Though there’s a tonne of games coming to the new consoles, right now it’s arguable that there’s just not enough great gaming content to justify getting a “new gen” console. Is that really true? There are fantastic games available for each system – along with terrible games. Let’s take a look at the best and worst for each system.
Though this is all really subjective stuff, we’ll be taking a loot at the top, and bottom ranked games for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, using everybody’s favourite game ranking aggregator, Metacritic – and it doesn’t really paint a particularly compelling picture.
According to Metacritic, these are the top 3 games for the shiny new PS4:
Thatgamecompany’s new-gen port of its zen-like nothing simulator flower comes out on top, with a score of 91. I love flower, but it’s ludicrous that any list has that as the best PlayStation 4 game. Next up, we have Rayman Legends and TowerFall Ascension, both tied with 90. Rayman Legends is a wonderful game, but it’s a port from the last gen. TowerFall is insanely fun, couch-based competitive multiplayer – though it too is ported over from the Ouya of all things.
The first exclusive title to feature is Housemarque’s fantastic Resogun, which has a ranking of 84 and comes in 9th on the list. The first exclusive retail game to feature is inFamous: Second Son, with just 80.
As for the worst games? The dubious accolades go to NBA Live 14 with a horrible 43, Putty Squad with 35 and Basement Crawl with a lowly 29.
Looking over at the Xbox side of things, the top 3 games are all multiplatform ports.
Rayman Legends takes the top spot with 91, followed by – ugh – sport. Football simulator FIFA 14 with 88 comes in second, followed by NBA 2K14 with 86.
The first exclusive, Titanfall, is tied for third along with Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition. Titanfall isn’t a proper exclusive either, making the first first exclusive to feature on the list Forza Motorsport 5 with 80.
The Xbox One’s worst games are LocoCycle – originally intended for the 360 – with a rather poor 48. NBA Live 14 is the only game to feature on both worst lists, with 36 for the Xbox One version. The lowest-scoring game on the Xbox One is Ubisoft’s much maligned Kinect-only monstrosity Fighter Within.
Looking purely at the Metacritic numbers, it doesn’t really seem that there’s much reason right now to get either system – but looking solely at Metacritic to make your decisions for you doesn’t seem all that smart to me.
Last Updated: March 27, 2014
Ottokie
March 27, 2014 at 15:34
I remember a Knack review from Geoff where this interesting pic came from 😛
Hammersteyn
March 27, 2014 at 15:35
LOL classic
Rince
March 27, 2014 at 15:36
Indeed. Didn’t it win header of the week?
Admiral Chief of Auraxis
March 27, 2014 at 15:37
Pure gold!
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
March 27, 2014 at 15:38
and then I actually played and reviewed the game..and i kinda dug.it. ;P
Hammersteyn
March 27, 2014 at 15:43
kinda being the keyword
TiMsTeR1033
March 27, 2014 at 15:45
I played Knack on ps4 at Dion wired and I though was flipping cool game.
Hammersteyn
March 27, 2014 at 16:21
One day then
Lourens Jordaan
March 27, 2014 at 15:36
Look upon the Second Son you shall find reason.
Hammersteyn
March 27, 2014 at 15:39
Agreed, though Killzone and TR as well. If you never played TR
Rince
March 27, 2014 at 15:39
I still think if someone made a game where Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated it would do well.
Lourens Jordaan
March 28, 2014 at 08:19
That is exactly what was thinking.
Norm the Horrible
March 27, 2014 at 15:38
Although there are not that many games on next-gen that has me waiting these consoles, I mainly could not buy them because I can’t afford them.
XD
TiMsTeR1033
March 27, 2014 at 15:44
You pc, and 360 gamer. Hows Halo Anniversary going man?
Norm the Horrible
March 27, 2014 at 15:49
I am enjoying it very much.
Still prefer Halo: Reach visually & control-like.
TiMsTeR1033
March 27, 2014 at 15:50
Would love to jam some reach online with you some day man.
Norm the Horrible
March 27, 2014 at 15:52
Will let you know when I get broadband at home.
Would be cool to play some games online.
CAE9872
March 27, 2014 at 16:08
Reach is stupendous. Combat Evolved sits as my current favourite game of all time (original Xbox version). Nostalgia plays big role of course.
But Reach was so very good.
2 will always be my worst…and its good just not classic.
Silent Political Yeoman
January 24, 2015 at 03:50
On the updated graphics for Halo: CE, you can see Linda’s data screen in the room opposite of John’s control room. When you go to the window overlooking where the game starts, there’s a panel showing SPARTAN-117’s vital data, but as soon as you continue through the level, you can turn around and head through the right door into another control room overlooking another cryobay. That panel shows another SPARTAN’s vital data. Explanation: the Pillar of Autumn was carrying Linda-058’s corpse in stasis (Linda is the ace sniper of the SPARTAN-IIs). That’s a bit of an Easter egg for people that have read The Fall of Reach prequel novel.
HvR
March 27, 2014 at 15:51
This article shows why I’m not a big fan of metacritic scores. It seems that games that offend the least gets the top score, no idea why. 75 to 85 range is usually where you find gaming gold.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
March 27, 2014 at 17:04
What this man said
FoxOneZA
March 28, 2014 at 09:54
If you follow Metacritic closely, you’ll find that review scores run in trends started by the bigger sites.
lester perdomo
March 28, 2014 at 20:59
also the more popular games get reviewed by more sites … towerfall has a good matacritic but it was reviewed like 10 times…..whereas infamous had over 70 reviews …
Jedi JJ
March 27, 2014 at 15:59
Every game has a worst version though. It’s on console.
Trololololo!
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
March 27, 2014 at 17:02
Knack is actually pretty awesome. Didn’t think I’d like it, but it definitely blew me away.
ZumaIsPoes
March 27, 2014 at 17:31
Flower…nuff said
Gr8_Balls_o_Fire
March 28, 2014 at 11:20
Kinect-only game is the worst. Who’d have thunk it?
lester perdomo
March 28, 2014 at 20:54
the game is horrible .. there is a trick to getting it to play ok …but its horrendous.
Aaron Lee
March 28, 2014 at 18:22
I’m just waiting on Far Cry 4.
messiah23
March 28, 2014 at 20:20
Titanfall and Plants Vs Zombies on Xbox One and Second Son on Ps4.
lester perdomo
March 28, 2014 at 20:53
you def cant go based on metacritic … people always compare totally different genres of games … and theres no comparison … flower is a nice 1.5 hour arcade/smartphone’ish game …. as such it should only be compared with other arcadey games in the same genre … and so forth.
best game on ps4 is infamous hands down.
best game on x1 is between forza/titanfall/deadrising 3.
Falcon D. Stormvoice
March 29, 2014 at 00:57
Man, I want to go to the arcades you go to and play the smartphone games you play.
lester perdomo
March 31, 2014 at 16:56
do u own a smartphone ?.. flower was released on ps3 … the tegra gpu on tablets and some phones surpass the power of last gen consoles …
towerfall has 8-bit/16 bit graphics … i mean i could continue,.
Axe99
March 28, 2014 at 23:40
Oi, wotchya got against sports :P.
Axe99
March 28, 2014 at 23:40
Oi, wotchya got against sports :P.
larry
May 5, 2014 at 14:51
When will there ever be a good game somthing like gta but set in the 1950s thruh to 2010s era with more cars like the plymouth barracuda or more mopar cars with guns like the 44 magnum or an old m16 and be set in most of the world or places like south australia and to have a grate soundtrack stuff like tokyo police club or dion and the belmonts or acdc queen david bowie the remones and to have one big play ground com on pepole we need things like this like the days were actors would do the vioce of the person someone out in the world try for us