Xbox Games With Gold Serves Up A Puzzle Classic In June

A day after Sony revealed the free PlayStation Plus games for June, Microsoft is following suit by announcing its upcoming Games with Gold lineup. As always, there will be four games up for grabs – two for Xbox One and two for Xbox 360 – and there's at least one very recognizable name in this group. Tell us: How do you feel about portals?

Yes, Portal is one of the free games on offer through Games with Gold in June. It's hard to imagine there's anyone left who hasn't played through Portal yet, but if that's you, then this is your chance to finally experience one of the most beloved puzzle games around. We'd make a reference to cake but such jokes are a little stale here in 2019.

Portal is actually one of the Xbox 360 games up for grabs, with the other being Earth Defense Force 2017. Portal will be available from June 1st to 15th, with Earth Defense Force 2017 going live from June 16th to 30th. As is usually the case, both Xbox 360 games in June are backward compatible with Xbox One, so if you're playing on that platform, you've got four games to look forward to next month.

First on deck for Xbox One is NHL 19. This one is pretty self-explanatory: if you like watching the NHL, you'll probably enjoy playing it too. NHL 19 is the latest entry in EA's long-running franchise, though it'll likely only be a few more months before EA releases NHL 20.

Finally, Xbox One players can look forward to free copies of Rivals of Aether, a 2D fighting game that takes at least some inspiration from the Super Smash Bros. series. For an indie title, Rivals of Aether has done pretty well for itself in professional tournaments, so it's worth a look if you're a fan of fighting games. NHL 19 will be available for the entire month of June, while Rivals of Aether will be available from June 16th to July 15th.