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Best Xbox One games of 2021

The 40 best Xbox One games released in 2021, ranked from 10,431 critic and player ratings.

The best Xbox One game of 2021 is Forza Horizon 5, with a critic score of 94/100 — updated November 2026.

How this ranking is built
  • Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
  • A game only enters the ranking with at least 80 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
  • Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
  • Release window covered: 2021.
  • 40 games are listed on this page, carrying 10,431 ratings between them.
  • Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 14 November 2026.

Top 40

Played them? Give your tier with the + next to each game. No account needed to try — create one to keep your tiers.

01 Forza Horizon 5 D Forza Horizon 5 2021 · 363 ratings · 2 Tier votes · finished by 9% Your Ultimate Horizon Adventure awaits! Explore the vibrant and ever-evolving open-world landscapes of Mexico with limitless, fun driving action in hundreds of the world’s greatest cars. 94 /100
02 Disco Elysium: The Final Cut Disco Elysium: The Final Cut 2021 · 228 ratings Disco Elysium: The Final Cut is an enhanced edition of the original role-playing game developed and published by ZA/UM. It retains the core gameplay and narrative while adding full voice acting, new quests, additional endings, and other narrative revisions. 91 /100
03 It Takes Two A It Takes Two 2021 · 1,178 ratings · 5 Tier votes · finished by 37% Embark on the craziest journey of your life in It Takes Two, a genre-bending platform adventure created purely for co-op. Invite a friend to join for free with Friend’s Pass and work together across a huge variety of gleefully disruptive gameplay challenges. Play as the clashing couple Cody and May, two humans turned into dolls by a magic spell. Together, trapped in a fantastical world where the unpredictable hides around every corner, they are reluctantly challenged with saving their fractured relationship. 90 /100
04 Disco Elysium: Final Cut C Disco Elysium: Final Cut 2021 · 669 ratings · 1 Tier vote · finished by 46% 90 /100
05 The Forgotten City The Forgotten City 2021 · 158 ratings · finished by 18% The Forgotten City is a mystery adventure game of exploration and deduction, and a re-imagining of the critically acclaimed mod of the same name. Combat is an option, but violence will only get you so far. Only by questioning an intertwined community of colorful characters, cleverly exploiting the time loop, and making difficult moral choices can you hope to solve this epic mystery. Here, your decisions matter. The fate of the city is in your hands. 90 /100
06 Monster Hunter Rise Monster Hunter Rise 2021 · 124 ratings · finished by 11% Rise to the challenge and join the hunt! In Monster Hunter Rise, the latest installment in the award-winning and top-selling Monster Hunter series, you’ll become a hunter, explore brand new maps and use a variety of weapons to take down fearsome monsters as part of an all-new storyline. 88 /100
07 Halo Infinite A Halo Infinite 2021 · 306 ratings · 2 Tier votes Halo Infinite is a first-person shooter and the sixth mainline entry in the Halo series. The game features a semi-open world campaign set on the Forerunner ringworld Zeta Halo, where players control the supersoldier Master Chief in combat against the Banished, a mercenary faction of aliens and humans. Players traverse the environment on foot and in vehicles, capturing forward operating bases, rescuing Marines, and completing story missions that advance the narrative. Equipment such as the Grappleshot adds traversal and combat options. The multiplayer component is free-to-play and includes various competitive modes in 4v4 and 12v12 formats. 88 /100
08 Tales of Arise Tales of Arise 2021 · 88 ratings · finished by 15% On the planet Dahna, reverence has always been given to Rena--the planet in the sky--as a land of the righteous and divine. Stories handed down for generations became truth and masked reality for the people of Dahna. For 300 years, Rena has ruled over Dahna, pillaging the planet of its resources and stripping people of their dignity and freedom. Our tale begins with two people, born on different worlds, each looking to change their fate and create a new future. Featuring a diverse cast of characters, intuitive and rewarding combat system, and a captivating story set in a lush world worth fighting for, Tales of Arise delivers a first-class JRPG experience. 87 /100
09 Psychonauts 2 Psychonauts 2 2021 · 208 ratings · finished by 16% Psychonauts 2 is a platform-adventure game developed by Double Fine Productions and released in 2021. It continues the story of Razputin “Raz” Aquato, a young psychic who joins the international psychic espionage agency known as the Psychonauts. Gameplay combines platforming, exploration, and combat with psychic abilities such as telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and mental connection. Players journey through imaginative levels set inside characters’ minds, each reflecting their personalities and struggles. 87 /100
10 Mass Effect Legendary Edition Mass Effect Legendary Edition 2021 · 372 ratings · finished by 16% One person is all that stands between humanity and the greatest threat it’s ever faced. Relive the legend of Commander Shepard in the highly acclaimed Mass Effect trilogy with the Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Includes single-player base content and over 40 DLCs from Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3 games, including promo weapons, armors and packs. Experience an amazingly rich and detailed universe where your decisions have profound consequences on the action and the outcome. 87 /100
11 Death's Door Death's Door 2021 · 192 ratings 87 /100
12 Resident Evil: Village B Resident Evil: Village 2021 · 614 ratings · 4 Tier votes · finished by 30% 87 /100
13 Unpacking Unpacking 2021 · 246 ratings 92 /100
14 Hitman 3 Hitman 3 2021 · 229 ratings · finished by 21% 85 /100
15 Subnautica: Below Zero C Subnautica: Below Zero 2021 · 144 ratings · 2 Tier votes · finished by 15% 85 /100
16 Loop Hero Loop Hero 2021 · 159 ratings · finished by 10% 85 /100
17 Life is Strange: True Colors Life is Strange: True Colors 2021 · 229 ratings · finished by 32% 84 /100
18 Unpacking Unpacking 2021 · 488 ratings · finished by 25% 84 /100
19 Kena: Bridge of Spirits B Kena: Bridge of Spirits 2021 · 232 ratings · 2 Tier votes · finished by 30% 84 /100
20 Road 96 S Road 96 2021 · 146 ratings · 1 Tier vote · finished by 22% 83 /100
21 Inscryption Inscryption 2021 · 398 ratings · finished by 21% 82 /100
22 Little Nightmares II Little Nightmares II 2021 · 339 ratings · finished by 38% 82 /100
23 NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... S NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... 2021 · 199 ratings · 1 Tier vote 82 /100
24 NieR Replicant v1.22474487139... S NieR Replicant v1.22474487139... 2021 · 268 ratings · 1 Tier vote · finished by 20% 82 /100
25 Far Cry 6 B Far Cry 6 2021 · 256 ratings · 2 Tier votes · finished by 26% 82 /100
26 Alan Wake Remastered A Alan Wake Remastered 2021 · 151 ratings · 1 Tier vote 82 /100
27 Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy A Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy 2021 · 398 ratings · 1 Tier vote · finished by 26% 81 /100
28 Scarlet Nexus Scarlet Nexus 2021 · 93 ratings · finished by 11% 81 /100
29 Diablo II: Resurrected Diablo II: Resurrected 2021 · 153 ratings 80 /100
30 Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! 2021 · 125 ratings 82 /100
31 Back 4 Blood Back 4 Blood 2021 · 122 ratings · finished by 6% 79 /100
32 Twelve Minutes Twelve Minutes 2021 · 221 ratings · finished by 37% 79 /100
33 Outriders Outriders 2021 · 87 ratings · finished by 8% 78 /100
34 The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes 2021 · 174 ratings 76 /100
35 Call of Duty: Vanguard Call of Duty: Vanguard 2021 · 114 ratings 75 /100
36 Biomutant Biomutant 2021 · 81 ratings · finished by 10% 73 /100
37 The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes 2021 · 367 ratings · finished by 35% 73 /100
38 The Ascent The Ascent 2021 · 90 ratings · finished by 4% 71 /100
39 Battlefield 2042 B Battlefield 2042 2021 · 147 ratings · 1 Tier vote 69 /100
40 Breathedge Breathedge 2021 · 275 ratings · finished by 8% 66 /100
Browse all the best Xbox One games

Other years

Best Xbox One games of 2025Best Xbox One games of 2024Best Xbox One games of 2023Best Xbox One games of 2022Best Xbox One games of 2020Best Xbox One games of 2019Best Xbox One games of 2018Best Xbox One games of 2017Best Xbox One games of 2016Best Xbox One games of 2015Best Xbox One games of 2014Best Xbox One games of 2013

Same year, other platforms

Best PC games of 2021Best PlayStation 5 games of 2021Best Xbox Series X|S games of 2021Best PlayStation 4 games of 2021Best Nintendo Switch games of 2021Best Linux games of 2021Best Android games of 2021Best Mac games of 2021Best iOS games of 2021

Nearby rankings

Best Xbox One games of 2020Best Xbox One games of 2022

Catalog statistics

Most abandoned gamesMost completed games

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Xbox One game of 2021?

Forza Horizon 5 currently tops the ranking with a score of 94/100 across 363 ratings. Ranking updated November 2026.

How is this ranking built?

Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.