The Maxi-Geek Xbox Christmas Gift Guide

November 18, 2020 Luke Henderson

The holidays are fast approaching and that means that you will have to brave either the in person stores, or fight the frustration of an online checkout, in order to secure those important presents.

This year, we decided to throw our hat into the ring on the gift guide front, to suggest what we think are some of the best games, gear and goodies, available. This time we are talking about Xbox, specifically both the new Xbox Series X and Series S, as well as the Xbox One.

In order to be considered for the list, we looked at two crucial elements, was it a good game and did it provide great value for money. Scouring through hundreds of games, these are what we suggest, for that Xbox fan in your life.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

A day one launch game for the Xbox Series X, Valhalla has taken the groundwork from the past two games and built upon it, providing players with a massive world and Vikings. More than that though, there are countless missions to undertake, locations to discover and more.

If that is not enough for you, then you can jump in to your boat and raid villages along the shore, while singing songs. Valhalla doesn’t reinvent the wheel, so much as blings it up and it just is an amazing game across the board.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon

The Yakuza series has been going on for years now, decades even, but it wasn’t until Like a Dragon that the series became open to newcomers. An entirely new main character and a new city to explore, this game drops the need to know anything about the series, in order to enjoy it.

Tie in a decent main storyline, countless side activities, including Go Karts and you will find a lot to enjoy, plus the series has adopted a turned based battle system, making it more of a RPG, giving you choice on how you want to fight.

Watch_Dogs: Legion

Watch_Dogs Legion proved that a new idea can radically change up how a game is played and when it works, it works. In this game, you no longer play as character X, but instead you can recruit anyone from the city of London, to fight back against those that seek to control it.

This system allows for you to recruit a team that works for your playstyle, want a group of spies, soldiers and cops, you can do that, or flip it and go for nothing but anarchists, it is up to you. Of course, a decent story and dozens of side quests, will keep you entertained as well.

NBA 2K21

From downtown, NBA 2K21 on Xbox One kept the game going, that fans have been enjoying for years, but on Xbox Series X, it is almost an entirely new game. The Neighbourhood as grown to a full sized city, along with a full career mode featuring the WNBA.

The new additions from the last generation version of the game, have also come across to the next gen version, but the new content is exclusively for the new consoles. Either way, there is seasons, upon seasons worth of content to enjoy.

Forza Horizon 4

There is a fair chance that if you are buying for someone who owned a Xbox One, then they already have this game, but on the off chance they have missed out on it, Forza Horizon 4 is a game with almost limitless depths to discover.

Taking place in jolly old England, the series adds in seasons that take a week to complete, countless races, stunts, speed traps and more, mean each time you load in, you will find even more to do. The best news, the game is included in Xbox Game Pass, more on that below.

EB Games | JB HiFi | Amazon | Xbox Marketplace | Our Review

Mafia Trilogy

The Mafia Trilogy combines three incredible games on their own, into one amazing package and more than that, it brings the first two games up to the modern standard of gaming. Mafia 3 is the complete edition that was already released onto Xbox One, but the addition of the remastered Mafia 2 and the completely remade Mafia 1 makes this a wonderful collection.

Remaking the first game was actually a bit of a genius move, not only did it need it, but many gamers who played 2 or 3, never played the original. The team behind the series were able to keep everything that made it great, but add new layers of depth, to make it even better. In addition, each game has a nice solid length to enjoy, making it a great item for any collection.

Cyberpunk 2077

While not out yet, Cyberpunk 2077 will be in stores just in time for the holidays, as long as another delay doesn’t appear. Set in the futuristic Night City, you will take control of V, a character that you design from the gender out and will go on to do whatever it is you want.

Alongside the countless options for mischief is a tale that has you trying to help out the spirit? of Johnny Silverhand, the leader singer for the in-game band Samurai. The path you take and the actions you choose will shape everything around you, so there is a lot of replayability to enjoy in this one.

EB Games | JB HiFi | Amazon | The Gamesmen | Xbox Marketplace

Xbox Game Pass

If you know your secret santa recipient changes games as often as they do shirts, then maybe Xbox Game Pass is what you should look into. There are two levels to Game Pass, standard and Ultimate and each offers something a little different, but the end result is you can access dozens, upon dozens of games that are constantly rotating through.

For the Standard, you are looking at $10.95 a month, which gets you access to the games, like the name suggests, it is pretty standard. For the slightly more expensive $15.95 you get Ultimate, which includes the Xbox Game Pass, but also lets you access the PC release, as well as EA Play and Xbox Live Gold, meaning you get another 4 games each month, on top of the rest. Plus with the Xbox Game Pass streaming trial starting here today, in the future you can game anywhere

EB Games | JB HiFi | Xbox Marketplace

There you have it, the best games for Xbox One or Xbox Series X, I mean it really doesn’t matter which platform you get, as the games will work on both.

Looking for gifts on other platforms, then check out all our guides via the link below