Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (Xbox One)

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice raised the bar on what indie games can achieve when it first launched, with impressive visuals and sound design alongside a truly compelling story. Tackling heavy subject matter such as mental health, it truly puts players in the shoes of Senua, as she uncovers the dark tale ahead of her. With the sequel not far away, now is the perfect time to brush up on the story before Senua's adventure continues.

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Hitman 3 (Xbox Series X|S)

Considering how brilliant the first two games in IO Interactive's rebooted Hitman series were, it's came as no real surprise that Hitman 3 turned out as well as it has. This really is Agent 47's grandest outing so far with all the tricks, traps and disguises you've come to expect - and many more besides - set in some of the most exquisitely designed levels the series has seen so far.

There's an almost endless amount of content here for solo players and, if you're a fan of all things assassination, you'll doubtless be in 47th heaven with everything IO has delivered here. As we said in our review, this is one "superb final entry in what must now be regarded as one of gaming's truly great trilogies", and a "fittingly slick and satisfying send off for Agent 47."

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Hollow Knight (Xbox One)

What is there left to say about the superlative Hollow Knight? A game that many consider to be one of the quintessential Metroidvania experiences, it absolutely oozes charm, matching stunningly evocative visuals with tight combat controls and slick platforming action.

As you explore more and more of the world here, inching slowly forward through some surprisingly tough encounters whilst slowly piecing together its wonderful little mysteries, your appreciation for what Team Cherry have achieved only grows. It's devilishly difficult stuff at times, but oh-so rewarding in all the best ways once you overcome a challenge, best a boss or pass a brutal platforming sequence. We really can't recommend this one enough.

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Hyper Light Drifter (Xbox One)

Heart Machine's 2016 action RPG is a neon-drenched masterpiece, a pixelated hack and slash thing of beauty that sucks you into its vibrant, tragedy-tinged world and fully absorbs you for its duration.

With incredible visuals, Dark Souls-style interconnected areas, tough but extremely slick and clever combat, and plenty of obscure lore to pore over for the studious gamer, this is one of our absolute favourite indies of the last few years.

The focus here is on going your own way, choosing which direction to head off in search of one of the game's bosses, wading through baddies in combat that's designed to encourage you to go on the offensive - reloading your gun requires you damage foes - and taking in the full majesty of this glorious little world.

If you've yet to play Hyper Light Drifter, now is exactly the right time!

  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Iconoclasts (Xbox One)

Iconoclasts is, quite simply, one of the most vibrant metroidvanias currently available on consoles, one that marries sublime world design with an engaging story, resulting in a game that we rank that above a lot of the competition in its genre.

This is a superb action adventure in which it's just as exciting to uncover the next story beat as it is to find the next hidden secret. It uses its clever narrative to funnel you through its core metroidvania gameplay in unique ways, as you use your trusty wrench to solve a variety of excellent puzzles. Joakim Sandberg's creation really is a great example of gameplay and narrative uniting perfectly to create a unique and compelling indie experience that you really ought to take for a spin.

  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Immortality (Xbox Series X|S)

Sam Barlow's latest is, quite simply, a masterpiece and an incredible addition to Game Pass in 2022. You could say it's the greatest FMV game of all time (which it is), you could also say it totally transcends any sort of attempt to label it within an existing genre. This game is entirely its own thing.

As we put it in our 10/10 review, Immortality is "a dazzling display from any angle you to choose to admire it; top-notch acting, brilliant writing, a core mechanic that's complex but carried off with style and grace, intuitive controls that draw you into your role...just remember to avoid spoilers, dive into the mystery of Marissa Marcel completely unsullied, and you're in for one of the most exquisite gaming experiences of this year, or any other, by quite some distance."

Play it!

Immortals Fenyx Rising (Xbox Series X|S)

If you're looking for a similar Xbox single player experience to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Ubisoft's Immortals Fenyx Rising is a great fit. You'll climb, glide and fight your way across its fantastical open world, taking on huge monsters and solving puzzles in the Vaults of Tartaros.

We described it in our review as a "hugely entertaining, technically impressive Ancient Greek romp that's well worth experiencing" and it really did surprise us with just how good it's combat is, how epic its world felt and how embroiled in its adventure we became. If you've yet to try this one, now's the time to get stuck in!

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Infernax (Xbox Series X|S)

Infernax proved to be a surprise hit of the February 2022 batch of Xbox Game Pass titles, scoring an "Excellent" 9/10 in our review, in which we called it "a super-satisfying love letter to the glory days of Castlevania and an excellent and addictive little game in its own right."

The game's creators describe it as a "2D splatterfest homage to NES action games but with... so much blood", so if you like old-school retro games and you're looking for something Castlevania-like to dig into on your lonesome, we think you're going to have an amazing time with this one. Most will overlook it, but it's a hidden gem for sure.

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Inside (Xbox One)

Following on from 2010's exquisite Limbo, Playdead returned in 2016 with Inside, a puzzle-platformer in much the same vein as its predecessor that delivered up yet more of the studio's signature environmental puzzles and brutal, bloody death.

Yes, this time around you play as a frightened child, clawing and stumbling your way through terrifying darkness, only ever just evading the clutches of your enemies, but here the art direction, the puzzles, the platforming, the stealth...it all surpasses what came before, making for a short, sharp shock of a game that is, quite simply, an essential experience.

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Judgment (Xbox Series X|S)

A spin-off of the Yakuza series that sees the chaotically loud madness of that franchise turned down ever-so-slightly in favour of a darker detective adventure? We are all in and then some.

Judgment had our attention the moment it was first announced, but we honestly never expected that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio would nail it this hard. Takayuki Yagami's hunt for a serial killer is massively absorbing stuff that tells a gritty tale whilst also indulging in the same excellent Yakuza combat and plenty of offbeat side missions to boot. We're absolutely huge fans of Lost Judgment too, it's a must-play sequel that ups the ante in every way and a game single player adventure fans simply must seek out, but we urge you to play the original outing first. There's no rush with this amazing series, soak it all in!

  • Xbox Game Pass? No