Top Xbox Series X and Series S games for 2021: Add these titles to your next-gen library

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(Pocket-lint) - The Xbox Series X and Series S are present astatine past - Microsoft's 2 answers to the next-gen question, bringing 4K gaming successful the lawsuit of the bigger container and lower-res worth from the smaller option. 

They're some large successful their ain ways but, of course, a games console isn't thing without games to play connected it. We've gathered unneurotic the precise champion titles for the next-gen Xboxes close here, a choky and carefully-curated database of your precise champion options.

Many of these are besides disposable connected the Xbox One successful its galore incarnations, but they'll each play astatine their champion connected the caller hardware. 

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Best shooters

Gears 5

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The Xbox squad has been making a large hoopla astir the upgrade it's brought to Gears 5 for next-gen, and it's just to accidental the results are ace impressive. You get 120 FPS enactment connected some consoles (if your TV tin grip it), which makes for hyper-smooth gameplay successful competitory modes. 

The visuals are besides pin-sharp and the upgrade compared to the Xbox One mentation is noticeable throughout. Best of all, you'll get this large shooter included connected Game Pass, meaning you tin get into it for nary further cost. It's good worthy checking out, particularly if you're caller to the series. 

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

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Of course, erstwhile you deliberation Xbox you deliberation Halo, and portion Infinite has been delayed and won't look for a small while, we tin inactive bask each that came before. The Master Chief Collection is simply a curated and upgraded enactment of historical Halo titles and plays similar a imagination connected the Series S and X.

You tin play done classics similar Halo: Reach oregon the archetypal trilogy with precocious framework rates and resolutions, and adjacent bask their much vintage multiplayer offerings. It's a must-download for anyone with a Game Pass membership. 

Resident Evil Village

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The latest crippled successful the Resident Evil bid is an unhinged happening of beauty, with a communicative that's adjacent to the constituent of being baffling but super-fun gameplay passim its twists and turns.

Plus, it looks unthinkable connected Microsoft's next-gen boxes, with ray tracing and precocious framework rates making for a beautiful, smoothg acquisition that volition enactment with you for ages. 

Control Ultimate Edition

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One of the astir astonishing and awesome games of the past procreation has been re-released with a immense graphical upgrade for Series X and S, bringing ray tracing and the enactment of 60FPS play, and smoothing retired show hugely.

That means it's the cleanable clip to prime up this supernatural shooter whether you've enjoyed playing done its mindbending communicative earlier oregon not. Trust us, by the clip it ends you'll person seen and done things you've ne'er experienced successful a crippled before. 

Hitman 3

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The last crippled successful the World of Assassination trilogy, Hitman 3 is simply a fitting decision to a hugely awesome modern update of the Hitman series. Once again you'll play arsenic Agent 47, stalking done intricate and immaculately-designed levels to disconnected your targets 1 by one.

It's astonishing fun, and the cleanable mode to scratch that itch for immoderate stealth. It looks beauteous connected next-gen, arsenic well, making it the cleanable pairing with a caller Xbox. 

Call of Duty: Warzone

The conflict royale of the infinitesimal is Warzone, a behemoth that yet makes the Call of Duty franchise a due subordinate successful the genre. It's wholly escaped to play, and portion it mightiness hog plentifulness of abstraction connected your hard drive, it's good worthy it for a brutal, addictive formula.

On next-gen, you'll announcement smoother framework rates and much-improved loading times, and there's loads much contented to travel down the line, truthful there's nary incorrect clip to prime it up and effort it out. 

Best racing games

Forza Horizon 4

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Our last prime goes to a stellar racing crippled from the past console generation, the fantabulous and Xbox-exclusive Forza Horizon 4, which inactive looks wholly beauteous and plays similar a imagination connected the 2 caller consoles. It's a superb arcade racer with a delightful rendering of the UK successful compact open-world format.

You'll instrumentality portion successful each sorts of races crossed galore terrain types, and you tin dial up the difficulty, oregon marque it much accessible, successful countless thoughtful ways. Online racing makes it adjacent much long-lasting arsenic a pleasurable virtual abstraction successful which to walk immoderate time. 

Dirt 5

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The archetypal racing crippled to merchandise with next-gen consoles successful caput during its development, Dirt 5 does a large occupation of summoning the vigor that made the bid truthful popular. It's raucous amusive with an accent connected accessibility, though you tin marque its driving beauteous in-depth if you fancy.

It looks ace crisp connected the caller hardware and runs astatine blistering framework rates to springiness you full power and to slim absorption times down to astir nothing, portion lighting and reflections besides look sumptuous. It's a large mode to scratch that racing itch. 

Microsoft Flight Simulator

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Okay, it mightiness not beryllium precisely a racing game, but we deliberation it fits successful present - this superb, calming formation acquisition lets you research virtually the full satellite successful a fleet of aircraft, and it looks perfectly jaw-droppingly beauteous portion you're doing so. With afloat 4K solution connected Series X and 1080p connected Series S, this is simply a existent next-gen powerhouse.

Whether it's conscionable a fly-past of your home, oregon checking retired determination iconic similar the Pyramids astatine Giza, you're definite to scratch that exploratory itch with Flight Sim.

Best role-playing games (RPGs)

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla

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Valhalla is yet present - the latest large Assassin's Creed crippled plays perfectly stunningly connected Series X and S, with creaseless framework rates and gorgeous visuals. The game's sprawling representation is superb amusive to explore, portion the SSDs successful the Series S and X marque for much-improved loading times. 

You play arsenic the Viking Eivor, coming from Norway to involvement a assertion to England, and warring disconnected the perennial menace of evil Templars the full way, with a large formed of characters to conscionable portion you bash so. 

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition

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One of gaming's precise champion trilogies has got a lick of caller overgarment and is present playable with less roadbumps than ever connected the latest Xbox hardware. The Mass Effect games are back, and they're looking beauteous successful afloat 4K connected the Series X, letting you bask a genuinely epic communicative crossed 3 monolithic titles. It's a existent joyousness to play these done again, truthful beryllium definite to cheque it out.

Red Dead Redemption 2

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Another crippled that benefits massively from the SSD successful the caller consoles is Red Dead Redemption 2, which has immoderate perfectly agonizing loading times connected older hardware. This is shortened hugely by the caller tech, a worthy betterment connected its own, but that's besides added to amended ocular performance.

It makes it a superb mode to play 1 of the defining games of caller years, a immense sprawling cowboy epic acceptable successful what mightiness beryllium the astir lushly-detailed unfastened satellite ever created successful a game. It's a stunning monument to developer Rockstar's abilities. 

Best sports games

FIFA 21

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As acold arsenic sports games go, there's lone 1 for america - FIFA does the aforesaid instrumentality each year, and sometimes we'd similar a spot much gyration than evolution, but it's inactive a tried-and-tested crippled astatine this point, iterating cautiously to adhd adjacent much precision.

Now there's been a escaped next-gen upgrade, too, to fto you instrumentality vantage of quicker load times and smoother show connected your caller hardware, truthful it's decidedly a superior experience. 

Rocket League

It mightiness look simple, but the accomplishment ceiling successful Rocket League is perfectly stratospheric, and getting amended astatine the crippled volition instrumentality plentifulness of hard work. Invest the time, though, and you'll soon beryllium having a whale of a time, particularly if you tin enactment immoderate mates successful to signifier a team. Best of all, it's wholly free-to-play.

Best Indie games

Death's Door

This gorgeous small hack-and-slash crippled sees you instrumentality connected the relation of a rookie reaper, dispatched to cod the souls of the damned. When your archetypal large psyche goes missing, though, you acceptable disconnected connected a amusive escapade to get it back, with pugnacious brag fights and a large small combat strategy to get the bent of on the way. It's comic and truly inventive, and good worthy a try.

Doki Doki Literature Club!

Without wanting to spoil the horrific surprises successful store, cognize this - Doki Doki Literature Club frightened and horrified america much than immoderate different crippled we've played successful the past fewer years, acold outpacing the likes of Resident Evil Village, above. It's a demon successful disguise, but perfectly jaw-dropping to play done for the archetypal time.

Hades

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A beauteous roguelike that tells a heartfelt communicative portion you play it repeatedly, Hades is simply a existent masterpiece. There are endless combinations of powers and tactics to deliberation up, and randomly generated levels to support you invested, but it's the astonishing penning and beauteous creation that lingers longest successful the memory. Best of all, it's connected Game Pass!

The Forgotten City

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This inventive enigma crippled drops you into a Roman compound frozen successful time, leaving you to fig retired wherefore everyone gets violently turned to golden anytime a misdeed is committed. It's got immoderate large twists and turns up its sleeve, and the quality to tackle it nevertheless you privation was thing we recovered truly rewarding.

Writing by Max Freeman-Mills. Originally published connected 4 November 2020.

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