5 games to play first on your new Xbox

polygon.com:

Happy holidays, or maybe it’s your birthday — or you simply decided to treat yourself to a brand-new Xbox Series X (or Series S). Now what? Sure, you could peruse Polygon’s list of the 22 best Xbox games, or the 25 best games on Xbox Game Pass. But you don’t have time for that! You’re probably reading this on your phone right now while your new Xbox whirs merrily away installing all of its fancy-new-console updates. The clock is ticking, and I’ve got you.

Here’s what you should install first on your new Xbox.

Originally released under the title Tetris Effect in 2018 and later updated into Tetris Effect: Connected in 2020, this gorgeous and mind-melting Tetris experience has a lot more going on than just, well, Tetris. (That said, regular degular Tetris is one of the absolute greatest games ever made, period, so there is that.) Eye-popping visuals and the pulse-pounding music accompaniment will have you feeling like a Tetrissuper-god, be it in single-player or multiplayer (co-op and competitive modes are available, both online and locally, for 2-4 players). High-quality headphones are highly recommended to fully immerse yourself in the vibes.

There’s a reason that racing games are often held up as showcases of what new consoles can do, and Forza Horizon 5 fits that bill perfectly, offering truly stunning drive-by vistas. Mexico is the setting for this one, which means there’s a huge diversity in climes — from beaches to jungles to swamplands — not to mention very realistic-looking weather simulation. You don’t even have to be that good of a driver to appreciate this one.

This collection of Halo games includes a lot of games, and many of them are old, so they aren’t exactly going to show off the power of your brand-new