Twinfinite Staff
Jackbox Party
The easiest Xbox One party games on this list to play with any group, each of the Jackbox Party games offer plenty of fun for parties that range from 4-200. You only need one controller to set everything up too. After that, every participant uses his or her smartphone, tablet, or laptop to play. You really can’t go wrong with any one of these packs of minigames, but the original two Jackbox Party Packs contain many of the party games that will help friends and family get acclimated to the absurd humor and wacky hijinks of the sequels. These early packs contain long-standing fan favorites like Fibbage and Drawful, both of which focus on fooling your friends, the former with words and the latter with awful pictures. It’s Jackbox Party Packs 3 and 4 that take the Jackbox formula to its absolute limit though. Games like Trivia Murder Party, where you backstab your allies to ensure you escape the haunted house, and Fibbage 3, where secrets are laid bare and friendships are put to the test, will get the whole room howling in excitement, betrayal, and amazement for hours. We couldn’t have gone any further down this list without including it among the best Xbox One party games. If none of those tickle your fancy, you can always dive into the newer interactions as Jackbox Party Packs 5, 6, 7 offer fresh spins on old games, as well as plenty of fun new ones. Talking Points alone is enough to entertain everyone for the whole night.
Castle Crashers
The original Castle Crashers helped put The Behemoth on the map by taking the colorful animations and strange humor of Alien Hominid and stuffing it into a four-player co-op beat ‘em up. Castle Crashers Remastered is the same game, but it expands the roster of starting characters to include all DLC fighters and sharpens the details of the world and fight animations. Naturally, we needed to include this in our best Xbox One party games list. A new minigame called Back Off Barbarian was added as well, though it only provides minor enjoyment in comparison to the 7-10 hour campaign. You can play Castle Crashers with up to three friends. Four knights, each with an elemental power, must reclaim four kidnapped princesses. The journey is fraught with peril, and will lead players to escape a forest on the back of a deer, fight off an alien invasion, conquer Greek myths, survive deadly barbarians, and so much more. Controls are simple and easy to pick up, and the ability to revive teammates and combine elemental attacks promotes teamwork within the group. Definitely one of the best Xbox One party games.
Speedrunners
You can play with up to four people in every match of Speedrunners. The game puts players in control of one of many runners, individuals who excel at parkour and race around the city in order to prove they’re the fastest. Each course loops around itself, forcing players to race through the same obstacles over and over again. However, each track also brings its own challenges, from abrupt turns to spike laden traps. The player has to run, dodge, dive, jump, and grapple through these obstacles as the screen slowly becomes smaller and smaller. Anyone left behind is killed, leaving the last runner to take the win. Items, like homing missiles, freeze beams, and speed bump blocks, add additional levels of strategy. Each item can be used in a variety of way, and only used once, so choosing when and how to use can be the difference between an easy win and a hard loss. Obviously among the best Xbox One party games.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
This game is a colorful romp through space with friends. Tasked with reclaiming all the lost love, up to four astronauts must pilot a heart shaped spaceship through a dangerous galaxy. Different stations within the ship operate different weapons, the ship’s shields, or steering. To stay alive against the ever-growing onslaught of monsters and bosses, players will have to communicate and work together. There are usually more jobs than there are people, so players will have to constantly run through the ship’s hallways in response to problems or incoming threats. It’s a wild time, but one worth having with the right group of people. The themes of love can get a little sappy though, so be prepared. It was a no brainer to include this in our list for the best Xbox One party games.
Escapists 2
Nothing brings a group of people together quite like criminal activity! In Escapists 2, players can plan and execute escapes from ever increasingly difficult prisons with up to three friends. Mechanics from the original The Escapists return, ranging from curfew checks to prison brawls, but almost every system has been expanded upon with an even more intricate crafting system. New items offer plenty of new means of escape, combat, and stealth, and the possibilities are almost endless when there’s four people all working in tandem. However, it’s worth noting that the text in The Escapists 2 is tiny, even when playing solo. It’s made smaller and smaller with every new player on the same console, so this game is best played with a party that already has a pretty good idea of how the controls, hundreds of items, and dozen prisons work. It’s an absolute pain trying to read in the moment if you’ve got a full squad.
Rayman Legends
Rayman and friends work together in four-player couch co-op in Rayman Legends. This platformer offers nearly a dozen hours of fun in its whimsical campaign. Additional levels offer increased challenge and replayability for more fun with friends. There’s also dozens of characters to unlock. They only provide cosmetic changes, but unlocking them all on their unique character stages provides a welcome change of pace. The most enjoyable parts of Rayman Legends are the musical levels. To survive, and get the best possible score, players need to constantly run forwards and time their jumps and strikes to the beat of a song. My favorite of these levels is Mariachi Madness. Players platform to a maracas rendition of Eye of the Tiger. Absolutely an excellent choice among the best Xbox One party games.
Starwhal
This is a strangely fun game. Players play as Starwhals, a space variation of the Narwhal, and do battle against up to three others. Every Starwhal has a heart on their stomach. The heart takes damage from glancing blows from another Starwhal’s horn or breaks immediately if it takes a direct stab. Most matches devolve into bouts of screaming as players force their Starwhals to dance across the screen in bizarre twists and turns. A player’s ability to react is everything, and, many times, a mistimed offense will lead to a poor defense and unsuccessful retreat. I offer a prayer of mercy to players who excel at this game, as those who do well will often find themselves surrounded in 3-1 odds in subsequent matches. An obvious choice among the best Xbox One party games.
Golf With Friends
Golf With Friends is pretty much exactly how is sounds in the title. You and up to 12 players play across numerous different courses, and the one with the lowest score is declared the winner. It wouldn’t really be a party if you didn’t throw some fun variables into the mix, though, now would it? The fun really starts when you alter the balls, rules, and courses that make up Golf With Friends. Set the gravity to low, randomize the shape of your ball, and so much more and you’ll turn what was a fun game of mini-golf into a challenging free-for-all. I’m personally a big fan of the setting that randomizes ball shape, as it puts everyone on a level playing field of chaos.
Overcooked 1 & 2
If you haven’t played four-player co-op Overcooked yet, you’re missing out. This is an easy addition to any best Xbox One party games listing. In a similar vein to Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, Overcooked tasks up to four players to work together to complete a task. However, instead of piloting a spaceship, Overcooked assigns players to work in dozens of different kitchens. Between chopping produce, cooking soup, cleaning dishes, keeping track of orders, and screaming at your teammates to grab the fire extinguisher because something’s on fire, there is never a moment of calm in Overcooked. Every player needs to be on high alert and respond to the different orders as they come. As the game progresses, the recipes become more complex and the kitchen layouts grow ever more bizarre. Some levels even limit movement, forcing some players to remain in one portion of the kitchen and pass their portion of the meal to others to complete. You’ll never face a dull moment in Overcooked, especially if you choose to play the game with four people on two controllers. The experience will cramp your hand, but it creates an absolutely delightful dish of mayhem. A new series, relatively speaking, but an instant classic, there’s no way we wouldn’t include them among the best Xbox One party games.
Full Metal Furies
This Xbox exclusive snuck under most gamers’ radars at the start of 2018. If you missed it, you need to go back and play it. It can be played solo, but the experience is best played with at least two people. If you can gather a full team of four, you’re in for an absolute treat. A beat ‘em up like Castle Crashers, Full Metal Furies puts a heavier emphasis on story, characters, and teamwork. Each of the four main characters has a specific class that limits how they can move, attack, defend, and assist. They each have their own lovable personalities too. It’s fun to watch these four misfits fight together against tyrannical titans. Because each character embodies a specific role on the squad, losing any one teammate puts the whole group at a severe disadvantage. It’s in everyone’s best interests to keep each other alive. Surprisingly enough (as it wasn’t featured in any advertising for the game), Full Metal Furies features a large amount of insanely detailed and complex puzzles. You’ll need a pen and some paper to keep track of everything. In fact, it might be beneficial to put together a team of five when playing this game. I’ve found the experience much easier when I and three others are concentrated on fighting, defending, and surviving and a fifth person is keeping detailed notes and thinking through the puzzles. You need this, trust this list of the best Xbox One party games.
Music Games
Nothing quite brings a party together like music, and these four games all allow players to jam out. There’s a game for everyone, allowing groups to choose whether they want to groove to the beat, play instruments, or sing. Just Dance 2018, Rock Band 4, Guitar Hero Live, and Let’s Sing 2018 are the most recent iterations of fan favorite franchises. You really can’t go wrong with any one of the four. All four games follow similar mechanics. They’re all based on matching patterns. Just Dance requires the most space, as players dance in front of an Xbox One Kinect to match the moves of their dance instructor. Rock Band 4 and Guitar Hero Live force players to match the specific notes of songs, with Guitar Hero Live being the more lax of the two. Let’s Sing takes up the least amount of space. All players have to do is match the tonal pitch of the words as they appear on screen. No brainers right here, these are definitely some of the best Xbox One party games.
Fighting Games
If your party is filled with competitive players, you may want to consider setting up a casual tournament around a fighting game. Most fighting games have similar setups: two foes face off on a stage and pummel each other. This means that most of the group is just watching, but cheering on your friends while you wait for your turn is fun too. The largest difference in fighting games is their complexity. If you want something absurdly simple, then go with Divekick. There are two buttons. One is for diving (aka jumping) and the other is for kicking. That’s it. Injustice 2 and Dragon Ball FighterZ add additional complexity in the form of combos, stage transitions, counters, and blocks. Both require about the same level of strategy, so it comes down to which game has the characters you enjoy more. If you’ve got the group for it, we highly recommend Tekken 7 or Dead or Alive 5: Last Round. Arguably the most difficult games in this lot, they both demand an immense level of memorization and strategy to play. But if you’ve got a group that can play these games, you’ll have some truly impressive and nerve-racking matches to look forward to. Make some custom tournaments in these games that are for sure among the best Xbox One party games.
Rocket League
The sequel to Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars, Rocket League has made a name for itself by becoming a popular esport and promoting cross platform play between the Xbox One, PC, and Switch. It’s also just a really fun game to goof around in with a group of friends. The base game is simple. Two teams face off in battle-cars that are strapped with rockets that allow them to jump and fly through the air. Players have to drive, flip, and twist into a ball and try to knock it into their opponent’s goal. It’s an explosive game of soccer. Players can play online or off, in matches of 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, or 4v4, and in casual or competitive playlists. Additional game types, like a slippery ice hockey mode, a fast-paced basketball mode, the item filled Rumble, and the volleyball-like Dropshot, add some variety too. There are dozens of ways to play Rocket League, and not one of them is boring. High-paced action is perfect for the best Xbox One party games.
Diablo III
If you and your friends are up for a good dungeon crawl, look no further than Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition. The game features seven classes and loads of loot. There’s also a PvP combat arena if the group wants to take a break from clearing dungeons and beating bosses. Players will have to work together if they wish to complete their mission of defeating Diablo, the Lord of Terror. On its own, Diablo III is a long grind. Although tackling the twisting catacombs and numerous dungeons with a group of four doesn’t lessen that grind all that much, it does help. Plus, it’s more fun to suffer through the same dungeon over and over again as a part of a group. All four can get together to make this one of the best Xbox One party games.
Minecraft
Nothing brings a group together quite like the overwhelming burning sensation of raging animosity for the Creeper that blew up a building that everyone had spent hours on. Anyone familiar with Minecraft on the Xbox 360 or PC will find a similar experience on the Xbox One. The Xbox One Edition has a bit more to offer than the 360 version, but not quite as much as the PC version. Up to four players can play splitscreen in survival or creative mode, and work together to build towering constructions and detailed buildings. Of course, you could just as easily turn on one another and destroy each other’s creations. A battle mode is also available on the Xbox One version, allowing players to fight each other in a Minecraft version of the Battle Royale formula. Definitely one of the best Xbox One party games.
Borderlands
Combining Borderlands 2 and Borderlands The Pre-Sequel, Borderlands: Handsome Collection provides dozens of hours of splitscreen FPS co-op. There’s a ton of loot to collect and a bizarre cast of endearing characters to meet. The Handsome Collection follows the tragedy of Handsome Jack, a man who wanted to be a hero, but was betrayed, reborn as a vengeful agent of control and destruction, and ultimately killed by the very outlaws that make the world of Pandora such a dismal place. Though Jack’s story is a sad one, the overarching tone of the Borderlands franchise is pretty silly. The game is chalk full of pop culture references, lewd humor, and lovable psychopaths. The many Vault Hunters that the player gets to choose from provide an abundance of different play styles, and it’s always fun to chain the special abilities of two different characters together. A shoe-in for the best Xbox One party games.
Halo: Master Chief Collection
The Master Chief Collection combines the original four adventures of Spartan 117. Splitscreen play in the campaign returns for Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4, as well as the major multiplayer maps and game types from all four titles. It is a shame Halo 3 ODST’s campaign isn’t included, but at least Halo 4’s Firefight is. Not every part of the game supports splitscreen for four players. Some game types and certain campaigns force the player to go solo or in a pair. You might want to do a bit of research before hand. Otherwise, you’ll be spending a lot of your time trying to figure out what your group can play and what they can’t.
Runbow
Runbow exists in a similar vein to Speedrunners. The main difference, as the name implies, is Runbow’s reliance of color as a mechanic. The player completes challenges, from races to battles, either in competition or in tandem with others. Players are killed when they can no longer be seen. For example, an orange player can’t survive against an orange background. This means that each player has to be careful as they race around the screen. The environment changes every once in a while when backgrounds are scrubbed different colors or platforms block certain colored beams of light. The player needs to react to the changes, or risk getting erased before the competition.
Ultimate Chicken Horse
In Ultimate Chicken Horse, up to four players have to both work together and against one another to reach a goal. The game is a platformer. At the start of each round, everyone does their best to reach the goal. Everyone has one life. Once everyone is dead, every player gets to select an item that can either help them get to the goal or hinder the other players and place it somewhere on the screen. Then everyone tries to reach the goal again. When everyone dies, everyone selects and places another item. Every player is trying to reach the goal first. The trick is to make the path to the goal easy enough for you to navigate, but hard enough for everyone else. Or, if push comes to shove, just hard enough that you can reach the goal a split second before your opponent. Ultimate Chicken Horse is a game that grows with its audience. The more you play, the easier it becomes to figure out what type of platforming your friends are good at and what they struggle with. After an hour or so, the pathways you and friends create become more treacherous than a level in Super Meat Boy. You need this for your next party, and it needs to be in this list of the best Xbox One party games.
IDARB
#IDARB has players face off in a game that’s like soccer. There are goals on either end and players score by getting the ball through their opponent’s goal. The game promotes teamwork by increasing the score multiplayer for every time the ball is passed between teammates. The arenas are constructed as 2D platforming levels, promoting a certain level of acrobatics during play. #IDARB is a unique sports game in two ways. First, it allows up to eight players to play on the same console. Second, social media affects every game. Anyone tweeting about the game can affect the game with the use of specific hashtags. These hashtags can affect gravity, transform the arena into a disco party, and so much more. It adds a level of randomness to every game, and allows anyone to participate. There was no way this wasn’t going to be among the best Xbox One party games.
Among Us
If you’ve ever wanted to create a room full of tension and mistrust at one of your family gatherings/parties, then Among Us is a perfect game for your group. In this game, players must work together to solve tasks on an air ship while also surviving an Imposter that is among them. This Imposter will do whatever it takes to kill crew memebers, using their knowledge of the layouts of the map and its tasks to blend in and plant seeds of mistrust whenever a meeing is called to try and figure out who the muder actually is. Among Us is great for friends or family, and will surely result in a lot of screaming, indecision, and chaos for everyone to enjoy. That’s all there is to it! Those are the best Xbox One party games to play with friends and family.
