Yes I know these are not really free you have to subscribe to the appropriate yearly pass. Okay, we got that disclaimer out of the way who won the month. Microsoft’s offerings are not as bad as they first appear.
Marooners
Marooners is a party game consisting of a bunch of very similar minigames and a particularly brain dead A.I. even for the genre. Its gimmick is that there is a mode where the games switch around mid-game at random intervals.
That is it. There is no metagame the minigames are attached too (Such as a board game), the characters while colorful are generic and unlicensed and the game itself is quite cheap.
The Golf Club 2019 Featuring PGA Tour
I own the first iteration of The Golf Club and I had mixed feelings. It wasn’t really fun. Putting is so brutal that it is actually harder than it is in real life. On the other hand, the course creator is exactly the kind of thing a proper golf game should have.
The Golf Club 2019 seems to have made some significant upgrades even though the putting is apparently still awful. The PGA tour license is not as exciting as it sounds as it comes with limited courses and no players. With an even more expansive course creator however, you will not lack in real courses to play.
Golf Club 2019 is a hardcore simulation. Even you are into golf it can be a bit of a learning curve. I am happy to see another developer pick up the reigns after EA basically dropped the ball with their golf series. I just wonder how high the frustration level will be for those just looking to pick up and play.
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon
Bad News Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon is considered the weakest of the Earth Defense Force games. Good News you get to run around and shoot giant ants. Stupid fun is still well fun. Just be prepared for hyperventilating fanboys breathlessly explaining how you cannot judge the series based on this one game.
Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley
I own and genuinely like this game even though it is in a genre that usually is not my cup of tea. Twisted Pixel really nails the humor and art style. the voice work is also spot on. Probably the most fun of the four games featured this month.
Last Night Sony fanboys went into a bit of a panic. You see Asian subscribers received Metal Gear Survive. Of course, nobody wants Metal Gear Survive and feathers were ruffled.
So Sony now has annouced the two games we are actully getting and everyone is saying I wish we had gotten Metal Gear Survive. Oh Boy.
Overcooked
A couch co-op game that looks like it belongs on an Ipad… Yay? Overcooked is actually a popular enough game and it even got a sequel that allows you to play online. It would have been wise for Sony to perhaps have offered that sequel instead of this one which is restricted to couch co-op with someone you don’t live with. (You don’t want to play Overcooked with any kind of significant other unless you are trying to start divorce proceedings.)
What Remains of Edith Finch
A walking simulator. A highly regarded walking simulator that won many Game of the Year awards in 2017 but a walking simulator just the same.
Winner Xbox
There is a weak argument to make that What Remains of Edith Finch is the best game offered by either service this month.The problem whit that arguement is that What Remains of Edith Finch has been a fiver in seemingly every Playstation sale in the last year. (Overcooked has also spent some serious time in the discount basket).
While I criticized The Golf Club 2019 for being a niche offering your really can’t get more niche that a game that is couch co-op only and a walking simulator.
Xbox didn’t even need it’s two decent 360 offering this month. Winner Xbox.