Another month, another round of free games from PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Games with Gold. Last month saw both services deliver solid, if not headline driving games. July was also interesting in that it had a bunch of brand new games in the lineups. Always a treat, but kind of a mystery box scenario, where players aren’t sure that it is a game they will want to play for a while. August 2016 sees less of this, with mostly established games across the spectrum. Still, there’s a new one in there just to mix things up. So who wins the battle of PlayStation Plus vs. Xbox Live Games with Gold for August 2016?
PlayStation Plus Free Games for August 2016
Tricky Towers for PS4 – 69%
Rebel Galaxy for PS4 – 64%
Yakuza 5 for PS3 – 83%
Retro/Grade for PS3 – 78%
Patapon 3 for PS Vita – 74%
Ultratron for PS Vita, PS3 and PS4 – 74%
MetaCritic Average Score – 73.7%
Oldest Title – 2011
Newest Title – 2016 (brand new game)
Xbox Live Games with Gold for August 2016
Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate for Xbox One – 73%
WWE 2K16 for Xbox One – 72%
Spelunky for Xbox 360 – 87%
Beyond Good & Evil HD for Xbox 360 – 84%
MetaCritic Average Score – 79%
Oldest Title – 2011
Newest Title – 2015
The Winner Is…
You know, Xbox Live Games with Gold rarely wins these things. Even when it does, it usually squeaks by. Sure, there was the “Blockbuster month” where they threw everything they had at us, and that one they won handily, but usually it’s either a PS Plus runaway, or pretty close to a tie. This month is different, with Xbox Live Games with Gold taking the victory pretty easily, thanks to the combination of big names and quality products.
PlayStation Plus, as usual, has more free games for you to play, but they’re all pretty middle of the road in terms of quality. Even though Yakuza 5 is a great game, Rebel Galaxy is the big standout for me, with the game that I demoed playing much better than the Metacritic score would have me believe. And PS Plus gamers also get the newest game of the entire bunch with Tricky Towers, but the early reviews are already in, and it’s not looking like a breakout success.
On the Xbox Live Games with Gold side we have a huge AAA title with WWE 2K16, plus two fantastic entries for the Xbox 360. Spelunky is one of those deceptive games where you won’t think much of it, and then you’ll end up putting hundreds of hours in by the end. And Beyond Good & Evil HD is simply a classic, with far too few gamers having experienced the game back when it originally hit. Playing these on the Xbox One will make them that much better too, thanks to Xbox One Backwards Compatibility.
So there you go, my pick for PlayStation Plus vs. Xbox Live Games with Gold for August 2016 goes to Xbox Live Games with Gold. This is, of course, my opinion, so let me know what your’s is in the comments below. And what games would you like to see in September? If you were magically put in charge of giving away millions of dollars in free games, what would you choose?
