10. Resident Evil 3
Following on from 2019’s smash-hit remake of Resident Evil 2, obviously, comes a remake of Resident Evil 3. Roaming the streets of Raccoon City was fun, for sure, and the new various enemy types you’ll stumble upon along the way certainly helps to keep things exciting. Nothing quite matches up to be chased by Nemesis, though.
Escaping the hulking juggernaut is heart-pounding stuff, and you’ll frequently be fighting against your natural reactions to pump the mutant full of lead. That’d be a waste.
Even if Nemesis did scare the bejeezus out of us, Resident Evil 3’s remake just wasn’t as enjoyable and intense as Resident Evil 2’s remake from last year. Still, if you’re looking for some third-person zombie action, it’s not a bad choice.
9. Minecraft Dungeons
Best Xbox One Games of 2020 So Far
The world of Minecraft leaves its blocky creativity behind in favor of dungeon crawling, loot grinding action in Minecraft Dungeons. With an abundance of enemies to slash your way through, players will need to put an end to the evil reign of the Arch-Illager as they progress through the story and grow their arsenal of abilities and enchanted gear.
Completed the story on the normal difficulty? Well get ready to grind some more as there are two tougher difficulty options to put your skills to the test… and also net you some more powerful gear to help you on your quest.
Whether you’re playing on your own or with up to three others, Minecraft Dungeons is great fun in short blasts, or for those marathon sessions when it’s all rainy and horrible outside and you can’t be bothered moving.
8. Grounded
Obsidian Games isn’t best known for its zany sense of humor, or multiplayer-centric action games, but they released one this year anyway, and while it’s still in early access, there’s a lot of promise here.
Players are shrunk down to the size of ants, and must survive in the back yard. That means using whatever you can find among the towering blades of grass to craft weapons, tools and shelter, while also keeping your hunger and thirst gauges nice and full by pilfering whatever scraps you can find.
The story content is a little light at the moment, and all of the systems can take a little bit of getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, backyard survival’s a blast. Get some friends together and put on your best trainers, it’s time to take the fight to the insects!
7. Pillars of Eternity II
Best Xbox One Games of 2020 So Far
Pillars of Eternity II didn’t originally release in 2020. In fact, it released way back in May 2018 for the PC, but it only hit the Xbox One this year, and what a game it is.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire takes the isometric RPG gameplay that was so popular from the first game, and throws players onto the open seas. You’ll use a ship to explore various islands, and even recruit a crew to look over your ship and assist you in the occasional bit of naval combat.
The class-based gameplay is deep, with each class having four optional sub-classes to really allow you to finetune your experience.
While it may feel a little unnatural playing Pillars of Eternity II with a controller at first, it all becomes second nature after a while. Not to mention the game’s enormous with an absolute ton of content, so this should be able to keep you occupied during these quiet months at the end of the Xbox One’s life cycle.
6. Sayonara Wild Hearts
Another game that originally released last year but made its way to Xbox One in 2020 is Sayonara Wild Hearts. The game received critical acclaim when it released on iOS devices back in 2019 as part of the Apple Arcade lineup and hasn’t looked back since.
Sayonara Wild Hearts is an ethereal-themed music game, where players control a character as they cruise down the street collecting hearts. You’ll need to change lanes as you progress in order to collect the hearts and avoid obstacles. It’s a simple premise, but one that’s a delight to experience, given the vibrant visuals and catchy soundtrack.
While the gameplay is simplistic, it allows you to take in the kaleidoscope of colors that’ll be busy working its magic on your screen in time to the music. It’s not the longest or most complex of games on our list, but Sayonara Wild Hearts is definitely one worth checking out.
5. Ooblets
Best Xbox One Games of 2020 So Far
Ooblets has that dangerously addictive gameplay loop we’ve seen in Stardew Valley and other farm-sim games. You wake up, tend to your crops, buy more crops, plant and eventually harvest said crops to make money, and rinse repeat. But then throw on top of that a bunch of cute and cuddly creatures that you’ll train up and battle in dance-offs.
Win a dance-off against a wild Ooblet and you’ll get a seed, which you can then plant to grow your own! Then you’ve got job requests from the villager NPCs to complete, new areas to explore, furniture to buy for your house, clothes to customize your look, and much, much more.
Ooblets is currently only in early access on Xbox One and PC, but with a core gameplay loop so compelling that we poured hours into it in this early state, we’re incredibly excited to see what’s next.
4. Tell Me Why
Best Xbox One Games of 2020 So Far
If you’re familiar with the Life Is Strange series, you’ll know what to expect from Dontnod Entertainment and Microsoft Game Studios’ collaborative effort, Tell Me Why. A three-part mini-series that follows the story of the Ronan twins, Alyson and Tyler, as they revisit their childhood home to prepare for its sale.
As they get reacquainted with one another after 10 years apart, they begin to recall a number of dark and mysterious events from their childhood, and it’ll be down to players to piece everything together and get answers. You’ll be sleuthing, piecing together the clues, and quizzing the locals to get what information you can.
While I personally found the decisions to be too inconsequential for my liking, the general narrative is great. The characters are likable, and true to Dontnod form, Tell Me Why features an excellent, curated soundtrack that just perfectly hits the moody feel of the game.
Currently, Tell Me Why’s first episode is available now on Game Pass, with episodes two and three to follow in the next two weeks.
3. Doom Eternal
2016’s Doom reboot reminded us why the series is so damn good. Fast-paced first-person shooting is the order of the day, and your target is any demon that dares come near you.
Doom Eternal further developed its predecessor’s gameplay by forcing players to utilize their full arsenal. Run out of ammo? Use the chainsaw to replenish it. Need some extra health? Melee finishers will drop health. How about armor? Use your shoulder-mounted flamethrower to pick up more.
The end result is gameplay that forces you to fight with variety, at fast-pace, against tons of enemies. It’s some of the most enjoyable shooting action we’ve had the pleasure of experiencing this generation, with epic set-piece boss battles, and cryptic, puzzle-like levels hiding tons of secrets and collectibles just waiting to be found.
If you were a fan of the original Dooms or even the 2016 remake and haven’t yet checked out Doom Eternal, now’s the time to pick it up.
2. CrossCode
Ever get the craving for some old-school 2D RPG action? Well, CrossCode is almost definitely the game for you. Featuring a 16-bit SNES-inspired visual style and a fast-paced combat system, CrossCode takes players on a futuristic adventure with its sci-fi story.
What’s better is the way in which CrossCode blends its fast-paced real-time combat, with the Zelda-like puzzle-based dungeons that just make the gameplay feel so varied and so darn compelling no matter were you are in its 30+ hour duration.
With over 120 enemy types, over 100 puzzles to solve, and more than 90 combat arts to teach your characters, CrossCode isn’t for the faint of heart. This is a real treat to dig into, but once you immerse yourself in its futuristic world, you’ll find it hard to escape.
1. Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Best Xbox One Games of 2020 So Far
Finally we arrive at the best Xbox One game of 2020 so far without a shadow of a doubt, and its Ori and the Will of the Wisps. This metroidvania-style platformer sees Ori returning to our screens to fight back against the darkness in the forest once more.
The game follows on directly from the events of Ori and the Blind Forest, and sees Ori going on a quest to find his lost friend, Ku, an owl born from the last of Kuro’s eggs.
For the most part, the gameplay remains largely the same, save for a few quality-of-life tweaks. Most notably, the game auto-saves your progress now, so those pesky Soul Links from the first game are no more. It helps with the flow and pacing of the game and allows you to be more experimental in your platforming capabilities without having to retrace a ton of your steps again.
With breathtaking visuals, super responsive platforming gameplay, additional challenges to provide a distraction from the main story quests, and a number of abilities that you can chop and change throughout your adventure to finetune Ori’s capabilities, there’s so much to love about Will of the Wisps.
Honestly, we’re just sat here patiently waiting for the next Ori game now. We need it.
