The 50 Best Games To Download From Xbox Live Arcade

Those nostalgic for the SNES-era adventure games like Super Metroid and Final Fantasy will find this indie RPG to be a welcome throwback. Terraria distinguishes itself from these older classics, though, by challenging you with its openness, allowing you to create whole villages and explore new worlds, while also confronting the untamed creatures and formidable obstacles that await you in these virgin lands. Break out your hiking boots and get ready to start blazing some new trails.

The fourth edition in the Call of Juarez series, Gunslinger sticks to the title's winning formula of Old West-themed action in a thrilling, FPS format. Playing as the legendary bounty hunter, Silas Greaves, you'll help the old cowboy navigate his way through his most famous bounties and adventures as he tries to avenge the murder of his long-dead brother. Go toe-to-toe with the likes of Butch Cassidy and Newman Haynes Clanton, and do your best to stay alive.

A spin-off the popular Phantom Breaker fighting game released in 2011, Battle Grounds offers a different format for the series' fans, instead revamping the tournament-style combat title into a side-scrolling brawler. Basically, you just spend a lot of time fighting against big teams of ninjas. Yes, it's exactly as much fun as it sounds.

Parodying '80s and '90s pop-culture, along with the hyper-violent, sandbox premise of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series, Retro City Rampage offers a slightly bizarre stroll down memory lane, setting gamers in the crime-ridden confines of Theftropolis as a hitman simply known as, "The Player." With references to a number of well-known names like Legend of Zelda, Back to the Future, and Mega Man--and 50+ missions and challenges to complete--the 8-bit action adventure game manages to provide hours of gameplay without taking itself too seriously.

Built around the classic tower-defense premise, CastleStorm utilizes Angry Birds-style projectile warfare, along with creative gameplay settings and strategic resource allocation, to create challenging and nuanced warfare well-suited for the thinking man. Fire away at enemy towers with anything from Morningstars to Apple Grenades, while making sure to shore up your own borders. It's time to get medieval.

Aesthetically, Runner2 is something of a departure from its 16-bit predecessor, featuring some updated graphics but still staying true to the original's seamless interplay between music and the in-game action. The soundtrack is an uplifting, spirited complement to the seemingly infinite assortment of puzzles and adventures, and is sure to leave you with a deeper connection after completion than just a mere sense of accomplishment.

Headed by Capcom's resident succubus, Morrigan Aensland, Darkstalkers Resurrection compiles two of the fighting series' most prominent titles to give you its arcade-style, button-mashing best. Play online for a smooth multiplayer experience, or complete a number of in-game challenges to unlock bonus content like custom artwork, videos and more.

If you have a team assembled, the multiplayer-heavy Sanctum 2 will keep you and your friends occupied for hours, with its FPS/tower-defense hybrid gameplay alllowing you to thrust yourself right into the action instead of simply directing from the sidelines. Defend your home base in this fast-paced, action shooter, and enjoy a full arsenal of futuristic turrets, assault rifles and more.

Inspired by the GBA's much-loved, Advance Wars, 17-BIT's latest release, Skulls of the Shogun offers the same, strategic turn-based action of its spiritual predecessor, but instead centers the action around battles between undead samurais. Yes, it may be low on the planes, tanks, and automobiles of Advance Wars but its beautifully rendered visual palette, and cleverly written dialogue could have you thinking Skulls is actually something of an upgrade.

With titles like Commando, Ghosts n Goblins, and Trojan, theCapcom Arcade Cabinet All-In-One Pack is sure to catch the attention of any gamers looking to dust off old heroes like Sir Arthur and Super Joe. Relive the glory days of systems like Amiga, Atari and the old-school video arcade with a thick catalogue of titles spanning from 1984 to 1988. Thankfully, no quarters are necessary.

This top-down heist thriller allows you to choose from eight different classes of thieves in order to sneak and steal your way to untold riches just waiting to get poached. Form a gang of your stealthiest friends and enjoy the action online or in a local co-op play. Watch out for the guards, collect your loot, and live like a king.

The Behemoth's stick-puppet platformer, BattleBlock Theater places you inside a world of 80+ levels devised by a gang of diabolical felines bent on watching you twist and turn through all their traps for the sake of their sheer entertainment. The game's size will keep you occupied for hours, and its quirky humor and clever design is sure to keep you happy for every single minute of them.

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon's vision of the future is powered by the Cold War-fueled propaganda of the '80s, wherein a post-nuclear war world has been coated in chrome, cybernetic paint and is now inhabited by half-human cyborg soldiers. Need we say more? Pick up this FPS, action-adventure title for open world gameplay jampacked with hidden collectibles, learnable skills, and a whole slate of side missions that are well-worth the extra hours.

For anyone who likes to blow off some steam by just senselessly blowing shit up, let Thunder Wolves be your weapon of choice. Thin on plot, but fat on high-firing intensity, this helicopter-based shooter is sure to impress any action junkie with its fiery visuals and endless supply of ammunition. Get your fix today.

Take your favorite table-top game to the arcade with this compilation pack of the RPG industry's time-honored standard, Dungeons & Dragons. Combining the more traditional, beat 'em up Tower of Doom with it's 1996 sequel, Shadows Over Mystara, Chronicles does well in its efforts to reinvigorate this long-dormant, but much-revered, franchise.

Cardplay games can sometimes be difficult to keep fresh, but Magic 2014: Duels of the Planeswalker succeeds brilliantly thanks to its revamped campaign mode and all-new "Sealed Play" feature, allowing players to access virtual booster packs to make their own decks. Fans of the series--long one of the mainstays in card-based games--will enjoy the rich visual accompaniments that this title offers, along with the competitive online play.

Having returned from a hiking trip at nearby Mt. Tanner, one-time store clerk, Marcus, comes home to discover that the whole world has fallen into a zombie apocalypse. Don't you just hate it when that happens? Now, his only option is to collect supplies, protect those who have managed to escape the zombies, and fight his way through hordes of undead in this open world survival game. State of Decay is one of those games where it's better to shoot first and then ask questions laters. Or never. Yeah, never works too.

If you're looking for a downloadble title for your new Xbox One, Killer Instinct should be your go-to.

It's free to play, as long as you're OK playing with one character. Paying for the full game will get you the rest of the characters and different modes. There's no end to the ways you can spend money.

Still, if you're looking for a fighter, you shouldn't overlook this one.

A technically impressive XBLA sequel to Remedy's original (considering it looks just about as good as the disc-based original), American Nightmare throws Alan Wake into a Twilight Zone-esque world, eschewing the first game's Pacific Northwest setting for an Arizona desert. Despite its lack of narrative motivation, American Nightmare is a nice complement to Wake, and the arcade mode is addictive as, well, hell.

While you don't have to shell out much to get the full Dead Rising 2 experience now (nor that of its alternate reality cousin, the Frank West-centric Off The Record), Case Zero is essentially DR2, truncated into a more manageable chunk of time. Chuck's DIY weaponry is a little limited, but this is a much stronger game for its (concentrated) limitations.

The only game where you can team the Hulk with Jill Valentine and Tron Bonne in 2D that looks just about as good in HD as it did on the Dreamcast. You could also try Cable, Spider-Man and Strider. Or Marrow. Or Shuma-Gorath. And a bunch of Darkstalkers characters. Not to mention that Cactus guy. Don't you want to be taken for a ride yet?

Crystal Dynamics has seen more iterations of Lara than Core Design ever did, and the co-op centric Guardian of Light is maybe their most interesting. Eschewing traditional third-person adventuring for an isometric viewpoint, Guardian of Light puts a stronger emphasis on puzzles than other series entries, with both co-op and single-player campaigns each having their own solutions.

Until Diablo III comes to consoles, Torchlight might be the next best thing-a loot-heavy downloadable RPG that's as addictive as Blizzard's classic series (and without the server issues).

If you've ever wanted to play a bullet-hell platformer-and until Outland existed, you probably didn't even realize you did-now's your chance. This one takes metroidvania-lite and wraps it in an artistically interesting package, taking a central American myth approach and adding a dash of Icaruga's polarity reversing for a tough and unique hybrid adventure.

Want a sumptuously hand-drawn metroidvania title with interesting combo-centric combat and rich exploration? Is there anything about that statement that sounds bad?

As the sequel sadly remains a PC-exclusive, the first Orcs Must Die! is all that XBLAers have access to (for the moment). Don't despair-as an action-oriented tower-defense game, this trap-laying game forces you to get up close and personal with increasingly powerful monsters. With a cadre of horrible devices to lay the hordes to waste, trust us, this never gets old.

Since we'll probably never know for sure what the deal was with that now-defunct Contra reboot Konami teased at E3 2011 (interestingly rumored to have been outsourced to Spec Ops: The Line developers Yager), this sorta-sequel from Arc System Works remains the last vestige of one of gaming's venerably hardcore shooters. It's Contra in everything but name, and if you can get past the anime aesthetic, it's definitely worth your attention.

Equal parts Trials and Excitebike, Joe Danger's charming special edition re-release is among the best motorcycle racers on XBLA, to say nothing of the new lab mode. Check this one out.

Spelunky teaches you how to play Spelunky. Every playthrough is one of trial and error, figuring out an obstacle, learning the perfect time to dodge an enemy or what item to use to advance. And if you don't do it right, you start at the beginning of a new randomly generated tunnel.

It's maddening, but it feels that much better when you win.

Leaving the original game's WWI setting behind, Cold War's Reagan-era setting is faster, more maneuverable and decidedly more satisfying. Welcome to the danger zone.

Sort of a reverse Icaruga (albeit older), Radiant Silvergun gives you a variety of color-coded weaponry while forcing an agenda of real time puzzle-solving onto its vertical shooter framework, with some RPG elements and co-op for good measure. Be happy this is finally easily available in the U.S.

You've played one dual-stick shooter, you've played them all, right? Ordinarily that's probably true but Retro Evolved 2 deserves a spot on XBLA's top 50 for its multiplayer options, if nothing else. Adding four-player co-op and a host of new modes (including Pacifism, which disables weapons in favor of luring enemies into traps), this one's got staying power-and it's still quite the looker, too.

With some of this generation's most impressive dynamics physics, the suicidal tendencies of the goofy, daredevil splatters are just thrilling as they are amusing. The puzzle of detonating bombs while pulling off Tony Hawk-style stunts results in a wild, addictive challenge your both your brain and your reflexes.

Among Lucasarts' best point-and-click titles, The Secret of Monkey Island introduced the bumblingly ridiculous misadventures of pirate-in-training Guybrush Threepwood. For XBLA, Lucasarts retrofitted this genre classic with new HD art and an easier console interface, and it's still just as funny as it was in 1990. Bonus: players can switch between the new and original graphics in real time at the touch of a button.

Castle Crashers satisfies the rather unique craving for Golden Axe-style hack-and-slash gameplay in a world heavily tinged with surrealism. Unlike old school titles, Castle Crashers gives you level progression (and the ability to rage in four player co-op); even if you can't see your character (the foreground and background are often pretty insane) it's still a freakishly entertaining fever dream.

What if Metroid starred Nathan Drake? That's basically the (entirely unofficial) idea behind Shadow Complex, this Unreal-powered sci-fi Metroidvania whose everyman protagonist also happens to be voiced by Nolan North. Like Samus, exploring a massive underground complex yields the tech to explore new areas, and narrative issues aside, you probably won't want to put it down. We recommend playing without waypoints.

Refreshingly old school in its design, Rearmed is basically a hardcore action platformer that's missing a jump button. Re-learning how to play a tried-and-true gameplay form only using a bionic arm is a trip, while the devious level design, often hearkening back to Capcom's glory days, will keep you busy for sometime. And then there's the music...

A young boy explores a nightmarish world in this wordless, minimalist puzzle platformer. Clearly Limbo's stark black and white aesthetic provides a strong case on its own; still, death is never far from a brain-teasing puzzle and the artful direction is like nothing else out there.

It doesn't hurt that Sine Mora's shooter gameplay is spot-on, or that its time-based mechanics are an interesting twist on shedding lives when your ship's hitbox is breached (or even that Evangelion mech designer Mahiro Maeda created the game's impressively hulking boss robots). The real treat here is the multi-faceted narrative, a cynical tale of existential fatalism we wouldn't have thought possible for the genre. It's pretty hard, too.

Fez' design mirrors some of its toughest brain teasers, with a relatively straightforward mechanic (rotating 2D planes to reveal their third dimensional properties, which is no less awesome than it sounds) belying a layered non-linear adventure that few completionists will be able to fully crack. Hope you like your puzzles obscure.

A wonderfully retro valentine to River City Ransom, Scott Pilgrim's beat-em-up gameplay is great fun even if you're not that familiar with the comics. With a different artistic direction that might not have been the case, but Paul Robertson's twisted pixel creations and Anamanguchi's imminently head-bobbing chip soundtrack will keep your eyes and ears glued to the screen.

Jonathan Blow may often be viewed as pretentious, but don't let that downplay any desire to check out Braid (if you somehow haven't already). Using interesting variations on the motif of time, Braid's daunting puzzles force you to think outside the box, rewarding the player by challenging well-known platforming conventions. An indie classic.

The numbers don't lie: The XBLA release of Mojang's free-roaming world building title has made over $4 million to date. With the long-awaited Create Mode slated for the latest in a series of post-launch updates (and the promise of continuous content support in the future), Minecraft can be counted among the best experiences of Xbox Live.

Mark of the Ninja has just about everything you could want in a 2D action game: stealth, violence, multiple ways to approach most situations, tight, intuitive controls and an interesting story, not to mention customizable sneak-or-slice approaches to combat. Also, ninjas.

Meat Boy is made of raw meat. Meat Boy loves Bandage Girl (guess what she's made from). Meat Boy's nemesis is a fetus in a jar with a top hat and monocle. Meat Boy must run and slide and leap through over 300 levels of agonizingly tricky precision platforming. Super Meat Boy is pure gut-wrenching hilarious addictive fun. Indie Game: The Movie had it right.

Far and away the best game Telltale has ever put out (even with the fifth and final episode of the season still a month away), The Walking Dead's gut-wrenching writing alone is reason enough to experience it. But the intense brutality of its violence and the consequences of its very human drama will haunt you long after the credits have rolled.