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.)

8 of 14 photo by Bethesda Softworks/Arkane Studios

89 Deathloop

(#6) Xbox owners no longer need to envy their Sony-owning friends. One of the best PS5 exclusives of 2021, the time-loop shooter Deathloop made its way to Series X/S in September. Developed by Dishonored creators Arkane Studios—now a Microsoft subsidiary, oddly enough—Deathloop blends stealth and action into what is effectively an elaborate puzzle that is set on the mysterious resort island of Blackreef, a former army base and research center where your character, the assassin Colt, must take out eight different targets over the course of one day. At the end of each day, the island resets itself to the start of the previous day, and no character retains any memories of previous events—except you, which you can (obviously) use to your advantage, building on the knowledge you gain each playthrough. A player-vs-player mode adds even more wrinkles into the formula.

“Deathloop remains Arkane’s best work, and it’s fantastic that Xbox players can finally get in on Cole’s deadly groundhog day. Its unique structure and sheer scope, coupled with the signature Arkane gameplay that has been polished to within an inch of its life, feels like the work of a developer finally fully realizing a vision that began many years ago with the original Dishonored.” —Hey Poor Player

Where To Buy