Xbox sales: TA Team Picks (July 8)

This week Microsoft is discounting another batch of games on the Xbox Store, so the TrueAchievements news team has had a look to find our top picks.

Each week, Microsoft applies discounts to games and DLC across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC on the Xbox Store, offering us a chance to find new games for a bargain. The TrueAchievements news team has had a rummage through the Xbox sales once again to find the games we personally think are worthy of your collection. Check out what we found below.

Bargains from the discount bin

Heidi — Wandersong

I just can’t say no to Wandersong. Its creator Greg Lobanov is a genius and I love Chicory: A Colorful Tale too, but I think Wandersong is still the best of the two for me. Both have beautiful, heart-felt stories (and both are absolutely gorgeous) but Wandersong just goes above and beyond with its mix of humor, emotion, music, and a vibrantly colorful world. It’s a simple premise — interact with the world with your singing and try to save it as you go. Not everybody is impressed with our character and his constant singing and relentless optimism, but his determination to treat everybody and everything with kindness and his pure-hearted efforts to save the world despite not being the typical sort of hero, take him on a wonderful adventure which really does stick with you. When I last went back to replay it, the game’s message and music were just as powerful as ever. You can speed through Wandersong’s achievements, but playing the game through naturally is such a lovely experience. Wandersong is often on sale and has been up for 75% off before, so it’s likely it’ll be on sale again in the future if you miss it this time around, but whenever and if ever you decide to pick it up, you’ve got a great adventure ahead of you.

Wandersong

A musical adventure where you use singing to save the world! Play as a silly bard who embarks on a globe-trotting journey to learn about the mysterious Earthsong, said to prevent the universe’s imminent end. It's up to you to sing your songs, unlock the world's secrets and make new friends!

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Sean — Donut County

If you didn’t play Donut County when it was in Xbox Game Pass its $3.89/£3.22/€3.89 sale price should make this an easy pick up. Donut County is like a reverse Katamari game. Instead of controlling a ball that rolls around a level picking up things as it goes and growing larger and larger, you control a hole in the ground that gets bigger each time you swallow something. Much like the Katamari games, it’s a pretty simple affair, and while your hole starts off small, it eventually grows to the point where you’ll be swallowing up cars and then entire buildings — I love the simplicity of Donut County, and it’s such an easy game to just chill out to and zone out. It also features a lovely and silly story that’s filled with humor and some naughty raccoons. Who doesn’t like a raccoon? If you do pick up Donut County, you’ll also find that its achievement list is dead easy and can be completed in under two hours.

Donut County

Donut County is a story-based physics puzzle game where you play as an ever-growing hole in the ground. Meet cute characters, steal their trash, and throw them in a hole.

The PC version of this game does not support Xbox Live

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Tom — Blacktail

Blacktail is excellent and swiftly became one of my favorite games of 2022, solidifying my love for Focus Entertainment-published games even further. Offering a first-person view, we step into the shoes of a young 16-year-old girl named Yaga, who in her search to find her missing sister, traverses a magical world filled with smack-talking mushrooms, a tyrannical ant queen, and living memories of her past. Via a morality system, you're able to slowly become a force for good or a messenger of darkness, unlocking magical abilities along the way, by choosing to aid or abuse the forest's creatures. The forest is filled with numerous threats as well, and with Yaga's trusty bow, you can shoot a multitude of different arrow types, as well as mix in a little bit of magical mayhem while you're at it. It's a ton of fun and features a fantastic story to boot. Honestly, it's almost an insult for me to recommend it at a discount, as it's worthy of purchase at full price, but seeing as it's rocking a 40% discount anyway, I might as well point you in the right direction!

BLACKTAIL

Forge the legend of Baba Yaga, a girl accused of witchcraft and expelled from her home. Live out the origins of the Slavic myth in this one-of-a-kind blend of intense archery combat and dark storytelling set in a vibrant fairy tale world.

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This week's sales have seen 63 quick completions receive a discount, but if you'd prefer to save your money altogether, why not check out some of the best games on Game Pass?

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Written by Tom West

Tom has been playing video games since he was old enough to hold a controller, experimenting with a number of systems until he eventually fell in love with Xbox. With a passion for the platform, he decided to make a career out of it, and now happily spends his days writing about that which he loves. If he’s not hunting for Xbox achievements, you’ll likely find him somewhere in The Elder Scrolls Online or fighting for survival in Battlefield.