Another month means another lineup of free games from Microsoft and Sony thanks to their respective premium services. But even as the holidays creep up on us, the console war rages on. Both services are available for roughly $60, which isn’t much to pay for access to online features and a slew of free games delivered straight to your console every month.
So for the month of November, who gives you the better bang for your buck? Microsoft and Xbox Live’s Games with Gold, or Sony and PlayStation Plus’ Instant Games Collection? Let’s break it down and crunch the numbers, see who really comes out on top.
Instant Games Collection
Here’s are the lineup and usual prices for PlayStation Plus’ batch of games:
PS4
- Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture– $19.99
- The Deadly Tower of Monsters – 14.99
PS3
- Dirt 3 – $26.99
- Costume Quest 2 – $14.99
PS Vita (also available with PS4 Cross Buy)
- Letter Quest Remastered – $9.99
- Pumped BMX+ – $9.99
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is an excellent get for PS Plus members. If you haven’t played through this beautiful experience you definitely need to give it a shot. A first person, purely narrative-focused game similar to Gone Home, you wander through a small village in the UK after a strange paranormal event has caused all of its inhabitants to simply vanish. All that remains are spirals of light recounting the days and weeks leading up to the event. It’s also decently short, clocking in at six hours, and the lack of a price tag is too good to pass up.
The rest of the lineup is comprised of some more indie titles, each offering up very different gameplay styles. As they say, variety is the spice of life. The Deadly Tower of Monsters is an isometric shooter with a fun twist. As you ascend the tower, you are greeted by dozens of different monsters, all of which you can gun down in style. These two PS4 offerings alone are great for those looking to take a break from the big AAA games that seemingly come out every couple hours this time of year.
PS4 owners can also pick up Letter Quest Remastered and Pumped BMX + for PS Vita thanks to cross buy. The former is a fun twist on the RPG genre where you spell out words instead of picking an attack option. The latter is a 2D biking game similar to Trials or Excite Bike, where you take death-defying jumps and try to stick a solid landing.
Even if you just own a PS4 you can still save $55, not to mention the extra $40 if you have a PS3 Stashed away somewhere. PS Plus members save a whopping $55 minimum in November alone, making up for the $60 they dropped on the membership in the first place.
Games with Gold
The titles offered from Games with Gold are also pretty great saves:
Xbox One
- Super Dungeon Bros. (Available from November 1-30) – $19.99
- Murdered: Soul Suspect (Available from November 16- December 15) – $19.99
Xbox 360
- Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon – $14.99
- Monkey Island Special Edition – $9.99
There are four titles on offer through the month of November, but it’s important to note that even the Xbox 360 games can be downloaded and played on Xbox One thanks to the magic of backwards compatibility.
Super Dungeon Bros is a new release, launching free for all Xbox Live Gold members. It’s an isometric dungeon brawler, taking its inspirations from rock music, crafting its dungeons to portray the heavy metal nature it so readily leans into.
Murdered: Soul Suspect is an interesting title. Players take on the role of Ronan, a detective who has been murdered and must solve his own murder as a ghost in order to rest. It wasn’t received all too well but has some neat mechanics that are worth a look.
On the Xbox 360 side of things, there are two excellent titles that you can grab for free, which is easily the highlight of Xbox’s offerings this month. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is set in a very 80’s world, replete with one-liners, robot limbs, and lots of neon. The mechanics are still those of Far Cry 3, which is to say stellar.
On the complete other end of the spectrum gameplay-wise is The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition. This remastered version of the point-and-click classic offers humor, action, and an entire cast of memorable characters.
Conclusion
When everything is said and done, Xbox gamers are saving $65 and getting two fantastic titles for Xbox 360 along with some promising Xbox One offerings. PlayStation players may save more overall, but those who just own a PS4 will only be able to download $55 worth of content.
Both services are likely saving their best games for December, when Christmas will see thousands of new consoles being hooked up. And what better way to greet a new gamer than with some flashy free games. Overall then, Xbox takes the cake this month, giving gamers the best bang for their buck and offering up a little reward for their dedicated patron ship.
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