The Best Xbox Series X Games for 2024

The original Alan Wake was a decent enough shooter, but Alan Wake 2 is a mind-blowing, survival horror surprise. Drawing inspiration from Twin Peaks, public access talks shows, and previous games in the Remedy canon, the game is a playable hallucination. As FBI agent Saga Anderson, you blast supernatural enemies in the haunted Pacific Northwest. And as Alan Wake himself, you’ll rewrite reality to escape your dark prison. These two threads twist and combine to create a game David Lynch would be proud of.

The Dead Space series got put on ice after devolving into mediocre action schlock, completely abandoning its horror roots. Fortunately, this excellent remake of the first game returns the frights and places a fresh coat of paint on Isaac Clarke’s journey through undead-infested spaceships. New weapons, features, and missions give you plenty of reasons to revisit this nightmare.

Devil May Cry innovated the character-action genre with its stylish blend of sword- and gun-based combat. Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition shows why this franchise is still the category's king. Four playable characters (Dante, Nero, V, Vergil) give you multiple ways to approach your onslaughts. But the goal remains the same: kill all demons. 

The “Souls” franchise has been a utterly singular force in gaming this past decade. No one else besides its developer, FromSoftware, makes games as mysterious, intricate, and punishing as Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro. So, how has the company topped itself? Elden Ring takes everything you love about the Souls games, and blows it up into one of the most impressive, elaborate, and meticulously crafted open worlds we’ve ever seen. They even got George R.R. Martin (the Game of Thrones guy!) to help with the lore.

The Far Cry series loves its villains, and Far Cry 6 features the most dastardly one yet. Dictator Antón Castillo, played by Giancarlo Esposito, rules the island nation of Yara with an iron fist. To take him down, arm yourself and build your own guerilla uprising in this open-world, sandbox shooter.

The Far Cry series loves its villains, and Far Cry 6 features the most dastardly one yet. Dictator Antón Castillo, played by Giancarlo Esposito, rules the island nation of Yara with an iron fist. To take him down, arm yourself and build your own guerilla uprising in this open-world, sandbox shooter.

Forza Horizon may be a spin-off title, but this open-world racing game stands as one of Xbox’s best franchises, period. Forza Horizon 4 takes the automotive action to the United Kingdom, with a beautiful countryside that shifts with the seasons. The game also embraces its semi-arcade roots by letting you take your real race car into gloriously plastic Lego lands.

Forza Horizon 5 takes everything we’ve loved about the franchise and finds ways to make it better. Mexico makes for an excellent open-world racing playground, with its wild mix of climates and locales. Next-gen horsepower delivers the most gorgeous Forza game yet. And if you somehow grow tired of all the content the developers provide, construct your own custom missions using the new EventLab.

While Gear of War 4 started this new trilogy with a game very much in line with the originals, Gears 5 takes the franchise in fascinating new directions. You’ll still stop and pop nasty aliens with your chainsaw gun, and the multiplayer is what you expect, but the revamped campaign spreads action sequences across a series of open worlds. Gorgeous visuals and compelling characters suck you into the Gears universe like never before. 

Gears of War’s methodical pacing always felt more tactical than your average action-packed shooter. So Gears Tactics feels like a natural series evolution, and a great entry point to the turn-based strategy genre. Plot your routes. Determine the best time to take cover. Know when to slice open a foe with, you guessed it, your chainsaw gun. In a mad world, it pays to be patient.

More than a half a decade since the last major Halo game, Halo Infinite reminds us why Xbox’s original killer app forever changed shooters two decades ago. Halo Infinite polishes Halo’s already excellent gunplay to a blinding sheen, and marries it to an open-world format that delivers on the original promises of Halo: Combat Evolved’s expansive opening levels. Meanwhile, phenomenal free online multiplayer lets everyone get in on the Spartan action.

Halo is one of the most important franchises not just to Xbox, but to the gaming industry itself. So we were pretty disappointed when Halo: The Master Chief Collection launched as a broken mess. Fortunately, years of updates turned it into a glorious compilation. Enjoy the first six Halo campaigns, as well a robust multiplayer mode, all in one package.

After a surprise launch on Xbox Game Pass, Hi-Fi Rush is already one of 2023’s most exciting releases. Tango Gameworks calls upon its long-lost character-action game heritage to make a rhythm game version of Devil May Cry. You'll do more damage to enemies if you attack them on time with the beat. As you gain more combat options, the game feels like a musical performance. The vibrant, cel-shaded world makes this a symphony for your eyes and ears. 

High on Life takes place in a comedic, sci-fi world full of slimy, foul-mouthed aliens. That’s because it’s the newest release from Squanch Games, founded by Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland. The wacky organic weaponry adds loads of creativity to frenetic combat encounters. The levels are packed with details to gawk at as you return to old stages to explore and find the new path forward.

Immortality takes Sam Barlow’s brilliant detective mechanic, first pioneered in Her Story, and blows it out into an absolute masterpiece of interactive drama. Discover the fate of a mysterious actress by viewing clips from her lost movies. Selecting a person or object takes you to another related clip, even if the connection runs on dream logic. Determining meaning by the interplay of images makes this one of the finest, and most unsettling, celebrations of filmmaking as an art form.

Midnight Suns applies a gothic spin to the Marvel universe, teaming up mainstream heroes like Iron Man and Captain Marvel with supernatural vigilantes like Blade and Ghost Rider. Did we also mention it’s a tactics game? Developer Firaxis, best known for the awesome XCOM reboot, gives you plenty of tools for devising superhero strategies. Then, when the fighting is over, get to know your favorite heroes by socializing with them.

You don’t need a powerful PC to take to the skies. With Microsoft Flight Simulator, Xbox players can soar across a stunningly detailed and accurate world created through real-time, online map data. Intuitive assists let you fly these complex machines without familiarizing yourself with a flight stick. Just sit back and let the clouds pass by.

With Mortal Kombat 1, the famously bloody fighting game finally breaks free of its infamously stiff gameplay mechanics. Thanks to high-flying air combos and creative tag-team Kameo fighters, MK 1 is as fun to play as it is for horrified onlookers to watch. The package also includes a cinematic story mode that reboots the Mortal Kombat universe and an Invasions mode packed with live service content.

No Man’s Sky always sounded too good to be true. An infinite universe full of procedurally generated planets to explore? But that’s exactly what we got, and thanks to free updates, we keep getting more. Pilot living ships and tame alien pets. Even if you enjoyed the game the first time, if you dive in again you may be surprised by what you see.

Obsidian Entertainment is one of the most versatile teams under Microsoft’s umbrella, and Pentiment is further proof of the team’s creative chops. Taking place in a gorgeous world rendered in Renaissance-style art, this adventure game challenges you to solve a mystery by making impactful choices.

After more than 15 years, Double Fine delivered an excellent sequel to its cult hit Psychonauts. In this mind-bending platformer, you’ll explore subconscious realms and use psychic powers to fight mental baggage. Even if you haven’t been waiting more than a decade for this sequel, Psychonauts 2 is a unique and creative journey that everyone should play.

When Rare lets its imagination run wild, the former Nintendo studio makes magical games like no other team. Sea of Thieves lets you and your friends team up online to live your pirate fantasies. Find buried treasure, engage in naval warfare, and shove whole fruit in your mouth. Thanks to a recent Disney partnership, you can even hang out with Jack Sparrow himself.

Respawn’s single-player Star Wars saga continues with this new Cal Kestis adventure. In Jedi Survivor 2, you explore tightly designed 3D platforming maps and open worlds full of characters and quests. Fans of the new High Republic stories will appreciate the plot twists. Of course, you master different lightsaber styles and use a blaster, too.

Bethesda takes a break from Elder Scrolls and Fallout to deliver a new role-playing experience. Fans of previous Bethesda games will recognize many of the same design ideas, along with some new outer space-themed innovations. Starfield may not change your life, but it has an impressive galactic scale.

Tetris Effect: Connected somehow makes an already perfect puzzle game even more transcendent. Hypnotic visuals and entrancing music blur your body and mind together as you drop blocks. New multiplayer modes link souls together across the world for pure puzzle game bliss. 

Yakuza: Like a Dragon turns Sega’s melodramatic crime saga into a full-on JRPG. Instead of beating up thugs in real time, your party vanquishes urban foes in turn-based combat. Between this revamped fighting system and new lead character, Ichiban Kasuga, Like a Dragon is the Yakuza reboot that curious newcomers have been waiting for.