Best Xbox Series X/S Games Of 2024 (So Far)

04.05.2024 - 12:15 / screenrant.com / Cody Gravelle

2024 has been a remarkable year for video games — and we aren't even technically halfway through the calendar yet. As of this writing, we have only had four whole months of game releases, and while it's not abnormal to have one or two game of the year contenders debut in that span, there have arguably been a half dozen or more. ,,,,, and all have some credibility as awards recipients, and there's plenty more on the docket for 2024 that might make it the best year of video games ever.

That's getting a bit too far ahead, though. Even now, there's so many games to be excited about, even if they aren't all contenders for the actual best game of the year. While PlayStation exclusives remain pretty popular, that's largely the only platform that's restricting where games land. In the Xbox ecosystem, it's more about shared resources — arrived on Nintendo Switch this year, marking a big milestone in the Nintendo and Microsoft partnership, and more collaborations are expected. For that reason, the best Xbox Series X/S games of 2024 so far aren't necessarily platform exclusives, but rather excellent versions of games available across multiple devices.

features a huge selling point as its central premise — it has entirely handmade character models and environmental sets, creating an aesthetic that looks far more like a feature film than the point-and-click adventure game that it actually is. The stop-motion animation is truly remarkable in a way that immediately establishes it as an innovative presence in gaming, even if there are some looser threads in its design that threaten to unravel and ultimately hold it back from being completely great.

That isn't to say is less than a good game — it veers anywhere between average to excellent — just that there are a few inconsistencies here and there. Critics mostly point to its narrative being up-and-down as an experience, and that's a fair assessment, but the beauty of the game's art and world, coupled with how much it tries to push against its genre limitations and innovate, make it an excellent 2024 release for Xbox and other platforms.

doesn't do itself any favors with the way it initially looks — at first glance, it appears to be a pinball game with a nice aesthetic, which pigeonholes it into a genre it actually doesn't belong in. incorporates pinball-style physics into a game that has a slew of movement decisions, upgrades, weapon styles, and an excellent OST that all combine into an experience that's easy to miss but worth seeking out.

The biggest selling point of the game is likely its replayability — as a title that's difficult to master but relatively easy to get decent at, it immediately rewards players with satisfactory progress but challenges them to