January's free Xbox Games with Gold feature Celeste and Far Cry 2

Today, Microsoft announced January's free Games with Gold for Xbox One and Xbox 360 owners. Starting on January 1, 2019, Celeste and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light will be free with the subscription. Then, on January 16, WRC 6 and Far Cry 2 can be downloaded at no cost. You need an active Xbox Live membership to play the Xbox One games, but the original Xbox and Xbox 360 titles are yours to keep after you redeem them once. It doesn't matter if you're still an Xbox Live Gold subscriber.

Celeste

Celeste is a challenging platformer which tells an emotional story and focuses on the struggles of overcoming depression. It has received stellar review scores since it launched a few months ago, and is probably the highlight of the month despite its simple presentation.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is a top-down action game which also involves a lot of puzzle solving. You can even partner with a friend and embark on an adventure together across various dusky tombs.

WRC 6

WRC 6 is an entry in the staple racing franchise. It mostly focuses on off-road racing and has greatly improved over the past few years. While it doesn't rival the Forza series, it's still fun to play once in a while.

Far Cry 2

What can be said that hasn't been said already about Far Cry 2. Far Cry 2 is one of the best open-world games out there, and it should run even better on Xbox One and Xbox One X. Your goal is to essentially save the day while shooting at anything that moves.

Be sure to download all four of these games next month because many of them are great experiences. Out of all of these, we would recommend playing Celeste because it's an incredible title.

• See Xbox Live Gold at Amazon
• See Xbox Live Gold at Microsoft Store

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