Xbox Games with Gold in July include horror and adventure titles

Xbox announced which games are coming to Xbox Live Gold subscribers in July. This coming month, we’re getting two very different offerings: A dark, grim horror game and a beautiful point-and-click title. As always, the first game is available starting on the first of the month, while the second game is available around the 16th.

Darkwood is a top-down survival horror game made by Acid Wizard Studio. The premise is that the player character explores the world and scavenges for materials during the day — the world is procedurally generated, so the items will be different each day. At night, they must barricade themselves inside something or surround themselves with traps to guard against the creatures that attack when the sun goes down. They’ll also have the chance to affect the story and characters they encounter with the decisions they make.

When the Past was Around is a point-and-click adventure game from developer Mojiken. The puzzle-filled game is hand-animated and tells the story of Eda and her doomed relationship with The Owl. In contrast to Darkwood, it’s a very calming and cozy game with beautiful music and interesting puzzles. As usual for mid-month releases, it’ll be available for Gold subscribers from the middle of July through the middle of August.

As always Xbox Live Gold is available by itself or bundled with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. According to recent report, Microsoft allegedly plans to up the price for a Game Pass subscription in July. This would mean the cost would go from $14.99 to $16.99.