Microsoft have announced the next batch of games that will be offered up to Xbox Live Gold subscribers in the Games with Gold programme. As usual, there’s two Xbox One games and two games playable via backward compatibility we can confirm that Microsoft have stuck with the dictionary definition (that is, if it was to be defined in a dictionary) of what Games with Gold means.
The four games on offer will be:
- Vikings: Wolves of Midgard – 1st to 30th April
- Truck Racing Championship – 14th April to 15th May
- Dark Void (Xbox 360 BC) – 1st to 15th April
- Hard Corps: Uprising (Xbox 360 BC) – 16th to 30th April
I was probably sounding a little mean in the intro. Vikings Wolves of Midgard reviewed moderately well upon its 2017 release, while Truck Racing Championship is another of the niche racing games that Microsoft has a penchant for putting on GwG. Dark Void and Hard Corps: Uprising both see Microsoft digging quite deep into the BC catalogue, with Dark Void a relatively underwhelming game upon its 2010 release, and Hard Corps: Uprising far from ARC System Works’ best – though it’s this game that has the best aggregate score from April’s selection.
It’s without a doubt that Games with Gold has dropped in quality over the last year or so, while Sony has picked up the pace. PS Plus featured Final Fantasy VII Remake in March, Destruction AllStars is a significant first party exclusive, and April will host Oddworld Soulstorm on the day of its release. It’s clear that Microsoft’s focus is on stuffing Xbox Game Pass with games, much more than Xbox Live Gold.
