‘Tales from the Borderlands’ headlines Xbox’s November Games with Gold lineup

By Steven Petite Published October 26, 2017

Games with Gold — Image used with permission by copyright holder

With the holiday video game season entering full swing, Xbox One will be kept plenty busy by AAA titles such as Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Assassin’s Creed Origins, and Call of Duty: WWII, to name a few. Given the abundance of quality experiences entering the playing field, it’s not too surprising that the Xbox Games with Gold lineup for November is a tad underwhelming. Nevertheless, the offerings include a fun arcade racer and one of Telltale’s finer episodic games.

For all of November, Trackmania Turbo will be available for free for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. The arcade racer is a fast-paced, solid experience for those who want a racing game that has a pick-up-and-play mentality. Each event typically takes less than a minute, making it a nice diversion from games that demand extended time in order to make meaningful progress.

Recommended Videos

In the back half of November, Xbox One users will be able to pick up Tales from the Borderlands, the episodic Telltale adaptation of Gearbox’s quirky first-person shooter franchise. Tales from the Borderlands retained the series’ unique brand of humor throughout its five episodes and told an engaging story complete with some exciting action scenes. Telltale games aren’t for everyone, but if you have even the slightest interest in Borderlands, you should make sure to check this one out. It’s available for free from November 16 to December 15.

Meanwhile on Xbox 360, the high-definition remaster of the 1996 Sega Saturn platformer Nights into Dreams can be snagged from November 1 to November 15. Originally developed by the Sonic Team, Nights into Dreams was one of the standout titles on Sega Saturn, so the HD remaster is well worth playing if you missed out on it the first time around.

From November 16 to November 30, 360 users can pick up Deadfall Adventures, an Uncharted-esque adventure game set in 1938. James Lee Quatermain and Jennifer Goodwin set out on a quest to an Egyptian temple to uncover an ancient artifact. If we’re being frank, though, Deadfall Adventures is not a very good substitute for Uncharted. As per usual, the Xbox 360 offerings include a dud.

Keep in mind that you can still pick up the atmospheric story-focused game The Turing Test from October’s lineup on Xbox One through November 15.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…

Gaming

Xbox Game Pass is getting tons of new games following Black Ops 6 success

A cockpit view in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.

We know a lot of you are playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on Xbox right now, but the company just announced some games coming to Xbox Game Pass -- specifically the Game Pass Standard tier -- in the first half of November.

The biggest game coming to the service (and we mean that literally) is Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. Xbox and developers Asobo Studio previously reported that it will have a smaller install size than its predecessor -- 127GB versus 157GB -- but it'll also require 64GB of RAM. All of this is to help stream immense detail to the player as they fly around the world. Asobo says helped it to increase "the detail of its virtual environment by a factor of 4,000." Alongside the hyperrealistic graphics is a new career mode where you go through training and missions to become a pilot and a challenge mode where you compete against other pilots. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is coming to Game Pass at launch on November 19.

Gaming

3 new Xbox Game Pass games to play this weekend (November 1-3)

xbox game pass recommendations november 1 throne and liberty

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was a monumental addition to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate last week, so no week of additions to the service will live up to that for a while. Still, that didn't stop some more games from trickling onto Microsoft's subscription service in the wake of the latest Call of Duty. In fact, the games that came to the service were quite good. If you're wondering what you should be checking out next as a Game Pass subscriber after you're done with Black Ops 6, consider trying one of these games.
Ashen
ASHEN | Gamescom 2018 Gameplay

In July, A44 released Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, and it was part of Xbox Game Pass from day one. Now, the studio has brought its previous Soulslike to the subscription service. Originally released in 2018, Ashen stood out from the crowd at the time thanks to its distinct, grayish cel-shaded look and open-world design years before Elden Ring came out. Ashen still stands as one of the best indie Soulslikes ever released, so those who have never played it before should give it a shot now that it's on Xbox Game Pass. It'll also make for an enjoyable Game Pass Soulslike double-feature with Flintlock.

Gaming

3 new Xbox Game Pass games to play this weekend (October 25-27)

A player holds a dead player as a body shield in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

It's Call of Duty week on Xbox Game Pass. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launched today, and from day one, it's a part of Game Pass Ultimate's game catalog. It's one of the big payoffs of Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Depending on how it performs, it may be one of the most important games to ever come to the subscription service. On top of that, other Call of Duty games finally got Xbox Cloud Gaming support, which required collaboration with Ubisoft because of certain concessions made during the Activision Blizzard acquisition process. If you're an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriber wondering what you should play this weekend, the obvious answer is Call of Duty.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 - Global Launch Gameplay Trailer

After four years, the Call of Duty: Black Ops series has made its grand return. It brings the series' story to the 1990s with a spy-movie-like campaign that sees players investigate a secret, nefarious organization that has infiltrated the American government. While the campaign alone is reason enough to check out the new Call of Duty on Xbox Game Pass, Black Ops 6 also features meaty multiplayer and Zombies modes. Multiplayer is as exhilarating as ever, with an emphasis being placed on an "omnimovement" system that allows players to dive, roll, and dodge enemies with a lot more freedom than they could before. Meanwhile, Zombies mode finds a solid balance between old and new mechanics. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is available via PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Cloud Gaming with a Game Pass Ultimate subscription. It's also on PS4 and PS5.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III technically came to the subscription service in July but was restricted to PC and console play. Now, alongside Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Modern Warfare III is playable via Xbox Cloud Gaming for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. This was a lesser entry in the series with a disappointing campaign, but if you're looking for another premium Call of Duty game to try after playing lots of Black Ops 6, Modern Warfare III is the only other one on the service. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers across PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Cloud Gaming. It's also on PS4 and PS5.
Call of Duty: Warzone
Finally, Call of Duty: Warzone also comes to Xbox Cloud Gaming today. This free-to-play battle royale title doesn't require any sort of subscription to play normally, but Game Pass subscribers now have the benefit of not needing to be tethered down by specific hardware. So far, there aren't any other additional in-game perks for Game Pass subscribers, but hopefully Warzone will follow Overwatch 2's lead and add some soon enough. If you aren't using Xbox Cloud Gaming, Call of Duty: Warzone is playable on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.