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.)

8 of 14 photo by Activision

89 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 (Xbox Series X/S)

(#6) After first wowing critics and gamers on previous-generation hardware in 2020, this remastered compilation of the first two Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games headed to the newest consoles in the spring of 2021, with equally acclaimed results.

“Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 pulls off one of the hardest tricks of all – providing a game that will appeal both to those who have fond memories of the original and those who are playing a skateboarding game for the first time. The controls are tight and responsive, the animations smooth and realistic, the levels are a joy to skate, and on Xbox Series X|S, the game is on a whole new level graphically. The game is a true and fitting tribute to its legacy, as well as a skating game for the new generation.” —Gamers' Temple

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