The Best Xbox One Family Games

There's more to the Xbox One than violent shooters. Microsoft's home console is host to a wealth of great family-friendly games, from the toys-to-life action of Lego Dimensions and Skylanders to raucous multiplayer experiences like Rocket League and Overcooked. Whether you're looking for a great game to play with your kids or want something fun to play during your next gathering, here are our favorite family games for the Xbox One.

Playing with Legos is an age-old family activity, and Lego Dimensions recaptures that same joy in video game form. The $90 starter pack of this toys-to-life game gets you Batman, Gandalf, and Wildstyle from the The Lego Movie, and you can add in characters from franchises such as DC Comics, Ghostbusters, Harry Potter and Scooby-Doo, thanks to a variety of expansion packs that start at $12. Dimensions' story missions allow two players to solve puzzles both in-game and with real toys, while its Battle Arena mode lets four players duke it out as Batman, Marty McFly, E.T. or whichever other plastic figure you choose to scan into the game.

The smash multiplayer hit of 2016, Overcooked tasks up to four players with preparing the perfect meal in a chaotic kitchen where everything can go wrong. Overcooked is a fantastic party game for get-togethers, offering great satisfaction when everything clicks with you and your fellow chefs, and a hilarious sense of disaster once your key ingredients start bursting into flames.

Rocket League is one of the most popular multiplayer games around, thanks to its offbeat soccer-with-cars gameplay that's easy to pick up but hard to master. While there's plenty of depth for those who want to get competitive, it's also a great game for crowding around the couch with four players to see who can score the most goals with their ridiculously tricked-out rocket car.

The latest installment in the toys-to-life behemoth, Skylanders Imaginators mixes things up by finally letting you create your own characters with special "Creation Crystals" you can scan into the game. Custom characters aside, Imaginators offers more of the colorful worlds and fun hack-and-slash gameplay that the series is known for, and even lets you play as classic gaming mascot Crash Bandicoot. The $75 Imaginators starter pack gets you two figures and a Creation Crystal, with extra figures available for around $15. Fortunately, you can carry over toys from any previous Skylanders game.

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 is the rare shooter that the whole family can enjoy. Instead of firing bullets, you'll be waging war with vegetable guns and laser blasters with over 100 characters taken from the popular Plants vs. Zombies series. Garden Warfare 2 offers lots of ways to play as a group, both competitively and co-operatively, and the game has gotten a ton of free content updates since launch.

Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens is one of the best Lego games yet, retelling the story of the hit movie with hilariously charming cutscenes and excellent two-player co-op gameplay that includes puzzles, tense shootouts and thrilling flight sequences. And being able to unlock hundreds of characters from the entire Star Wars saga is a nice bonus. If Star Wars isn't your thing, Lego Marvel's Avengers and Lego Jurassic World are also excellent.

Rare Replay is hard to top in terms of sheer value -- this collection packs 30 classic games from the past few decades, many of which are multiplayer-friendly and suitable for all ages. Highlights include classic platformer Banjo-Kazooie, cooperative beat-em-up Battletoads and lighthearted life simulator Viva Pinata. Just be sure to keep your little one away from Conker's Bad Fur Day.