The past two days have been nothing short of dramatic. This past Monday, we celebrated the half-decade milestone of the PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles with a tournament to determine the best first-party game of this hardware cycle. We presented eight PlayStation 5 titles and eight Xbox Series X exclusives to face off against each other, all heading towards a championship round where the leading contender from each platform would battle it out. There have been some nail-biting finishes in the first two rounds, particularly the extremely tight polls from the previous day. At this point, it's time to crown the best PS5 and Xbox Series X games before the championship on Thursday.
PlayStation 5 Contenders
On the PS5 side, we have the Kratos-killer, Astro Bot. Maybe it should be no surprise given that it won top honors at last year’s Game Awards, but its victory over God of War Ragnarök seems like a major shock. But to get to the finals, it'll need to defeat the MVP of the PS5 generation: Insomniac Games. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 enjoyed an easy journey to the final four, defeating Ghost of Yōtei and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (another Insomniac game!) to secure a spot in the semi-finals. Can Spidey topple a home-grown Sony mascot, or is he fated to become a miniature appearance in the next Astro Bot game?
Xbox Series X Contenders
For Xbox Series X has been even juicier. Emerging victorious from a more eclectic field of competitors is Forza Horizon 5. It's a big victory for the racing adventure title so far, demonstrating that a niche category title deserves to be on the equal footing as traditional jump-and-run games and cinematic action-adventure games. Its final obstacle on the way to the championship is a big one, though. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has shown itself as a crowd favorite, defeating critical darlings like Pentiment and Hi-Fi Rush. Will it overcome a much bigger game from an well-known franchise that's synonymous with Xbox itself? If anyone can pull that off, it's likely Indiana Jones.
Cast your votes to decide the top PlayStation and Xbox titles of this generation, and come back tomorrow to see who will be competing for the grand prize in the championship round!
Voting Schedule
First Round: November 10, 11:00 AM Eastern - Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 9 a.m. ESTRound of 8: November 11, 11:00 AM Eastern - Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 9 a.m. EST- Final Four: November 12, 11:00 AM Eastern - November 13, 9:00 AM Eastern
- Championship: November 13, 11:00 AM Eastern - November 14, 9:00 AM Eastern
- Champion crowned: November 14, 11:00 AM Eastern
Head-to-Head Battles
PlayStation 5 Bracket
Astro Bot versus Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Xbox Series X Division
Forza Horizon 5 versus Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
