Xbox Games with Gold for October are here, but with a twist, this month we only get two free games, Bomber Crew and Windbound.
As mentioned previously, Xbox Games with Gold will no longer include Xbox 360 titles starting October, to the despair of many nostalgic players who liked the style and storytelling of older games. While these games are still available in the store, nothing beats getting a nice game for free.
We remind you that Games with Gold is included with Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions, which are found at £6.99 and £10.99 (or £1 for new users), respectively, per month.
Bomber Crew Deluxe Edition ($24.99 ERP)
Available from October 16 to November 15, Bomber Crew is a World War II strategic game in which you control a Royal Air Force crew aboard an Avro Lancaster heavy bomber, or the well-known B-17 Flying Fortress in the USAAF DLC. You will have to manage your crew and your plane. Enemies won’t give you any chance, so keep an eye on fires and crew health. The Deluxe Edition includes the original game plus the Secret Weapons and USAAF DLCs.
Don’t let looks deceive you, this game ain’t easy, especially when you advance and start facing jet planes armed with cannons. For example, if a crew member dies, there is no coming back and you will have to recruit a new one and level it up back again. If you lose all your four engines to a fire, your bomber will go down so you better have enough parachutes for your entire crew, otherwise, you will have to sacrifice some of them or even worse (like me) all of them.
If I must give you some advice. First, don’t be greedy, seems obvious, but when you spot new secondary objectives, you will be tempted to finish them, if your bomber is in bad shape or lacks equipment, just don’t. Second, always keep an eye on the radar, the last thing you want is a fighter on your tail, when your gunner is away searching for some ammo. And finally, (not sure if it still works, but) if you lose one of your landing wheels, hide the remaining ones, and try a belly landing.
One of the hardest missions in my opinion was the one where you had to climb at a high altitude and drop a bunker-buster bomb on top of a fortified tower. At that height, the temperature is too cold, so your crew starts getting frostbite, meaning that your time is limited. Add to that, fighters chasing you with anti-air guns shooting non-stop, and you get some fun yet challenging gameplay. Frankly, a fantastic game I recommend.
If after playing and finishing it, you still want more, you should check out its next instalment taking place in space called Space Crew.
Windbound ($19.99 ERP)
Available from October 1 to 31, Windbound is a survival game taking place in an open world filled with islands. Like Bomber Crew if you die you lose everything. However, there is an easier difficulty setting that allows you to keep your inventory before sending you back to the beginning of the chapter.
Here you play as Kara, a warrior lost on a desert island following a mysterious storm. You will be able to hunt for food, travel around different islands using a crafted raft, and discover many secrets such as the existence of an ancient civilisation.
You start out with a simplistic raft made of grass reeds tied together and a paddle to row and steer with. As you progress, you gain access to more materials, learn new crafting recipes, and build more impressive boats with multiple decks, sails, etc.
But that’s not all, there is a stamina meter that you have to manage constantly by feeding yourself, you will need to look for food and berries or hunt animals to cook them for meat. Just keep in mind that any food you bring with you will degrade over time.
