Microsoft has revealed its list of upcoming Games With Gold titles for December. The lineup includes The Escapists 2, Tropico 5: Penultimate Edition, Orcs Must Die! and Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet.
The Escapists 2 is developed by Mouldy Toof Studios and published by Team17 and builds upon its predecessor as you once again enter the life of an inmate motivated to escape from behind bars. Unlike the original Escapists, the sequel allows you to team up with a number of friends in multiplayer as you attempt to plot and break out of some of the toughest prisons in the world.
In contrast, Tropico 5 offers a very different gameplay experience in a construction and management simulator beginning in the early colonial period and spanning four different eras to move beyond the 21st century. The Penultimate Edition available through Games With Gold also comes with the Tropico 5's Hostile Takeover and The Big Cheese add-ons included.
Orcs Must Die! and Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet were originally launched on the Xbox 360 and are available this month through Backward Compatibility. Orcs Must Die! puts the player in the shoes of a powerful mage in a bid to defend twenty-four fortresses from a mob of beastly enemies through tower defense gameplay.
In Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, players are tasked with exploring a bizarre world from the comfort of their flying saucer where gameplay revolves around battling outlandish creatures and solving puzzles. IGN reviewed Insanely Twister Shadow Planet upon release awarding it an 8/10 and stating that the game "leaves you wanting more."
The Escapists 2 will be available throughout the entire month of December while Tropico 5 will be free between December 16 and January 15. Meanwhile, Orcs Must Die! and Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet will share the Christmas period. The former is set to be available between December 1 and December 15, with Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet available from December 16 to the end of the month.
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.