2 years later, the Xbox Series X/S still lacks a killer exclusive

It’s November, and that means only one thing in video game history: It’s time for a bunch of console anniversaries to pile up at once.One of the youngest milestones this month is the couple’s second birthday xbox Consoles – Looking back at the past few years doesn’t quite paint the most flattering picture.

Two years later, I look back at the Xbox Series X and S and realize… Is there really a must-play exclusive game for this thing? Is there a game that makes you happy with your purchase? I’m not even strictly talking about truly exclusive products here. Cross-generational gaming is now a reality and a necessity for a number of reasons – so I’m glad the hit Xbox series titles are also available on Xbox One. But even counting that, it’s nothing to shout about. At least nothing is unavailable on PlayStation.

A good measure of the two years is the list of the highest-scoring Xbox Series X and PS5 games on metacritic so far. Some things are shared – Elden Ring both topped the charts, and Hades and Persona 5 Royal secured the pack in a multi-platform fashion. In fact, many of the same games dominate both lists. Proving that with Covid-19 and everything else, it’s been a tough couple of years for first-party production.

But Sony’s roster is also filled with Ragnarok, Ratchet and Clank: Rift, Horizon: Forbidden West, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Gran Turismo 7, and even Astronomy Playroom — a pretty strong six. The first-side hitter in the group breaks. The first 24 months of PS5. Then, of course, there’s Sony’s long list of “these really need” PS4 game remasters. To be honest, I don’t particularly want to rewatch The Last of Us or Spider-Man, but judging by this shot, the ports suddenly seem more necessary to make up for the early difficulties of the new hardware. They do add value to the hardware.

The Xbox list includes Forza and Flight Sim – both are excellent – but that’s all? Sure, Halo Infinite has it, but as much as I love the game’s campaign, it’s absolutely fair to say it’s been wrecked by a botched launch that still sees the game lack co-op play and glacial multiplayer update cadence.

I’ll be honest with you. In game consoles, I really like the Xbox series. I prefer the Xbox OS (although it’s definitely a lose-lose situation), and I love the cross-ownership and cross-play with the Windows Store on PC. I don’t like the Dualsense and its fast draining battery. Of course, Xbox Game Pass is an irresistible offer, the best deal in gaming right now. As a result, I use my Xbox a lot more…but I mostly use it to play older games, dabble in Game Pass indie titles, or watch Bloody Endor on Disney+.

Most of the hot new games I want to play, whether they’re out or coming soon, are on the PS5 — either with Sony’s seemingly more efficient first-party development pipeline, or through aggressive third-party exclusivity deals like Enix with Square Final Fantasy XVI and Forspoken. Regardless of how one feels about the methods used, Sony is undoubtedly winning this particular battle.

In a sense, I guess that means little has changed over the past two years. In my iGamesNews hardware review, published five days before the machine was introduced to the public, I described living with the console as great. I talked about the magic of Quick Resume and how the performance boost on older games can be amazing and experiential. I say that playing old games with features like automatic HDR, lightning-fast loading, and quick resume “does feel like the future, even though those games are a decade old.” It’s still an impressive party trick — But after two years, it’s getting a little thin.

“And then there’s the Xbox Series X,” I wrote. “It’s touted by Microsoft as the ‘fastest, most powerful gaming console ever’—I take that as a mission statement. You know what? It’s possible! On paper, the specs look deadly. And Love the value for money. But at launch there is nothing unique to help really prove it, so the mission remains a question mark. It’s TBC – it has to be proven with software in the future. Software is always the most important ; without it, hardware, no matter how trendy, is useless.”

Two years later, that TBC still feels like a TBC. This is surprising. where did all the time go? More gray hairs have arrived, but I’m still waiting for the match.

Meanwhile, the outlook looks bright. correct? Starfield is here. Hopefully 2023 is the year we finally start learning more about Fable, Avoed, or Perfect Dark. I may not be entirely convinced that Everwild exists, but Hellblade 2 feels tangible and palpable. There are a couple of relatively imminent games that, while smaller, also look decidedly Superhuman – Pentiment, Minecraft Legends, and High on Life all surprised and wowed me at Gamescom.

So it’s not all bad news. In fact, I do think Xbox is building a first-party portfolio that will eventually match Sony’s efforts, even if there are some huge unresolved blind spots, such as Japanese-made games, especially Japanese RPGs. After such a disastrous period for the Xbox One, it’s only natural that time will be needed to rebuild the infrastructure needed to deliver these games. But, crikey, that future feels like a while away, doesn’t it?

As a transcript of the first two years, it reads brutally. I love my Xbox Series X. I love having a Series S in a different room and how easily I can switch between the two. I just wish there were more games that really make me long to turn on those particular consoles.