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The past two days have been nothing short of dramatic. On Monday, we marked the half-decade milestone of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X with a tournament to determine the best first-party game of this hardware cycle. You were given eight PS5 games and eight Xbox Series X games to compete against each other, all heading towards a final showdown where the top game from each console would go head-to-head. There have been some nail-biting finishes in the initial matchups, especially the extremely tight polls from the previous day. Now, it's time to crown the best PS5 and Xbox Series X games before Thursday’s final battle.

The PS5 Side

On the PS5 side, we have the Kratos-killer, Astro Bot. Perhaps it's expected given that it won top honors at last year’s Game Awards, but its victory over God of War Ragnarök seems like a major shock. However, to reach the championship, it'll have to go through the MVP of the PlayStation 5 era: Insomniac Games. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 enjoyed an easy journey to the semi-finals, defeating 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 fated to become a chibi cameo in the next Astro Bot game?

Xbox Series X Contenders

The Xbox Series X side has been even juicier. Coming out on top from a diverse lineup of contenders 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 equal footing as classic platformers and story-driven epics. Its final obstacle on the way to the championship is a major challenge, though. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has proven to be a crowd favorite, defeating critical darlings like Pentiment and Hi-Fi Rush. Will it overcome 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 determine the best PS5 and Xbox Series X games of this era, and come back tomorrow to see which games will face off for the ultimate trophy in the finals!

Polling Timeline

• First Round: November 10, 11:00 AM Eastern - November 11, 9:00 AM Eastern
• Round of 8: November 11, 11:00 AM Eastern - November 12, 9:00 AM Eastern
• Semi-final round: Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 11 a.m. ET - November 13, 9:00 AM Eastern
• Final round: November 13, 11:00 AM Eastern - Friday, Nov. 14 at 9 a.m. EST
• Winner announced: November 14, 11:00 AM Eastern

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

Cast Your Votes