Top 5 Best Xbox One Games to Have on Your Radar in July 2018

Red Faction Guerrilla: Remarstered Edition – July 3

Best Xbox One Games July 2018

Red Faction Guerrilla, when it released back on the Xbox 360 and PS3, was all about destructive action. Hammer out the supporting pillars of a building and watch it crumble with realistic physics. It was a fun space shooter and now you’ll get to enjoy all that physics-based destructive fun all over again but this time with shiny slick graphics.

The entire game has been reworked in terms of visuals. A general resolution bump is obviously in there, bringing things up to a slick 1080p, with lighting, textures, and more all having been given some special touching up. During the fairly quiet summer months, Red Faction Guerrilla’s Remarstered Edition might be just what you need to whittle away the hours while you’re hiding from the sun.

Sonic Mania Plus – July 17

Best Xbox One Games July 2018

For you retro fans out there, Sonic Mania’s release last year was like a religious experience. After entry after entry in the blue blur’s series succumbed to the dreaded Sonic Cycle, Sonic Mania went back to the series’ roots with 2D sprites and rapid platforming. Our very own Sonic expert was thrilled with this return to form for Sonic, citing its incredible soundtrack and diverse level design as particular highlights. Well, it turns out that SEGA wasn’t content with the already fantastic content, and wanted to offer up the definitive edition in the form of Sonic Mania Plus.

Releasing later this month on the Xbox One among other platforms, Sonic Mania Plus adds in two entirely new playable characters called Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel. A new Encore mode has also been packed in which will provide new challenges, layouts, and visual changes to a number of classic zones. Finally, both the Competition and Time Attack modes have received a number of improvements. Competition now allows for four-player co-op as opposed to the two-player co-op support in the original. As for Time Attack mode, you’ll now see the speedy blurs of ghosts that you can take on in the hope of mastering your skills.

The Banner Saga 3 – July 24

Best Xbox One Games July 2018

There have been plenty of games funded by Kickstarter that have turned out to be success stories, but few are quite on the same level as The Banner Saga trilogy. Releasing on July 24, The Banner Saga 3 will act as the conclusion to the turn-based strategy series. A number of new unit classes and enemy types have been added in to force you to mix your strategies up, and your decisions from the first two games will carry over, too. With some seriously challenging turn-based action, over 40 unique characters, and an engaging storyline, The Banner Saga 3 looks set to send the series out in style.

Additionally, you can expect to have to make plenty of gut-wrenching decisions that’ll affect which of the characters in your party survive to see the end of the adventure. If you’re interested in checking it out, we do suggest having played the first two games, though, just so you know what’s going on in the story.

No Man’s Sky – July 24

Best Xbox One Games July 2018

Let’s get the obvious out of the way right now. No Man’s Sky wasn’t quite what people expected when it released back in 2016, but since then, it’s seen a number of updates that have added hotly anticipated features such as base building, an additional 30 hours of branching story content and lore, deeper interstellar trading, and new farming and mining interactions to boot. Despite having initially released on just PS4 and PC, the release of the upcoming NEXT update for No Man’s Sky just so happens to coincide with its release on Xbox One.

Not only will Xbox One owners get the full No Man’s Sky experience that PC and PS4 users are currently playing, but they’ll get the NEXT update content packed in there, too. It’s the largest update for the game yet, and adds the long-awaited multiplayer component into your space exploration adventure. Whether you want to explore with friends, or gun down fellow travelers is entirely up to you. What else may come in the NEXT update remains to be seen, but with studio head Sean Murray confirming that the studio will continue to support No Man’s Sky for the foreseeable future with tweaks and adjustments, this certainly isn’t the end.

Mega Man X Legacy Collections 1 & 2 – July 24

Best Xbox One Games July 2018

Mega Man is one of those iconic video game characters that will always remain near and dear to fans’ hearts. Its brutal blend of combat and platforming make for one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences you can get on a console. The only issue was that the original versions weren’t all that accessible for newcomers.

That’s where the Mega Man Legacy Collections come in, with a host of new features and improvements. Most notably, both Legacy Collection 1 and 2 include a rewind feature that allows players to go back a few seconds to give you another chance at nailing that jump or landing the final blow on that boss. If you’re at the other end of the experience scale, however, and need to put your skills to the test, the new X Challenge Mode will have you fighting two bosses at once. Oh, and there’s an in-game museum with a ton of Mega Man-related things to check out to wrap things up nicely.