Xbox Last Chance Sale: TA Team Picks

The Xbox Last Chance sale is now live and will run through January 16th, offering up a selection of discounted titles from the Countdown 2021 sale. The TA news team has rummaged through it like two-legged truffle pigs to find you the games we think are worthy of your attention — and there is quite a diverse range of games being highlighted this week. Whether you’re looking for a relaxed game to share with your friends and family, a theatre of war, or a fairy tale adventure, there should (hopefully) be something for everyone.

Tails of Iron may revolve around small creatures like rats and frogs, but that doesn’t lessen the epic scale of its tale. Nor does Tails of Iron’s storybook art style mean it’s in any way easy — Tails of Iron is tough, grim, and gruelling. You play as Redgi, the heir to the Rat Throne, who seeks to reclaim his kingdom from the invading Frog Clan, led by Greenwart. Tails of Iron’s demanding combat is a big part of the gameplay, but you’ll also be exploring, collecting gold, searching for new meal recipes, and collecting blueprints for a new piece of armour or a new weapon. Tails of Iron is depicted with a beautiful medieval art style, and, just to make it even better, is narrated by Doug Cockle, the voice of The Witcher’s Geralt. Plus, Tails of Iron was followed by the free expansion Bloody Whiskers, which adds another three achievements and a new questline, along with extra bosses, armour sets, locations, and more. It’s a gripping game, and sits in the sales this week with a tantalising discount of 25%.

This might be the easiest write up I’ve ever written. Do you like crazy golf? Do you have friends? Great! You should probably grab Golf With Your Friends for like, no money at all. Good day to you, fine TA folk.

I enjoyed Risk of Rain — a simple yet stylish 2D sci-fi action-roguelite — on PC years ago, and as a result, I’ve been interested in checking out the sequel since it was first announced. Having not followed it at all, though, I was pretty surprised to learn when picking up this discounted double-pack that Risk of Rain 2 takes the exact same formula but makes the jump to full 3D. Both games are pretty basic visually but get by on their stylised design and crazy depth, offering healthy pools of helpful items you might find on your travels (which are expanded for every achievement you earn), a bunch of different playable characters to unlock and try out, each with their own skills and strengths, and frantic, fast-paced gameplay. Similar games often encourage going as quick as you can, but the Risk of Rain games effectively demand it, with on-screen doom gauges showing you the dynamic difficulty level scaling up based on the passage of time — exploring to gear up is necessary, of course, but waste too much time and you’ll often find that you’re reaching bosses at challenge levels that are way beyond the capabilities of the perks and power-ups that you’ve looted.

While both are great games in their own right, there’s another neat thing about this bundle that makes it a rarity in modern gaming. Younger gamers likely haven’t had the opportunity to see a single series make the jump from 2D to 3D, as that blew up in the late Nineties. Even though this indie pair may not be quite as famous as the likes of Mario and Sonic who were at the forefront of that earlier dimensional revolution, this is just as fascinating an evolution to witness first-hand, and it’s amazing just how similarly these two games play considering the complete change in perspective — it’s not every day that you get to play effectively the same game in both 2D and 3D, so there’s a novelty value to this bundle that only further sweetens the deal. If you’ve already got one or the other and don’t need the bundle, though, both games are also on sale individually with that same 75% discount, so you can still complete your collection on the cheap, as neither bundle nor individual games have been cheaper than this before.

Hell Let Loose might still be a bit too expensive for some (a 25% discount isn’t the best deal in the world), but for its $29.99/£26.24/€29.99 price tag, you are getting a whole lot of decent game here. Hell Let Loose is a tough-as-nails first-person shooter set during WWII, where two teams of 50 battle it out to capture points and be the victors. There is a heavy emphasis on realism – maps of real locations have been modelled using satellite imagery from the time period, weapons and vehicles are accurately represented, and the hardcore gameplay makes it so you need to communicate with your squad and employ some sort of tactical thinking to a situation. A single bullet can drop you in Hell Let Loose, and it really makes you consider how to play the first-person shooter. Making progress across the map and capturing points with your team of 49 other players takes time – nobody can just rush into an area or attempt crossing an open field, or they’ll be mown down in an instant. Perhaps it would be a good idea to ask your commander to call in smoke from the chaps at the back manning the artillery guns so everyone can advance? Maybe you can attempt a flanking manoeuvre by getting your squad to crawl along a ditch filled with water and hope that you don’t get spotted? Hell Let Loose asks you, as a team, to be constantly reacting to what’s going on around you, which makes for some terribly exciting moments. There are, of course, drawbacks, though. More often than not, you’ll get players who don’t want to communicate, which can be frustrating. There’s also a bit of a learning curve in terms of the different roles and what they need to do to support the whole team but luckily, most players should be friendly enough to show you the ropes if you’re new.

If you’re after an intense, hardcore first-person shooter that you can easily lose hours to, you should definitely pick up Hell Let Loose. The achievement list is tough and requires a fair amount of grinding, but if you do manage to complete this one, you’ll add a decent amount of TA score to your overall total.

With just over four weeks to go until Dying Light 2: Stay Human releases, now is the perfect time to jump in and experience the first game, if you haven’t already. Dying Light is one of my favourite zombie games to date, and depending on how much time you have free, you might just be able to get through all of its content before the sequel drops. The game takes place in Harran, a city overrun with the living dead, plagued with criminal activity, and facing total annihilation from government authorities looking to neutralise the virus’ spread. We take on the role of Global Relief Effort (GRE) agent Kyle Crane, who’s been sent into Harran to locate a rogue political figure who is said to be in possession of data that could create a cure. As you can imagine, nothing goes to plan and you end up fighting for your life as you navigate the dangerous world. You can craft your own weaponry from scavenged items, hang out with a friend in co-op, race around in buggies, run across the city’s rooftops using parkour, and more, which leads to a really enjoyable survival horror experience. It’s most definitely worth your time, I promise.

Dying Light: Platinum Edition comes with all of the game’s DLC, which includes countless cosmetic packs, as well as The Following and The Bozak Horde expansions. There is a fair amount of content, and its current 70% reduction makes it a great pick-up, offering all of the zombie-slaying action you could ask for while you wait for Dying Light 2 to launch.

Will you be looking to snag any of these deals before the sale ends, or is there another game calling out to you? Let us know in the comments!