The best Xbox Series X exclusives

Of all the franchises out there, Microsoft is most closely tied with the Halo series. It essentially was the reason to buy the original Xbox when it first launched and pioneered not only the first-person genre on consoles, but revolutionized online multiplayer too. Xbox owes a lot to this franchise, so it makes sense that they would want to keep it alive. Despite being delayed for two years after the Series X and S launched, we finally got our first taste of a brand new Halo game on these upgraded machines in the form of Halo: Infinite.  Split between the free-to-play multiplayer and campaign, this Halo is a little light on content but promises to continue to grow over time. At the core, though, the gameplay is more than enough reason to jump in. This throwback to the classic arena-style shooter is a breath of fresh air in a genre filled with specialists, loadouts, complex abilities, and overpowered builds.

Gears 5 is basically an Xbox Series X launch game, despite releasing on Xbox One in 2019. Existing owners can download the Series X patch for free, which boosts the visuals and performance of the game past its last-gen counterpart. For performance, the game is basically locked at 60 frames per second during the campaign, jumping as high as native 4K in the resolution department during calm scenes. When the action heats up, Gears 5 can still drop its resolution to 1080p, though these dips are infrequent, much unlike the Xbox One X version. Based on performance and resolution, the Series X and One X versions are similar, though the Series X locks to 60 fps whereas the One X experienced frequent dips. It’s the details that make the difference, however. Variable-rate shading, screen-space global illumination, and improvements in shadows and lighting make the game look much better overall, and combined with the Series X’s ultra-fast SSD, feel like a next-gen experience. As for Gears 5 as a game, it’s great. The campaign is a little less bombastic than previous titles, with frequent breaks from the action to explore and experience the story, and multiplayer is better than ever. The Series X supports 120Hz during multiplayer in Gears 5, and like the campaign, the game locks there on Microsoft’s flagship console.