The 6 Best Video Game Consoles for Every Type of Play

It’s no secret that Sony’s PlayStation 5 is the most impressive console on the market right now. Between its sleek casing, the award-winning controller with immersive haptics, and the incredibly fast speeds, this console offers the best all-around experience you can get (that is, if you like the games available in the PlayStation Store).

I own this console, and the most impressive part about it is its ridiculously quick load times that put any Nintendo console to shame. I bought my PS5 on a whim and immediately put my Switch down, where it would stay for the next six months while I fell in love with the sleek user interface, the vast PS5 and PS4 libraries at my disposal, and the DualSense controller.

The controller’s battery dies much more quickly than you might be used to, but that’s only because of all it’s doing to get you deeper into the game. As I ran the main character, Aloy, around a desiccated U.S. in Horizon: Forbidden West, the DualSense flitted in my hands as I navigated tall grass, emitted discrete cricket sounds as night fell, and bounced dramatically when I fell from tall cliff sides. And, while the controller’s effects brought me deeper into the game, my hands comfortably cradled the ergonomic shape.

You can save $100 if you opt for the digital-only version of the PS5, but beware that this console only has about 800 gigabytes of space once you account for the operating system. That said, it’s relatively inexpensive to upgrade the storage with an SSD.

The Xbox Series S is the least expensive option we recommend, but that doesn’t mean you’re cutting corners when you buy this console. It’s fast, small enough to not take up much space in a cramped apartment, and compatible with some of the best games.

Even better, the new Xbox Series S in black comes with up to one terabyte of storage, which is a lot for a digital-only console. That makes this one of the best bangs for your buck.

I’ve primarily used the Series S to play rounds of online games like Fortnite and Dead by Daylight with my friends. And it’s a great console for that type of gaming since the load times are quick, the UI is intuitive and uncluttered, and there’s something to be said for that nostalgic and comfortable Xbox controller.

I cut my teeth on the beloved Xbox 360, and the Xbox Series S/X feels like a return to that excellence after the middling Xbox One.

If you’re an experienced gamer—especially one who prefers to play on the PC—Valve’s Steam Deck is probably the most interesting console on the market. If you’re new to gaming, its finicky nature might make you want to quit the hobby altogether.

With impressive specs and a novel open-source platform that makes it almost entirely customizable, the Steam Deck is a handheld of the future. But it needs some work to become the go-to console for every gamer. For now, Test Editor Hunter Fenollol recommends it for PC gamers and anyone who’s into tweaking every last configuration.

“These days my Steam Deck puts the latest game releases, complete with PC features like customizable button mapping and game modifications, right in my hands,” Fenollol writes in his review. “It lasts up to eight hours when I play less demanding indie games, and a bit over two hours when I play AAA titles at their highest settings. That’s a hell of a lot longer than the single hour I get from my gaming laptop.”

He also says the ergonomics are excellent, though the console isn’t exactly discrete. “Although the Steam Deck looks massive at first glance, especially side-by-side with a console like the Switch, the ergonomics are some of the comfiest found on any handheld.”

As long as you’re comfortable tinkering with settings, the Steam Deck is an incredibly powerful PC-in-a-handheld that can transform your gaming life, fit with a seamless SteamOS interface that works just as well on handheld as it does on PC and TV.

On paper, the Xbox Series X is the most powerful next-gen console available, making it an excellent choice if you prefer to play intense games online with your friends (or strangers). With its 4K visuals, impressive frame rates, HDR support, advanced ray tracing, and myriad other technical specs, games on the Xbox Series X run like a dream.

“In the past, I would reach for my phone at the first sign of a load screen, anticipating a little time to kill,” Director of Product Reviews Will Egensteiner, writes in his review. “With the Series X, it would finish before I could even consider it. I never waited more than 15 seconds for something to load. (Though there was one instance of game-stopping lag, and another when the sound mysteriously cut out in Gears 5).”

Egensteiner also likes the user-friendly nature of the Quick Resume feature, which keeps games “open” in the background to reduce load times. “I’m the type of person to save, save again, then quit to the game’s home screen before I turn the console off,” he says. “On the Series X, I only witnessed a game’s opening graphics twice. Everything loads right away. And that means more time playing.”

Unfortunately, Egensteiner says, Quick Resume isn’t flawless, and sometimes forces games to quit and restart if the console goes to sleep and loses its connection to the internet.

Still, for fans of first-person shooters, racing games, sports series, and simulation titles, the Xbox is a great choice, with titles like Forza Horizon 5, Microsoft Flight Simulator, popular sports franchises, and heavy-hitter Halo Infinite.

Xbox also offers an excellent value proposition in the form of Xbox Game Pass. But the Xbox exclusives are limiting—if you love immersive RPGs, you might want to opt for a PlayStation or Switch instead.—Harry Rabinowitz

The newest addition to the Nintendo Switch console family, the Switch OLED is a small but noticeable improvement over the original Switch for a small bump in price. And this console doubles as a handheld.

The main upgrade comes in the bigger, more vivid OLED screen, which makes this the best console to play Nintendo games on.

While it’s tough to say which console has the best exclusives, it’s true that Nintendo is the most alluring because its games have only ever, and will only ever, be available on Nintendo consoles. As such, if you want to play any title with characters like Link and Zelda, Mario and Luigi, or Tom Nook and Isabelle, this is the best option.

The Switch OLED also has better speakers than the Switch, a much better kickstand for tabletop gaming, and an ethernet port on the docking tray. It also has 64 GB of internal storage, compared to the original Switch’s 32—or you can upgrade your storage with an inexpensive microSD card.

Overall, the Switch OLED is a great choice if you’re a fan of Nintendo. Just beware that load times can be frustratingly long.

The best-selling console on the market, the Nintendo Switch distinguishes itself in two ways: through its unique form and its excellent library of exclusive games.

For families with multiple gamers in the household, the Switch is an affordable, incredibly versatile console that’ll be as satisfying for hardcore RPGs and indies as it is for family-friendly couch co-ops. The Joy-Con controllers double when you take them off the console, and buying extras is easy.

I’ve used my Nintendo Switch for years, bringing it with me on many trips. While I can complain for ages about the Joy-Con drift, which is a buzzkill when you’re in the middle of a battle, the Switch is an accessible console that, up until recently (see our Steam Deck review), was the only device to make true high-quality gaming portable. And it looks decent on the TV, too.

You can’t ignore the swath of kid-friendly games, from Mario + Rabbids: New Hope to Mario Party and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Combine these Nintendo titles with great indie game offerings like Hades and Hollow Knight, and the Nintendo Switch offers the best catalog of games for players of all ages.

Playing indies is one of my favorite ways to use my Switch because the graphics are often less intensive for these games. And the handheld form lends itself to artistic and inventive games with shorter playtimes.