It’s been a strange console generation for Team Xbox so far. It started during a pandemic and led to Supply chain issues This made it difficult for months to get the Xbox Series delayMicrosoft tried it Buy Activision-Blizzard for sixty-nine billion dollars just to see Regulatory Authorities around the world Request it before the final deal went throughthe company delivered a real product Game of the year (Forza Horizon 5) and also started releases its first-party games on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switchand even Xbox boss Phil Spencer confirmed that a handheld Xbox is in the works, even though we may not see it in this hardware generation.

Aside from a great 2021 that saw the release of the aforementioned Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 alongside Psychonauts 2, Microsoft Flight Simulator and Tunic, Xbox gamers have been waiting (and waiting) for a steady stream of first-party games all along. Games serviced (and serviced). Party games. And this year things looked a bit bleak – again – Avowed was pushed back to February 2025 and the potential pixel art indie action-adventure exclusive Replaced disappeared from 2024. But Microsoft turned in all its homework when the bell rang at the end of class, with STALKER 2, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle all land in the last six weeks of the year – and all three get an A for the task. Let’s discuss the honorable mentions, runners-up, and best Xbox game of 2024.

The best Xbox game of 2024

Honorable Mentions

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 and Dungeons of Hinterberg both narrowly missed out on making it to the top of our list, but deserve an honorable mention. The psychologically focused sequel to Hellblade was the first officially announced Xbox Series X gameand when it finally ships this year, it can claim at least one title: Best looking Xbox game ever. Powered by Unreal Engine 5, Ninja Theory’s narrative adventure is a technological showpiece, a powerhouse of pixels that utilizes all 12.1 teraflops of performance that the Series X offers. Gameplay-wise it’s a bit sparse – more reminiscent of a walking simulator than a proper action-adventure – but it’s still beautifully acted and stunningly presented. It’s definitely worth taking the time to take this trip with Senua.

Meanwhile, Dungeons of Hinterberg’s fun concept – a European city becomes a hotspot for visitors looking to make friends and drink beer in the evenings after a long day of monster-slaying in the dungeons below – is being implemented a super fun mix Action RPG and social sim gameplay. The cartoon-like images only added to the overall experience. This was a refreshing summer release in a season where we usually complain about the lack of interesting new games. But this year’s virtual summer trip to Europe to destroy a bunch of monsters and collect loot while chatting it up with the locals in the pub afterwards turned out to be exactly the kind of vacation we needed.

Runner-up: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

It may not be an Xbox exclusive, but Call of Duty is now owned by Microsoft, and the world’s biggest first-person shooter franchise has seen a major resurgence this year. And Xbox owners were able to play Black Ops 6 on day one via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, so there’s that.

More importantly, Treyarch, Raven, and the countless Activision support studios that invested Yeoman’s work on this series every year came together to create this best single player Call of Duty campaign in years. The historically underrated developer Raven understands that the key to a great Call of Duty campaign is variety, and in Black Ops 6 you can do all sorts of incredibly fun things, from going undercover in a casino to freely roaming an open one desert to hobnobbing at a fundraiser for Bill Clinton and much more. While the story isn’t quite as mind-blowing as Black Ops 1’s JFK moment, it’s still a damn good story that compliments the excellent and unpredictable campaign gameplay.

Add a great, focused multiplayer mode and a excellent return of the zombiesand Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is one of the best overall gaming packages you can get in 2024.

Runner-up: STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl

The developers of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl endured a literal version of hell on earth to create this deeply personal game about their home country of Ukraine after Russia invaded the country midway through development. That it even got done is an incredible testament to their tenacity and their human spirit and how lucky we are that they did it because it’s fantastic. (Side note: The 90-minute documentary about the making of this game is an incredible human story that’s worth watching. Find it Xbox’s YouTube channel.)

This first-person shooter sequel combines hard-hitting survival gameplay with brutal combat in a brooding sci-fi atmosphere to create a gameplay loop that feels refreshingly old-school yet delightfully new and modern. Although the initial release was marred by a variety of technical issues, corrections and updates have been made so frequently that release day cannot be argued against. And once you get in now, you’ll only ever see the current, more sophisticated version of the exclusion zone. Enjoy playing in the world it creates, as the developers clearly did when they created it.

Runner-up: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024

A The rough start put the passengers in a bad moodBut things quickly smoothed out when developer Asobo Studio reached cruising altitude latest version of that Masterpiece Flight simulator. Somehow the team made Flight Simulator even more beautiful, depicting an even more beautiful and realistic Earth than the one in 2021. Plus, they’ve added a lot more to do, from animal photoshoots to unimaginable points on the planet in the game with every single helipad in the real world. The physics have been improved, as have numerous other systems under the hood.

All in all, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 may not be a “game” for everyone (hence the “Simulator” in the title), but what it sets out to do, it does brilliantly. It’s a love letter to anyone who loves aviation, just as Forza Horizon 5 was a love letter to anyone who loved cars and driving.

Winner: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Lucasfilm made a smart decision when it partnered with MachineGames to create a AAA Indiana Jones video game. The talented studio has revived and modernized Wolfenstein and previously created one of the best licensed video games of all time with The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and one of the best original Xbox games of all time. And that’s why it’s high praise when we say Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is that best game This group of developers has ever done it – not to mention the best Indiana Jones anything since the last crusade 35 years ago.

Some players were skeptical when we learned in January that Indy’s latest interactive adventure would be played primarily in first person. But after everyone played it, MachineGames’ choice was quickly confirmed. “The Great Circle” completely immerses you in the role of Indiana Jones, from the shadow of your fedora on the wall to the versatile whip in your hand to the leather jacket that squeaks as you walk – not to mention the absolutely top-notch performance of the veteran Voice actor Troy Baker, who completely disappears into the role of Indiana Jones, convincing your ears and brain that you are somehow anachronistically listening to a Harrison Ford in his forties.

There is certainly action in The Great Circle, but that action is in addition to the core: the adventure. Your whip can be used to stun enemies – or knock the weapon out of their hand – but it is primarily used for traversal as a makeshift rope to help you navigate crypts, tombs, cities and excavation sites that Visit you all over the world. And the swelling orchestral music makes the big moments seem particularly big, just like in the Indiana Jones films. The writing style is also spot on, punctuating various scenes with humor and ensuring that the tone always remains entertaining without ever becoming too dark or serious. Oh, and you’ll solve puzzles too. So many big and small puzzles. And it’s really fun to figure them all out.

In short, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle isn’t just the best Xbox game of the year, It is the best game that Microsoft has released under its banners since Forza Horizon 5, IGN’s 2021 Overall Game of the Year winner. It’s a globe-trotting adventure-action game that eschews shooting in favor of punches, puzzles, whips, jokes, stories, side quests and set pieces. It’s brilliant, you can’t put it down and it plays unlike any other first-person game on the market. It easily and deservedly wins IGN’s Best Xbox Game of 2024 award.

For more discussion on all your favorite Xbox games, don’t miss our weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked. And for everything else in the world of video games, you’ve already come to the right place here at IGN.