It’s a fun time to be a gamer. Despite the industry-wide pushback on microtransactions and lootboxes, we’re also given a steady stream of value with monthly free games from Xbox Games with Gold and PS Plus. Last month was fantastic, and this month also has a solid collection of free, damn good games to add to your library.
Xbox One
The Witness (April 1-30)
From the maker of indie classic Braid comes Jonathan Blow’s The Witness. Sometimes frustrating, sometimes delightful, it’s a puzzle game that’s worth picking up even if you’re not a fan of the genre.
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (April 16-May 15)
Syndicate added to the general AC fatigue of a few years ago, but this isn’t by any means a terrible game. The Assassin’s Creed series has a pretty high floor when it comes to fun gameplay, and the London setting is extremely fun to parkour around. Once again, you can’t go wrong with free.
Xbox 360 (Xbox One backward compatible)
Cars 2 (April 1-15)
My days as a video game store clerk tell me that your young one will love this. It’s simple, clean fun and easy to pick up at any age.
Dead Space 2 (April 16-30)
The best Dead Space, and one of the best horror games of last generation, or possibly any generation. I played through this last year and it held up well, so it’s worth picking up if you’ve never played it before, or if you want to play it again. The graphics are still really sharp and moody.
All in all, this month continues the trend of “something for everyone” that Xbox and PlayStation have hammered home recently. It’s been pleasant surprise after pleasant surprise with some extremely solid games that are well worth our time. Combined with the new releases we’ve seen lately, it’s hard to keep up.