A reader rails against the idea that the Xbox One has no good exclusives and admits he’s played it more than the PlayStation 4 this generation.
So, this has been bugging me for a while. ‘Xbox has no games’ has been the shrill call of the internet for the last couple of years, and as an incredibly lucky owner of all three consoles that claim just hasn’t rung true for me. Don’t get me wrong, if it’s a straight up fight between Sony’s third person action adventure games and Microsoft’s… Well, Quantum Break is sat crying about how it never wanted to waste half its budget on a TV show and while Gears 5 is definitely a great game, even Marcus Fenix would admit it’s not quite the calibre of Sony’s current titles.
So as ‘Xbox has no games’ it would be clear that Sony is beating them in every genre. So what’s going up against Halo Wars… oh you don’t have a real-time strategy game? OK, how about a killer multiplayer title I can sink my teeth into… oh. Well you’re PlayStation and you have all the games so you’ve definitely got the racing game genre locked up… No numbered Gran Turismo on PlayStation 4 you say? And Driveclub’s developer was shuttered when it completed the game?
As I said at the start, Sony have had an incredible generation but really only in one genre, and it came at a time when many publishers foolishly thought single-player titles were on the way out. I don’t fault Sony for this, I think they genuinely elevated single-player and have shown how to keep them relevant. It has however led to a sense of fatigue for me and meant The Last Of Us Part 2 and Ghost Of Tsushima have stayed on the shelf.
As such I would like to combat the ‘Xbox has no games’ meme with a short list and description of games that I’ve enjoyed over this console generation.
Ori And The Blind Forrest/Will Of The Wisps
Two phenomenal 2D Metroidvanias designed to get you in the feels every time. If you are a parent or care for someone in any way the simple but evocative animation and sound design elevate this game to greatness but the tight controls, amazing level design and clever but never frustrating puzzles make it a classic.
Gears Of War 4 and 5
Many people have said this franchise is past its prime, and on the strength of 4 alone that may have been correct, but Gears 5 was fantastic. Tightened controls, making critical shots so satisfying, expanding the combat sandbox with new abilities and enemies. Plus, an excellent story where from beginning to end I knew what was going on, who all the characters were, and their motivations. A first for Gears.
Halo 5: Guardians
A lot of complaints have been made regarding the poor execution of Halo 5’s campaign. Playing it on Legendary in four-player co-op, the level design and weaponry all start to make sense, but that doesn’t change the fact that while enjoyable it’s the weakest single-player Halo to date. It does include one of the strongest arena style multiplayer titles of the whole generation though and I’m still going back five years on.
Sea Of Thieves
The fact that GameCentral re-review games on PC that are exactly the same as their console offering (cough, Death Stranding, cough) but haven’t been back to any Microsoft titles (as far as I can recall) is frustrating. [Compared to a linear game with a clear ending, a games as a service title needs much more time and a reviewer with long term experience of the game – GC]
Sea Of Thieves launched as a fun sandbox which just didn’t have enough to do unless you engaged heavily in the player-to-player interactions. Since then it’s added system upon system whereby turning on the game you can follow a storied questline, fight a skeleton galleon, chase a megalodon, set fire to an opponent’s ship or harpoon your row boat to the back of a galleon and hang on for the ride. I have had more fun this generation with this game than any other, I made real friendships and was introduced to multiplayer that didn’t focus on kill/death averages.
State Of Decay
This was genuinely funny in the first months of play, because it was so broken, but it’s a changed game today and the core loop of exploring, looting, building your home, and fighting is great fun, another game GameCentral should re-review.
Forza Motorsport/Horizon
One of the best driving simulators and THE best arcade racer of the generation. If you like driving games (and you’re British) Forza Horizon 4 is a must play.
So to end, this is just my opinion internet warriors, I can see you are desperate to get to the comments and start pointing out how wrong my likes and dislikes are but stop… take a moment… and breathe.
Why does there have to be a winner, why does one massive corporation do it right and the other one does it wrong? Can’t we all just agree that people are different and so will gravitate towards the system that jives best with them? If you’ve only owned one console this generation this is the perfect time to try out all the games on the rival system and on Xbox you can play all the games I’ve listed on Game Pass.
It’ll be much cheaper than going next gen and they’ll be far more games for you to play. This goes both ways though, if you haven’t played any PlayStation 4 exclusives this generation many of their best games can be found for peanuts and Sony run regular sales.
So that’s where I’ll end my (polite) rant and remind the internet it’s only my opinion. I’ve played all three consoles this generation and while the likes of God Of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and Horizon Zero Dawn will go down as some of my all-time favourites I’ve spent more time playing games on my Xbox… which hasn’t been hard because Xbox has games.
By reader DarKerR (gamertag)/DarKerR-UK (PSN ID)/DarKeR_UK (Steam ID)/DarKerR…something (Switch)
This Reader’s Feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.
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