Things are once again looking up for Xbox these days with recent releases, and new games on the horizon. It's important to remember just how important the green brand has been for the gaming space in general, producing some of the most iconic characters in gaming that will live on long after the Xbox console disappears.
Best Indie Games On Xbox Game Pass
The collection of indie games available on Xbox Game Pass are stellar, and here is a look at the best titles you can play.
Whether it's the standard-bearer of Halo or the loveable characters from beloved indies, Xbox has created a whole host of iconic characters worth celebrating. The characters listed below were mainly created as exclusive characters for Xbox and Microsoft platforms, but with recent acquisitions like Bethesda and Rare, other iconic protagonists could become a possibility.
8 Razputin "Raz" Aquato – Psychonauts
A Character That is Most Certainly in Your Head
Psychonauts
- Released
- April 19, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
- First entry in 2005 with Psychonauts
- Most recent entry in 2021 with Psychonauts 2.
- Known for his mind-bending preciousness.
Double Fine Studios is well known for embodying the inventiveness of the indie world by infusing their games with wild, creative spirit and out-there design decisions that most wouldn't attempt to try. That's a big reason why the original Psychonauts, released in 2005, is widely regarded to be one of the greatest indie games ever made.
A big reason for the original and the excellent sequel's success is Raz, the strange but precious adventurer who happily falls into the madcap adventures that come with delving into the intricate and hidden-location-filled minds of Double Fine's trademark weird characters. Raz is all about leaning into the weird, and he's beloved for it.
7 Augustus 'Cole Train' Cole – Gears of War
COG Quarterback with a Giant Heart for a Bug-Killing Team
Gears of War
- Released
- November 7, 2006
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Developer(s)
- Epic Games
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter
- First appeared in Gears of War in 2006.
- Last appeared in Gears Tactics in 2020.
- Known as the heart and soul of the central Gears team.
While the world of Gears of War is widely beloved, it's hard to call it a world defined by its optimism. Ravaged by an alien race and always drenched in blood and guts, light-hearted humor is hard to come by, which is the exact role Cole fills in the central team.
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Gears of War games are known for combining their hard-hitting action with emotional stories. These are the best stories in the franchise, ranked.
Where Marcus Fenix is stoic and badass, Cole cuts through the tension of the game's dour missions with goofy energy and a quick-witted word. His infectious spirit is a big reason why he is a fan-favorite character to this day who has appeared in almost as many Gears properties as Marcus Fenix himself.
6 Ori – Ori Franchise
Forest Spirit that Exceeds Friendliness
Ori and The Blind Forest
- Released
- March 11, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- First appeared in 2015 in Ori and the Blind Forest.
- Last appeared in Ori and the Will of the Wisps in 2020.
- A curious spirit yearning for family.
As the indie game world boomed in the mid 2010s, suddenly new characters were springing into mainstream popularity and cementing themselves in the wider gaming culture. Ori, from Ori and the Blind Forest (and its sequel), is a great example of a new canon of Xbox characters being created in real-time.
Ori And The Will Of The Wisps: Which Abilities To Purchase First
There are quite a few abilities that players need to unlock in Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Here's a look at what to get first.
Ori is a spirit who separated from its family, tries to find love in its adopted friends and family throughout the beautiful landscapes of the game. As a silent protagonist, Ori is a bit of a blast from the past in terms of iconic game characters, but they embody the tender, emotional, and adventurous spirit of indie games of this period.
5 Senua – Senua Franchise
A Woman With Immense Complexity and Prowess
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
- Released
- August 16, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Ninja Theory
- Platform(s)
- PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Switch, PC
- First appeared in Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice in 2017.
- Last appeared in Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 in 2024.
- A tortured Viking warrior.
Where characters like Ori embody the sensitive and hopeful side of new gaming characters, Senua is the exact opposite. First appearing in Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Senua is a wandering woman with severe mental illness and psychosis who must navigate a hellish world to try and find some semblance of peace.
The complex and powerful story only gets weirder and darker in the latest entry in 2024. Senua has become well known as a signpost for the psychological complexity modern game protagonists can embody when done right, and the incredible facial capture sometimes makes her feel more like a movie character than a video game character.
4 Joanna Dark – Perfect Dark
An Incredibly Flawless Agent
Perfect Dark Zero
- Released
- November 17, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
- First appeared in Perfect Dark in 2000.
- Will soon reappear in an upcoming reboot.
- Rare's answer to the Bond Franchise.
Rare had a major problem after the success of Goldeneye because the Bond IP was limiting, but they wanted to build on their popularity and make something all of their own. Enter Perfect Dark, and Joanna Dark, its protagonist.
A gun-toting badass who puts Bond to shame, Joanna is one of the earliest examples of a great female protagonist in mainstream gaming that has become iconic in her own right. She'll be reappearing soon in an Xbox-exclusive reboot of the venerable franchise, cementing her further as one of Xbox's key iconic characters.
3 The Arbiter (Thel'Vadam) – Halo
Halo 2
- Released
- September 4, 2004
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Bungie
- Platform(s)
- Xbox (Original), PC
- Genre(s)
- Shooter
- First appeared in Halo 2 in 2004.
- Last appeared in Halo 5: Guardians in 2015.
- The franchise's main deuteragonist.
Though the world of Halo is well fleshed out in countless novels and comics, when players first encountered Halo 2, the Covenant were still a strange and alien species that were mostly just fodder for Masterchief to blast away. Not so with the Arbiter that showed the incredible writing chops that Bungie would go on to develop further as the franchise evolved.
The Arbiter should theoretically be the arch enemy of Master Chief, but they develop an interesting and rich buddy-cop energy throughout their games, embodying different philosophies in the world, and even becoming friends despite the dire circumstances of Halo's world. He's a beloved part of the series DNA, and it's a shame that the Thel'Vadam incarnation of the Arbiter hasn't been seen for some time. Though, hopefully Master Chief's new companions can take a leaf out of the Arbiter's book.
2 Marcus Fenix – Gears of War
The COG Legend who Fought Countless Locus Wars
Gears of War: E-Day
- Developer(s)
- The Coalition
WHERE TO PLAY
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter
- First appeared in Gears of War in 2006.
- Last appeared in Gears of War: E-Day in (TBC).
- The badass of the Pendulum Wars.
When Gears of War first launched, it indicated the darker military-focused direction that video games were heading in for an increasingly adult audience, focusing on darkness, sadness, and a whole lot of violence. Perhaps no gaming character sums this period up better than Marcus Fenix.
Ever stoic, a leader, and a spouter of brilliant quotations, Marcus Fenix started off as a fairly simplistic generic protagonist, but throughout the lifespan of the Gears franchise he has been increasingly developed as one of the most iconic characters in the Xbox canon, widely beloved by fans, and a key part of the Gears series DNA.
1 Master Chief – Halo
The Iconic Spartan That Became the Face of Xbox's Green
Halo: Combat Evolved
- Released
- November 15, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
- First appeared in Halo: Combat Evolved in 2001.
- Last appeared in Halo: Infinite in 2021.
- The biggest character ever to come out of Xbox.
It would be hard to think of any bigger Xbox character than Master Chief, considering he's likely one of the most famous gaming characters of all time, alongside Mario and Sonic. Though he started off as little more than a gun-toting badass in Halo: Combat Evolved, Master Chief, also known as John-117, became an increasingly complex and tragic character as the focal point of the whole Halo world who was always quick with an incredible quote.
As a Spartan, a genetically mutated soldier who was kidnapped from his parents and forced into war through no choice of his own, Master Chief is both a loyal soldier and a deeply emotionally suppressed character, a range that has become increasingly clear through his complicated relationship with Cortana, the computer AI that he may be able to call his only true friend. He's complex, badass, and has an instantly iconic visual style, making him the most iconic Xbox character of all time.
Best FPS Games On Xbox Game Pass
The Xbox Game Pass library is full of celebrated first-person shooter titles, and here is a look at the best FPS games available to play.