The best free games you may not have heard of

The prices of modern AAA games make you dream of better things, such as a better job and salary. $70, or about 2,800 hryvnias, is gradually becoming the standard even for games on Steam. Against this backdrop, free games look interesting, and there are actually a lot of them. Our selection is dedicated to them, but there is one very important nuance.

Usually, such lists include games that are already well known to everyone. They have been wandering between similar materials for years. So it is not surprising that you constantly see Dota 2, League of Legends, Counter-Strike 2, and other big names in texts on similar topics. This monotony gets boring, so we decided to try a different approach.

In this selection, you will find free games that are not mentioned so often. It is likely that you will hear about some of them for the first time. Still, it is worth downloading these games personally to make sure that even without additional costs, you can not limit yourself to interactive entertainment.

 

Cry of Fear

Platforms Windows
Genre survival horror
Year 2013

One of the best horror games in the gaming industry is actually a modification for the first Half-Life. But there is almost nothing left of the original. Instead, you get the story of a guy named Simon, who got into a real nightmare on his way home, which, moreover, can be directly related to his past.

The psychological component of the game is fine, even if it is somewhat provocative. It’s also just a good first-person survival horror.

Separately, check out the cooperative campaign that is present in the game. However, be prepared that it is not so easy to launch. The nuances of the GoldSrc engine make themselves felt.

 

Deltarune

Platforms Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Genre JRPG
Year 2018

At the time, Undertale was a revolution among indie games, the echoes of which are still heard today. The lead developer Toby Fox almost single-handedly created a fascinating story about eternal values that is not afraid to flirt with players in an unusual way and actively quotes the classic JRPG EarthBound, or Mother if you are more familiar with the Japanese version.

Deltarune is actually a spinoff of Undertale, but in the best traditions of Toby Fox, the game is not that simple. You can download the first two chapters for free, which is almost 10 hours of JRPG gameplay with outstanding music.

 

Doki Doki Literature Club!

Platforms Windows
Genre visual novel
Year 2017

A visual short story about a literary club where the protagonist communicates with four girls. What can go wrong? In fact, absolutely everything. If you haven’t heard anything about this game, you should play it as soon as possible, it’s a kind of phenomenon. If you have, don’t ruin the fun for others.

In addition to Doki Doki Literature Club! there is an expanded paid version Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!, with additional stories and Full HD support. This version is also available on Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo consoles.

It is said that the developers are already working on a new game, and Doki Doki Literature Club! was just a teaser for something much bigger. However, there is no exact information. Just in the spirit of local history.

 

Dwarf Fortress

Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux
Genre simulator
Year 2006

Dwarf Fortress is still considered a unique game. You have to manage a settlement of dwarves, which is attractive in itself. But the main feature is the extremely true simulation of life and the development of the world around you. Because of this, Dwarf Fortress is able to generate unique situations almost endlessly, and you can immerse yourself in it for hundreds of hours.

For a long time, the game existed with primitive ASCII graphics, but in 2022, a more visually appealing version was released, but for money. But the classic Dwarf Fortress is still available to everyone for free.

 

Fall Guys

Platforms Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Genre battle royale, platformer
Year 2020

Opening of summer 2020. When the whole world was suffering from the coronavirus pandemic, Fall Guys allowed to feel the taste of socialization even during the quarantine. The simple gameplay, based on a combination of battle royale, challenges, and platforming elements, along with the colorful design, attracted many tailors.

In 2022, the game crossed the 50 million mark. This was facilitated by the transition to free distribution. Today, anyone can download Fall Guys.

 

Helltaker

Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux
Genre puzzle, bullet hell, dating simulator
Year 2020

An unexpected but resounding success of the solo developer Lukasz Piskož. It seems to be a simple puzzle game with bullet hell elements at the end. But the gameplay is in the background because players from all over the world were attracted by the designs of local demonesses. Nothing overt, but very cute and stylish. The music by Mittsies is also very good, and it will definitely stick in your mind for a long time.

 

Sky: Children of the Light

Platforms Windows, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Genre adventure
Year 2019

Thatgamecompany is known primarily for its unusual and extremely heartfelt adventure games. Journey still evokes fond memories in the hearts of many players. In 2019, the developers decided to transfer their own game design principles to mobile platforms. This is how Sky: Children of the Light.

In the game, you can explore several kingdoms with a unique setting and style. A special cape will help you with this, with the help of which the character can fly. The level of the cape gradually increases, increasing the flight time. As is always the case with thatgamecompany, the emphasis is on atmosphere and pleasant emotions, and new content is regularly added to the game.

Sky: Children of the Light also stands out for its social mechanics. While exploring locations, you can meet other players and make friends with them.

 

Silent Hill: The Short Message

Platforms PlayStation 5
Genre horror
Year 2024

It seems that someone at Konami misses the days when Silent Hill was an active brand. That’s why the company announced several games in the franchise in the fall of 2022. So far, we have only received the streaming Silent Hill: Ascension and the free Silent Hill: The Short Message for PlayStation 5.

The protagonist of the latter, Anita, finds herself in an abandoned residential complex. Her friend Maya has invited her here, but everything quickly turns into a digging for the sins of the past. The Short Message tries to combine the canons of the Silent Hill series with the problems of modern youth. That is why the script actively discusses social media, cyberbullying, and so on.

The local tone may seem strange to some, but it is still a high-quality horror, which was created by Akira Yamaoka, a composer known to Silent Hill fans, and Masahiro Ito, an artist. Considering that the game is free, this is a generous gift.

 

Shutter

Platforms Windows
Genre puzzle
Year 2023

A high-quality puzzle game created by students as a graduation project. Everything looks so good that Shutter can be confused with a video game from a long-established studio.

The gameplay of Shutter is related to the perspective of perceiving objects and manipulating the environment. The game also attracts with its retro-futuristic aesthetics. It even has an interesting story and lore, which is not so common in projects of this level.

 

Starcraft II: Wings Of Liberty

Platforms Windows
Genre RTS
Year 2010

You’ve probably heard of this game before, because Starcraft by Blizzard doesn’t need any introductions. Even though the franchise and real-time strategy games have lost some of their relevance, Starcraft still holds an important place in the hearts of fans.

However, even some of them do not know that since 2017, Starcraft II: Wings Of Liberty switched to a free-to-play distribution model in 2017. You will be able to complete the campaign, play multiplayer and cooperative mode, but the latter will have some limitations in the leveling of commanders. But that won’t stop you from enjoying one of the best RTS games in history.

And then you will want to buy Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void. That’s what Blizzard is counting on.

 

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog

Platforms Windows
Genre visual novel
Year 2023

SEGA doesn’t waste any time when it comes to April Fools’ jokes. Once it showed how the Yakuza series could look like with turn-based battles like Persona. Everyone laughed, but we ended up with Yakuza: Like a Dragon with exactly this kind of combat system.

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is also an April Fool’s joke that turned out to be a full-fledged free game. This is a detective visual novel in which you have to investigate the murder of Sonic himself. Moreover, everything is done in the best traditions of Agatha Christie stories. The main thing is to endure the local mini-game, which is repeated too often.

 

Tukoni

Platforms Windows
Genre quest
Year 2020

This small game from Ukrainian developers is based on a series of books by Ukrainian artist Oksana Bula. They stand out for their warm, almost homely atmosphere. The game has adopted it perfectly, diluting it with point-and-click gameplay.

Unfortunately, the current version of Tukoni on Steam is only a small prologue, about an hour long. But it’s still worth every minute of your time. Because the full version of the game still doesn’t exist yet, although the developers seem to have not abandoned the idea of eventually creating it.

 

Ultimate Custom Night

Platforms Windows
Genre horror
Year 2018

The Five Nights at Freddy’s series changed the indie horror genre forever. Some may say that everything in it is based on meaningless screencasts, but in fact, the local history has been generating theories and keeping loyal fans awake for years. The gameplay in Five Nights at Freddy’s has always been as simple and secondary to other elements of the game as possible.

However, Ultimate Custom Night focuses on the gameplay. Here you can freely choose any animatronics from the franchise as your enemies and experiment with their behavior. You won’t find any important new plot details, but the game demonstrates what can be squeezed out of the Five Nights at Freddy’s game mechanics.

 

Unsorted Horror

Platforms Windows
Genre horror
Year 2023

And one more horror in this selection, of which there are quite a few in this list. It’s just that indie horror in general is often distributed for free with the hope that famous YouTubers and streamers will notice them, and this will help the organic promotion and popularization of new projects.

Unsorted Horror is one of these games. It is a small anthology of five stories that focus on industrial machines and technologies. Each game lasts no more than 15 minutes, but the anthology is attractive because of the variety of approaches to human fears.

The game’s developer, by the way, has recently become quite famous for the horror game Buckshot Roulette.

 

We Were Here

Platforms Windows
Genre cooperative puzzle
Year 2017

What started as a small student project eventually turned into a series of games considered one of the best in the asymmetrical cooperative puzzle genre. Its first installment is available for free on Steam and can be recommended to literally anyone with at least one friend.

In We Were Here, one person has to solve puzzles in an ancient palace, while the other has to give instructions and hints from a separate area. For a better atmosphere, we recommend playing without Discord and other means of communication, and communicating only through in-game walkie-talkies.

The game tests your communication skills and ability to explain various concepts. This experience will be useful even in everyday life. And if you like it, you will be able to play four more paid parts of the series.

 

It is clear that there are many more free games for all tastes. So tell us if you play any of them personally. Even if they are well-known options like Counter-Strike 2, Destiny 2, or League of Legends. If our readers like this material, we will try to make such collections of free games regular.