The 8 Best Xbox One Fantasy Games of 2021

Best Gameplay: Warner Bros. Middle-earth: Shadow of War

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Death is all too commonplace in video games, but Middle-Earth: Shadow of War will make you feel like a real murderer. This is the beauty of Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, a game whose astonishing graphics parallel with its highly detailed characters, their development and the impact of their fate to which the player decides.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War takes place in an action-based, role-playing game in an open world environment set between the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. The game includes a main adventure that opens up its narrative, along with a robust amount of side quests that improve the player's abilities and techniques. Gameplay is so highly detailed that it’s been developed with a dynamic weather system and day-night cycle that affects gameplay and character’s behaviors. You really don’t have to kill — players are given the option to persuade enemies to become friends, and even, horribly, drive enemies to a state of delirium that’ll break your heart, unless you’re a monster and enjoy that sort of thing.

Best Story: 2K BioShock: The Collection

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Bioshock does an incredible job of getting players involved in its immerse narrative by enveloping them in a utopian world’s downfall. BioShock: The Collection gives players an affordable and valuable series of all three BioShock games, completely remastered in 1080p, and with all DLC included, so you can enjoy its fully encapsulating lore and environment.

BioShock: The Collection comes with the original BioShock game, BioShock 2, as well as BioShock Infinite — all first-person shooters with unique gameplay styles. The first two BioShock games take place in an underwater city called Rapture, where players meet a once prosperous utopia overrun by mutant junkie people and mechanical men whom they battle with using genetically modified DNA and weapons. In BioShock Infinite, players journey to an ultra-nationalistic sky-city where industry booms, a civil war is on the brink and they're thought to be the anti-Christ. BioShock: The Collection is an excellent addition to your Xbox One collection, and is packed to the brim with content, including director’s commentary. 

Best Graphics: Square Enix Hitman: The Complete First Season

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With enhanced geometry, textures, texture-filling shadow quality, as well as native 4K resolution at 30 fps, Hitman: The Complete First Season offers gorgeous graphics that boast incredibly realistic environments. From its subtle lighting fixtures to the grainy textures of old architecture, Hitman for the Xbox One will wow you with its lifelike visual presentation that feels like more than just a game.

Hitman is a third-person-perspective-based stealth action fantasy assassin game. Gameplay gives players multiple angles and ways to complete a mission; guards won’t let you through the front door? Go through the back, knockout a mechanic, take his clothes and blend in like nothing happened. If you want, you can even poison that drink on the table and see what happens. Levels can have hundreds of characters on screen, each with their own detail and unique quality, with some even holding long conversations that the player can eavesdrop in on. If you want to be wowed with what video-game developers are capable of creating — and not just the in-game guilt you might feel — get Hitman.

Best for Kids: Microsoft Super Lucky's Tale

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Super Lucky’s Tale is an Xbox One exclusive fantasy adventure game that is one of the most palatable kids' games on the gaming market today. Kids play as an adventurous fox in this 3D platformer filled with delightful characters and calming gameplay.

Capable of 4K resolution, Super Lucky’s Tale shines on the screen as brightly as one would imagine a Pixar 3D animated film could. The game is packed filled with unpredictable challenges and situations as the story progresses. Players collect coins, battle (or avoid) enemies and use multiple moves such as burrowing to complete objectives. Any parent looking for a Mario-style equivalent for the Xbox One gaming system will find solace in Super Lucky’s Tale’s similar gameplay style and charm.

Best Multiplayer: Microsoft Gears of War - Ultimate Edition and Rare Replay

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The beautiful thing about Gears of War - Ultimate Edition and Rare Replay for the Xbox One console is that it’s not just one of the best multiplayer options on the system, but it offers over 31 games (many with multiplayer), including Battle Toads and Perfect Dark. Its large amount of offline multiplayer games and exceptional replay value makes it the best multiplayer fantasy game(s) on the list.

The Gears of War - Ultimate Edition and Rare Replay take both a collection of yesteryears best Rare titled games and a remake of the critically acclaimed first Gears of War game. Players will get to share a split screen with their friends, diving into classics such as Killer Instinct and Conker’s Bad Fur Day. For those seeking a more modern feel, the Gears of War - Ultimate Edition gives players both an offline multiplayer campaign mode and online competitive matchmaking with modes such as Death Match and King of the Hill.

Best Challenge: 505 Games Dead by Daylight

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It’s not so much that Dead By Daylight is a hard game as it is a challenging attempt to avoid a player controlled monster who is constantly out to kill you. The thrilling game relies on the survival of four players working cooperatively to escape a level as another player is a bloodthirsty monster who's mission is to capture (with the promise of murdering) everyone.

If you’re playing as a human, Dead By Daylight puts you and three other players in one of seven randomly generated levels in different spawning places as you search around to fix and power generators to open an escape route. If you’re not playing as a human, you’ll get the chance to pick one of ten monsters, including Freddy Krueger, where you’ll play in first person mode and hunt down humans. The game features various unlockable items, perks and offerings that are achieved by gathering points from performing various actions (such as being brave) in-game. And yes, you’ll be rewarded if you help your captured friends, even if you don’t want to.

Best Historical Factor: Assassin's Creed Origins

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Taking place in Egypt and Rome in 48BC, Assassin’s Creed Origins offers a fictional history of real-world events using historical figures and landmarks in a breathtaking action-packed and beautifully visualized fantasy game. Assassin’s Creed Origins is sure to wow from its epic immersive world to its brilliant storytelling, professional voice acting and developed characters.

Assassin’s Creed Origins is an action-adventure fantasy stealth game played from a third-person perspective in a free-to-roam open-world environment. Players explore multiple areas and locations, traversing from foot to camelback in order to unlock various powerful weapons and equipment. Players will face off with formidable AI such as ancient gods and giant scorpions and utilize their offensive and defensive capabilities. Assassin’s Creed Origins does well in paying ode to a historical era through its authentic development of culture and architectures.