Making a Case for Forgotten Xbox One Exclusives

As most people already know, the Xbox One was a very disappointing gaming console. It was more expensive and less powerful than its PlayStation 4 counterpart and feature less and lower quality exclusives. Some of that disappointment was remedied by the launch of the Xbox One X halfway through the generation, yet there seemed to be less exclusives for the console as time went on. The purpose of this post is to go through some of the forgotten exclusives from the early years of the Xbox One and show that things weren't as bad as they seemed. While none of these games were critical darlings, I do believe that all five of them are/were worth playing.

Screamride

Starting off this list of in no particular order, is one of the more unique exclusives that the Xbox One had. Launching in early 2015, this game was meant to be a tech demo of the kind of computing power the Xbox one had, particularly in terms of destruction. Screamride is a game about Roller Coasters and destruction. What more could someone want for $30. The game features 3 kinds of gameplay. The first is an engineer mode in which players are tasks with building coasters. Then there's the Screamrider mode in which the player is driving the roller coaster car and has to both maintain control and finish the track in the time limit. The last mode is a demolition mode in which players have to launch NPC loaded sphere cabin things at skyscrapers in order to destroy them. It is unique fun, and there isn't quite anything like it.

Recore

Recore feels like a game that came out in 2003. It is an semi-open world action platformer in which the player fights robots and collects cores to upgrade robot companions of their own. The platforming is top notch and the combat is fun, despite the fact that it can be repetitive. The game doesn't look too bad either and runs at a nice smooth 60 fps on the Xbox Series X. The story isn't anything special, and the game was kind of a technical mess when it came out. There are still a handful of annoying bugs present. However, the game is good fun and is definitely worth a download from Game Pass.

Quantum Break

This game seems to me to be a product of what the Xbox One aspired to be. It tried to be an all-in-one entertainment box that would replace anything else that would sit under someone's TV. The game is part third person action game, and part tv show, featuring four 30ish minute episodes that change based on the choices the player makes in the game. It also has a unique take on time travel that remains interesting through all of the game's hours. The gameplay is fairly passable, the visuals are a nice balance of realism combined with Remedy's style. I would say that every Xbox owner needs to play this game at least once. I don't know why that hasn't happened already.

Project Spark

There is one problem with putting this game on this list... It's not as playable as it was when it first came out. That is because the game's servers have been turned off which means community created content is no longer available. For me, that was the fun of this game. For some background, Project Spark is a game maker game. It gives players the ability to create their own games. While I personally never delved into the game making aspect, I loved playing through other people's games. Because the games were all community made (with the exception of two short campaigns) there were all kinds of fan versions of other games like Fable, or The Legend of Zelda. I'm pretty sure this game flopped hard when it came out. I think it not only deserved better then, but it should be remembered fondly now.

Halo Wars 2

This is the sequel to a spinoff of one of the biggest franchises in gaming. One would expect it to have done quite well. However, I find myself forgetting that this game was a thing. I hate it because this game is excellent. It is an accessible RTS game that features one of the best campaigns in all of Halo. The game also introduced the Banished, the main enemies featured in Halo Infinite. In a time when Halo seemed like it was lost in the woods, Halo Wars 2 came out and reminded me that game developers outside of Bungie could make a Halo game that honored the legacy of those that came before. I understand not everyone is a fan of RTS games, but I think this game is simple enough that every Halo fan should at least try it.