The Best Xbox Games of 2021

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – January 4, 2022

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, 2021 and December 31, 2021 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 January 2, 2022.)

13 of 14 photo by Private Division

93 Hades (Xbox Series X/S)

Metacritic's #1 Xbox Game of 2021.

(#1) This year's highest-scoring game on both the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 consoles actually ranked among 2020's best games as well—when it was first released for Switch and PC. Supergiant's follow-up to Pyre uses the world of Greek mythology as the setting for a roguelike action-RPG. The well-executed result won two Game Awards (including 2020's best indie) and picked up numerous best-of-the-year honors from game review publications a year ago, and while 2021's versions are virtually identical, you will notice graphical improvements over the Switch release (especially on the newest Xbox and PlayStation hardware).

“Hades remains an absolute must-play modern masterpiece on the Xbox Series X. I’m thrilled to see new ports bring it to a new audience. With a wonderful story, memorable characters, some of the best voice acting around, a stunning soundtrack, variety that keeps things fresh even after dozens of runs, incredibly tight gameplay, and game design, which will allow even those who don’t usually care for roguelites to engage with it, this is a game that every player should try.” —Hey Poor Player

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