The Xbox One has been accused of lacking exclusives. It doesn’t really seem to have much with the star power of Nintendo’s Super Mario Odyssey or Sony’s Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, and the canceling of two prominent exclusives didn’t help either. Still, Microsoft certainly does have games of its own worth playing, and we want to highlight the five best titles in this bunch to help them get the credit they deserve:
The Last Night
The Last Night is a heavily stylized 2.5D adventure that’s sure to draw comparisons to Blade Runner. With shooting, stealth, platforming, and a pixelated flare that oozes atmosphere, there’s a whole lot to love about it already even though the full game is far from publicly visible. Apparently branching dialogue with a cast of diverse, complex characters have been promised too, so for all the role-players out there this one is sure to prove enticing.
State of Decay 2
State of Decay was a cool zombie survival simulator, but its sequel seems to be offering a much better experience. Mainly this will be accomplished through the addition of multiplayer. Four player co-op should shake things up majorly by allowing human players to work together rather than forcing them to make do on their own, and while not a lot else is known about the title at this point, that alone is something to work forward to even though it is likely to only be the tip of the proverbial zombified iceberg. Definitely keep an eye on this one, survival fans.
Crackdown 3
Crackdown 2 was something of a letdown, but Crackdown 3 seems to be its potential redemption. With a focus on destruction, the game will feature online multiplayer in fully destructible environments. This means a lot of explosions, which means a lot of fun. Any questions? Didn’t think so.
Sea of Thieves
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag proved a long time ago that pirating and video games go together like cheese and crackers, and now it’s Rare’s turn to take a spin at the wheel of their own seafaring ship. For the first time in ages, the one time developer of the Banjo Kazooie titles is now going to be releasing the full version of their new multiplayer pirate game exclusively for the Xbox One.
It’s a huge game where anything goes on the ocean waves and players can create their own stories through interactions with each other in a variety of tropical locales and the possibilities for adventure really do seem endless. Stealing treasure from computer-controlled NPCs is one thing, but staging a betrayal, stealing treasure from a group of allied players, and getting chased halfway to Davy Jones’ Locker is another, and it all sounds like wild fun.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Ori and the Blind Forest was a beautiful game, and its sequel looks to be as well. Not much is known about it so far but with its trailer taking a darker tone than its predecessor while still remaining visually stunning, one can only expect good things to come from this project.
