Whatoplay presents the 10 Best Xbox Series X and S titles of 2021. All arranged by playscore.
To check out our full list, visit our page on all the Best Xbox Series X|S games.
10. The Falconeer Opening our list is an
airborne adventure from developer Tomas Sala. Soar to the skies in this open-world air combat game.
Instead of the usual dogfights involving metallic aerial monsters like in Ace Combat or War Thunder,
The Falconeer is all about gun-equipped birds. Players ride on top of their chosen avian
artillery and dominate the skies. While it shares similarities to the previously mentioned games,
Falconeer embraces its own identity with its fantastic visuals and layered mounting gameplay.
Veterans who like these kinds of games will find this enjoyable, however, for newbies,
it’s a tad bit intimidating with all the mechanics. It receives a playscore of 7.82.
9. WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship
An old-gen release getting their much-needed next-gen upgrade for the Series X and S.
It’s cashing in on the exhilarating breeze of rally titles. Manage the grueling art of rally
racing and make your way through 14 unique locations (and more). For racing veterans,
it offers plenty of surprises, with hundreds of licenses, a handful of beautiful locales,
and a whole lot of white-knuckling fun. The PC version is also coming out this September,
but with so many WRC titles coming out, it’s hard to tell the difference. A playscore of 8.15.
8. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War The biggest Call of Duty to ever exist with
a memory size almost closing in at 200 gigabytes. Better buy a separate External Drive for this one
if you’re gonna enjoy this most ambitious Call of Duty title to date. Black Ops Cold War takes place
between the events of the first and second Black Ops game. It offers an action-packed campaign on
par with the previous Black Ops titles, heck, with even more explosions and savvy tech that’s almost
impossible to get in the era. While the story mode is enjoyable at best, the multiplayer is where it
shines. Play with friends, or alone and enjoy a chaotic shootout with other players from around
the world in different game modes, including Zombies. It receives a playscore of 8.43.
7. NBA 2K21 Next Generation This annual celebration of all things great about
the NBA has come a long way. Despite different versions each year, the obvious copy and paste
might throw off a few people who’ve been following the series since the beginning. There are many
issues this game had during launch, including unstable servers and shady microtransactions.
However, what makes 2K21 the leading basketball game in the market is in its triple A budget.
Expect realistic facial animations and massive product placements everywhere
like a real NBA game. Xbox users seem to enjoy this one since it received a playscore of 8.54.
6. Planet Coaster: Console Edition
Create your own version of Disneyland in this theme park simulator from Developer and Publisher,
Aspyr. If you remember those good ol’ Roller Coaster tycoon games from the early 00s, you’d
enjoy this current-gen title with more quality of life elements and streamlined mechanics.
Built for the Consoles, this is friendly to all controllers. Manage those exhilarating rides and
satisfy the need of every guest in the park. All you have to do is add variety to every district
in your ambitious theme park and be careful not to mess it up. It receives a playscore of 8.66.
5. Resident Evil Village
One of CAPCOM’s biggest games this year, second only to their impressive Monster Hunter:
Rise. Village is slowly making its way to becoming the best-selling RE game. This sequel to 7 takes
Ethan Winters back to another rescue mission to find his missing daughter. This terrifying
theme park of horrors has a different kind of scare in every corner. The first person
perspective adds new levels of terror in each of its four areas. If you’re in it just for Lady D,
you are in for disappointment as there are more surprises in store for you. A playscore of 8.78.
4. Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition
It’s pretty obvious CAPCOM is dishing out great titles for these past few years. This Special
Edition contains every downloadable content including the much-awaited playable Vergil.
Not only that, it showcases the power of the RE Engine’s Ray Tracing technologies
built exclusively for the PlayStation 5. It’s the definitive way to experience Nero, Dante
and V’s journey in a world torn apart by demons. Engage in stylish hack and slash combat, with each
character offering different kinds of playstyles… like this one. It receives a playscore of 8.86.
3. HITMAN 3 The next chapter of IO Interactive’s
big-budget stealth-action game. The clean-shaven assassin undertakes his most dangerous contracts
ever in 3. Travel around the world and fulfill a laundry list of objectives that is possible with
different playstyles. Not only does it feel satisfying when you complete your missions,
the game runs at a smooth 60 frames with 4K support for the Series X versions. The Series S,
however, has a slight difference in performance, but it still showcases the powerful Real Tracing
tech that all games have been flaunting recently. It receives a playscore of 8.88.
2. Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate If there’s one way to experience
the latest Mortal Kombat game, then it has to be Ultimate for the Series X and S. What sets it
apart from its other versions is in its complete content featuring all two Kombat Packs and the
massive Aftermath Expansion. Anyone who owns this Ultimate Edition on their old-gen platforms can
opt for a next-gen upgrade for FREE. Now you get to enjoy those glorious fatalities and brutalities
in 4K 60 frames per second with its massive roster of 37 characters. A playscore of 8.93.
1. Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla Ubisoft’s latest Assassin’s Creed game is a system
seller for the Xbox Series X and S, despite its lack of exclusivity. It came right in time for the
launch of the next-gen consoles and if you’ve seen any gameplay footage so far, the visuals alone
show that this is paving the way for gorgeous open-world games. In Valhalla, your Viking
adventures take you to interesting locations set during the Viking invasion of Britain. The game
world is massive and it’s not kidding with its open-world scale. There’s a ton of stuff to do,
some inconsequential, while others impact a lot to your Nordic adventures. A playscore of 8.99.