Christmas has come and gone and many people have found themselves with a new console to play with as a result of some generous gift-giver. You may be six (you are probably not reading this) you may be 60, but you are probably wondering what exactly you should be playing first.
I may have personal recommendations, but if you want to use math here, you can hunt down some specific exclusives that are the highest rated of each console generation. So, here we go for each of the big three consoles, plus I’ll do a longer third party section:
PS5:
- Astrobot – 94 Metascore
- God of War: Ragnarok – 94 Metascore (probably play the first God of War first)
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth – 92 Metascore (probably play Final Fantasy VII Remake first)
- Demon’s Souls Remaster – 92 Metascore
- The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered – 90 Metascore (probably play The Last of Us Part 1 Remastered first)
Xbox Series X/S (some of these are no longer true exclusives, and all are available on PC)
- Forza Horizon 5 – 92 Metascore
- Microsoft Flight Simulator – 90 Metascore
- Sea of Thieves – Metascore is outdated but trust me it’s good now
- Halo Infinite – 87 Metascore (multiplayer is actually quite good now)
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – 86 Metascore
Nintendo Switch
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 97 Metascore
- Super Mario Odyssey – 97 Metascore
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – 96 Metascore (play Breath of the Wild first)
- Metroid Prime Remastered – 94 Metascore
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – 93 Metascore
Third Party Games (most on PS5 and Xbox, a couple on Switch. I am leaving out the obvious big guns like Fortnite and GTA 5 and all those)
- Elden Ring – 96 Metascore (also the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion)
- Baldur’s Gate 3 – 96 Metascore
- Metaphor: ReFantasio – 94 Metascore
- The Witcher 3 Remastered – 94 Metascore
- Tetris Effect: Connected – 93 Metascore (also on Switch)
- Hades – 93 Metascore (also on Switch)
- Resident Evil 4 – 93 Metascore
- Persona 5 Royal – 91 Metascore (also on Switch)
- Balatro – 90 Metascore (probably best on Switch)
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth – 89 Metascore
BONUS: Cyberpunk 2077, my favorite game of all time that arrived with terrible scores but has been fixed and crafted into a masterpiece, three years later. I recommend this above all others (uh, not for kids though)
If I had to pick my personal favorites here besides Cyberpunk, I would prioritize Elden Ring, The Witcher 3, both God of War games, both Zelda games and Astro Bot. But it’s up to you and it’s hard to go wrong with any game on this list, depending on your personal tastes.
Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.
Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
