The best games consoles and machines 2024
Ready to play? From home entertainment to go-anywhere gaming, these are the best games consoles you can buy.
Welcome to our rundown of the best games consoles around. Top of our list are – somewhat unsurprisingly – the gold standard of the current gen; Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are essentially high-spec gaming PCs for the living room: stupendously powerful, with greatly reduced loading times for games.
Most last-gen titles will run fine, many with a boost, and the line-up of new games is strong, with Xbox Game Pass making a particularly compelling argument for Team Green. Then there’s a certain (sometime) handheld with a new OLED screen…
Our guide to the best games consoles around
Sony PlayStation 5
Features:
- Rock solid 4K/60fps gameplay
- Very fast
- DualSense has huge potential
- Astro’s Playroom is some freebie
- Promise of hardware-pushing exclusives
Microsoft Xbox Series X review: it’s getting better all the time
Microsoft’s top-end console is a 4K monster, with Game Pass making it an appealing all-rounder. Here’s our fully updated Xbox Series X review
Features:
- Hellish load times a thing of the past
- Quick Resume is great (when it works)
- Ridiculously powerful
- Makes old games look better
- Game Pass is only getting better
Nintendo Switch OLED
Features:
- OLED displays are simply much nicer to look at
- Much, much improved stand
- Decent speakers
- More storage
Microsoft Xbox Series S review: Three years with the little Xbox that could
Features:
- An affordable but legitimate next-gen upgrade
- Lightning fast performance
- Xbox Game Pass represents one hell of a deal
Nintendo Switch Lite
Features:
- Great colour options
- Sharp, colourful screen
- Brilliant selection of games
- An actual D-Pad
- Very comfortable to hold (unless you have giant hands)
Nintendo Switch review: The go-anywhere-console you'll want to play everywhere
Features:
- Brilliant as both a home console and a portable
- Joy-Cons are genius
- Solid line-up of games
Steam Deck review: PC gaming goes portable
Two hands on Deck for our full review of Steam’s epic handheld console
Nintendo Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda
A love letter to old-school Zelda and just about a must-have collector’s item for long-time fans of the series
