While the first few months of Microsoft’s console saw it play second fiddle to Sony’s PS4, the Xbox One has grown to become a cosy home to a fantastic collection of games. The big blockbuster titles are present and correct, along with a handful of excellent platform exclusives – bolstered by Microsoft’s burgeoning indie development program, ID@Xbox.
So, where do you start? With some of the best, is the answer. Whether you’ve only just bought an Xbox One, or are looking for the next classic to add to your collection, we’ve put together a list of some of the greatest titles for the system. From bombastic shooters to arthouse adventures, here are the 13 games we currently rate on Xbox One.
1. Best Xbox One Games: Doom
By all rights, 2016’s Doom reboot should have been a mediocre retread over a series at odds with the current paradigm of shooting games. Instead, it ended up being a glorious riot of pacing and over the top violence. It’s the fact that Doom refuses to bow to the new standards of regenerating health and cover systems that makes it feel so fresh, forcing the player to constantly move and kill and move and kill and move and kill.
2. Best Xbox One Games: The Witcher 3
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The Witcher 3 arguably sets a new benchmark when it comes to immersive storytelling, managing to weave a complex tale across a sprawling, beautiful game environment. Combat is a pleasure, as are the conversations you’ll have with the game’s host of memorable characters. With hours worth of side quests and two excellent servings of DLC available, you’ll be adventuring with Geralt of Riviera for months to come.
3. Best Xbox One Games: Dark Souls 3
Like the Dark Souls and Bloodborne games before it, Dark Souls 3 is a masterclass in game design. You’ll come across so many memorable locations during your playthrough that you’ll find yourself chatting about them as if you've just got back from a (particularly violent) holiday. Dark Souls 3 is hard, yes, and that may put some players off – but I’d urge you to give it a go. Once you’ve gotten used to the game’s rhythm of death, pushing further into the darkness becomes an experience like no other.
4. Best Xbox One Games: INSIDE
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Playdead’s follow-up to its 2010 indie breakthrough, LIMBO, carries on many features of that game, while managing to build on almost every aspect of the experience. The result is one of the industry’s most hauntingly atmospheric games yet. The game’s story – told only through environment and implication – is best left unspoiled. Safe to say, however, that INSIDE is a brilliant example of that a very linear breed of game can do.
![Image of Xbox Live £20 Credit [Xbox Live Online Code]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41T1DCrZw5L._SL160_.jpg "Image of Xbox Live £20 Credit [Xbox Live Online Code]")
5. Best Xbox One Games: Fallout 4
Fallout 4 had plenty of flaws on launch – game-breaking glitches not being the least amongst them. A few months down the road, however, and Fallout 4 has been much improved upon, as well as bolstered with a hearty collection of DLCs. The core game is a lot of fun, with the formulae of Fallout 3 tweaked and altered by adding a strong emphasis on crafting in the post-apocalyptic wasteland. An essential purchase for anyone into RPGs.
6. Best Xbox One Games: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
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The Metal Gear Solid series isn’t known for its grounded realism, and the latest entry doesn’t do anything to change that image – embroiling players in a plot thick with conspiracy theories and strange military factions. You play an elite supersoldier called Big Boss, working in a vast open world across Afghanistan and the Angola–Zaire border. If you’re into stealth games, this is one of the best out there.
7. Best Xbox One Games: Rocket League
Cars with rockets hitting balls into nets! Rocket League has been a bit of a sensation since its launch, letting players across PC, PS4 and Xbox One tear up virtual pitches with rocket-propelled automobiles. The game plays a bit like football, if football was created by a 5-year old who liked to play with remote controlled toys.
8. Best Xbox One Games: Hitman
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The latest game in the Hitman franchise is being released episodically, with a new area coming to consoles each month. Even through IO Interactive still has a handful of locations up its sleeve, Hitman is already well worth buying. From Paris to Bangkok, the maps are rich with character and small details. The stealth gameplay itself works very well, with player experimentation encouraged and rewarded.
![Image of Hitman: The Full Experience [Xbox One - Download Code]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41KPCvIcQvL._SL160_.jpg "Image of Hitman: The Full Experience [Xbox One - Download Code]")
9. Best Xbox One Games: Rise of the Tomb Raider
The sequel to a reboot to a long running series about a rich adventurer, Rise of the Tomb Raider is the latest entry in the nebulous Lara Croft canon. It’s also a lot of fun – finding its footing in a fast-paced cinematic gamut of dungeons and epic vistas. The platforming puzzles may be stripped back, but there’s a lot to enjoy here. It also helps that Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best looking titles on Xbox One.
10. Best Xbox One Games: Forza 6
A must-have for racing enthusiasts. Gran Turismo used to be the definitive console racer, but that’s all changed since the arrival of Forza. Now into its sixth instalment, ForzaMotorsport 6 represents the best racing game on the Xbox One. As you’d expect from a first-party title, the graphics are gorgeous, but it’s in the controls where Forza 6 really excels.
11. Best Xbox One Games: Destiny: The Taken King
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Destiny is an ambitious game, make no mistake about it. The RPG/FPS from Halo developers Bungie is an expansive multiplayer experience, improved greatly by the addition of its most recent DLC – The Taken King. Find some friends to play with and you’ll have a great time, and with another DLC pack on the horizon – Rise of Iron– you’ll have plenty of adventuring to get stuck into over the next few months.
12. Best Xbox One Games: Overwatch
From its colourful design to its stripped-back shooter toolset, Overwatch offers an accessible, addictive and very welcoming experience for players. Seven million people played Overwatch within a week of its release, and it has continued to dominate the multiplayer scene since. It’s a well-polished shooter that’s easy on the eyes, and a lot of fun to spend a few hours on.
13. Best Xbox One Games: Sunset Overdrive
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Gleefully silly, bubblegum punk game Sunset Overdrive sees you playing the employee of a drinks company, fighting off customers that have been turned into mutants. Dostoyevsky it isn’t, but Sunset Overdrive is a great deal of fun to play and well worth dipping into if you’re looking to kill a few hours zipping around colourful metropolis, dealing out all sorts of brightly coloured death.
14. Best Xbox One Games: Overcooked
Kitchens probably don’t work like this. I mean, I worked in a kitchen at one point and I’m pretty saw I didn’t see a cat running around a counter to put lettuce on a burger bun. I don’t know, maybe I wasn’t working in the right place. Regardless, Overcooked is a great little co-op game, where you and your friends are tasked with assembling meals and getting them out in as short a time as possible. Chaos ensues.