With July fast approaching, Microsoft today revealed what games will be made available to Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate users as membership bonuses in the coming month. The Games with Gold program typically offers two games to membership holders as an additional benefit every month.
Coming up first is Darkwood, a survival horror game with a unique top-down perspective. The developer touts zero jump scares for this experience, relying on the eerie atmosphere and tense situations for delivering the horror aspects. Next will arrive a copy of When the Past was Around, a point-and-click adventure game that offers puzzles to solve in a surreal, hand-painted world without a single word of dialogue.
Both games are from the Xbox One generation, but thanks to the Xbox Series X|S consoles" backward compatibility support, they are also playable on modern hardware. This time, When the Past was Around will also be available for Windows users due to it being an Xbox Play Anywhere title.
The two titles from the July 2023 Games with Gold lineup and their availability dates are these:
Darkwood - Available July 1 to 31
Craft weapons, prepare traps, fortify hideouts - you will explore and scavenge the eerie forests of the Soviet Bloc by day, then hunker down in your hideout at night. With nightmarish forces corrupting the woods, wait and pray for the sun to come up the next morning.
When the Past was Around - Available July 16 to August 15
The game tells a bittersweet tale between a girl and her lover in a surreal world consisting of disjointed rooms from memories and time. With each gathered clue, solved puzzles, and unlocked door, the girl will find her way, unraveling the secrets between her and her lover, the secrets which she used to know.
There is still some time left to grab the June Games with Gold offerings too. Adios is set to leave the program tomorrow, June 30, to be replaced by Darkwood. Meanwhile, The Vale will remain available until July 15 before When the Past was Around takes its place.