Xbox Games You Should Only Buy If They Go On Sale

Gaming is a wonderful hobby that allows you to experience a myriad of creative worlds and visions from the comfort of your couch or desk chair. It is also, however, a very expensive hobby. It's a big enough investment as it is slapping down $60 or more for the latest big release, so you can't always afford to play every single game that catches your eye. Thankfully, most gaming platforms have regular sales, particularly around the major holidays and seasonal changes, so there's always a bit of wiggle room.

That wiggle room is particularly beneficial when considering a purchase of certain games on your Xbox Series X/S. After all, there are some games out there that, while interesting, can be a bit of a hard sale at full price. With a discount in the picture, though, it's a little more reasonable to take a chance on a game that looks interesting, even if it might not live up to your expectations in the end.

Following the landmark success of "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" in 2017, other major developers and publishers began cooking up ways to get a piece of that fresh conceptual pie. In 2020, Ubisoft threw its hat into the ring with "Immortals Fenyx Rising," an open-world action-adventure title with a clear "Breath of the Wild" influence, but enough original ideas to remain distinct.

"Immortals Fenyx Rising" follows the titular Fenyx, a young demigod, as she attempts to rescue the members of the Greek pantheon from the forces of evil. Using Fenyx's wings alongside an array of other godly abilities, you can explore the entire world freely to find treasure and battle enemies. In typical Ubisoft fashion, the game world is a bit cluttered with miscellaneous objectives and busywork, but if you just want to explore a Greek pantheon-inspired fantasy world, it's not too hard to simply stay on the critical path.

Released in 2022 in a joint effort between indie publisher tinyBuild and developer Splashteam, "Tinykin" was small in both literal size and advertising. Aside from a few brief appearances during publisher presentations, this game didn't make an especially big splash either before or after its release, though those that played it have reported a generally good time.

"Tinykin" follows Milo, an extraterrestrial explorer who finds himself trapped in an Earth home at the size of an insect. With the help of tiny creatures called Tinykin, he'll need to solve puzzles and aid the local bug population to build a rocket to get him home. It's kind of like a mix between "Pikmin" and "Super Mario Odyssey," albeit with a shorter overall runtime and simpler worlds. While it's not exactly action-packed, it's fun to jump and slide around the oversized house, and some of the applications of scale are endearing and creative.

Originally released in 2019, "Indivisible" was the result of a crowdfunding effort from Lab Zero Games, developers of the indie fighting game darling "Skullgirls." It was hyped to heck and back by "Skullgirls" fans as a revitalization of an action/RPG format pioneered by "Valkyrie Profile" in 1999, backed by a creative anime art style inspired by various world mythologies. It even got Studio Trigger, creators of hit anime like "Kill la Kill," to make the game's opening for the game!

All that said, while the game is cool-looking and has some interesting mechanics, it doesn't all come together perfectly in the end. The world is a bit difficult to navigate, the combat can get a bit confusing at times, and there's a decent amount of bugs to slog through. Still, the story has some interesting beats, and the many party members you accrue are distinct and likable, so it's worth experiencing if you enjoy unusual action/RPGs.

Originally released in 2012 for the Xbox 360, "Asura's Wrath" is the result of a cooperative effort between Capcom and CyberConnect2. If you're a fan of hot-blooded action anime like "Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann," then "Asura's Wrath" already has your number, telling an action-packed story of a fallen god wreaking rage-fueled havoc upon the deities that wronged him in an effort to save his daughter.

As awesome as "Asura's Wrath" is to watch, though, playing it is a bit less engaging. "Asura's Wrath" is less of a game and more of a movie that you press buttons while watching. The vast majority of the game's total playtime is cutscenes, and even when you have control, it's mostly quick-time events and on-rail shooter segments. Additionally, you need to get all of the DLC to see the full story, which is an extra incentive to shoot for a sale. It's a story worth experiencing, for sure, but maybe not for the full price of entry.

It's well-publicized by now that 2020's "Cyberpunk 2077" was not all it was hyped up to be. What was portrayed as a highly ambitious, fully immersive dive into the "Cyberpunk" mythos ended up being a fairly average action/RPG that was absolutely packed to the gills with bugs and errors. Thankfully, in the years since, CD Projekt Red has made a considerable effort toward patching the bugs and touching up the gameplay, so while it's still not quite worth the sticker price, it's at least worth taking for a spin.

When "Cyberpunk 2077" is functioning properly, there's definitely fun to be had. You can spec your character with various skills and proficiencies, deck them out with cybernetics for superhuman abilities, and get to know a cast of street-smart runners and mercenaries. Just make sure that you play this one only on an Xbox Series X — even after optimization, the Xbox One and Series S still can't handle it very well.