The Best Xbox Game of 2024

ign.com:

It’s been a strange console generation for Team Xbox so far. It started during a pandemic and resulted in supply chain issues that made the Xbox Series X hard to get for months, the potential-killer-app launch title (Halo Infinite) suffered an embarrassing but much needed yearlong delay, Microsoft tried to buy Activision-Blizzard for SIXTY-NINE BILLION DOLLARS only to see regulatory agencies around the world challenge it before the deal ultimately went through, the company shipped one bona fide Game of the Year (Forza Horizon 5) and also started publishing its first-party games on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, and Xbox boss Phil Spencer even confirmed that a handheld Xbox is in the works, even if we might not see it during this hardware generation.

All the while, outside of a kickass 2021 that saw the release of the aforementioned Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 along with Psychonauts 2, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and Tunic, Xbox players have been waiting (and waiting) for a steady flow of first-party games. And it was looking a bit bleak this year – again – with Avowed getting pushed to February 2025 and the potential-packed pixel-art indie action-adventure exclusive Replaced slipping out of 2024. But Microsoft turned in all its homework right as the bell rang at the end of class, with STALKER 2, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle all landing in the final six weeks of the year – and all three getting A’s on the assignment. Let’s discuss the honorable mentions, runners-up, and Best Xbox Game of 2024.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 and Dungeons of Hinterberg both just missed making the top of our list but are very worthy of honorable mentions. The psychologically focused sequel to Hellblade was the first-ever officially announced Xbox Series X game, and when it finally shipped this year, it can lay claim to at least one title: best-looking Xbox game ever made. Ninja Theory’s Unreal Engine 5-powered narrative-driven adventure is a