Free Xbox April Games Include ‘Sunset Overdrive,’ ‘Dead Space,’ ‘Saints Row 4’
The free games coming to Xbox Games with Gold for April 2016 were revealed Thursday, and it may just be the best line-up yet since the program launched. Microsoft revealed a full slate of AAA titles, including exclusive Sunset Overdrive and The Wolf Among Us for the Xbox One plus the backwards compatible Xbox 360 titles Dead Space and Saints Row IV.
The Games with Gold lineup for April kicks off at the beginning of the month with The Wolf Among Us and Dead Space both becoming available to download for free for Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers. Telltale’s episodic adventure will be available for a month, while EA’s first-person horror romp will hang around until April 15.
The second rotation of free games hits on April 16. Sunset Overdrive will be a free download on the Xbox One until May 15. Meanwhile, the bombastic Saints Row IV will be available for free until April 30.
Xbox Live #GamesWithGold for April starts with The Wolf Among Us & Dead Space https://t.co/mqYoi9hdO2 pic.twitter.com/QwZeFzXYft
— Larry Hryb ?? (@majornelson) March 24, 2016
Note that backwards compatible Xbox 360 games can now be purchased directly from the Xbox One with the March update released yesterday. The checkout process is slightly different, but the result is the same. The alternative is to purchase the games from Xbox Store website.
As a reminder, Borderlands for the Xbox 360 is currently free to purchase from the Xbox Marketplace until March 31 as part of the March Games with Gold promotion, and it is backwards compatible. Additionally, Lords of the Fallen for the Xbox One will be free until April 15.
The Wolf Among Us is a critically-acclaimed episodic series from Telltale Games and based on the Fables comics by Bill Willingham and published by Vertigo. It’s a mature and violent look at the fairytale stories from our youth as player’s help Bigby Wolf (aka the Big Bad Wolf) investigate a series of murders as Sheriff of Fabletown.
The game was praised for its tight narrative, especially in the first episode and the final fifth one as well. There are not as many puzzles, but it is an engaging story-based experience.
Sunset Overdrive for the Xbox One is Insomniac Games’ open-world, third-person, over-the-top shooter for the Xbox One. An energy drink has turned the populace of the city into a bunch of murderous mutants. It is up to the player to fight the evil corporation that has allowed this to happen with overpowered and far-out weapons along with a brash attitude and a unique traversal system that has the main character grinding power lines and jumping high off cars.
Insomniac’s debut on the Xbox One was praised for its free-roaming escapades combined with a fun, bright, and unserious outlook. It received an 81 review score average from Metacritic, where it was knocked for some repetitive mission designs and the kind of narrative that haunts most open-world titles.
Dead Space surprised gamers when it was originally released to the Xbox 360 in 2008. The science-fiction survival horror title comes with some truly terrifying moments and plenty of gory encounters. The first-person action title received an 89 Metacritic score at release, and it has generally held up well since then.
Finally, Saints Row IV attempts to take the ridiculous open-world experience from Volition Games in Saints Row III and dial things up another notch. There are aliens, Matrix-like simulations, super-powered individuals, and a steady dose of raw and raunchy fun.
This can be looked at as the former THQ’s swan song, and it scored well in Metacritic reviews. Saints Row IV received an 81 review average, with the main complaints regarding some technical glitches, the re-use of the previous games’ map, and lack of depth.
An Xbox LIVE Gold subscription is required to download games for free with Games with Gold. A 12-month subscription retails for $59.99, but you can regularly find it discounted to anywhere between $35 and $50 through online and physical retail outlets.
[Image via Xbox]
