Want to level up your gaming? These are the best consoles and games for every type of player

The latest gaming consoles offer a wide array of thrills and entertainment to suit every type of player. Whether you’re into the latest first-person shooter, something fun for all the family or somewhere in between, there’s a huge choice on the market right now.

Traditional console options are only half the story, too. With handheld versions and virtual reality headsets, there are many ways to enjoy your favourite game or to try something completely new.

We’ve compiled the best options to get you started, whether you’re a seasoned gamer or looking to explore and challenge yourself in new worlds. You’ll find a wide selection of consoles, games and accessories to suit your style of gaming.

If you’re upgrading your console or starting fresh, save some cash by getting a bundle offer from EE. These offers can include a new game with your console.

Top picks

The PlayStation 5 Slim is not only one of the best-looking consoles on the market, but it’s also one of the most versatile. This extremely powerful machine comes with or without a disc drive and supports 4K gaming with jaw-dropping graphics. You’ll find some of the biggest titles here from God of War through to Gran Turismo 7, and even family-friendly options like Sackboy.

Microsoft’s Xbox Series X provides an accessible route to one of the largest gaming libraries available, including day 1 releases of massive titles with Game Pass Ultimate. This includes some of the biggest games on the market right now and allows you to play not just on your console but on PC or the cloud from just about any device.

While the Nintendo Switch is often considered the family console of choice, it also offers a wide selection of games that will suit more serious gamers, from Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown through to Civilization VII. Now with the Switch 2 ready to launch, you get a bigger screen and some incredible platform exclusives, such as The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario Party Jamboree, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Virtual reality and mixed reality take gaming to a new level. The Meta Quest 3S allows you to truly immerse yourself in the game with a range of VR titles and bring gaming into the real world with mixed reality options. VR is a different experience from console gaming and offers a more curated range of games, including many unique to the platform. There are lots of exciting new game releases, including Batman Arkham Shadow, which allows you to play as the Caped Crusader and fully immerse yourself in Gotham City.

Best role-playing games

Role-playing games, or RPGs, bring traditional board game-style series to life on consoles. These require more strategy than the fast reactions of a first-person adventure game, so they have a different appeal. A wide range of simulators and world builders also push the boundaries of turn-based strategy games further than the fantasy genre, so you can endlessly bring your imagination to life.

Following in the burgeoning franchise of titles, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the latest instalment and is available for Xbox and for PlayStation 5. Set in feudal Japan, you can become a Shinobi assassin or a legendary Samurai to explore the world and complete the missions in this gorgeous setting.

Officially a turn-based single-player strategy game, rather than an RPG, Civilization VII is the ultimate world-building game. This latest variant has fine-tuned some of the more complex elements of recent versions into something that is playable on just about any console. It's certainly one you’ll keep coming back to and the graphics look better than ever.

Best online FPS

First-person shooters (FPS) are what most consoles are best known for, as they often combine incredible graphics with fast-paced action and require a certain amount of skill to play them well. They also open up the possibility of multiplayer gaming, where you can play as a team or crush the competition online.

Fortnite exploded onto the gaming scene in 2017, following the release of Fortnite Battle Royale. Today, there are numerous Fortnite titles and worlds to explore, ranging from the Lego collabs to the music-focused Fortnite Festival.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is one of the best new first-person shooters on the market. Set in the 90s, at the height of Desert Storm, it has an impressive multiplayer offering and some excellent gunplay.

Best driving games

A good console game doesn’t need to involve guns or aliens. Some of the best games, in our opinion, come with four wheels. Driving games cover a wide assortment of titles, from pure track racing to crazy crashes and wide worlds to explore.

While we await the sixth instalment, Grand Theft Auto V is still an incredible action game, even 12 years on. Living up to its 18+ rating, it offers an array of gangland escapades and automotive destruction. It’s a broad title with lots of missions to try or just days of exploration in the heady world of Los Santos.

One of the best car games, graphically, has to be Forza 5. Even just watching the demos will make your jaw drop at the detail, but once you have the controller in hand, you really get to experience the majesty of this game. Available on Game Pass Ultimate, there’s so much to explore and so many cars to do it in, you’ll never get bored.

If you want pure driving fun, you can’t get much better than Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. You can play alone or with up to 8 friends in this ultimate Mario Kart race series. There are 42 characters to play and up to 48 courses, so you’ll never get bored of this Nintendo classic, available on EE now.

You can find a wide selection of games and consoles at EE, including bundles and subscriptions such as Xbox Game Pass.