For this summer update, we’re adding Yakuza 0.

Control

505 Games

Take the weird Twin Peaks narrative of Alan Wake, smash it together with Quantum Break's frenetic powers and gunplay, and you've got Control. Playing as a woman searching for her missing brother, you quickly learn there's a thin line between reality and the fantastical. It's catnip for anyone who grew up loving The X-Files and the supernatural. It's also a prime example of a studio working at their creative heights, both refining and evolving the open-world formula that's dominated games for the past decade.

Buy Control at Microsoft — $59

Cuphead

StudioMDHR

Studio MDHR's Cuphead is as beautiful as it is challenging -- and it's very beautiful. Half bullet-hell shooter, half platformer, half classic boss rush... wait that's too many halves. Either way, Cuphead pulled in basically everyone with its charming, hand-drawn visuals that look like they're straight out of the 1930s. It then kept them around with tough-as-nails gameplay which somehow never feels unfair. It has some of the most memorable boss fights you're ever likely to have -- Cala Maria is our favorite -- but what will stay with you the most is that feeling of finally beating the one you get stuck on, 273 deaths later.

Buy Cuphead at Microsoft — $20

Forza Horizon 4

Microsoft

The Forza Horizon games have always second fiddle to the main series, but in Forza Horizon 4, Playground Games has made our favorite Forza game ever. Horizon 4 takes the arcadey gameplay and open world of the series to Great Britain, exploring some of England, Scotland and Wales' most beautiful landmarks. All the cars you'd expect are here, but perhaps the most interesting addition is the seasons. You see, the game's enormous map totally transforms with the time year, and with it, so does the way the cars handle. There is a whole lot of game here, and all of it is very fun.

Buy Forza Horizon 4 at Microsoft — $60

Gears 5

Microsoft

Gears 5 tries to be a lot of things, and doesn't succeed at them all. If you're a Gears of War fan, though, there's a lot to love here. The cover-shooter gameplay the series helped pioneer feels great, and the campaign, while not narratively ambitious, is well-paced and full of bombastic set pieces to keep you interested. As they stand, the various multiplayer modes are not great, but Gears 5 is worth it for the campaign alone.

Buy Gears 5 at Microsoft - $40

Nier: Automata

Square Enix

It took more than a while to get here, but Nier: Automata finally arrived on Xbox One in the summer of 2018. And boy, was it worth the almost-18-month wait. Nier takes the razor-sharp combat of a Platinum Games title and puts it in a world crafted by everyone's favorite weirdo, Yoko Taro. Don't worry, you can mostly just run, gun and slash your way through the game, but as you finish, and finish and finish this one, you'll find yourself pulled into a truly special narrative, one that's never been done before and will probably never be done again. Unmissable.

Buy Nier Automata at Microsoft — $40

Ori and the Blind Forest

Microsoft

Arriving at a time when "Gears Halo Forza" seemed to be the beginning, middle and end of Microsoft's publishing plans, Ori and the Blind Forest was a triumph. It's a confident mash of the pixel-perfect platforming popularized by Super Meat Boy, and the rich, unfolding worlds of Metroidvania games. You'll die hundreds of times exploring the titular forest, unlocking skills that allow you to reach new areas. It looks and sounds great -- like, Disney great -- and its story, while fairly secondary to the experience, is interesting. Ori might not do much to push the boundaries of its genres, but everything it does, it does so right. Its sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, is very much “more of the same,” so if you like Blind Forest, it’s well worth checking out too.

Buy Ori and the Blind Forest at Microsoft — $20

Red Dead Redemption 2

Rockstar Games

Red Dead Redemption 2 is the kind of game no one but Rockstar, the team behind the GTA series, could make. Only when a studio is this successful can it pour millions of dollars and man-hours into a game. Rockstar's simulation of a crumbling frontier world is enthralling and serves as a perfect backdrop to an uncharacteristically measured story. While the studio's gameplay may not have moved massively forward, the writing and characters of RDR2 will stay with you.

Buy Red Dead Redemption 2 at Microsoft — $60

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Activision

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice isn't just another Dark Souls game. FromSoftware's samurai adventure is a departure from that well-established formula, replacing slow, weighty combat and gothic despair for stealth, grappling hooks and swift swordplay. Oh, and while it's still a difficult game, it's a lot more accessible than Souls games -- you can even pause it! The result of all these changes is something that's still instantly recognizable as a FromSoftware title, but it's its own thing, and it's very good.

Buy Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice at Microsoft — $60

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

CD Projekt S.A.

It might be the best open-world RPG out there. Despite now being several years old, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a dense action game that acknowledges the maturity of the player with multiple -- occasionally harrowing -- storylines, choices that have consequences and almost too much game to wrestle with. It's not perfect: the combat system is rough, frustrating death comes in the form of falling from just a few feet and there's a lot of quest filler alongside many incredibly well thought out distractions. The scope and ambition on display will have you hooked, and once you're done, there are some excellent expansions to check out.

Buy The Witcher 3 at Microsoft — $50

Yakuza 0

Sega

PlayStation owners have enjoyed the long-running Japanese gangster saga since the days of the PS2. But now Xbox gamers can get in on the pulpy (often quite violent) fun, and Yazuka 0 is arguably the pinnacle of the series. With Sega’s latest graphics engine and a setting of filthy-rich ‘80s Tokyo (and Osaka), the main story will keep you hooked like any good TV crime series -- as long as you’re willing to go along for the ridiculous ride. There are tons of side-quests, arcade games and a very addictive hostess club management sim, ensuring that Yakuza 0 isn’t just about clearing your name and punching gokudou goons in the face.

The game splits between series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu and series favorite, the eye-patch wearing agent of chaos, Goro Majima. You’ll fall in love with both of them. And then, you can play Yakuza Kiwami and Kiwami 2, and continue the saga. This prequel, however, might be the most enjoyable entry.

Buy Yakuza 0 at Microsoft — $20