Games with Gold getting the excellent Adios and audio adventure The Vale: Shadow of the Crown
June’s Games with Gold is actually pretty nice, even without big titles.
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What you need to know
It’s no secret that Xbox’s maligned Games with Gold service has earned next to no positive feedback from the community in recent months and years, but that may be about to change (at least for players who love creative indie games).
Xbox has justrevealedthe titles heading toXbox Games with Goldin June 2023, and it’s two genuinely amazing and critically acclaimed indie games. The announcement comes shortly afterXbox announced the new games heading to Xbox Game Passin the next few weeks, which also included a solid list of games for players to explore. Here are the two games coming to Games with Gold this month, with a combined value of $37.98 and 2,000 Gamerscore:
Adios is a very short, incredibly well-written narrative adventure game with an emotional story, and it’s sure to move some players to tears during its brief span. The Vale: Shadow of the Crown is a unique and innovative RPG with no visuals — That’s right, the entire game is just audio, and is pushed forward with its excellent voice acting and writing quality. Both of these indie games are beloved by critics and players alike.
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In case you missed it, a lot more is happening this month as well.Diablo 4is almost here, and you can now read our fullDiablo 4 reviewpraising the game for its industry-defining campaign, stunning visuals dripping with gore and viscera, and aggressively addictive gameplay. We also praisedStreet Fighter 6 in our review, which is guaranteed to attract the vast hordes of fighting games fans. Both titles are absolutely some of thebest Xbox gamescoming out this year.
Minecraft’s 1.20 “Trails & Tales” update is arriving on June 7, 2023, and Microsoft is hosting its massive and highly anticipatedXbox & Bethesda Games Showcase on June 11. There’s clearly a lot to look forward to in June already, but maybe we can all find time to play the two great games coming to us via Xbox Games with Gold.
If you want to add these Games with Gold titles to your library, you’ll need to be subscribed toXbox Live Goldor Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which includes the former service in addition toXbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, andXbox Cloud Gaming.
Windows Central’s take
Some will still likely complain that there are no big-name, big-budget games on the docket for this month’s Xbox Games with Gold, but those who adore creative indie games will have a blast with what’s on offer here. I loved Adios; I unfortunately forgot about The Vale: Shadow of the Crown, but this is a fantastic reminder and an even better opportunity to finally play it myself.
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As long as Xbox continues to offer interesting, high-quality titles through Games with Gold, I honestly don’t care if it’s the latest and greatest “AAA” games or not. I like playing good games, and this month delivers that. I’m happy.
Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter@BoddyZachary.
