The Best Xbox Games of 2022

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – January 2, 2023

Which Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One games impressed professional reviewers the most during the past year? We rank the best-reviewed titles released between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022 by Metascore. Games must have at least 7 reviews from professional critics to be eligible for inclusion. If a game appears on both Xbox platforms, only the version receiving the higher quantity of critic reviews (typically the Xbox Series X/S version) is eligible for inclusion. (All scores listed here are from December 31, 2022.)

7 of 14 photo by Half Mermaid

88 Immortality

Metacritic's #1 Xbox Console Exclusive of 2022.

(#7) Also available on PC and mobile—but not PlayStation or Switch—this year's top Xbox console exclusive is a FMV narrative adventure game from Sam Barlow (Telling Lies, Her Story). The noirish mystery centers on the disappearance of actress Marissa Marcel and unfolds in three different time periods (1968, 1970, and 1999)—each centering on a key performance by the actress in a film that was never released. You'll need to watch footage from these three "lost" films—flipping back and forth from film to film—to discover clues about Marcel's fate. The result is a gaming experience like few others before it.

“It's a dazzling display from any angle you to choose to admire it; top-notch acting, brilliant writing, a core mechanic that's mind-bendingly complex but carried off with style and grace, intuitive controls that draw you into your role...just remember to avoid spoilers, dive into the mystery of Marissa Marcel completely unsullied, and you're in for one of the most exquisite gaming experiences of this year, or any other, by quite some distance.” —Pure Xbox

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