The Best Xbox Series X Games In 2024 -The Xbox Series X|S is nearly four years old, and it’s built quite a library of great games. With so much to choose from, we’ve curated a selection of the very best Xbox Series X|S games to play right now. We regularly review these choices to make sure we stand by them as the best the Xbox Series X|S has to offer, so this still stands as our highest recommendations on the console.The future of Xbox is a more expansive brand than just a console, encompassing its suite of services like Xbox Game Pass. The subscription service has emerged as a major pillar for Microsoft, as it offers a huge rotating library of free games, including first-party releases. Whether you’re looking for something new to play via the Game Pass subscription service or need buying advice for your next full game purchase, this list of games will steer you in the right direction.Most, but not all, of the games we’ve chosen are available on Xbox Game Pass. While the Series X boasts the best performance and visuals, the Series S also offers noticeable improvements and upscales to 4K. And lots can also be played on your Xbox One as well, either with Smart Delivery to optimize the experience or through Microsoft’s cloud-streaming tech for games that outpace the last generation.
If you’d rather catch up with some older, but still excellent games, be sure to read our picks for the best Xbox One games, or upgrade your gaming gear with our picks for the best Xbox controllers and best Xbox headsets. And while you’re at it, check out our best PS5 games, best PS4 games, and best Nintendo Switch games too.
Alan Wake 2
Remedy’s Alan Wake is a cult classic of the survival horror genre, and since then the studio has been building its own universe with story ties to other releases like Control. Alan Wake 2 is the sequel 13 years in the making, and it delivers. The story follows the author Alan Wake and FBI agent Saga Anderson through a mind-bending dual campaign. It leans more into horror than its predecessor and contains some truly unforgettable moments.
Alan Wake Remastered
While it might be a stretch to call Alan Wake underrated, it definitely didn’t receive the massive audience that it deserved when it originally launched in 2010. Hopefully Alan Wake Remastered (and the rousing success of its sequel) will change that. The action-adventure game stars a thriller novelist whose wife disappears while they are on vacation. Things really start to get weird when plot points from a novel he doesn’t remember writing start happening in real life. The remaster gives the wonderful written game a fresh look and adds some new secrets to uncover. It’s worth playing whether you experienced the original or not and the gameplay holds up remarkably well.
Cocoon
This puzzler that uses its unassuming premise–following the life of a small insectoid creature–to tell a gripping story about life and self-evolution. The environmental puzzles revolve around carrying orbs to create some truly head-scratching scenarios, and it ultimately culminates in an experience that will engage your brain both for its puzzle mechanics and the sheer meaning of it all
Control Ultimate edition
When Control originally launched in 2019, it seemed to be too taxing for console hardware. The next-gen release of Control: Ultimate edition remedies these issues. On Xbox Series X, Control can run in 4K, and it retains a steady 60fps. Alternatively, you can enable a graphics mode (not available on Series S) that runs at 30fps with ray tracing. Either option looks great, especially when making use of Jesse’s powers. Control is a narrative-focused action game revolving around a mysterious government agency that investigates supernatural activity. With excellent and varied gameplay that feeds into the well-written tale, Control is one of the best action games in recent memory.
Dead Space
Dead Space spent years as a revered but dormant franchise, and a symbol of the types of games EA put out in the late-aughts. This remake took what was great about the original and modernized it, not just in terms of visual style but with smart revisions. The result is a game that effectively introduces Dead Space’s unique, body horror style of action to a new generation of gamers. Slicing limbs off of necromorphs has never been so gross–or felt so satisfying.