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April begins tomorrow, and then on April 6, Sony has a new slate of free PS Plus games to download on PS4 and PS5. This is going to be another impressive month for the service, particularly if you only have a PS4, with both Days Gone and Zombie Army 4: Dead War available to download. Additionally, the PS5 version of Oddworld: Soulstorm will be available for free the same day it launches. Though it’s not the biggest month in terms of game quantity, it’s pretty rare that Sony offers up a free game at launch that isn’t multiplayer-focused, so you won’t want to miss snagging Oddworld.

Playable on both PS4 and PS5, Days Gone is an open-world not-zombie game set in the Pacific Northwest, and its standout feature is the sheer number of enemies it throws at you. The game allows for customization in both your gear and your play-style, and you’ll have to face off against both human and formerly human opponents. Oh, and there are zombie bears, if things weren’t tough enough.

Zombie Army 4: Dead War is also playable on both consoles and is the latest spin-off game from the makers of Sniper Elite. Playable between one and four players, it’s a unique spin on the “Nazi Zombies” style that we’ve seen from some other franchises, keeping the signature Sniper Elite long-range gunplay intact. It also has more occult elements than some other zombie games, adding to its spookiness.

Oddworld: Soulstorm is available for free on PS5, though the game is also coming to other platforms like PS4 where it won’t be free. The long-awaited action-platformer is the latest from a series known for its quirkiness and unique personality. It’s a follow-up to New ‘N’ Tasty, which released about seven years ago, so the series’ biggest fans have been waiting a very long time for this one. Soulstorm will not be available in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and South Korea.

Best PS Plus deal

You can snag a 12-month PS Plus code for $31 via eBay.

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April 2021 PS Plus Free Games

Available April 6 to May 3

• Oddworld: Soulstorm (PS5 only)
• Days Gone
• Zombie Army 4: Dead War

You can check out more PlayStation games to check out with our guides to the best PS4 games as well as the best games on PS5 right now.

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Xbox’s backwards compatibility program is growing again, as Microsoft has announced that select titles from the library will be playable on Xbox Cloud Gaming–the service formerly known as xCloud–starting today, March 31. Subscribers to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate program can now play 16 titles from across the original Xbox and Xbox 360 on an Android device.

In a blog post, Microsoft said adding games from previous generations to Xbox Cloud Gaming was one of the most requested features for the program to date. Games like Banjo-Kazooie, Fable II, Fallout: New Vegas, Perfect Dark, Oblivion, and Kameo are now playable via xCloud with a controller. Games like Viva Pinata and Jetpac Refuelled, meanwhile, have touch controls baked in so you don’t need a controller at all.

What’s more, all of the games will include any past saves you might have from over the years, while there is also multiplayer support through Xbox Live Xbox Network.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members have xCloud included in their subscriptions. Members also get all the benefits of Xbox Live Gold, which includes free games every month in addition to the catalog of hundreds of Game Pass titles playable on console and PC.

Xbox Game Pass Backwards Compatibility xCloud Games

• Banjo-Kazooie
• Banjo-Tooie
• Double Dragon Neon
• Fable II
• Fallout: New Vegas
• Gears of War 2
• Gears of War 3
• Gears of War: Judgment
• Jetpac Refuelled (touch controls enabled)
• Kameo
• Perfect Dark
• Perfect Dark Zero
• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• Viva Piñata (touch controls enabled)
• Viva Piñata: TIP (touch controls enabled)

For more games to play on Xbox One or Xbox Series X this month, check out our guides to the best Xbox One games of all time and the best Xbox Series X games available so far. Plus, Game Pass subscribers should check out the best games available with Xbox Game Pass right now. To play those games and take advantage of this month’s Games with Gold freebies, new subscribers can get their first month for $1.

The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.

While we do know that Stranger Things Season 4 is likely to be the darkest and scariest yet from the Netflix series, a new interview with actor Gaten Matarazzo by Collider is indicating that it may still be a while before anyone has any clue about its long-anticipated release date. Things had understandably gotten pretty quiet last year on the production front due to COVID-19, but co-creators the Duffer Brothers had explained how working remotely enabled the writing to get done first.

Matarazzo says the Duffer Brothers always intend to have a season completely written before it goes into production, and “This year, because of COVID, there’s no excuse for them not to have the [season] written completely.” Matarazzo added that the cast was able to go in for a table read in February 2020, and the expectation then was to go right into filming with only six episodes completed. As of this writing, that means they’ve gotten more than a year to polish, tighten, strengthen, and write their best version of Season 4.

As far as the release date everyone has impatiently been waiting for since Season 3 finished up in July of 2019, Matarazzo says, “There’s very few dates that are reliable… [due to the pandemic] we still don’t know day-to-day if we’re gonna be filming next week.” Matarazzo further explained that because of how staggered and unpredictable shoots have become, “there’s really no way to figure out when we’re gonna be wrapping.”

On the plus side, director Shawn Levy recently confirmed that “the quality of these screenplays are exceptional, maybe better than ever.” Matarazzo notes that the Duffer Brothers’s directing has also been thrilling: “They’ve been able to relish in directing in their day-to-day… it takes up their entire minds when they’re making this.” With the writing apparently now out of the way, when the cameras are rolling, Matarazzo says the Duffer Brothers “can focus on how they’re going to deliver. And I think it shows.”

In the meantime, you can check out some leaked photos from the set of Season 4.

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Another trailer for The Mitchells vs. the Machines has been released. The animated Netflix movie is produced by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse’s Phil Lord and Chris Miller and it releases on April 30.

The movie focuses on Katie, a teenage girl growing up in a somewhat eccentric family. But although the Mitchells might seem like dysfunctional outsiders most of the time, they are the only family brave enough to take on the technological uprising, as machines start to take over the world. Lord and Miller have already proved themselves masters of hilarious and surreal animated comedy with films like The Lego Movie and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and this is another must-watch. Check the trailer out below:

The Mitchells vs. the Machines is directed by Mike Rianda (Gravity Falls). The voice cast includes Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Fred Armisen, Beck Bennett, Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, Charlyne Yi, Conan O’Brien, Sasheer Zamata, Elle Mills, Jay Pharoah, Alex Hirsch, and Griffin McElroy.

The movie was originally set for a theatrical release in October last year, but was delayed due to the pandemic. In January, it was announced that Netflix had picked up the rights.

Lord and Miller are also set to produce the sequel to Into the Spider-verse, which is currently scheduled for release in October 2022. It will be directed by Joaquim Dos Santos.

Microsoft has rolled out a cheeky new Xbox advertisement that shows off what it might look like if the Xbox button were present “everywhere.” In the silly video, the Xbox button–complete with its famous start-up sound–replace things like elevator buttons, the walk button at crosswalks, and even the engine-starter on a newer car.

It’s a great piece of marketing, and it’s seemingly resonating with viewers The YouTube video has 10,000 likes. The description of the video simply says, “welcome to my life.”

The video was filmed in portrait, too, which is just really funny and self-aware because of how often big brands get roasted for filming in portrait mode.

Microsoft’s marketing for Xbox has, overall, become more tongue-in-cheek and responsive this generation. When the Xbox Series X design was revealed for the first time in December 2019, people quickly poked fun at it for looking like a refrigerator. Microsoft responded by agreeing that, yes, it does look like a fridge and went as far to create real Xbox fridges and send them to influencers like Snoop Dogg and The Rock, which in turn generated positive buzz for the brand. Microsoft is also seriously considering creating real Xbox mini-fridges that you can buy.

Then there is the Xbox Game Pass Twitter account, which is known for its humor and surprises.

Xbox is crushing it right now, with the Xbox Series X|S setting records for Microsoft and Game Pass climbing to 18 million subscribers. Microsoft also just recently closed its deal to buy ZeniMax, bringing Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Wolfenstein, and others into the Xbox family.

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Just after Lawn Mowing Simulator was announced, publisher Sold Out and developer Auroch Digital have revealed a beer brewing simulator game called Brewmaster.

Due for release in 2022 on console and PC, Brewmaster is a game about the art and craft of making homebrewed beer. “Discover, learn, and master the art of homebrewing in the ultimate celebration of craft beer,” reads a line from its description. “From perfecting authentic, chemistry-driven brewing techniques to bottling and labelling, become an ultimate brewmaster in the first ever realistic beer brewing experience.”

Players can follow recipes or go out on their own and experiment with ingredients to create the best brew. The game also lets you create the physical space where you brew your beer, complete with decoration options to furnish your at-home brewery. You can create any type of beer you want, including wheats, blondes, stouts, and IPAs, among others.

Once you’ve created a beer you like, you can design the label and even enter it into a competition. “As your work becomes respected, submit to local breweries for batch production, expand your network, and unlock bigger jobs and more challenging recipes,” the game’s description says.

“We’re building Brewmaster on the science behind the real-life process of homebrewing to deliver an authentic, satisfying experience to players,” Auroch Digital’s Peter Willington said. “From newcomers to professional brewers and homebrewing hobbyists, we’re excited to give players the tools to craft their virtual dream brew, and have fun with the creative side of brewing without the in-depth knowledge required in the real world.”

Katie Clark from publisher Sold Out remarked that hobby simulator games have “become a staple of gaming” over the past few years, and Brewmaster aims to enter the mix with something new and unique.

Brewmaster is slated for release in 2022 on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.