The Best Xbox Game Every Year 2001 - 2024

And thus we come to the current year, as of writing. Whilst 2024 is only half over, it's been a very bad year for Microsoft. Aside from the ill will associated with the heartless closures of smaller studios (such as the aforementioned Tango Gameworks), it's also just been a very quiet year for games. Hellblade II wins purely by default by being the only Xbox console exclusive to launch so far.

In its defence, Senua's Sacrifice did grab a strong MetaCritic of 81 on release, with the audience reaction sitting at a sturdy 7.1. 

The game has been praised for its gorgeous graphics, stunning location design and the continued immersive storytelling of Senua's psychosis from the first game, but was also criticised for not shaking things up enough. Whilst the devs clearly spent more time on combat-related animations (and they do look great), the game lacks depth in terms of approaching the combat itself.

One's perspective and expectation is everything with Hellblade II. Microsoft's marketing of the game implied it was closer to AAA fare than Ninja Theory perhaps intended. If the goal was to craft a solid, narrative-driven puzzle adventure, like the first game, then the developers have succeeded.

It's impossible to say where Hellblade II will find itself for Xbox when awards season rolls around, and seems a great example of the doubt and mistrust that the Xbox brand continues to unfortunately generate in 2024.