The 10 Best Xbox One Games of 2015
We ran our list of the best games of 2015 earlier this month, but we’ll break it down by console for you. We’re not just looking at console exclusives, but at the full range of releases for the year, excluding collections, reissues and remasters. So a game like The Witcher 3 could pop up on both the Xbox One and Playstation 4 list, whereas compilations like Rare Replay and Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection won’t. (We’re doing a separate list for collections and reissues.) And now that we’ve gone over the methodology, let’s hit our first stop: the Xbox One.
Microsoft released what should’ve been the biggest exclusive on any system this year: Halo 5: Guardians. It sold a lot of copies and presumably entertained its fans and was definitely a success for the company. It’s not on our list because we didn’t particular care for it. Instead we have 10 games that we greatly enjoyed to different degrees, including a handful of exclusives and a number of games that’ll pop up on our other console lists. If you like videogames and own an Xbox One, there were certainly enough games to keep you entertained this year, no matter your tastes. Here are our favorites.
10. The Escapists
The Escapists manages to replicate almost perfectly the pleasure of watching films like Escape From Alcatraz and The Shawshank Redemption. Much like those films, The Escapists is a slow burn that builds to a fantastic finale in which the protagonist finally gets one over on the brutal security guards and wardens that have harassed them throughout. And this game really tries to draw that picture for you, with guards frequently demanding that you call them your king, brutally breaking up any fight with violence, and generally fulfilling the image of the dark-hearted prison guard from media history.—Cameron Kunzelman
9. Massive Chalice
Massive Chalice, at is finest, feels like an in-drawn breath, a nervous stillness punctured by the monstrous sounds of the Cadence lingering at the edge of the battlefield. As you scout ahead with your cloaked Hunters, you reach that point where your breath starts to hold, and as you lunge in with a phalanx of Caberjacks and Alchemists, giant logs and explosive flasks become the deafening shout punctuating your successful short-term strategy. It’s boisterously thrilling—even if sometimes, it’s a thrill to be felt over and over again.—Bryant Francis
8. Rock Band 4
Rock Band 4 intentionally feels as much like classic Rock Band as it can, and that will be comforting for the game’s dedicated cult following. Letting you use instruments and play songs from older consoles is more than you should probably expect from a videogame, but it’s also something Harmonix had to do to make sure the most diehard Rock Band fans made the jump. I am one of those diehards, as is my wife, and we seamlessly slid into Rock Band 4 like we were still jamming on the Xbox 360. It is the same game, more or less, and that’ll be good news for people who love Rock Band.—Garrett Martin