Darkest Dungeon (Xbox One)

Red Hook Studios' 2016 roguelike is a dark and dangerous delight, packed full of Lovecraftian horrors and unimaginable terrors that must be dispatched if you're to restore order to your family house and name.

With a couple of wonderfully unique game mechanics, including an Affliction System that sees your units struck down with all manner of psychological states, and an ever-encroaching darkness that pits you up against the clock in dungeons, it's a thrilling turn-based RPG that keeps you tense and sweating all the way through as it explores the brutal toll that adventuring and battle takes on the heroes we place in harm's way.

There's a beautiful hand-drawn art style here, wonderfully detailed monstrosities to face off against, brutal and satisfying combat, sixteen classes to choose from and some tasty DLC to get stuck into once you complete the main game. Darkest Dungeon is a top-notch roguelike RPG and, with the sequel on its way, now is the perfect to dive in!

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Dark Souls: Remastered (Xbox One)

A pretty obvious one this. Dark Souls is one of the great gaming experiences and this remastered version smooths over rough edges and framerate issues to deliver the slickest version of FromSoftware's masterpiece we've played on consoles thus far.

If you've yet to jump into the sickly delights of the Kingdom of Lordran, and are up for a meaty old challenge, it's hard to think of many Xbox single player games that deliver this amount of satisfying action, incredible world-building and densely intriguing lore to sink your rotten teeth into. Dark Souls is a bonafide classic. Praise the sun!

  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Dark Souls III (Xbox One)

Up until the release of Elden Ring (which you'll find nestled somewhere a little further down this list) we'd have told you that Dark Souls 3 was FromSoftware's most accessible game to date and, well, it's still a great place for newcomers to get started if they fancy experiencing the Dark Souls series proper.

This refreshingly accessible third entry in the franchise is arguably the best of the bunch, with refined combat, much-improved performance, stellar visuals, spectacular boss battles and a rhythm to its exploration and placement of bonfires that gives newbies much more of a chance to settle in and find their bearings before the real batterings commence. Dark Souls 3 really is one of the great RPG games of all time and an absolute must-play for anyone looking for an all-encompassing and hugely rewarding challenge that'll keep them busy for months.

  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Dead Cells (Xbox One)

We've been playing and enjoying Dead Cells ever since it first appeared in early access on Steam way back in 2017. A heady mix of classic Metroidvania, roguelite and Dark Souls difficulty, Motion Twin has served up one of the truly great platformers of the last decade here, an atmospheric, slick and addictive experience that's grown and expanded over the years into something really quite special.

With new content constantly being added and new DLC recently released, this is a game we can see ourselves playing for some time to come and an experience you absolutely need to try for yourself. Dead Cells is a modern classic.

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Dead Space (Xbox 360)

You don't really need us to explain why this one's made the list, do you? Included as part of the EA Play library, the original Dead Space is still a masterpiece of survival horror nearly fifteen years later, and its continued popularity has led to EA commissioning a reboot of the franchise, hopefully set to arrive later in 2022.

For now, you can enjoy the first Xbox 360 game in all its glory as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and if you end up enjoying it as much as us, you can also try the second and third games as part of the service as well.

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Death's Door (Xbox Series X|S)

Acid Nerve has followed up the wonderful Titan Souls with this Zelda/Souls inspired action adventure that looks sublime and plays even better.

Death's Door is a beautiful, intricate little thing with surprisingly tough and moreish combat, clever puzzles and a world that's chock full of secrets and hidden areas for you to find as you blaze through its bosses, unlocking new skills that allow you to access more areas as you go.

There's so much style here, so much atmosphere, and it also doesn't outstay its welcome. Death's Door is a perfectly formed bit of magic from a developer everyone should be starting to sit up and take notice of!

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition (Xbox Series X|S)

The Devil May Cry series has been entertaining us with its fast and flashy action since right the way back in 2001, and this fifth entry in the series is, to our minds at least, the very best of the bunch. In fact, we'd go so far as to say that Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition is in with a solid shout as one of the greatest hack and slash action games ever made. Yep, it's that good.

With three excellent protagonists to switch between, each with their own unique fighting abilities, and a constant barrage of twisted locations and wonderfully grotesque enemies to murderize as stylishly as you possibly can, DMC5 absolutely nails its mission statement to the wall then kicks its head off. This is incredibly slick stuff that's as much fun for newcomers as it is for those among us who simply must achieve an SSS ranking in every single encounter that's thrown our way. It's also a game that's never looked or played better than it does now thanks to this flashy special edition's next-gen upgrades. Get stuck in!

  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut (Xbox One)

ZA/UM's superlative noir detective adventure/existential nightmare generator is a staggering piece of work that combines table-top RPG mechanics with stellar writing and a brilliant cast ofcharacters to create something absolutely otherworldly.

We've played through Disco Elysium a handful of times now and there's always tons more to go back for. What kind of detective will you be, an absolutely straight-down the line investigator or mad drunken mess? How will you shuffle points around between intellect, psyche, physique and motorics? Which special skills do you wish to develop in order to help you investigate the dead body that kickstarts this wild adventure?

With amazing visuals, endless trippy conversations and important dialogue choices to make along the way, this is a game like no other; it's a vast thing, a work of true depth and intelligence, and a game you 100% need to get stuck into ASAP.

  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Dishonored 2 (Xbox One)

One of the very best Bethesda games that arrived on Game Pass in the wake of their deal with Microsoft, Dishonored 2 really needs no introduction at this point.

Arkane's outrageously slick and clever 2016 action-adventure gets the nod over its predecessor here because it refines and adds to everything we loved about that game - indeed Emily and Corvo Attano's escapades in this outing make for one of the truly great interactive experiences of the last decade. The narrative setup may be a little too similar to the original but, in the massive amount of choice and freedom to play as you please served up by a wealth of cleverly designed powers and levels, Dishonored 2 delivers in spades. This one is, quite simply, a must-play.

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Divinity: Original Sin 2 (Xbox One)

Divinity: Original Sin was critically acclaimed for Xbox One when it released in 2015, but its sequel raised the bar to stratospheric heights three years later, yep, this is one of the greatest RPGs of all time. In fact, it's so good, that Metacritic actually classes it as the second best RPG in the entire Xbox One library. Have that!

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is centred around deep, tactical, turn-based combat, and sees you gather your party of amazingly well written cohorts with whom you develop deep relationships as you explore the wonderful world of Rivellon. Yes, there's a co-op mode to play with others but we've always stuck to solo here and never felt like we were missing a thing. There's a reason this one is so beloved by fans and critics alike, so give it a try!

  • Xbox Game Pass? No