You don’t have to wait for Santa or the annual gift-giving quasi-deity you believe in to get some new games for your Xbox One or Xbox 360.
Microsoft announced the games that it will give away to people who subscribe to the Xbox Live Gold service next month. If you’re one of the millions of Xbox owners who pay $60 a year, $25 every three months, or $10 per month, you’ll get two Xbox One games and three Xbox 360 releases next month.
Here’s the full list:
- The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing
- Thief
- Castlestorm
- Sacred 3
- Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
Van Helsing and Castlestorm will both go “free” on Xbox Live starting December 1. Thief, Sacred 3, and Operation Flashpoint will join them on December 16.
The big draw here is probably Thief, the 2014 release from publisher Square Enix and developer Eidos Montreal. It is a stealth action game that rebooted the classic (and beloved) Thief franchise with results that didn’t please everybody. It puts you in the role of a master thief named Garrett who must use his skills to survive and potentially aid a revolution of the people of his city. Our reviewer found some things to like about Thief, but she noted it lacked a soul.
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is the other Xbox One game, and it tells the story of the fabled vampire hunter. It was another game with mixed reviews, but our critic found its role-playing and action elements rewarding enough that he found it entertaining — although he pointed out that it is “not incredible.”
As for the Xbox 360 games, CastleStorm is a medieval physics action puzzler that has players trying to siege medieval keeps with Angry Birds-style attacks. Sacred 3, which we also weren’t that hot on, is a strategy brawler with cooperative play. And Operation Flashpoint is a modern shooter that puts players in the role of a special-forces fighter.