It’s time to pop on your headphones, settle down on the sofa and indulge yourself with the 12 best single player Xbox One games available to play today!
The Xbox One library is a treasure trove of gaming goodness with hundreds of titles to choose from.
We’ve scoured the catalogue of Xbox One titles to bring you the quintessential list of single player games.
Some of the games below also feature incredible multiplayer elements but for this list we’ve focused on the gaming goodness on offer when you’re on your lonesome!
Despite the Xbox One’s impressive backwards compatibility credentials, our list of the 12 best single player Xbox One games is made entirely of games that have a native Xbox One release.
And, if you fancy checking out any of the 12 best single player Xbox One games but you don’t already own one of Microsoft’s machines, be sure to check out our article on where to buy all Xbox consoles.
Table of Contents
1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015)
We’ve done a lot of gaming, thinking, and then some more gaming, and the best single player Xbox One game is undoubtedly Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
Metal Gear Solid V sees series creator Hideo Kojima achieve the seemingly impossible, by transitioning tactical espionage gameplay into an open world setting.
Player choice is at the heart of The Phantom Pain, with gamers empowered to complete mission objectives however they see fit. Snake’s adventures in Afghanistan and Angola are full of the crazy plot twists that the series is known for and yet effectively bridges the gap between Peace Walker and the original Metal Gear Solid.
In line with the series heritage, stealth produces tense operations completed from the shadows. Alternatively, going loud can involve heavy artillery, best in class shooting mechanics and frantic dashes to freedom while your personal helicopter swings into view as it blares Joy Divison’s ‘Love will tear us apart’ from its onboard speakers.
Metal Gear Solid V is an ambitiously large title which hundreds of hours of content and more gameplay mechanics than we can mention in this short summary.
The Phantom Pain was Hideo Kojima’s final Metal Gear game before leaving Konami amidst a rather public break up. The full details of Kojima’s departure and the development of Metal Gear Solid V may never be revealed. but one thing is certain; Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is an unrivalled masterpiece.
2. Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)
Rockstar’s glorious Red Dead Redemption 2 takes the second spot on our best single player Xbox One games list.
The Western epic precedes the events of the original Red Dead Redemption and follows the adventures of Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang as the sun sets on the Wild West era at the turn of the century.
The rugged heartland of American in Red Dead Redemption 2 is full of gorgeous landscapes for players to explore with Arthur. From snowy mountaintops down to arid deserts, the variety of geography is breathtaking.
Red Dead Redemption 2 crafts an emotive simulation of gang life in the old West.
Between pulling off heists and shoot outs with lawmen and rival gangs, players will settle into life with friends around the camp fire, tend to their horses, play cards, go fishing, pick flowers and experience numerous other side activities that flesh out Arthur’s character.
Every element of Red Dead Redemption 2 feels purposefully curated, with immense levels of detail in the world and how players interact with it. One of the greatest games of all time and one not to be missed on Xbox.
3. Grand Theft Auto V (2014)
Rockstar claims another podium place with Grand Theft Auto V. Arriving on 8th Gen consoles a year after originally launching on the PS3 and Xbox 360, Grand Theft Auto V on Xbox One unleashed the potential of the crime epic.
The story of Franklin, Michael and Trevor as they navigate the seedy and wild underworld of Los Santos received a next-gen glow up with technical enhancements including higher resolutions textures and improved draw distances.
An all-new first-person mode was added for the Xbox One version allowing players to feel closer to the action than ever before.
While arguably overshadowed by the continued success of Grand Theft Auto Online, GTAV’s single player story still delivers an impeccable and immersive experience.
Much like stablemate Red Dead Redemption 2, Grand Theft Auto V’s world is brimming with life and full of adventures, legal and otherwise, for players to discover.
4. Cuphead (2017)
Who knew that a game about anthropomorphic crockery would be such a smash. Cuphead and his striking 1930’s animation inspired art style oozes charm with colourful environments and fun character designs.
The story sees the titular Cuphead make a deal with the Devil to collect the souls of the Devil’s debtors, who populated the Inkwell Isles. What follows is a series of epic boss battles that see Cuphead facing off against an assortment of wild bosses.
From killer vegetables to ghoulish trains, the bosses in Cuphead are universally brilliant and inventive.
Tough but fair in design, Cuphead’s high level of difficulty never feels cheap and finally scoring the winning blow against a persistently tricky boss is regularly explosively joyous.
The boss fights are punctuated with challenging platforming levels for players to run and gun through.
A beautiful stylised overworld contains an abundance of secrets to find and the sumptuous jazz soundtracks ties the whole game together in one beautiful tough package.
5. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019)
From one tough game to another now as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice grapples into the 5th spot on our list of the 12 best single player Xbox One games.
FromSoftware’s Shinobi story see players don the prosthetic arm of Wolf, a ninja sworn to protect his lord during civil unrest in a fictionized Japan. Wolf must explore the land and clash swords with samurais, ninjas and monstrous creatures to protect his lord and charge, Kuro.
The story of Sekiro is more prominent than FromSoft’s other works but the challenging nature of gameplay remains.
Combat in Sekiro requires players to study enemy attack patterns and learn to block and counter effectively. Enemies will gradually lose posture with successive blocks leaving an opening for Wolf to strike a killing blow.
Katana blades are joined by an assortment of prosthetic tools that range from defensive fans to flamethrowers, enabling players to deal death in variety of creative ways.
6. Celeste (2018)
Acclaimed indie platformer Celeste sees Madeline attempt to climb Celeste Mountain as she works to improve her relationship with her own anxiety and depression.
What starts as the hopeful first steps in a personal journey of discovery eventually leads to Madeline meeting fellow explorer Theo, and encountering her negative alter-ego, Badeline.
Celeste’s controls are simple to pick up and see players master jumping, wall climbing and mid-air dashes as they ascend the mountain. The simplistic controls allow the level designs to embrace the elaborate, with later stages hiding secrets behind punishing platform sections.
Mirroring Madeline’s quest to be kinder to herself, the game offers an exceptional array of accessibility options, empowering players of all skill levels to experience Celeste’s touching and heartwarming tale.
The compelling story, exciting platforming puzzles and exceptional score by composer Lena Raine combine to make Celeste an unmissable game for fans of single player games.
7. Forza Horizon 4 (2018)
The only racing game to drift onto our 12 best single player Xbox One games list, Forza Horizon 4 brings the racing series to Great Britain for the first time.
Forza Horizon 4 is absolutely stunning. Playground Games racer captures a compacted and stylised vision of Great Britain for players to speed through in over 700 vehicles.
The in-game seasons change weekly with dynamic weather effects affecting racing lines, and regularly updated challenges keep proceedings feeling fresh with every log in.
In addition to races and drag events, showcases return and see players performing all sorts of automotive mayhem. How many games let you race against giant hovercrafts or a delta-wing bomber?
Not many, that’s for sure.
With a huge garage of cars to play with and an ever-changing open world to race around, Forza Horizon 4 is a must have on Xbox One.
8. What Remains of Edith Finch (2017)
What Remains of Edith Finch is a game with longevity. Not in the traditional way that we talk about the length of games, as Edith Finch can be finished within a handful of hours, but in the way that the game lingers deep within your thoughts for years afterwards.
Presented as anthology of vignettes, the story of What Remains of Edith Finch follows the titular teenager as she returns to her abandoned family home following the unrelated deaths of her family members.
Through exploration of the Finch homestead, players can discover what happened to each member of the Finch family. Every story toys with the player as it marries sentimental stories to unique visual mediums.
To say more about Edith Finch’s story and vignettes is to rob the reader of experiencing this enchanting title firsthand. What Remains of Edith Finch is a hauntingly breathtaking homecoming that everybody should experience.
9. Inside (2016)
Playdead’s 2016 Inside skulks onto our 12 best single player Xbox One games at number nine.
In a tonally similar vein to its spiritual predecessor Limbo, Inside is a puzzle platformer about a small boy, alone in a dark and dangerous world.
With an eerie story that slowly unfolds as you progress, Limbo subscribes to the ‘show, don’t tell’ method of storytelling. The muted approach and mysteries tantalise players into pushing further in the search for revelations.
As players traverse the monochromatic world, they will face challenging obstacles to overcome. Physics based platforming hurdles are scattered throughout Inside’s four hour run time and a small handful of enemy types pose a serious threat when you’re a young boy without the means to fight back.
Enemies and environmental hazards can inflict graphic and lethal injuries upon the boy as he ventures further along his path.
Much like What Remains of Edith Finch, Inside’s story, and particularly it’s ending, will stay with you long after the credits roll.
10. Resident Evil 2 (2019)
Capcom’s reanimated Resident Evil 2 shuffles onto our list of the 12 best single player Xbox One games at number ten.
Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield’s expedition through a zombie infested Raccoon City is one of the greatest survival horror games ever made.
Players can take on the roles of Leon and Claire in scenarios that overlap and intersect each other. The original games tank controls and fixed camera angles are replaced with a modern control scheme that still ratchets up the tension thanks to the presence of surprisingly dangerous zombies and hideous monsters.
The series trademark puzzles make a welcome return and inventory management is as engaging as ever thanks to limited available pocket space to carry everything.
Throw in the foreboding Mr X. who is unrelentless as he hunts the player throughout Raccoon City’s Police Department and you have a recipe for some great jump scares.
Whether you’re a fan of the original or new to the series, Resident Evil 2 on Xbox One is a tour de force of horror and suspense.
11. Lies of P (2023)
Lies of P takes the formula of the Soulsborne genre and expertly applies it to a modern retelling of Pinnochio by Carlo Collodi.
This dark tale sees players take on swathes of puppets, monsters and more as they choose between truth and fiction. The gameplay is tight like coiled spring, with combat feeling satisfying and hefty.
Lies of P’s uses a unique weapon crafting mechanic that allows players to mix and match various blades and blunt instruments with an assortment of different handles. My personal favourite, the Coil Mjolnir hammer stuck onto a policeman’s baton, can be seen devasting in the screenshot below.
Lies of P challenges players to solve the riddles and mysterious of Krat, a once blossoming city now overrun with rogue puppets following a puppet frenzy.
The story of Lies of P is told through interactions with a host of intriguing characters, including the mysterious Sophia who aids players in levelling up, and the brilliant Lorenzini Venigni, Krat’s genius inventor and provider of elaborate secondary weapons.
Lies of P requires multiple playthroughs to experience everything that Krat has to offer, with dozens of hours of gameplay for fans of the Souls series to sink their teeth into.
12. Sunset Overdrive (2014)
Insomniac Games turned their attention to Xbox One following the success of the Ratchet and Clank and Resistance series on PlayStation 3.
Working alongside Microsoft Studios for the first time, the Californian developer produced Sunset Overdrive, an outlandish third-person action game.
Sunset Overdrive maintained Insomniac’s trademark humour and inventive weaponry with guns such as ‘The Roman Candle’, an automatic assault rifle that launches fireworks and ‘High Fidelity’ a motorised crossbow that flings vinyl records.
Adored by critics when it launched in 2014, Sunset Overdrive failed to set the sales charts on fire with its explosive arsenal.
One of the earliest and most striking exclusives for Xbox One, Sunset Overdrive is an unmissable adventure for fans of fast-paced action, colourful worlds and fluid mobility.
