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For 630 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 41% higher than the average critic
  • 6% same as the average critic
  • 53% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 3.6 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 71
Highest review score: 100 Grand Theft Auto V
Lowest review score: 10 Rugby World Cup 2015
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 307 out of 630
  2. Mixed: 277 out of 630
  3. Negative: 46 out of 630
634 game reviews
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    • 97 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Grand Theft Auto V
    It doesn't matter if it's your first time visiting Los Santos or if you're thinking of booking a return flight, we give GTA V our highest recommendation. This is simply a marvelous game.
    • 92 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    The Swapper
    Few games fully realize their potential. Thankfully The Swapper is able to execute all of its ideas. The challenging and thought-provoking puzzles are only outdone by the rich narrative which will stay in your mind well after the credits roll. The Swapper is a masterpiece that needs to be experienced.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Death's Door
    While Death's Door borrows a lot of elements from many other games, it mashes them all together and refines them into its own thing. Not one single element feels undercooked and the result is a mysterious world you'll instantly be lost within. Outside of the odd frame dip in certain situations, we absolutely loved Death's Door. It's a game filled with surprises, nods, humour, and moves at such a pace we could barely put the controller down. Games this well-crafted don't come along very often, but when they do, they're something to celebrate. Death's Door deserves all the attention it will most likely get, and is a contender for one of 2021's best games.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Death Stranding: Director's Cut
    Death Stranding Director's Cut is a phenomenal experience that, five years on, is still as incredible, mechanically, narratively and graphically, as ever. A top-notch cast do their best with what is an admittedly bonkers story (bonkers in all the best Kojima ways, you understand), whilst this incredibly haunting world, this emotional tale and its incredible characters, absolutely hook you in for one of the most memorable journeys of the past few console cycles. It's so good to see this masterpiece finally arrive on Xbox.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Immortality
    Immortality is easily Sam Barlow's best game to date and, when you consider the delights he's served up previously, well, you get an idea of just how good this one really is. 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.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Child of Light
    The world needs more games like this.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
    Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 brings a sumptuously stylish world, intricately woven narrative and top-notch combat to the table, and it's a winner on every level. The additions to combat make for fights that feel proactive, engaging and exciting at all times. The world is a constant revelation of incredible new regions and vistas, and the story will keep you hooked in until its emotional resolution. Sandfall Interactive's debut is a masterpiece, really, an odyssey that'll stick in your mind long after you're done, and one of the most enjoyable and fresh RPGs we've played in aeons.
    • 99 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Baldur's Gate 3
    Baldur's Gate 3 is a genuine all-timer, this really is as good as RPGs get, and it's an all-timer that's arrived on Series X in fine form aside from a pesky issue with deleted saves. Returning to Baldur's Gate and successfully serving up the best entry in the series to date must have been an absolutely monumental task, but Larian Studios has managed it with style to spare. With top class combat, writing, acting and world-building hiding all of the terrifying intricacies of a refreshed D&D rulebook, letting us players just get on with the fun stuff, there really is no finer adventure to take in 2023. What an absolute belter, and a perfect way to wrap up this most problematic of years in the industry.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Dragon's Dogma 2
    Dragon's Dogma fans rejoice! This second entry in the series, as much a remake as it is a sequel, absolutely nails everything it sets out to achieve. You can feel the desire to perfect every aspect of the game that we got in 2012 here, with slicker combat, a more engaging pawn system, an incredible world stuffed full of amazing beasties and a general vibe that just begs you to slow down, take your time, and enjoy the majestic adventure ahead. If you're in the market for a fantastic RPG with the power to fully transport you to a world of gritty fantasy and magical friends, we reckon this might just be right up your street.
    • 94 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Persona 5 Royal
    One of the best games of the last generation of consoles, and in with a very strong shout as the greatest JRPG of all time, Persona 5 Royal makes for a fantastic new addition to Xbox Game Pass. Atlus has gone to town on reworking and revamping its 2016 classic in this Royal upgrade and it pays off here with the ultimate version of a true all-timer. This next-gen version runs at a velvety smooth 4K/60FPS too, making for a truly unmissable experience that we highly recommend you dive right into. Games don't get much better than this.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions
    It all just works, and we absolutely cannot recommend Geometry Wars 3 highly enough.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Sea of Stars
    Sea of Stars is an exhilarating and absorbing indie gem that serves up delightfully clever turn-based RPG action in a world that's packed full of great characters, fun puzzles and genuine emotional heft. Sabotage Studios served up a bonafide banger with 2018's The Messenger, but this time around they've gone a step further, crafting an RPG adventure that's every bit the equal of the stone-cold classics it takes inspiration from. Don't spoil this one for yourself, dive in as blind as you can and enjoy a truly magical journey that's easily one of the best games you'll play this year and an absolutely essential addition to Xbox Game Pass.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Resident Evil 4
    Resident Evil 4 Remake is a resounding success, taking the 2005 survival horror classic and revamping, reworking and retooling it into a most modern and thrilling action extravaganza. You can feel the care and attention to detail in every aspect of how Capcom has handled this remake. Combat has been improved and expanded without destroying the all-important feel of how Leon does battle, iconic boss fights and locations look and feel better than ever and carefully considered additions to areas allow for more exploration between confrontations without ruining the tight and taut flow of the adventure. It all looks and sounds incredible, performs perfectly and makes for a glorious return to the top for an all-time action great. Welcome back, stranger.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Deathloop
    Get busy unlocking new powers, blinking in behind bad guys, stabbing and shooting and skulking around, scouring environments for clues, choosing which lead to follow next as you push and pull and probe every corner, every wrinkle of this labyrinthian puzzle box. And it's on Game Pass too? You're spoiling us, Microsoft.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Psychonauts 2
    It's honestly astounding how incredible Psychonauts 2 is. After 16 years, the expectations for the sequel were so high it felt as though they were impossible to meet. We don't know how they did it, but the wizards at Double Fine not only met them but smashed through them with ease. Psychonauts 2 is an extraordinary achievement in both its gameplay and storytelling, balancing heavy themes of mental health with its whimsical world. In lesser hands, it could have been a disaster, but the team has taken every aspect of the original game, built upon it and respected the fanbase in the process. Psychonauts 2 is the best game of 2021 so far and one of the greatest sequels ever made.
    • 92 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
    Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth takes the fresh start provided by its predecessor and runs riot. This is a gangster epic that sees two fantastic protagonists join forces in a story that delivers the goods in terms of emotion, action, ridiculous revelations and madcap humour. Massively expanded side activities, series-best combat, a fun new location and unexpected adventures around every single corner make for our favourite RGG Studio joint to date. 2024 is barely started and we've got an all-timer RPG to dig into.
    • 92 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Metaphor: ReFantazio
    Metaphor: ReFantazio is the team behind the best of the Persona series at the very top of their game. We were a little concerned we were in for a quick reskin of Joker's past glories, if we're being fully honest (we'd probably still have gobbled that up, let's face it), but what we've actually ended up with is a monumental JRPG. This is a coming together of everything that's been learned, honed and perfected over the years, presented through a phenomenal core narrative that's full of emotion and hope, amazing characters, some of the most warped enemy designs we've ever seen, and enough slick combat and style to do us until they make the next one. They better be making the next one already.
    • 96 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Elden Ring
    Elden Ring is a crowning achievement for FromSoftware and undoubtedly the very best gameplay experience they've yet delivered - and that's really saying something given this developer's incredible back catalogue. The Lands Between deftly combine breathless open world exploration, stunning artistry, immaculate world-building and wondrous adventure with classic Dark Souls combat and dungeon-crawling, resulting in not just the best Souls game to date, but a candidate for one of the very best video games ever made.
    • 90 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Quake II - Enhanced Edition
    Quake II's remastered release arrives on Xbox consoles in a fantastic package that's been put together masterfully by Nightdive Studios. You've got enhanced graphics and audio, refined AI, brand new enemy animations, the iD Vault, Quake 2 64, a brand new episode from MachineGames and all previously released DLC in the mix here. Add in crossplay support and lots of co-op and competitive ways to play and you've got an absolutely outstanding release that's almost impossible to find fault with. Operation Evil Overlord has never looked, felt or sounded better.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
    If you stick with it until the end, you'll be blown away by its engrossing world, riveting characters, and deep combat system. It's a crowning achievement from the developers, and it's a definite contender for game of the year.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Sniper Elite 5
    Sniper Elite 5 is the very best entry in this long-running franchise to date. Karl Fairburne's latest WW2 adventure effortlessly mixes jaw-dropping campaign environments, improved close quarters combat and ruthless enemy AI, resulting in a game that puts this series firmly into the top tier of action titles once and for all. With highly replayable missions stuffed full of secrets and side quests, a clever new PvP Invasion mode, full campaign co-op and a ton of unlockables and multiplayer modes to dig into, this is a hugely entertaining offering that's sure to delight long-term fans and new recruits in equal measure. It's time to get to work perfecting those slo-mo X-Ray balls shots.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition
    The new additions don't extend the length of the game by much, but they do freshen things up and breathe some new life into an already wonderful experience.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II
    Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a spectacular achievement that gives Warhammer fans everything they could possibly have wanted when it comes to roleplaying their favourite chonky space boys. Saber's swarm tech is deployed to dazzling effect, and with purpose and context, too. This is the Tyranid swarm of your nightmares, and you've been given all the slick melee moves, sick finishers and great big shooty guns you'll need to stave it off. Think Gears of War with hundreds of enemies onscreen at once, with the cumbersome cover system removed and the speed dialled up and you're in the right place. And what a place to be, whether solo or with pals online, this is one of the best action games we've played in a long while.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Gears of War: Reloaded
    Gears of War: Reloaded is an excellent game. Sure, it's quite basic compared to modern Gears games and sure, the core of the experience is very similar to Gears of War: Ultimate Edition - but I still think this release was a worthwhile endeavour, and then some. PS5 players joining the party means that Gears 1 multiplayer will remain alive and thriving, and those quality-of-life improvements to online play are also a massive win in my eyes. Campaign perhaps doesn't benefit quite as much, but boosts to resolution, performance and that lighting upgrade are definitely noticeable - and welcome for those of us who will probably play this campaign another handful of times over the years. Gears of War: Reloaded is a great reintroduction to one of Xbox's most famous franchises, and I'm going to soak it all in as I wait with baited breath for the next Gears installment in 2026.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Alan Wake Remastered
    If you've never played Alan Wake, this is the best possible way to experience the game. For anyone who loves horror or Remedy's other titles, there's a ton to unpack here with an engaging narrative and stellar gameplay. The remastered enhancements bolster the game even further, giving it a place in today's gaming world, and while the gameplay doesn't perhaps hold up as well as it did in 2010, Alan Wake Remastered is still as joyous as it was back then and a perfect treat for the Halloween season.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    It Takes Two
    It Takes Two is an absolute delight. The consistently creative gameplay is on par with, if not better than any co-op experience available on Xbox today, and if you have a partner in mind to play it with (don't forget they can access a free "Friend's Pass" if playing online), we think you'll have a real blast with it. We had such a great time playing through its highly memorable adventure, and you know what? We feel like the constant laughter, enjoyment and need for collaborative teamwork even reinvigorated our real life relationship a little bit. That's how good this game is.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    DiRT Rally
    For our money, this is easily the best rally game ever released. Not only that, it's transcended the scope of that admittedly small genre and is surprisingly close to the top of the general racing game category, too.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
    Not only is Persona 4 Arena Ultimax a must play for Persona fans, we'd go as far to say that it's a must play for fighting game fans as well.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Rocket League
    Relatively very minor gripes aside, Rocket League is a genuinely new type of game that provides addictive, enjoyable, skill-based fun that doesn't prevent new players from joining the fray and which never threatens to become dull. Even folks who aren't necessarily excited by football, sports in general, or cars will find something to love here and for many, it'll become their new favourite pastime. This is absolutely superb and will keep you entertained for many, many hours.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Halo: The Master Chief Collection
    For those new to the universe of Halo, a vast array of single and multiplayer content awaits, all revolving around one of the greater ongoing stories available in gaming and featuring the franchise's hallmark genre-defining arena combat. For the more initiated, a chance to go back and relive many fond moments from a whole new perspective, is also a boon.
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In Progress & Unscored

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    • 50 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection
    On Xbox, there is definitely going to be some debate about whether or not fans should consider checking out the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection. If you’re not in it for online play, and only want to participate in solo and local play, we would argue the affordably priced backward compatibility versions offer more than enough. If you do want to relive the glorious online battles of yesteryear in a fresh package though, the extra credits of the Classic Collection may be worth the asking price. [Review in Progress]
    • 94 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition
    Revisiting The Witcher 3 after all the drama with CP2077 takes us back to a time when CD Projekt Red was an unstoppable force. Although we've experienced some minor technical issues with the quality mode on Xbox Series X|S prior to release, overall this free update for Witcher 3 is a fantastic package that makes what was already an excellent experience (with two wonderful expansions) an even better one. If you haven’t played The Witcher 3 already and love action RPGs, now is the perfect time to check it out. It's without a doubt one of the greatest games of all time, and if you’ve already fallen in love with it before, you’ll still have a blast reuniting with the White Wolf in this latest update. Note: This review of The Witcher 3: Next Gen is still "in-progress" as we've suffered a few minor technical issues as part of our review build. As mentioned above, a patch is expected to address these issues in the coming days (potentially before the update's public release), so we'll hopefully be able to return to this review later in the week and provide a final score.
    • 70 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Undisputed
    After 14 extremely long years, we're so glad to finally be playing a major new boxing game on Xbox. Undisputed isn't necessarily the perfect follow-up to Fight Night Champion, but it's a more realistic take on the sport that delivers a good amount of entertainment inside the squared circle, and we're impressed by what the Steel City Interactive team have created with their first video game ever. Let's hope we don't have to wait another 14 years for a sequel! [Review in Progress]
    • 90 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Monster Hunter Wilds
    Monster Hunter Wilds is another step in the evolution of this growing series featuring updates to the combat, world design, equipment and upgrades, and comes loaded with all sorts of quality-of-life adjustments, making it probably the most accessible entry to date. For veterans, it throws more monsters at you to slay and gear to upgrade beyond the story, and after hours and hours of hunts, the gameplay loop remains addictive. Let the hunt begin!

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