The final four comes down to Astro Bot, Spider-Man, Forza, and Indiana Jones
It’s been a dramatic two days. On Monday, we celebrated the five-year anniversary of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X with a tournament to determine the best first-party game of the console generation. We gave you eight PS5 games and eight Xbox Series X games to pit against one another, all heading towards a final where the best game from each conference went head-to-head. There have been some incredibly close calls in the first two rounds, especially yesterday’s razor-thin votes. Now, it’s time to crown the best PS5 and Xbox Series X games ahead of Thursday’s final battle.
On the PS5 side, we have the Kratos-killer, Astro Bot. Maybe it should be no surprise considering that it won top honors at last year’s Game Awards, but its win against God of War Ragnarök feels like a true upset. But to get to the finals, it’ll have to go through the MVP of the PS5 generation: Insomniac Games. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 had a smooth path to the semi-finals, leaping past Ghost of Yōtei and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (another Insomniac game!) to land in the final four. Can Spidey topple a home-grown Sony mascot, or is he destined to become a chibi cameo in the next Astro Bot game?
The Xbox Series X side has been even juicier. Emerging victorious from a more eclectic field of competitors is Forza Horizon 5. It’s a big victory for the open-world driving game already, proving that a more specialized genre game deserves to be on the same pedestal as classic platformers and cinematic action-adventure games. Its last roadblock en route to the finals is a big one, though. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has proven to be a crowd favorite, beating critical darlings like Pentiment and Hi-Fi Rush. Can it beat a much bigger game from an established IP that’s synonymous with Xbox itself? If anyone can pull that off, it’s probably Indy.
Cast your votes to decide the best PS5 and Xbox Series X games of this generation, and come back tomorrow to see who will be competing for the grand prize in the finals!
Voting schedule
-
Round of 16: Monday, Nov. 10 at 11 a.m. EST – Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 9 a.m. EST -
Round of 8: Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. EST – Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 9 a.m. EST - Semi-final round: Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 11 a.m. ET – Thursday, Nov. 13 at 9 a.m. EST
- Final round: Thursday, Nov. 13 at 11 a.m. EST – Friday, Nov. 14 at 9 a.m. EST
- Winner announced: Friday, Nov. 14 at 11 a.m. EST
Matchups
PS5 Division
Astro Bot vs. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Xbox Series X Division
Forza Horizon 5 vs. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
