Gadgetory

Microsoft is building of the Xbox one library with a lot of great games that aren't going to destroy your wall and a lot of them at least console wise are exclusive to Xbox one so whether you're a long-term Xbox 1s owner or you're planning and picking up a 1x later this year let's talk about the best games you can grab for 20 bucks and under and we're gonna kick things off with what's probably the highest profile game on this list Tacoma Tacoma is the second game from fulbright the developer behind the indie cult hit gone home and just like gone home Tacoma is a narrative focused game those of you that are only interested in games that involve explosions blowing things up platforming you're just more traditional gameplay kind of stuff you might not find this to your taste but if you're a fan of good narrative you're gonna feel right at home here in Tacoma you'll be exploring a recently deserted Space Station where you're able to run AR simulations to see what the crew was doing right as everything went horribly wrong allowing you to explore each of their backstories character relationships all through these little simulated movies that you can fast-forward rewind and freely travel the station being able to follow people through hallways or see what one person was saying to someone else for Wynd and then see what the other guys were talking about at the same time alongside this ability to explore the game's narrative freely in whatever way feels natural to you there are just a little bit of traditional gameplay bits thrown in as well for instance through conversations you'll be able to glean interesting information such as codes to enter restricted areas once again if you're looking for an action game this isn't it but any fan of narrative definitely should check this game out next tip is a game that not only is the distinction of being fairly cheap to begin with but it's actually free right now if you have Xbox Live Gold and that's slime Ranger slime rancher is a rather interesting spin on the farming simulator genre where you own a ranch populated by nothing but well slimes you spend the game capturing them putting them in pens finding their correct items to feed them capturing other slimes bringing them together it's one of those games where the entire goal is really just to push onward and keep finding stuff to do it's kind of got a weird Zen attitude to it there isn't exactly a traditional way to beat the game exactly other than the progress as much as you want and just lose track of time building up your ranch right now your goal is to bring slimes to the pen take their poop and sell it for money that isn't to say that nothing can go wrong in this game there are totally ways that you can start messing up your ranch but it's all tied together in this really just sickeningly adorable package that makes it all the more addictive look it's free right now Xbox Live Gold check it out definitely worth playing next is a game that is a bit of a hidden gem because I had actually never heard of it until I started researching games that were in this lower price range and that's telling not included now this is a very simple little platformer with a really charming aesthetic and everything is set up like it's a stage play in fact the levels are even constantly evolving as you're going through them it's just one stage that's constantly shifting to change the levels design and you're doing your best to get the highest score possible now it is a little bit on the short side even for its low price-point but if you're the kind of person that's obsessing over getting the highest score possible in every stage there is a lot of time to sink into this game to help keep things from getting stale the game is also divided into three separate acts each of which features a different main character with a different set of abilities changing up the gameplay each time so once you think you've gotten settled in and you're getting the best score as you can now you have to learn a whole nother character all over again it's simple fun and most notably a really charming game that for 15 bucks is well worth picking up rivals of aether is a fairly obvious match clone but a really good one focused on having a small roster of only eight characters 9 with DLC each which play very very differently however they all have their own unique gimmicks and traits and different play styles that makes each one a pretty unique experience while the core of the game is very clearly smash brothers it does enough of its own changes to give it its own interesting twist blocking has been replaced by a timed parry you cannot ledge grab but it can instead do wall jumps and smash tacks have their own dedicated button the game is only 15 bucks to start 20 bucks if you want to grab the Ori DLC as well honestly fighting game fans even people that don't even like smash brothers this game is totally worth checking out now I'm gonna cheat a little bit because one game on this list isn't technically fully released yet it's one of the early access games an Xbox but honestly it's worth every penny as it is right now and that's pit people bit people is the newest game from the behemoth the same developers behind battleblock theater and Castle Crashers and just like those games this features a ton of absurd humor it still has really in-depth and interesting mechanics I've been a longtime fan of tactics games and one of the things I really like about pit people is that it brings this very interesting balance of simplicity of the genre where really all you need to do is move characters to the right positions and the AI handles the rest but at the same time where you actually put people position wise is very very important the learning curve is very easy to pick up but there is a lot of complex nuances to this game and there's tons of different game modes to choose from there's storyline quests PvP locally online just all kinds of content to do and lots of stuff to unlock word of warning to anyone that's never played a behemoths game before this game is absolutely I almost said this game is absolutely insane you are going to have no idea what's happening at all for the first 20 minutes plot wise but that's totally ok because it is hilarious because this game is an early access it is currently incomplete it does not a full game just yet but there are constantly updates happening that are adding new quests new characters new everything so honestly just jump on board right now and enjoy the ride so there you have some of the best cheap games you can grab on Xbox one right now now all we need to do is wait another month 4-cup had to come out so it's hopefully good enough to kick one of these games off because it better be after this long wait