Top 5 Best Xbox One Games of Q4 2018

Best Xbox One Games of Q4 2018

Forza Horizon 4

The Forza franchise has firmly positioned itself among the best racing games available, and its Forza Horizon titles bring a great open-world setup that makes them pretty unique.

This time around, the good folks at PlayGround Games added seasons to the mix, and what a game changer it is, especially for an ongoing game. While most simply get additional challenges and content, Forza Horizon 4‘s seasonal changes completely swap the mood of the game on top of considerably altering gameplay.

This is certainly worth considering a flagship title for the Xbox One, which admittedly has been in need of it.

While some may have been slightly disappointed by the inability to re-enact Tokyo Drift with the rumored (and then debunked) Japanese setting, England is PlayGround’s home turf, and they certainly did their home country justice.

Another charming aspect is this game’s adaptability to what the player likes. If you’re the kind of driver who loves relaxed sightseeing, there is plenty for you to do, but if you’re looking for the adrenaline of a hypercar street race, you won’t be disappointed either.

Best Xbox One Games of Q4 2018

Red Dead Redemption 2

There has been a lot of discussion among fans about the gameplay values of Red Dead Redemption 2, but it’s doubtless that it delivers storytelling with few rivals topped by awesome characters.

Rockstar once again demonstrated that a niche genre like western can be insanely successful in video games if handled with the required care, budgets, and time.

Certainly a representative of its genre, there is so much to do in Red Dead Redemption 2 that open-world fans will get lost while contemplating the vastness of the wild west.

It’s basically a giant package enriched further by the longevity of Red Dead Online, which will most probably keep many players engaged for years to come like Grand Theft Auto Online.

Yet, perhaps the most impressive thing is that Rockstar managed to create a game that iterates on their winning formula without feeling like Grand Theft Auto Wild West.

It received our highest honor for 2018, and it’s certainly worth the time and effort playing through it’s incredible story campaign even if Red Dead Online still needs some more polishing.

Best Xbox One Games of Q4 2018

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Speaking of open-world games, it’s impossible not to mention Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, which is arguably the best game of the franchise released over the past few years.

While many were scared by the return to the annual pacing, Ubisoft Quebec proved them wrong by delivering a fully baked experience which one of the most charming settings the series ever had.

Add to that likable characters, a good serving of humor, awesome naval warfare and exploration, a beautiful world to explore, and a choice of two main characters who feel delightfully different, and you have a winner.

While your mileage may vary on this, the move to a full-fledged action RPG also feels like the best thing that could have happened to the franchise, and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey feels like the culmination of a journey that fully refreshed and redeemed the Assassin’s Creed name.

It’ll be interesting to see where Assassin’s Creed will go next, but if the progression between Origins and Odyssey is any indication, we may be in for a real treat whenever it happens.

Best Xbox One Games of Q4 2018

SoulCalibur VI

SoulCalibur VI is truly a return to form for a franchise that felt a little spent, like a blade dulled by excessive use and lack of care.

Bandai Namco kept the series in a sort of limbo after the unfortunate free to play attempt with SoulCalibur: Lost Swords, and this felt in many ways like the last attempt that would decide the destiny of SoulCalibur or its doom. 

Turns out that having their back to the wall certainly encouraged the developers to achieve one of the best fighting games of the last few years, giving their all not to leave any base uncovered and focusing on fulfilling the desires of the fans instead of pushing untested grounds excessively.

The game comes with super-solid single player modes for those who don’t feel like fighting games should be multiplayer-only, on top of tons of customization options to keep players engaged. It also ignores recent trends that may have pushed other titles out of the track that their fans enjoyed, and this ended up being the right call.

Whether this means that there will be a SoulCalibur VII, we still don’t know, but this certainly feels like a great step in the right direction.

Best Xbox One Games of Q4 2018

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 marks the return of the reins of the COD franchise in the capable hands of Treyarch, and as usual the Santa Monica-based studio did not disappoint.

While the lack of a traditional single-player mode may have disappointed some, the game still comes with a ton of multiplayer content to enjoy, from the familiar multiplayer to different Zombies experience, to a full-fledged battle royale mode with Blackout.

Blackout is perhaps the biggest surprise of the game, feeling pretty much like its own experience that Activision could have easily marketed it on its own. It proved once more that a team with the required technical expertise and budgets can deliver a battle royale experience that doesn’t feel rushed and unpolished, and looks great to boot.

While the BR genre is starting to feel a bit too crowded for comfort, Blackout managed to carve its own niche in an impressively effortless way. It pairs the mechanics that have become pretty much canonical in this kind of games with plenty of elements that feel unique to Call of Duty and help set this mode apart from in a  ruthlessly competitive market.