Considering the lack of exclusives that the Xbox has had claim to over the past ten years, the hype behind the Xbox Series X - formally known as “Project Scarlett” - is still very real as gamers look forward to the new console’s release in 2020.
Until then, though, there were still some solid releases during the Xbox One’s run.
We continue our “Best of the Decade” coverage with TheGamer News Team’s Tabletop Games of the Decade!
Sam Watanuki - Cuphead
Especially in the past decade, the Xbox has failed to impress very much with its exclusives. One shining light, however, was 2017’s Cuphead. Granted, the charming hand-drawn run-and-gun was also released for PC - isn’t everything? - and eventually the Nintendo Switch, but for a little while at least, Xbox One owners could revel in the fact that they could own something that PlayStation 4 users couldn’t. And, really, isn’t that all that matters?
Bella Blondeau - Sunset Overdrive
Xbox had a tough go of it, despite having the objectively better console. Its exclusives just weren’t up to snuff, for the most part, but Sunset Overdrive stood head and shoulders above the rest. Sunset Overdrive was a massive recovery for Insomniac - following the lackluster Fuse - and a shot in the arm for open-world gaming. It managed to capture the spirit of the dev’s classic Ratchet and Clank series while infusing it with a bombastic art direction and mechanics that would go on to be the groundwork of the studio’s smash-hit Spider-Man game. While the humor didn’t always land, the game offered something novel that just couldn’t be had on any other console, and was a bold project that we wouldn’t mind seeing a sequel to one day. You just can’t go wrong with a vinyl launcher, really.
Jamie Latour - Halo: Reach
Xbox isn’t really known for its exclusives as much as Sony and Nintendo are, but there’s no denying that the Halo games are its crowning achievement when it comes to killer titles. Halo: Reach combines the classic Halo gameplay with a Star Wars: Rogue One-like story of the Spartans who fell trying to save Reach. It’s arguably the last great Halo game, which almost makes it the best Xbox game of the 2010s by default.
