A blockbuster month: the additional titles may be a little weak, but Xbox Live subscribers get last year’s blockbuster hit Battlefield 1, while PlayStation Plus members get Yakuza Kiwami and the remastered edition of Bulletstorm.

Xbox Live Games With Gold

Still available from last month:

Victor Vran (Xbox One), until 15 November

Available 1 November:

Battlefield 1 (Xbox One), MA15, until 30 November: “Experience the dawn of all-out war only in Battlefield™ 1. Fight your way through epic battles ranging from tight urban combat in a besieged French city to the heavily defended mountain forts in the Italian Alps or frantic combats in the deserts of Arabia. Discover a world at war through an adventure-filled campaign, or join in epic multiplayer battles with up to 64 players, and adapt your tactics to the earth-shattering destruction and dynamic weather. Fight as infantry, lead horse charges or take control of amazing vehicles on land, air and sea, from tanks and biplanes to the gigantic Behemoths – some of the largest vehicles in Battlefield history.” A monster hit on all platforms last year, the Games With Gold release ties in with the upcoming Battlefield V release on 20 November.

Assassin’s Creed (Xbox 360, Xbox One), MA15, until 15 November: “In Assassin’s Creed®, you are Altair, a lethal master assassin with one single purpose: to kill the Saracens and Crusader leaders who profit from and encourage the war in the Holy Land.” Yes, it’s the very first Ass Creed title, so a lot of the series’ later refinements won’t be here. This is the Xbox 360 version but will work on Xbox One consoles; if you own the disc version it will now also work on your Xbox One (downloaded update may be required).

Available 16 November:

Race The Sun (Xbox One), until 15 December: “You are a solar-powered craft. The sun is your death timer. Hurtle towards the sunset at breakneck speed in a futile race against time. Delay the inevitable by catching speed boosts which reverse the setting sun – if only for a moment. Race The Sun is inspired by arcade games of the past with a focus on high scores, short game sessions, and pure fun mingled with nerve-wracking tension. The rules are simple: don’t crash, stay in the light, and don’t slow down!” A fairly simple racing game with a stark aesthetic, Race The Sun was featured as a PlayStation Plus title all the way back in June 2015.

Dante’s Inferno (Xbox 360, Xbox One), until 30 November: “You are Dante, a veteran of the Crusades who must chase his beloved Beatrice and try to free her soul from Lucifer’s grasp. As your pursuit takes you deeper into the pits of Hell, you must battle ever more fierce and hideous monsters—while also facing your own sins, a dark family past, and your unforgivable war crimes.” This is the Xbox 360 version but will work on Xbox One consoles; if you own the disc version it will now also work on your Xbox One (downloaded update may be required).

PlayStation Plus Titles

Available from approximately 6 November, until approximately 4 December

Yakuza Kiwami (PlayStation 4), MA15: “10 years ago, Kazuma Kiryu took the fall for a crime he didn’t commit to save his best friend. Expelled from his yakuza family, Kiryu is released from prison to a city he no longer recognizes. Chaos erupts when 10 billion yen vanishes from the Tojo Clan vault, and with Kiryu caught in the middle, he finds everything points to a young, mysterious girl named Haruka. Together, they must survive to find the answers they both seek.” At the time of writing, Kiwami 2 is also being offered at a 30% discount to Plus members.

Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition (PlayStation 4), R18: “Step into the boots of Grayson Hunt after a crash landing on an abandoned resort planet forces him to make a hard choice: survival or revenge. An exiled member of the elite assassin group Dead Echo, Grayson’s blind desire for vengeance finds his crew stranded on Stygia where he can finally confront the commander behind his betrayal—or get his team off the planet alive.” An odd choice for a remaster, but not a bad game; its main gimmick is environmental features like spikes and fire that you can use to get kills, and a score attack mode linked to getting kills in creative ways.

Burly Men At Sea (PlayStation Vita): “With gameplay halfway between a visual novel and a point-and-click adventure, the branching story carries its ungainly heroes into waters where lurk creatures from Scandinavian folklore and other misadventures. You play as storyteller and wayfinder, shaping a custom tale that begins again where it ends.” Has a very simple, almost children’s-book visual style.

Roundabout (PlayStation Vita): “Drive a constantly spinning limousine around town! Roundabout is a ’70s B-Movie game where you pick up passengers, find secret collectibles, take on dangerous missions, and fall in love in a far out open world puzzle adventure – all while driving a revolving limo!” Reminds me a lot of Game Boy Advance launch title Kuru Kuru Kururin, oddly enough.

Jackbox Party Pack 2 (PlayStation 3): Includes Fibbage 2, Earwax, Bidiots, Quiplash XL and Bomb Corp. I’m quite partial to art-auction spoof Bidiots, but I think trivia and bluffing game Fibbage is the best of the bunch. Hopefully this gets crossplay enabled for PS+ purchases.

Arkedo Series (PlayStation 3): A pack containing two retro-style platformers (Jump! and Pixel!) and a match-4 puzzle game (Swap!) Unlikely to set the world on fire but hey, it’s free.

According to Push Square on YouTube, Burly Men At Sea and Roundabout will be cross-play titles that will also be downloadable on PlayStation 4.

Nintendo Switch Online Titles

Dates to be confirmed (the last batch went up on 10 October)

Metroid (NES): the original platform/exploration game from 1987 or so.

TwinBee (NES): a Xevious-style vertical shmup; popular enough to inspire a sequel (the SNES release Pop’N Twinbee) and have the characters become staples in Konami’s later Parodius series.

Mighty Bomb Jack (NES): Sadly not a direct conversion of Tecmo’s arcade machine (which I loved), it’s a scrolling Mario-style platformer with the occasional room inspired by the coin-op.

Derek’s Twitch Schedule (click here for updates)

Battlefield 1: Tues 6/11, Wed 7/11 and Tues 20/11 at 21:30 AEDT (11:30 GMT)

Bulletstorm: Tues 13/11, Wed 14/11 at 21:30 AEDT (11:30 GMT)

Race The Sun: Wed 21/11 at 2130 AEDT (11:30 GMT)

Yakuza: Kiwami: Tues 27/11, Wed 28/11 at 21:30 AEDT (11:30 GMT)