‘Banner Saga 2,’ ‘Tron: Evolution’ free for Xbox Live Gold subscribers in July

By Danny Cowan Published June 28, 2016

Xbox - July Games with Gold

Indie developer Stoic’s tactical role-playing game The Banner Saga 2 will make its Xbox One debut in July as a free download for Xbox Live Gold subscribers, Microsoft announced Tuesday.

The Banner Saga 2 headlines next month’s Games With Gold lineup, joining other promised freebies like Tron: Evolution and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2.

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Funded by a successful Kickstarter project, Stoic’s The Banner Saga premiered in 2014 for PC platforms and mobile devices. Like the original game in the series, The Banner Saga 2 features a branching storyline that changes depending on the choices players make in battle and in conversations with their party members.

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Xbox One owners with an active Xbox Live Gold subscription will get an early look at the console version of The Banner Saga 2 when it premieres as a free download via Games With Gold on July 1. The Banner Saga 2 was previously released for Windows and Mac platforms via Steam, and a PlayStation 4 edition will launch on July 5.

Also premiering as a free Games With Gold download next month is Tumblestone, an Xbox One competitive puzzler that Microsoft compares to genre classics like Tetris and Puyo Puyo. Initially slated for release across multiple consoles and PC platforms, Tumblestone will debut as an Xbox One exclusive on July 16, and Gold subscribers can pick up a copy free of charge until August 15.

Xbox 360 titles available as part of next month’s Games With Gold lineup include Ubisoft’s tactical first-person shooter Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 and Disney’s Tron: Evolution, an action game featuring a storyline that ties into the 2010 film Tron: Legacy.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 will be free to download for Xbox Live Gold subscribers between July 1 and July 15, while Tron: Evolution will be up for grabs from July 16-31. Both games are playable on legacy Xbox 360 consoles and on the Xbox One via the platform’s backward compatibility feature.

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3 Xbox Game Pass games to play over Memorial Day weekend (May 24-27)

Senua carries a torch in Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2.

This was a big week for Xbox as it received its first console-exclusive first-party game of the year in Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2. We're also approaching a holiday weekend where you'll have a lot more time to play video games if you so choose. As such, there's one really easy recommendation I can make to people looking for what to play this weekend. Hellblade 2 is a very dark and mature game that depicts what it's like to have psychosis, though, so my other recommendations are a little more lighthearted.

The first is an indie game that launched in Xbox Game Pass earlier this month, where players control a cat exploring a city. The other is a collection of classic Pac-Man games that is leaving Xbox Game Pass very soon. Those two are worth checking out if you want some more relaxing, gameplay-focused fun this weekend after the intense experience Xbox Game Studios' latest offers.
Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2

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All Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 achievements

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Ever since the Xbox 360 introduced the idea of Achievements, every game on the platform has included them. These tasks help show off how many games you play, but also your commitment to do and see everything in a specific game. Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 has quite a short list of Achievements compared to many other big-budget titles, but the focus of the game is more on the story and characters. Most Achievements will unlock through natural progression, but there are some that require extra work like hunting down collectibles or experimenting with different mechanics. If you want a full 1,000 Achievement points from Hellblade 2, these are all the things you need to do.

Warning: Many Achievements contain spoilers for the story. Read on at your own risk.
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You’re going to want a great Xbox headset for Hellblade 2. Try this one

A Turtle Beach Stealth 600 sits in front of a green background.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is finally here, giving Xbox Series X owners the system's most impressive technical feat to date. The dark sequel is getting some mixed reviews due to its limited gameplay, but most reviewers seem to agree that its visuals are astonishing. It's biggest highlight, though, is its audio -- which should come as no surprise if you're familiar with the first game. When the makers of Hellblade 2 recommend you put on some headphones to play it, that's not something to be taken lightly. You're going to want a great audio solution for this one.

Like the first game, Hellblade 2 makes serious use of binaural audio to represent its protagonist's mental state. Senua is living with psychosis and constantly hears voices in her head that tear her in different directions. That's reflected in the audio design, as voices ping on all sides to disorient players. While 3D audio on the PlayStation 5 has been hyped up as one of its defining features this generation, Hellblade 2 gives Xbox Series X the most convincing use of that tech yet.

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