Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (Xbox One)

What happens when FromSoftware decides to take everything it's learned, and subsequently honed to perfection, through the Souls series over the years and channel it all into an epic single player shinobi adventure? That'll be the magic that is Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

This is, first and foremost, a monumentally challenging experience, there's no two ways about it, You can forget about summoning help for bosses in this one. But, if you embrace the pain, get your parries down and become one with the sword, well, what adventures await. The Wolf's revenge is an epic tale, an action-packed story that's jam-packed full of amazing bosses, incredible landscapes, secrets and lore. Is it FromSotware's best game? Well, there's certainly a valid argument to be made here, but one thing's for certain, this is one of the finest titles available on any platform and an unforgettable trip for those who buckle up and take it.

  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (Xbox One)

Shovel Knight harkens back to retro 2D side-scrollers platformers of yore with its wonderful pixel art style, plinky plonk music and seemingly simple gameplay. However, this is no straight-up tribute act, as what Yacht Club Games has actually delivered here manages to stay true to its influences whilst delivering a sublime modern spin on the genre.

This is tight, precise, immaculately designed stuff; a swaggering, smart-arsed, super slick experience that's chock full of humour, clever references and some cracking bosses and battles. Even better, this Treasure Trove edition comes packed with multiple extra modes, including a Super Smash Bros-style brawler. Shovel Knight may look like your run of the mill retro pixel effort, but it's actually one of the most addictive, endearing and just straight up fun games we've played in a long, long time.

  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Slay The Spire (Xbox One)

Mega Crit Games' Slay the Spire should come with some sort of health warning, as this superb blend of deckbuilding, roguelike and dungeon-crawler is one the most fiendishly addictive games we've played in actual years, it's almost impossible to put down.

An almost unfathomably moreish mix that's jam-packed full of depth, it sucks you in and refuses to let go with its wonderful art style, clever enemies, tactile and expansive decks of cards, relics and floor after floor of puzzle-like battles to savour. If you've ever liked single player card games, this is for you. If you've ever thought about trying card games, this is for you. If you've never even though a...you get the point. Slay the Spire is one of the best games released in the past few years and an absolute must-play on Game Pass.

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Spelunky 2 (Xbox Series X|S)

Mossmouth's Spelunky, which released all the way back in 2008, is one of the truly great platform games released in the past few decades. A fiendishly difficult, but endlessly additive and inventive affair, it was hard to see how the developers could improve upon its wonderful gameplay loops, but improve upon them they have with this stunning sequel.

Spelunky 2 takes everything that was great about its 13 year old predecessor and refines it to perfection, resulting in a platformer that sucks you in and threatens to never let you go again. Yes it's tough, yes it gets repetitive, but this is a game we find it almost impossible to put down once we're in the zone. This one's another fantastic recent addition to Xbox's Game Pass service.

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Stardew Valley (Xbox One)

With so many farming sims on the market right now, it can seem tough to decide which is the best one to go with. However, we're here to tell you the decision is actually easy, it's Stardew Valley.

One of the first titles in the genre to push farming sims properly into mainstream consciousness, Stardew Valley is just an incredibly addictive game that makes tending to crops and managing relationships some of the most fun its ever been. Since its initial release multiple updates have further expanded the game and turned it into the ultimate, refined version of itself. Even if this genre doesn't appeal to you, this is one experience you do not want to miss out on - and it's on Game Pass so you've really got no excuses!

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox One)

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, or SWJFO as nobody calls it, wasn't without its problems when it originally launched back in November of 2019, most notably performance issues that held it back from being the super smooth experience we so wanted it to be.

Fast-forward to present day, however, and these performance issues have been dealt with thanks to some very nice next-gen optimization, resulting in a Star Wars single player adventure we highly recommend taking. Cal Kestis' journey here sees him grow from padawan to Jedi master in an enthralling campaign story that gets much, much better (and darker) as it progresses. There's a ton of nice surprises for Star Wars fans packed in and around some cracking missions, and the whole thing has left us incredibly excited to see what Respawn has cooking for the upcoming sequel!

  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Subnautica (Xbox Series X|S)

Unknown Worlds' Subnautica is one of the great indie early access success stories, a game honed to near perfection during a long gestation period in early access on PC, with lots of input from avid fans helping to shape the core experience as it exists today.

As a result what we've got here is a confident and constantly thrilling marriage of addictive gameplay loops, with hugely satisfying crafting and base building elements, well-implemented survival mechanics and a world and story that absolutely ooze wonder, mystery and full-on existential dread in equal measure. For solo players there's literally dozens of hours of top-class underwater adventures to jump into here in a stellar game that's almost impossible to stop playing once you get stuck in.

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Sunset Overdrive (Xbox One)

Sunset Overdrive was released at a time when morale and belief in the Xbox brand was arguably at its lowest (2014), and being an Xbox exclusive, it somewhat slipped under the radar. It's become a cult classic in recent years though, thanks to its fast-paced gameplay and traversal, over-the-top story and colourful visuals.

This is the Xbox game that was developed by Insomniac Games before they went off to join PlayStation Studios and create Marvel's Spider-Man, so it's no surprise it's so good. It's never received a a proper next-gen touch-up, which is a shame, but play it on Xbox Series X and Series S and it benefits really well from the Auto HDR feature.

Xbox Game Pass? Yes

SUPERHOT (Xbox One)

Superhot Team really delivered the goods when they dropped Superhot back in 2016. A super stylish, super slick and super clever FPS, this one sees you faced with an army of well-armed foes who only move when you do, time standing still until you decide to push it forward by making your play.

What this results in is one of the coolest time manipulation games out there, an awesome puzzle game/shooter that quickly gets under your skin and stays there. It's hugely addictive, hugely challenging stuff that revels in inventiveness and keeps you coming back for more in order to blast through its levels in increasingly cool ways. Dodging a bullet in this game is the closest you'll ever come to being Neo. Superhot is an absolute banger.

  • Xbox Game Pass? No, but Superhot: Mind Control Delete is!

Tales of Arise (Xbox Series X|S)

The 17th entry in Bandai Namco's long-running Tales franchise, Tales of Arise is a fantastic action RPG that pulls together a hugely addictive battle system, incredible graphics and a properly thrilling story to deliver up one of the very best games we had the pleasure of playing in 2021.

Telling the story of the rise of the persecuted Renans as they finally fight back against their technologically superior enslavers, the Dahnans, it's a surprisingly personal and affecting game that keeps you fully engaged in its core narrative all the way through. Its battle system is fantastically flashy stuff that gives you lots of strategic options, cool abilities and total control over your party as you face off against all manner of beasties, human foes and some top-notches bosses. All of this is then backed up by a wonderfully vibrant anime aesthetic that makes the whole thing pop. If you're on the lookout for a great big juicy Xbox single player RPG to jump into, this one comes highly recommended.

  • Xbox Game Pass? No