Xbox's latest consoles, the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, are still about as hard to find as the PlayStation 5. You haven't really missed out on any games if you don't have one though, at least not if you have an Xbox One or a gaming PC. Microsoft's top exclusives—games like Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite—are playable on all three platforms. It's part of the industry's growing commitment to making games accessible on more than a single system. Microsoft, of course, has taken that commitment even further with Xbox Game Pass, the subscription service that gets you access to over 100 games at any one time, including first-party Xbox games on the date of release.
So if you're an Xbox owner, it was exceedingly easy to find good games in 2021, whether you've moved on to the Xbox Series line, are sticking with the Xbox One, or prefer their great grandpappy, the PC. Forza Horizon 5 is a true showcase of the power of the Xbox Series X, and an absolute must for console owners. Playground Games delivers stunning graphics that show off the diverse landscapes of Mexico and the vast library of cars in impressively realistic detail. With biggest open-world yet, the latest entry in the Forza series gives you so many reasons to get behind the driver's seat time and again, with a wealth of different races, challenges, new social features, and updated modes. With impeccable audio design, smooth, responsive controls, and a beautiful world to speed your way through, Forza Horizon 5 sets benchmark for racing games of this generation. Forza Horizon 5 is a racing video game set in an open world environment based in a fictional representation of Mexico.
The game has the largest map in the entire Forza Horizon series, being 50% larger than its predecessor, Forza Horizon 4, while also having the highest point in the Horizon series. The map was described by creative director Mike Brown as one of the most diverse Forza Horizon maps the team has built. The map contains an active caldera volcano, jungles and beaches, ancient Mayan temples, and towns and cities such as Guanajuato.
Players can explore the open world freely, though they can also compete in multiplayer races and complete the campaign mode. Both the cars featured in the game and the player character can be extensively customised. Players are able to create custom liveries and tunes for cars, and perform engine swaps, drivetrain swaps, or install body kits on certain vehicles. The game is the first in the franchise to support ray tracing on cars . Available as a standalone purchase and through Xbox Game Pass, Gears 5 is the game you'll want to stick on once it's safe to have friends over to your house. If you've never played a Gears of War game, Gears 5 is a great place to start and undoubtedly one of the best entries into the series yet.
Should your 4K TV support it, there's also 120hz performance modes for multiplayer for a faster, more responsive experience. Featuring over 450 licenced cars just waiting for you to seek out and unlock, Forza Horizon 4's map is simply stacked with different events to take part in and various locations to see. What's more, you'll accrue experience for everything you do, letting you purchase parts that can be attributed to any car in your garage.
If you're looking for a fun racing game that easily offers you the thrills and spills of competition, this is it. On stage, there are a lot of spectators who can see our car racing from the platform. The first game in the Forza Horizon franchise to allow ray tracing on cars is Forza Horizon 5 free windows 10.
Hop on in and pick from over hundreds of world-class cars and begin your horizon adventure today. While some racing games choose to focus on pure simulation, the Horizon subset series of Forza games instead let players to speed through landscapes in true, arcade-like fashion. This time, the driving game comes with a simulation, based in Mexico. For those wondering when Forza Horizon 5 will be released, the launch date has been set for November 9, 2021.
Forza 5 is one of the most anticipated car racing games in the world for several reasons. First of all, Forza Horizon 5 will come with one of the most extensive and complicated open-world models. From an active volcano to tropical forests and mountain ranges, everything seems to be very detailed and refined in the 4K trailer released on June 13, 2021. ThisMad-Max-esque style game takes place during a racing festival much like theHorizonline, as players control one of three protagonists, each of which has a different level of racing experience.
A wider variety of vehicles including motorbikes helps to expand the title, while environmental elements really become a major factor within gameplay. Although it might not boast the same complex mechanics and systems of a title likeForza,Blur'sarcade-style of gameplay was certainly a lot of fun to utilize behind the wheel. A career mode acts as a compelling campaign for those looking for one, but the online and co-op multiplayer through familiar cities caps off the experience nicely. Forza Horizon 5 is now available to millions of players all over the world, and has quickly established itself as one of the best racing games you can play. The colossal and expertly engineered open-world racing title from Playground Games and Xbox Game Studios is the latest in the Forza Horizon franchise, a series that has been a staple on Xbox consoles for years. With Forza Horizon 5 taking the series and the genre to all-new heights, however, some are wondering whether FH5 will ever come to PlayStation.
Forza Horizon 5 Xbox One And Xbox Series X This consists of a series of mini-multiplayer games strewn across the map. One of these mini-multiplayer games is called "Piñata pop" where the Horizon Festival's cargo plane drops piñatas. The goal is to pop as many piñatas as they can with the help of other players. It also introduces the "EventLab", a toolset in which players can create custom games, races, and more depending on their personal preference. According to Brown, it is an AI assistant that tracks the current statuses of players, helping them to link with other players online and play together. Forza Link can also link players' GPS systems if they accept the invitation from another player.
Gears 5 equally iterates the successful multiplayer offerings the series is known for, with Horde and PVP being as great as they've ever been, but now also featuring a new PVE mode called Escape. It's here where you and two more of your friends must hold off legions of the Swarm, escaping out of the depths of an enemy nest as quickly and efficiently as possible. Not only is this the best Gears of War game, but also one of the best Xbox One exclusive games. If you're someone who doesn't have time for the nitty, gritty video games that take themselves too seriously, then Sunset Overdrive could be the perfect remedy. That's because it's an anarchic-fuelled third-person shooting romp that lets you roam a super-stylised open world, using any means necessary to destroy all the mutants enemies roaming the fictional Sunset City. This irreverent approach translates to everything from gameplay, humour and even traversal.
Now that fans know when Forza Horizon 5 will be released, there is speculation about which cars will be available in the game. Although there is no official list of Forza Horizon 5 cars yet, fans around the world have seen some interesting new additions to the Forza Horizon 5. A Mercedes-AMG Project One is proudly presented by developers in the official demo video of the gameplay released by Xbox on their YouTube channel.
Other cars in the official trailer include the Land Rover Defender 110, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10 GSR, Ford Bronco R Baja, Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 and Porsche 911 Carrera S . The pre-order for Forza Horizon 5 can be launched from the Microsoft store. Using the latest gaming consoles and the extraordinary power they have, Forza Horizon 5 would implement advanced beam tracking technology for more realistic visual performance. Mexican HDR sky captures were implemented in the game for a captivating experience. Forza Horizon 5 represents Playground Games' latest and greatest installment in the series, taking us to the lovely environs of Mexico.
We've used the previous game in our GPU benchmarks since it launched three years ago, so it's time to see how things have — and haven't — changed in the ensuing years. We received early access to the review code, and thankfully it's on Steam from the start this time, so no more fussing with the Microsoft Store. There are still a few lingering bugs and glitches to fix, so this is a preview of performance rather than the final say, but let's get to the testing with some of the best graphics cards. Consisting of a free-to-play multiplayer and a campaign mode , Halo Infinite truly revitalizes the series. Gears Tactics is yet another Xbox game that had released on Xbox One and PC, but it also served as a launch title for the Xbox Series X/S thanks to some excellent next-gen enhancements. Those playing on Xbox Series X will benefit from gameplay in 4K Ultra HD and 60fps, with enhanced textures, increased world detail and a choice of 60 or 30 frames per second for cinematics.
But those on Xbox Series S benefit too, with Gears Tactics running at 60fps and 1440p on the smaller console. Killer Instinct isn't a title that many gamers expected to be an Xbox One launch highlight, but it's one of the surprise gems in Microsoft's video game lineup. The revived series adheres to the original game's unique blend of manual and auto-combos, which casual and hardcore players use to rack up ridiculous hit totals with a few well-timedcontrolleror fight stick inputs. Years ago, he was in movies and TV shows that you've definitely seen but will never be able to spot him in.
Playground Games has delivered their latest masterpiece with Forza Horizon 5, which features the series' most diverse map and largest car list yet. Forza Horizon 5 somehow fulfills its ambitious promises to be the best open-world racer right now, and one of the best racing games in general. Release9 November 2021GenreRacingModeSingle-player, multiplayerForza Horizon 5 is a 2021 racing video game developed by Playground Games and published by Xbox Game Studios. The twelfth main instalment of the Forza series, the game is set in a fictionalised representation of Mexico. It was released on 9 November 2021 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Hot off the heels of acclaimed Xbox 360 exclusive Alan Wake, developer Remedy wowed Xbox players once again in 2016 with the reality-bending action of Quantum Break. Seamlessly merging both game and TV by placing live-action episodes in between traditional gameplay segments, this is a third-person shooter with a difference. As protagonist Jack Joyce you manipulate time and use it as a weapon against enemies, shooting and time-blasting your way through an epic modern sci-fi tale. Ori and the Will of the Wisps touts an incredibly unique colour palette, leaning into neon shades that makes the 2D adventure is otherworldly – almost like a fairytale. This combines with beautiful hand-drawn animations, which helps brings characters to life and adds more personality.
It's ultimately a story about friendship you wouldn't necessarily expect from the same platform that features Halo and Gears of War, but remarkably all comes together to be one of the best Xbox One exclusives. The entire game exudes this charming claymation-like art style, which works wonders in inspiring both kids and big kids alike to hop on a ship and set sail. From here it's all about fending off invading ships, embarking on quests and unlocking new gear to become the fiercest pirate the world has ever seen. Sea of Thieves is an online multiplayer game unlike anything you've experienced before, and it's one exclusive to Xbox One. In some instances, because there are higher graphics requirements to enable FPS Boost technology, we've had to reduce a game's resolution to ensure it both runs smoothly and plays great. In those select cases, FPS Boost is not automatically enabled for Xbox Series X gamers, but can easily be turned on under the Compatibility Options in the Manage game and add-ons setting.
To experience FPS Boost and to be able to toggle the feature on and off, make sure your console has taken the latest update and you've rebooted your console. Back in February 2021, we shared via Xbox Wire the backward compatibility team developed FPS Boost, a feature employing a variety of new methods for nearly doubling the original framerate on select titles. Higher, steadier framerates make games visually smoother, resulting in more immersive gameplay.
We partnered closely with developers to enhance the experience while maintaining the game's original intent. Regarding AMD's oddities, the RX 6600 XT has 8GB VRAM, which should be sufficient. However, when you launch the game, it seems to end up in either a "good" or "bad" state. Our baseline performance on the 6600 XT at 2560x1440 and extreme settings were 37.5 fps, using a "good" series of tests. But it was entirely possible to end up with a less-than-ideal launch, where the same settings would instead yield performance of around 28 fps. Presumably, an upcoming patch or driver update will fix the problem.
Explore a beautiful open world with dynamic day, night and spectacular weather effects in stunning 1080p. Drive 200+ cars in epic road trips through a massive, wide-open world of freedom. Action-packed driving gameplay rewards you for showing off your style as well as your skill. Instantly connect with friends online with no lobbies and no waiting. All of the games we've recommended so far are too based in the boring old real world. This game allows you to exist in both the real world and the spirit world, and it shows those worlds off in stunning detail.
The game supports ray tracing, and a 4K resolution on the latest Xbox consoles. The Xbox Series X and Series S represent a pretty impressive step forward for the Xbox series. The Series X pushes the limits of possibilities for game consoles — while the Series S gives gamers a cheaper way to get access to the latest and greatest video games. Of course, if you have one of the consoles, you may be wondering what the best Xbox Series X games, or best Xbox Series S games, are. Perhaps the biggest benefit for Gears 5 fans is that multiplayer now runs at up to 120fps at 4K - making the game more responsive than ever. We found that 120fps paired with the Xbox Series X'sDolby Atmosaudio support made for an extremely immersive and smooth gameplay experience.
We dug through as many game listings as possible to bring you a comprehensive list of all cross-platform games. Keep in mind that publishers and developers release new games every day, and developers update their games even more frequently. Because of that, it's best to check with the developer or publisher to see if your favorite game supports crossplay.
The Playground Games–developedForza Horizon 4is an open-world racing game that continues the series' tradition of fast cars, gorgeous environments, and ridiculous head-to-head challenges. This installment, however, adds dynamic, world-affecting seasonal effects, deeper multiplayer integration, and a new progression system that lets you tackle Forza Horizon 4's challenges as you see fit. Likewise,Xbox Backward Compatibilityoffers additional play options. With it, you can fire up Xbox 360 and original Xbox titles on your Xbox One.
This applies to classic digital games, as well as disc-based titles. Xbox Backward Compatibility also boosts those games' pixel counts and expands the color details. Even better, if you're playing Xbox 360 games, you can fire up your old game saves, achievements, and Gamerscore. And if you sign up for Xbox Live, you can play those classic games with friends.
Covering a variety of genres and playstyles, you're sure to find something you'll enjoy as you explore your way through this checklist, which includes Xbox exclusives and third-party blockbusters. Plus a good chunk of these are also listed among the best games on Xbox Games Pass. They will also help you get the most out of your new machine while you wait for all those upcoming Xbox Series X games that are due in 2021 and beyond. This list of titles will also give you a good indication of what the best Xbox Series S games are too, with that target 4K resolution for Xbox Series X swapped out for 1080p.
For Achievement collectors out there, it's worth noting Xbox Live games typically only have 200 Gamerscore to collect, depending on whether they were supported with DLC, while Xbox 360 and Xbox One titles have the full 1000. Forza Horizon 5 is not available on PlayStation consoles, be it PS4 or PS5, and there's little-to-no chance that the epic racing adventure will ever come to Sony's gaming platform. The Forza franchise, both the simulation Motorsport and the open-world Horizon titles, have always been exclusive to the Xbox ecosystem, a fact that is highly unlikely to change anytime soon. Create your own expressions of fun with the powerful new EventLab gameplay toolset including custom races, challenges, stunts, and entirely new game modes. Customize your cars in more ways than ever before with new options such as the ability open and close convertible tops, paint brake calipers, and more.
Use the new Gift Drops feature to share your custom creations with the community. Create your own expressions of fun with the new EventLab gameplay toolset including custom races, challenges, stunts, and new game modes. Ori and the Blind Forest was one of the earliest true Xbox One exclusive games to grace the platform, breathing charm and magic into the then underappreciated metroidvaina genre. Blind Forest would have made the official top 10 were it not for its 2019 sequel being a more well-rounded and satisfying experience. That being said, Moon Studios' original 2D platformer is still well worth a look for players wanting to explore a magical land. Released almost 20 years after the original, 2013 saw the Xbox One debut alongside a ground-up remake to Killer Instinct.
This reboot to the classic fighting game series released season-by-season, introducing characters new and old for competitors to master gradually. There's now 29 in total, giving players a generous roster with which to test out their combo-based skills. Killer Instinct is exclusive to Xbox One and is a solid fighting game. Despite being a developer primarily known for creating such Nintendo classics as Conker's Bad Fur day and Banjo Kazooie, Rare was eventually purchased by Microsoft and has been making great games like Sea of Thieves . However, in 2015, Rare Replay released as an all-in-one collection boasting 30 classic titles developed by Rare. It's well worth an honourable mention due to hits like Perfect Dark, Viva Pinata and more being collected all under one roof.
Indie 2D side-scrollers are a common occurrence these days, but rarely does one come along that's so intent on charming and challenging you at the same time. Cuphead was that game for Xbox One, originally released in 2017 as a tribute to rubber hose animation and the run-and-gun games of yesteryear. You play as the titular Cuphead who makes a deal with the devil, forced to take on a gauntlet of inventive bosses in order to repay your debt.
