The 25 best Xbox games of all time

The 25 best Xbox games of all time

We know what you’re probably thinking: “It’s all shooters, right?” No, it’s not. The Xbox built a reputation for housing the world’s best console blasters over time, and deservedly so, but there’s so much more in the console line’s 16-year history that deserves celebrating. Here’s a look at our 25 favourite Xbox exclusives from across the years, including games that began first on one of Microsoft’s consoles.

25) DANCE CENTRAL (360, 2010)

Created by the same brilliant, music-loving minds as Guitar Hero and Rock Band, Dance Central used the Kinect to observe your stylin’ dance moves as you groove along to hit songs. It worked well, was honestly a blast, and deserves to be remembered even as the Kinect is forgotten.

24) HALO: REACH (360, 2010)

Halo: Reach is the first of many series entries on this list – surprise! – and Bungie’s final entry elevated the shooter favourite to new heights with larger-scale environments, a new cast of characters, and even jetpacks in the mix. While the story and dialogue didn’t always hit the mark, the campaign was frequently exhilarating while the multiplayer mode offered an insane amount of online fun.

23) KILLER INSTINCT (XB1, 2013)

“ULTRA COMBO” – two of the most satisfying words in fighting games, right behind “Hadoken” and “Fatality”. Killer Instinct has always been a riot to play, but this modern interpretation is a world beyond the arcade and Nintendo console originals, with a roster that’s fit to burst and some absolutely stunning effects that fill the screen with particles whenever you land a special move.

22) PROJECT GOTHAM RACING (XBOX, 2001)

Everyone remembers Halo: Combat Evolved from the original Xbox launch, and with obviously good reason – but Project Gotham Racing also deserved your early screen time. Bizarre Creations’ racer offered up sporty rides and rewarded style, awarding you Kudos for impressive driving maneuvers and race progress. Over time, the Forza series more or less replaced it in the Xbox stable, but the original PGR was a must-have for early owners of the massive console.

21) SHADOW COMPLEX (360, 2009)

Shadow Complex lacked the atmosphere and compelling lead of Super Metroid, but this Xbox Live Arcade gem was nearly as strong when it came to exploring an ever-expanding game world and ultimately feeling like a total badass. Like its clear inspiration, Shadow Complex found you searching for weapon and armour upgrades throughout a cavernous underground facility, and became all the more exhilarating as it went.

20) DEAD RISING (360, 2006)

It might be a blatant rip-off of George A. Romero’s horror classic Dawn of the Dead, but what a blatant rip-off it is. Capcom’s zombie adventure squeezed more shambling corpses onscreen than we’d ever seen before, really using the Xbox 360’s processing power to its full potential. Protagonist Frank West had his tongue firmly in cheek, too: I mean, where else can you whack an undead monster with a cactus plant while wearing women’s clothes and a horse mask?

19) BRAID (360, 2008)

With a 2D quest to save a princess and a horde of Goomba-esque enemies, it’s easy to make a knee-jerk accusation that this is yet another Super Mario rip off. This isn’t the case at all, though. Dreamy storybook artwork and genius time-manipulation puzzles help set this indie smash hit as one of the greatest 2D platformers of all time. And it was almost entirely (and legendarily) developed by one man, Jonathan Blow.

18) FABLE 2 (360, 2008)

Most of legendary game designer Peter Molyneux’s modern games have fallen victim to the hype of his own overblown proclamations, but at least Fable II got damn close to living up to his promises. The Xbox 360 sequel expanded out the original Xbox’s fantasy epic, providing a strong amount of player choice within the beautiful fantasy universe. It felt like a world of adventure that you were really living in, and this remains the essential entry in a pretty stellar series.

17) SUPER MEAT BOY (360, 2010)

More than a superb throwback to when games were harder than Arnie with an AK-47, Super Meat Boy lead the way for the Xbox 360-inspired wave of console indie games alongside Braid and Spelunky. What makes it so adored is the sheer rush of achievement you felt after whirling through a level’s many grinding cogs, blades and lasers without being pulverised into oblivion. Also, yes, the hero is literally made of meat, and the bad guy is named Dr. Fetus.

16) GEARS OF WAR 3 (360, 2011)

No Gears of War sequel has been able to match the impact of the highly influential (and totally badass) original, but 2011’s Gears of War 3 came the closest. It took the cover-based, alien-blasting meathead formula and amped it up even further, allowing four-player co-op in the campaign while making the online Horde mode all the more addictive. Hugely inventive and original? Nah. Amazing fun with your crew? You bet.

15) FORZA MOTORSPORT 4 (360, 2011)

While the newer Xbox One entries have certainly amplified the beauty of Microsoft and Turn 10’s sim-leaning racing favourite, Forza Motorsport 4 still feels like the most complete and endlessly replayable edition of the bunch. Forza marries dashing good looks with impressive handling and surprising accessibility, and this version packed in an absolutely immense stack of cars plus more than two dozen tracks.

14) TRIALS EVOLUTION (360, 2012)

Trials might not look like much, especially in a consistently stacked set of distinctive Xbox Live Arcade releases, but five minutes behind the handlebars could convince anyone otherwise. Part platformer and part puzzle-solver, this delightfully challenging series finds you attempting to survive a side-scrolling gauntlet on the back of a motorcycle.

13) CASTLE CRASHERS (360, 2008)

This Live Arcade indie builds upon beat-’em-up fundamentals to deliver loads of hack-and-slash fun as you command little cartoonish knights, plus the visual style and humour pack a hilarious punch. It’s short and sweet, but you’ll want to play this one again and again – and you can do so on Xbox One now, too.

12) HALO 3 (360, 2007)

Master Chief’s third major jaunt wasn’t a huge deviation from its massively popular predecessors, but the newer console’s added muscle made the campaign missions seem even more epic and memorable, while the online blasting kept us happily notching head shots into the late hours. In our view, it’s still the best Halo of the last decade.

11) TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL (XBOX, 2002)

Splinter Cell eventually hit just about every platform known to man – including the Nokia N-Gage, of all things – but it began life as an Xbox exclusive. And what an exclusive it was, giving Microsoft a stealth-action franchise that could honestly compete with Metal Gear Solid, even if they were vastly different in tone.

10) GEOMETRY WARS: RETRO EVOLVED 2 (360, 2008)

Geometry Wars started life as a bonus mini-game within Project Gotham Racing 2, but by the time this second standalone entry hit Xbox Live Arcade, it was worthy of full-blown obsession. Retro Evolved 2 maintained the dual-stick, arcade-style shooting approach, but then packed in several additional modes that were just as compelling as the original – like Pacifism, which takes away your guns but dramatically boosts the intensity in the process.

9) JET SET RADIO FUTURE (XBOX, 2002)

The original Jet Set Radio was one of the best reasons to buy a Dreamcast, but sadly, Xbox exclusive Jet Set Radio Future never seemed to find a huge audience. Future took the stylish look of the original game to another level as you skated around futuristic Tokyo-to, tagging walls with your spray paint and evading the coppers. Beyond the stronger cel-shaded look, JSRF also has one of the greatest game soundtracks of all time.

8) MASS EFFECT (360, 2007)

Sure, we had already ventured to space for single-player action before Mass Effect came into orbit, but nothing before it truly felt so epic. From something as simple as starting a romantic relationship with another character to something as catastrophic as sanctioning genocide, almost every decision you made had consequences. Sandwiched into the story were tactical team combat and a delightful RPG system, ensuring that this masterpiece had all bases covered.

7) FORZA HORIZON 3 (XB1, 2016)

Sure, you could accuse most racers of being monotonous and arrogant, but not Forza Horizon 3. Speed around the open-world Australian setting and you’ll soak up vistas to die for. Or you could, you know, slam your foot on to the pedal and take part in some breakneck races to get your adrenaline flowing and lay claim to a few trophies to store in your cabinet. And we simply can’t say enough good things about the joyous fun that is the Hot Wheels DLC.

6) STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC (XBOX, 2003)

KOTOR made it feel like you were really living in the Star Wars universe, letting you create a character and then make key choices over the course of the epic adventure. Those pushed you closer to the light or dark sides of the Force, and it was plenty engrossing all the while. BioWare took this formula and made Mass Effect later without the license, but we still prefer the original.

5) HALO 2 (XBOX, 2004)

How do you follow up the biggest console shooter of all time? You go bigger, of course. Halo 2’s most significant contribution to the franchise was online play, taking the split-screen and LAN battles of the original to the world over, and ensuring that Xbox fans would never need to see real people again to get the thrill of competition. The campaign also got an upgrade with dual-wielding weapons and more distinctive environments, even if the sudden cliffhanger was a head-scratcher.

4) INSIDE (XB1, 2016)

Much like Limbo before it, Inside combines sublime 2.5D animation, nigh-on perfect platforming, clever physics-based puzzles and a relentlessly unnerving atmosphere in one of the most memorable experiences on any console. And as for the swimming sections (you’ll know when you get to them), well, they’re as terrifying as anything Resi has served up. A masterpiece.

3) BIOSHOCK (360, 2007)

The Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo convinced us that an undersea adventure would be a right old hoot, but BioShock put us straight. Taking place in the underwater city of Rapture, BioShock locks you in with deformed killers, corrupt elites and diving suit-wearing monsters that’ll try and drill a hole in your gut. But it wasn’t the dark horrors or plasmid-powered abilities that we loved the most – it was the story.

2) GEARS OF WAR (360, 2006)

Gears of War is the game that convinced countless gamers to jump ship from Sony and pick up an Xbox 360. Epic’s beautifully bleak blaster showed what was possible with the new hardware, and the over-the-shoulder perspective introduced the cover shooter to the world. Marcus Fenix was the gruff-talking, curb-stomping, roadie-running and chainsaw-gun-wielding beefcake of an action hero we all needed – and he was voiced by Bender from Futurama to boot.

1) HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED (XBOX, 2001)

Well, here it is: of course it’s the original Halo. The first Xbox wouldn’t have had a chance without Bungie’s brilliant console shooter behind it. Halo: Combat Evolved effectively showed that a console first-person shooter could be just as entertaining and addictive as any PC experience, with tremendously fun local multiplayer that fuelled many a split-screen skirmish and basement LAN party.