Ever since Microsoft debuted its Xbox Game Pass subscription service we have seen the console manufacturer’s legacy Xbox Live Gold fall somewhat out of relevancy. Despite this, Xbox Live Gold and its Games with Gold program remains – though with a noticeable decrease in the quality of its offerings. This trend continues into April, with the month’s Games with Gold line-up having now officially been announced.
Taking to the Xbox Wire blog, Dan Hickey, the Marketing Program Manager at Xbox unveiled April’s line-up, saying “Explore space or the world of Peaky Blinders this April with Games with Gold!”
Available to add to your library from the 1st until the 31st of April, Out of Space: Couch Edition is a local co-op strategy game which sees you and your friends “move into a house in space, where you will have to deal with a deadly alien infestation and face the challenges of building a sustainable spaceship, all to make your new place feel as cozy as home!”
The second and final game on offer is Peaky Blinders: Mastermind. Available from the 16th of April to the 15th of May, this adventure-puzzler is set before the events of the hit BBC show and sees you “taking control of key members of the Shelby family including Tommy, Arthur, Polly and more” in order to uncover a sinister plot to put the family out of business. Developed by FuturLab of PowerWash Simulator fame, you can “freely reset and rewind each character's path in order to tune all of their actions for perfect coordination…strategically utilising characters and stealth to solve increasingly complex puzzles with optimum timing.”
Though in no way a terrible line-up, the offerings pale in comparison to PlayStation Plus’ Essential tier, which is offering three PlayStation 5 titles in April – namely the first-party Sackboy: A Big Adventure; Tails of Iron; and the day-one inclusion of Meet Your Maker. With Xbox Live Gold costing subscribers just as much as PS Plus Essential, hopefully Microsoft opts to either revamp the service sooner rather than later – or alternatively shut down the redundant service as a whole.
KitGuru says: What do you think of April’s offerings? Should Microsoft depreciate Xbox Live Gold? Let us know your thoughts down below.