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What’s new in July 2021 for Xbox Live Gold members?

By Christina Roberts

CHINA - 2021/04/30: In this photo illustration, a generic controller for Microsoft Xbox 360 game system displayed on a keyboard with the XBOX logo seen in the background. (Photo Illustration by Thibaud Mougin/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
CHINA - 2021/04/30: In this photo illustration, a generic controller for Microsoft Xbox 360 game system displayed on a keyboard with the XBOX logo seen in the background. (Photo Illustration by Thibaud Mougin/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) /
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It’s a brand new month, and that means Xbox has brand new offerings for its Live Gold members. And truly, if you are a fan of old school, retro arcade games, you have some good options this month. Everything else seems like very standard games.

Below are the offerings for July and the dates they’re available to play:

  • Planet Alpha, July 1 to 31
  • Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break, July 16 to August 15
  • Conker: Live & Reloaded, July 1 to 15
  • Midway Arcade Origins, July 16 to 31

Xbox Live Gold July 2021 highlights

First up for July, we have Planet Alpha, a fast-paced puzzle platformer. It takes place on a living alien world and you control the day and night cycle. There’s no combat; if you encounter an enemy, you either use stealth to sneak around or figure out a puzzle.

The aesthetic of the game is pleasing, too. The colors and textures are fitting for the alien planet and the musical score fits perfectly alongside it all. The whole thing will remind you of The Witness despite the two games being so completely different.

Next is Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break, a competitive tower defense and arcade action game. This third iteration in the series does offer a few new game modes and level creation tools to keep it fresher than the preceding games. But what this game really has going for it is its absurd humor. If you like Monty Python, any Monty Python, you’ll enjoy the heck out of this game.

Third this month is Conker: Live and Reloaded from Rare. The single-player mode of this game is a remake of Conker’s Bad Fur Day for the N64 while the multiplayer mode uses the Xbox network (although this version only allows you to use local multiplayer). If you didn’t play the original on the N64 or this remake when it initially came out in 2005, I don’t know that this will be one you try to play this month, but it’s always fun to look back on something that’s almost two decades old.

Last for this month is Midway Arcade Origins. It’s 31 games that you’d find in an old school arcade from back in the day, including Rampage, Sinistar, Gauntlet, and Cyberball to name just a few. The controls on the Xbox controller aren’t always the greatest. Still, the nostalgia hit is worth it for this offering.

light. Related Story. E3 2021: The 5 biggest announcements from Nintendo

Of course, Shadows: Awakening from the June offerings is available to play until July 15th.

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