The 15 Best Xbox One Games

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The Xbox One has had a semi-troubled lifespan so far. With not many exclusives and the PlayStation 4 dwarfing it in a much larger userbase, Microsoft has taken some risks to propel the Xbox One's status, including adding cross-buy games with PC and the new Xbox Game Pass that features new games on launch like Sea of Thieves.

Much like our PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch lists we've done in the past few weeks, we've finally gotten to our Xbox One list. It's an interchangeable list, so some titles will be swapped out for others as time goes on and better games release. We'll keep a running tally of what comes and goes as the lists are updated.

As a team, we nailed down the best 15 games that are essential for any Xbox One owner. We even labeled if they have Xbox One X enhancements, for those premium console owners out there. If anything gets added support, then we will make amendments. In the meantime, here's our big ol' list of the 15 Best Games on Xbox One.

Dragon Ball FighterZ

Xbox One X Enhanced

It's been a long held dream of some games to look like a playable Pixar game, but that might not necessarily be the benchmark video game animators should aspire to. Instead, they should look towards Arc System Works' Dragon Ball FighterZ which looks like an honest to goodness, playable anime. Not only do the developers of some of the best fighting games of the last couple years deliver a hardcore fighter based on the popular manga and anime series, but the visuals alone are literally breathtaking. Seeing the game in action, you honestly can't tell if you're playing a game or watching a HD episode of Dragon Ball. —Matt Kim

Read our review / Check out our Dragon Ball FighterZ guide / Buy from Amazon

Forza Horizon 3

Xbox One X Enhanced, 4K Ultra HD, HDR support

Every new Forza game created by Playground Games gets better and better. The formula is a strong one: expensive cars, a bright, beautiful location to drive around in, and a focus on the feel of driving, not the simulation. Forza Motorsport may be the main title, but Forza Horizon is the one that actually makes me excited to play. Forza Horizon 3 takes the series to Australia, from seaside cities to a dense jungle and an arid desert. Pick the most exotic rides and cruise around the region in some excellent races. If you like cars, but not enough to dive all the way in on Forza Motorsport, then Forza Horizon 3 is the game for you. —Mike Williams

Read our review / Buy from Amazon

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG)

Xbox One X Enhanced, 4K Ultra HD, HDR support

PUBG is a game that feels divided between its platforms. There's its PC version, the top priority and the first version of the game. There's its new mobile version, co-developed by Tencent; and then there's its Xbox One version. PUBG is one of Microsoft's biggest "exclusive" gets, as PUBG's only console foray. It's also lagging behind its PC counterpart, with just one map in its rotation. And yet, despite its rough launch, the Xbox One version isn't a bad way to experience PUBG, and is far more accessible for those who don't necessarily own a hefty gaming PC. If you're been pining for a battle royale experience on Xbox One, then look no further than PUBG. —Caty McCarthy

Read our review of its PC version / Check out our PUBG Xbox One guide / Buy from Amazon

Titanfall 2

Xbox One X Enhanced

The first Titanfall was a Xbox One exclusive. Its sequel though, was a bit freer, and all the better for it. Titanfall 2 improved on the winning mech-infused first-person shooter formula, giving players even more giant robots to pilot and more ways to run and jump around their environment. It also has one of the best single-player shooter campaigns in the current generation of consoles, making it a can't miss entry on the Xbox One library. —Caty McCarthy

Read our review / Buy from Amazon

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Xbox One X Enhanced, 4K Ultra HD, HDR support

The Witcher 3 is no doubt one of the best RPGs of this generation, if not the best RPG of this generation. It's also accessible for most players, even if you've never touched a game in The Witcher series before. On Xbox One, The Witcher 3 is made even better with its Xbox One X support, making every environment and encounter sharp and even more beautiful. It's the open world RPG that cannot be missed. —Caty McCarthy

Read our review / Check out our The Witcher 3 guide / Buy from Amazon

Assassin's Creed Origins

Xbox One X Enhanced, 4K Ultra HD, HDR support

From the moment you start playing Assassin's Creed Origins, you know you're playing a different kind of beast than previous games in the series. The opening hours focus solely on Bayek without any talk of templars or mythic orbs. The combat feels newer thanks to Ubisoft's decision to opt for a more mechanical approach to fighting. The scope and scale of the world is far larger than any previous Assassin's Creed game. All of it adds up to an experience that feels like a true evolution in the franchise. And thanks to Xbox One X enhancements, the game has never looked better on a home console. —Matt Kim

Read our review / Check out our Assassin's Creed Origins guide / Buy from Amazon

Grand Theft Auto 5

No Xbox One X enhancements

After the misfire that was Grand Theft Auto 4, Rockstar Games delivered with its return to Los Santos. It's the biggest, most detailed GTA yet, and while the story is a bunch of guff at times, Rockstar gives players a ton of things to do. Complete missions, steal cars, outrace the police, fly a plane, play golf or tennis, or complete the wide variety of random events that the developer has squirreled away in the city. There are very few sandbox games that allow as much freedom as Grand Theft Auto 5, which is why folks are still buying the game almost five years later. Even if you don't like it, you have to respect GTA. —Mike Williams

Read our review / Check out our Grand Theft Auto 5 guide / Buy from Amazon

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Xbox One X Enhanced, 4K Ultra HD, HDR support

Rise of the Tomb Raider is the second game in Crystal Dynamics' hard reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise. Lara Croft is still growing into her legacy, but Crystal Dynamics' decision in 2013 to turn back the clock and visit Lara in her earliest days as a novice explorer proved to be the correct one. There is so much pathos to be mined from a Lara Croft who is more interested in discovering herself than shooting things and delivering quips. That three-dimensionality of hers is explored some more in Rise, but really any chance to revisit this fascinating reinvention of a classic video game icon is worth undertaking. —Matt Kim

Read our review / Check out our Rise of the Tomb Raider guide / Buy from Amazon

Sunset Overdrive

No Xbox One X enhancements

The Xbox One, unfortunately, doesn't have many exclusives. Sunset Overdrive is one of the very, very few, and luckily, it's a fun experience too. Sunset Overdrive feels like it has the vibe of the Tony Hawk's Underground-era of video games, with a pop-punk attitude that doesn't take itself seriously in the slightest. The humor in it is a little (okay, very) cringey, but other than that, bouncing around Sunset Overdrive's world as a very agile resident of the quarantined city is just as much fun as it once was to skate around Jet Set Radio's levels. If you don't mind bearing with the cringier elements of its silliness, then Sunset Overdrive is a guaranteed good time. —Caty McCarthy

Read our review / Buy from Amazon

Cuphead

No Xbox One X enhancements

Nature's most beautiful animals are often its most dangerous, and Cuphead demonstrates that's true for video games as well. This platformer-shooter hybrid tests every shred of your patience and every knot of your resolve, especially when you go head-to-head with its long and furious boss fights. But when you inevitably get wasted—again and again—the game needles at your pride just right with a gauge that shows you how close you got to victory. You're helpless to resist rolling up your sleeves and trying again. Cuphead's perfect imitation of Max Fleischer's world-famous cartoon style and its jazzy soundtrack count as drugs by themselves. Beware, or become an addict. —Nadia Oxford

Read our impressions / Buy from Amazon

Elder Scrolls Online

Xbox One X Enhanced, 4K Ultra HD, HDR support

Elder Scrolls Online did not launch in the best state. The Elder Scrolls name is something that requires a great deal to live up to and Zenimax Online wasn't prepared to deliver. But then they kept improving, culminating in the One Tamriel update and the Morrowind expansion. Now Elder Scrolls Online is an experience that stands alongside the main games in the series, allowing players to explore an ever-expanding Tamriel with some well-written quests and interesting characters. Sure, it's still an MMO, but it's doing Elder Scrolls in an MMO as well as possible. —Mike Williams

Read our review / Check out our Elder Scrolls Online guide / Buy from Amazon

Hitman

Xbox One X Enhanced, 4K Ultra HD, HDR support

Hitman is a puzzle-solvers dream game. Not because of actual puzzles, but situational puzzles. Hitman presents you with clear cut paths to follow—take this disguise, get this item, use this item to kill your target—but the beauty of Hitman is that there are in fact dozens, even hundreds, of ways to kill your targets, and they're all viable. Taking the disguise of a cheating spouse's secret lover and poisoning them is just as approachable as throwing a knife at their head when they walk by (though the latter may raise a big alarm). Also no matter how hairy things get, you can almost always find a way out of every dastardly situation. And that's what makes Hitman a must-own game. —Caty McCarthy

Read our review / Check out our Hitman guide / Buy from Amazon

Okami HD

Xbox One X Enhanced, 4K Ultra HD support

Okami is arguably the best Zelda game that isn't a Zelda game. In the game, you play as the wolf god Amaterasu, as you restore beauty and life to the evil-tainted world. It's also a very long adventure, clocking in at 30 hours. Okami HD is the second HD iteration and fourth version overall (it's previously been on PS2, Wii, and PS3) for the game, and its cel-shaded art style married with its traditional Japanese folklore-inspired aesthetic makes it timeless. Only now, it looks sharper than ever before. —Caty McCarthy

Read our impressions / Buy from Amazon

Ori and the Blind Forest

No Xbox One X enhancements

Ori and the Blind Forest is a perfectly lovely combination of beautiful visuals, striking themes, and solid platforming. Its narrative manages to be poignant without slowing down Ori's quest to save their forest home. I feel as if sad but beautiful games about dying forests, withering spirits, and hopeful quests are only going to become more popular as the world's environmental situation continues to deteriorate, so hey, you may as well get in on the ground floor with Ori and the Blind Forest. —Nadia Oxford

Read our review / Buy from Amazon

Rare Replay

No Xbox One X enhancements

For most of us in North America, Rare only became a household name with Donkey Kong Country (or for those of us who're old enough: Battletoads). But our friends in Europe and the UK remember Rare from much further back—the glory days of the ZX Spectrum computer, to be precise. Rare Replay's 30-game menu serves up plenty of fare from the studio's mid-'90s Golden Age (barring some obvious Nintendo properties), and you also get a chance to sample its earliest hits, including Jetpac and Sabre Wulf. It's fun, it's educational, and it kicks off with a great opening number. Just one question: Where's Wizards and Warriors? —Nadia Oxford

Read our review / Buy from Amazon

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You can find our other rotating Best Of lists for current-generation platforms below:

• 15 Best Games on PlayStation 4
• 15 Best Games on Nintendo Switch
• 15 Best Games on Steam