. In fact, if you play this shit for the lore, stick with the PS3 version because the enemy placement makes no godamn sense anymore.

Also available on PC

Dark-souls-iii-the-fire-fades-edition-xbone Dark Souls III Action RPG No The final game in the series, this time with Miyazaki back at the helm. Expect a faster pace this time around, as the team was still fresh off of Bloodborne. This one is generally considered better than Dark Souls II (though some may not agree), but not quite as good as DaS 1 nor Demon's Souls.

Ashes of Ariandel is a 3 hour piece of shit with little content and two bosses, while The Ringed City has more to offer with DS2-levels of bullshit difficulty.

The Fire Fades Edition contains all DLC, so if you've waited to get a complete edition while waiting for a reasonable price, then get it now.

Dead or Alive 5 Last Round Xbox One cover Dead or Alive 5: Last Round Fighting No You know the deal by now. A solid fighting game surrounded by titties. There's a LOT of DLC for this game, so if you just want some core fighting, you can get the Core Fighters pack for free. Story mode and all characters except six (four constant, two rotating) aren't included here, but if you just like fighting it'll be all right.
Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition Xbox One cover Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition Action/CURAYZEE Simulator No A remake of the 2008 release, DMC4SE once again gives you as much sword and gun gameplay as you could want. With dozens of weapons and fighting styles at your disposal, kill a bunch of demons and save the world I guess. Along with the not-emo Dante and original character donut steel Nero, you can now play as Dante's katana-wielding brother Virgil, his mysterious demon love interest Trish, and the gun-mad mercenary Lady. It's no Bayonetta, but it's definitely crazy enough.
Dmc5x1 Devil May Cry 5 Character Action/Rockin' Buttmetal No Like many Japanese AAA game companies in the previous generation, Capcom's attempts to westernize their IPs ended up as a horrible embarrassing failure. Fortunately they learned their lesson and as a result we have the first mainline DMC game in 11 years. You play as either Dante, Nero, or a new guy named V who summons the bosses from DMC1 to fight on his behalf. V's levels are cool but only really hold up on a first playthrough. Dante and Nero really shine with each of them building off their previous incarnations in DMC4. The game delivers on the cuhrayzee and then some which is all it needed to do after the crummy reboot.
Disx1 Dishonored Definitive Edition Action / Stealth No Action-sandbox game partially inspired by the Thief games. Takes place in a Victorian-style industrial city filled with rich elites and extreme poverty hit by a horrible plague carried by rats, causing many to shamble around in a zombie-like state. You are an assassin framed for the murder of the empress, and you must do tasks for an underground movement to try and overthrow the conspirators to the throne. You can build your character around either action or stealth(or both but it is not recommended) and whichever route you take ultimately shapes the ending of the game. Both playstyles are fun but there are significantly more options for an action playthrough. Each level is akin to Thief or Deus Ex where you have a starting location and a list of tasks and can go about accomplishing them in numerous ways. The Definitive Edition includes all the DLC, including additional story content from the perspective of one of the main game's villians.
DragonBallFighterZXboxOne Dragon Ball FighterZ Fighting No A super fast-paced fighter (think Marvel vs Capcom) with Dragon Ball Z/Super characters, excellent even if you're not a fan of Dragon Ball. Takes some pages from Guilty Gear Xrd, using the same 3D-styled graphics made to look like 2D sprites. Story mode is what you'd expect from fighting games these days but the character interactions are surely entertaining.
Dq11x1 Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitive Edition JRPG No Enhanced version of DQXI, now with extra content and a fully-playable, SNES-style, sprite-based mode on top of the standard 3D presentation. Lengthy campaign, in-depth turn-based combat system, charming characters, and an Akira Toriyama-designed fantasy world. A great entry point into Dragon Quest, and an unforgettable JRPG overall.

Also available on PC

Dddax1 Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen Action-RPG No Underrated Capcom action-RPG. Medieval fantasy in an open-world setting. This game's story, variety, presentation, and world size are all somewhat underwhelming, but it shines in the combat, which is thrillingly fast and fun, kind of like a medieval Devil May Cry with elements of Dark Souls and Shadow of the Colossus. There are several classes to try and they're all fun to play, including the spellcasting ones. No multi-player, sadly, but you can trade your A.I. companions with others online for fun and profit.

Also available on PC

Eldenrx Elden Ring Action Adventure No An open world Souls game lauded for its exploration, combat, and world design made in conjuction with George R.R. Martin. You're a Tarnished, an exile from the lands you occupy who has returned following a catastrophic event that has torn the land asunder. Unlike most "open" world games you can approach the various lands and bosses in any order, with the ability to skip large portions of the game if you know where to go and who to fight. The Xbone version runs really poorly and should only be played as a last resort if you can't play on PC or PS5/XSX, but the game is worth the trouble if that is all you have. The XSX disk will work in Xbox Ones too.

Also available on PC

Fallout 4 Xbox One cover Fallout 4 Action RPG No It's Fallout. You know what you're going to get. You are placed into a vault at the dawn of nuclear war, and emerge in a post-apocalyptic 50s Americana. Make friends, steal shit, kill a guy, strip him of his clothes, die a lot. Even the side quests are so addictive that you'll forget about completing the main storyline. That said, it's developed by Bethesda, so expect a few glitches and corrupted saves along the way.
Ffxx2x1 Final Fantasy X/X2 HD Remaster RPG No A remaster of Final Fantasy X International and Final Fantasy X-2 International + Last Mission, the updated graphics look nice but the FMVs are just the PS2 FMVs re-rendered in 1080p and the voices aren't changed but the addition of the International bonuses and the HD graphics are worth replaying this game. Has the option to change the soundtrack to the original PS2 soundtrack or the re-arranged PS3 and PS Vita versions. Every console version only includes the english voices.
Ff12x1 Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age JRPG No Switch port of FFXII International Edition, which features various gameplay changes and improvements to the original game, and was (despite its title) never released outside of Japan. FFXII is a more "Westernized" take on the JRPG series, with a real-time party combat system, a beautifully-realized, free-roaming world, and tons of optional content.
Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Xbone Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Action-RPG No Imagine Crisis Core but better with 14 different playable characters, playable summons, A WORLD MAP, chocobo breeding and a fantastic story. The gameplay is difficult and will kill you if you get careless but is fun and faster than Crisis Core because less "slot machine" bullshit. Much, MUCH, bloodier, gorier and violent than the previous Final Fantasy games.

Has updated graphics compared to the PSP version, as well as the option to change the voices to English or Japanese, no multiplayer (as if anyone cared about it), an exclusive alternate ending, an updated soundtrack and an exclusive demo for Final Fantasy XV for the Day One edition. Keep away from the English dub, it is the worst English dub Square has ever worked on (even worse than Final Fantasy X, but not as bad as FF4 SNES). Has a somewhat spotty translation so get the PSP version if you are willing to pirate and you have PPSSPP or a PSP with CFW.

X1-FOHO2 Forza Horizon 2 Racing No Great graphics, superb physics, fun soundtrack, big and pretty open world, lots of cool cars. Very deep upgrading and tuning, shallow visual customization. Top notch career structure with a lot of freedom and incentives to do your own thing. Being Forza, this is loaded with DLC and a little over 1/3 of the cars are inaccessible until you shell out some cash.

Note: The DLC and game has been delisted from the Xbox's store. Disc versions still work fine, but it's no longer possible to purchase the DLC.

GTA 5 Xbox One cover Grand Theft Auto V Open-world Action Adventure No Do I really need to explain to you what GTA is all about? This time, you can play as three different characters, switching them on the fly to play unique missions. Go to strip clubs! Rob banks! Make Jack Thompson pissed!
Halo 5 cover Halo 5: Guardians FPS Yes Sequel to the (debatable) abomination that was Halo 4.

The plot is a complete mess and features Cortana becoming a literal AI goddess who slaughters millions of people. Beneath the ridiculous plot you will find some really great gameplay even if it's far from the best in the series.

The main game can be played offline, but you're not likely to buy this for the main game. Most people play Guardians for multiplayer and Forge.

Multiplayer is the best it's ever been, even though it's 100% online matchmaking with zero couch co-op.

The new Forge is one of the best map editors to ever be created for a console game. 343 has been consistently releasing free updates on a monthly basis and has, so far, patched in almost every feature the community has been asking for. While 343 completely botched Master Chief Collection, they seem to be doing right by their fans with this game.

Be aware that there is a free PC port of the custom games multiplayer (with server browser) and Forge for Windows 10. It doesn't have matchmaking, but as Forge and Multiplayer are the only good parts it may be worth playing.

Halo The Master Chief Collection Xbox One cover Halo: The Master Chief Collection FPS No

Compiles Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4 (plus Halo: ODST as DLC) into one big ol' package, as well as featuring new graphics and audio for Halo 2's campaign a la Combat Evolved Anniversary, and unlike CE:A, Halo 2's multiplayer remade in a modern engine as well.

Obviously, the story modes are still top notch and have loadsacontent. The only downside so far is the multiplayer: sadly, 343 Industries has a knack for making half-baked matchmaking experiences. Maybe they'll patch it, maybe they won't. At this point, most of the major bugs in multiplayer have been patched, but you should still expect up to 10 minute wait times for some matchmaking playlists. The patches have stopped coming and 343 seems to have given up on fixing this mess.

Halo Reach was added in December of 2019 and a lot of updates since. New seasonal ranking system, skins and stuff added for Halo CE and 3, ODST Firefight added in 2020 and mix and match armor customization restored for Halo 3 and added for Halo CEA Multiplayer. Forge options were also expanded for Reach and Halo 3 to include objects and vehicles from the campaigns while all of the budgets were expanded over the 360 versions of the games. Halo 4 will be added on PC in late 2020 and overall the game will receive a Series X enhancement for 120FPS in 4K.

Hit3woax1 Hitman 3 Stealth/Puzzle Yes After getting dragged through the mud like every other Eidos ip in the early 2010s, Hitman made its triumphant return in 2016 with an amazing return on par with Blood Money. Hitman 3 is almost a level pack add-on to the first two games, with 5 main levels and a final story mission alongside some quality of life improvements. If you own the 2016 game and Hitman 2(or if you pay 60 extra bucks) you'll also be able to import all the maps and missions from those games to Hitman 3. You can also just buy the trilogy pack for $100 for all the content. There are also additional DLC missions to be added later to the game, as well as over a year of updates from the devs adding new missions inside each of the huge sprawling levels. Each level allows for a million ways to kill all your targets and there are various challenges you can do to unlock even more tools to carry over to different levels as well. The one major downside is an always-online requirement for unlocking content and leveling your character.

If you have all 3 games' content, Hitman 3 contains 21 levels and dozens of hours of replayability for most of them. It is a monster of a game and a masterpiece.

Also available on PC

Just Cause 3 Xbox One cover Just Cause 3 Open-world Blow-Em-Up No If you've played Just Cause 2, you know what you're in for. Nearly everything can be shot or blown up or grappled to. Tie a guy to a plane and take off, with him dragging behind you. Jump out of a helicopter into another helicopter. Unfortunately, the game is still fairly unoptimized, so prepare for a lot of loading screens and overall jankiness.
Katadamx1 Katamari Damacy Reroll Ball Rollan No A remake of the PS2 classic. After the King of All Cosmos destroys the stars in a night of debauchery, his lilliputian son, the Prince, must roll up all sorts of objects on Earth to make new stars. The simple and addictive gameplay consists of rolling a ball (the titular katamari) in levels full of objects and people, which you must roll up to make the katamari increase in size; as it grows bigger, you can roll up bigger things, like cars, buildings and islands. The low-polygon, cel-shaded look and psychedelic visuals add to its charm, not to mention the notable, multi-genre soundtrack.

Also available on PC

Madmaxz1 Mad Max Action / Driving / Harpoon Fishing / Survival No A fairly direct prequel to Fury Road, Mad Max is the game that fans of the series always wanted. Mostly silent protagonist, carbuilding/survival focused story that really picks up near the end, mentally fucked characters who make up cool words, everything you'd expect from the series, and you get to go to Gastown to boot. While the map is actually varied, it does tend to dip into the copypaste shit that plagues most open world games. Still worth a shot if you like the prospect of ushering War Boys off to Valhalla.

Also available on PC

Megaman11ONE Mega Man 11 Platformer No Mega Man returns after a long hiatus on his first 2.5D adventure! Introduces the Double Gear system, which allows to temporarily power up Mega Man's attacks or to slow down time, with the entire game designed after these new abilities, with the tried and true challenging but fair difficulty of the series.
Megxx1 Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1+2 Platformer No It's the 8 main Mega Man X games in one package. If you like the japanese music from some of these games or don't wan't the awful censoring on the X4 opening animation, try to get your hands on the japanese or chinese release. I'm pretty sure those versions come with the english games too.
Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes Xbox One cover Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes Tactical Espionage Action No The semi-demo "prologue" to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Invade a U.S./Cuban base to save your friends. Additional missions use the same map, but change it so you have to assassinate soldiers/obtain enemy intelligence/save Hideo Kojima, allowing you to play in different ways. Many people complained about the incredibly short playtime of the game (around an hour for the main mission), so rent it first if you're not sure if you want it yet.
MTSGV Phantom Pain Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Tactical Espionage Action Sorta The continuation of Ground Zeroes. More of an open world Metal Gear this time - you can try to get in without alerting anyone to your presence, and then go in guns blazing after that fails. Catch animals and send them to your Mother Base! Fight alongside a mute sniper in a bikini! Teach a wolf how to CQC! The choices are limitless.

Note: The "sorta" in terms of always-online refers to FOB missions, where you can invade other players' Mother Bases and vice versa. There's also reportedly microtransactions related to base building, so tread with caution.

Midex1 Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Action RPG No A complex and beautiful RPG for people who just can't get enough Lord of the Rings or who want a challenge without the game being a Japanese import starring pretty big-haired teenagers. Game is piss easy unless you've never played an action game before. Has a unique nemesis system where various orcs you fight throughout the game will reoccur to fight or die later.

Also available on PC

Mhwx1 Monster Hunter: World Monster Hunting No It's Monster Hunter, but now your casual friends can play too! One of the few examples of a game attempting to broaden it's playerbase by becomming more accesible and succeeding without compromising the spirit of the series. You hunt monsters, grind out materials for armor and weapons to go and fight more monsters.
Pers5rx Persona 5 Royal RPG No You got an assault charge for punching out a rapist, forcing you to transfer to the only school that's willing to accept you. On top of that you've gained the power to access the hearts of the corrupt, and decide to steal their darkest desires with the power of your Personas.

(very) Arguably the best entry of the Persona franchise, and widely considered one of the best JRPGs of all time, Persona 5 takes its tried and true formula and adds a fun Lupin the Third style heist element to keep things interesting.

With gorgeous art design, a dark, gripping story, a monstrous length (over a hundred hours for the main story alone!), a bounty of sidequests, and a rock solid battle system, Persona 5 must not be missed.


NOTE: The Persona 5 Royal edition is a massive expansion to the base game released in March of 2020. Including new characters, S.Links, combat mechanic changes and Skills; as well as an additional semester of game-play, story, expanded palaces and a whole host of quality of life improvements/additions too numerous to list.

If you are picking up a copy make sure it's the Royal version. XSX disk works in Xbox Ones.

Preyx1 Prey FPS / Immersive Sim No Atmospheric immersive sim by the Dishonored devs. Takes place aboard a space station seemingly empty aside from horrific shadow creatures. Has some Metroidvania-esqe elements where you find new weapons and gizmos that allow further exploration of previous areas of the station and opening shortcuts etc. Has some narrative choice elements as well. Unrelated to the 2006 game of the same name, the devs have even blamed lazy Bethesda marketing guys for that one.

Also available on PC

Raiden5Cover Raiden V Shoot 'em Up No The newest entry in the Raiden series, which despite bad initial impressions by shmupfags proves it is a worthy successor to the classic titles.

It is available as retail only in Japan, as the worldwide release is digital-only. However, if you have the Japanese release the game will be automatically updated to your region.

Rare replay Collection Rare Replay Compilation Yes Oh hey, Microsoft remembered Rare developed other things besides Kinect sports titles. For $30, you get thirty of Rare's greatest titles all wrapped up in one package, along with developer interviews, minigames, and all sorts of other bonuses. Keep in mind that some emulation is a bit spotty for some titles (mostly N64 ones), but you also get Grabbed by the Ghoulies in 1080p and 60 FPS so there's that.

Note: An internet connection is required right after download to verify the Xbox 360 titles. This collection can be played offline after said verification, but will not work due to "needing an update" until then.

Rayman Legends Xbox One cover Rayman Legends Platformer Yes

Another game featuring our favorite limbless hero and friends. Collect Teensies, punch enemies to make them inflate and explode, rescue axe-wielding princesses. If you played Rayman Origins, you can guess what the gameplay's like.

It's an Ubisoft title, though, so expect features like daily challenges to be locked behind online play. All the regular single-player levels are still available, though.

Rdr2x1 Red Dead Redemption II Action / Adventure / Open World No Beautiful open world game set in the old west and serves as a prequel to Red Dead Redemption. Play as a gang member on the run from the law in the 1890s. Rob stagecoaches, trains, banks and simple townsfolk or go fishing/hunting/gambling. Massive world with lots of sidequests and random events. The story is pretty good with a likeable main character. Just don't touch multiplayer, which was a shitfest from the get-go after Take-Two realized how much money GTA Online made.

Also available on PC

Re2x1 Resident Evil 2 Survival Horror No A complete remake from the ground up of the 1998 horror classic. Capcom went above and beyond to do it right and the game is really fucking good. It's over the shoulder third person instead of the original's fixed camera angles and some elements of the world and puzzles and characters are different but it's all still phenomenal. The changes they made to Mr. X in particular stand out. Even if you don't have nostalgia it's still one of the best modern horror games, especially at the AAA level.

Also available on PC

Re7x1 Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Survival Horror No After a bunch of action-oriented games and becoming kind of stale in the horror market, Resident Evil returns with a fresh new start. Resident Evil 7 works both as a classic Resident Evil game in its structure, and as a modern horror game (think Outlast, etc.): first person, more focused on atmosphere, survival and scares. You play as Ethan, looking for his missing wife Mia after receiving a strange e-mail from her, and ending up trapped in the Baker homestead, a strange Bayou family that seems to be possessed by a spooky little girl. Wait, paranormal stuff in my Resident Evil? Well, it may be more complicated than that. The story, like the gameplay, is both a good RE story, while very modern in horror standards, and referencing pretty much every horror movie in existence really nicely.

Whether you're a classic RE fan, a first person survival horror aficionado, or a horror movie buff, there's something there for you. It's engaging, really scary, and a lot of fun.

Also available on PC

Rerev2x1 Resident Evil: Revelations 2 Survival Horror

TPS

No More co-op TPS action in the style of RE5. This time one person plays as the shooter and the other plays as a more supportive character. The game is built around this dynamic and it's pretty interesting, but potentially also boring for the support player. Takes place between RE5 and 6 and features two intertwining storylines: in one you play as Barry Burton and a mysterious kid called Natalia, and in the other you play as Claire Redfield and Barry's daughter, Moira. Overall very fun and a similar experience to RE5, with the added benefit that partner A.I. is no longer useless, but it's really short. Note: The requirement for getting the good ending is bullshit, but goddamn that ending's dank as hell.

Also available on PC

Sekirox1 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Rhythm No An action game by the Dark Souls/Bloodborne guys. You play as a shinobi in fuedal Japan who needs to rescue his young master from a clan who has kidnapped him in order to steal his blood. Unlike the Souls games there is very little customization and really only a handful of "correct" approaches to any combat encounter but in turn those encounters are super fine tuned. Combat is purely timing based, where the best way to kill an enemy isn't to whittle down their health bar but to tire them out by deflecting all their blows and forcing them to deflect yours until they are vulnerable enough to be stabbed in the face. Also no multiplayer, so you can't summon anyone to beat the bosses for you but you can't get invaded either. Somewhat divisive for people who liked the Souls series for it's customization or pvp or depressing world but it still has the super polished gameplay and tough but fair challenge of their other games.

Also available on PC

Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition Xbox One cover Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition Action/Sandbox No You play as Wei Shen, an undercover cop whose job is to infiltrate a Hong Kong triad. Gameplay is much like Grand Theft Auto, expect with less emphasis on gunplay and more on martial arts. It's basically an HD remake of the last-gen version with all DLC included, and thus falls into the First Rule of HD Remakes: if you already played and beat the original, this version won't put much onto the table.
Soulcal6x1 Soulcalibur VI Fighting No Another solid entry in the Soulcalibur series. This time the guest character is Geralt from the Witcher. The character creater is kind of the star of this game. You can recreate almost anyone you can think of, albeit most will be horrible abominations. Kind of came and went at release due to coming out a week before Red Dead 2.
Sor4x1 Streets of Rage 4 Beat 'em Up No A return for the 90s beat 'em up classic series. Plays similarly to the old games, a 2D side scrolling brawler with 4 pretty unique characters each with different moves and combos. With pretty slick hand drawn art and great music. A surprisingly good revival for the series.
Tekken7x1 Tekken 7 Fighting No The seventh main entry in the Tekken series. If you have ever played a Tekken game, you know what to expect: lots of characters, great graphics and a great soundtrack. The most balanced Tekken to date. The game is sadly lacking a bit in offline content, there is a story mode but it's quite lackluster. And the arcade endings we all know and love have been replaced with character episodes that are really bad. Features Akuma from the Street Fighter games.
Titanfall Xbox One cover Titanfall FPS Yes It's like cawadoody, but with giant robots and parkour. No single player campaign, so you better hope that the game servers stay up longer.
Tomb Raider Definitive Edition Xbox One cover Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition Action-Adventure No Another (after Legend) complete reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise, and far more radical this time. Follows young Lara on her first ever adventure during which she will find herself struggling to survive on a mysterious, mythical island after her ship, on which she travelled along with her crew, gets wrecked. Has a good story and gameplay, pretty graphics and semi-open world with some additional stuff to do. Unfortunately there is little to none actual Tomb Raiding, but you will have plenty of fun nonetheless. Also protip: for maximum fun, try playing with the bow only. Includes all prior downloadable content.
Transformers Devastation Xbox One cover Transformers: Devastation Action-Adventure No The phrase "Platinum Games does Transformers" is all you need to know about whether you should try this game. Play as the Autobots and get into some signature Platinum CUR-AY-ZEE combat with the Decepticons. Only problem is that, as with many of Platinum's deals with Activision, the game's a little short. So if you're going to buy it at full price, make sure you have the strength to 100% everything and SS-rank every mission, you scrub.
Trials Fusion Deluxe Edition Xbox One cover Trials Fusion Motorcycle Racing??? Yes Get a motorcycle. Ride a course. Crash. Try again. Make it to the next checkpoint. Crash. Try again. Think about a cool trick you could make in the level creator. Crash. Repeat. Again, it's a Ubisoft title, so expect some features to be unaccessable if you're not signed into uPlay.
The Witcher 3 Xbox One cover The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Action RPG No You are Geralt of Rivia, a witcher - that is, a monster hunter and mercenary. Travel around the world, helping or hindering others, while fighting the mysterious army known only as "Wild Hunt". While combat may vary in enjoyability from person to person, the real hook is the story: you have 50 hours worth of gameplay, and that's from the side missions alone. Worth a try just to see how much love CD Projekt RED puts in its games.
Y7x1 Yakuza: Like a Dragon JRPG No The 8th mainline Yakuza game(known as Yakuza 7 in Japan) takes the series in a very different direction. Discarding the beatemup combat(now exclusive to the Judgement games) for a turn-based JRPG system with a Final Fantasy V-like jobs system. With Kiryu's story ended after Y6, Like a Dragon stars the affable gangster Ichiban Kasuga and a group of friends he makes on his journey to discover why his old boss has abandoned him after a long prison stint. The blend of serious melodrama and ridiculous writing the series is known for is maybe at it's best here, and the new characters are all fantastic. The combat can be deep, albeit outside of a few moments not terribly challenging. The game's spin on traditional JRPG elements and its open love for Dragon Quest are fantastic and look to be a great kickstart for a series that was getting stagnant.

Also available on PC

External links[]

Eighth Generation
Consoles Ouya - Sony PlayStation 4 - Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Wii U - Microsoft Xbox One - Valve Steam Machine
Handhelds Nintendo 3DS - Sony PlayStation Vita