After last week’s smaller number of free indie games, this week is exploding with them! Today’s Friday’s Free Games features half a dozen casual games, and a lot of action titles! Many of these have already received over a dozen reviews on Steam as well!
As is per usual, games with an “*” seem particularly interesting to me, or have a strongly positive rating on Steam.
Here are the categories for this week:
Casual
Have you ever wanted to play a multiplayer game by yourself? Cooperate with Yourself is a puzzle platformer where you control multiple characters at the same time using different keys on your keyboard. It reminds me of the extremely popular Pico Park, but not as incredibly adorable.
#7-J5Z: The Driftwood Experiment
This is an underwater exploration game with collectathon elements and hand-drawn artwork. Some of the suggested tags include casual and relaxing.
Following up from other “Where’s Waldo” style seek and find titles, this one takes place in Tokyo. It reminds me of Hidden Cats: City, which I discussed in a prior Friday’s Free Games. Like the other, this one is also very positively rated on Steam with over 80 reviews thus far!
If you want a color by numbers game with some pretty nice pixel art, this is the one for this week. It is rated as very positive and has over 300 reviews thus far!
Deductopia Chapter 1: Bring Your Pet to School Day*
This is a pleasant looking puzzle game where you’re trying to determine who owns what in the scene. It looks like a kid’s deduction game and has an impressive 91% positive rating on Steam as of this writing!
This is a totally a cute sokoban puzzle game where you move a happy smiley face around the room to pick up hearts before going to the exit. I really like the trailer! If you want more details, check out this pre-release review on Steam, the writing for it is a lot of fun!
Action
As we’ll see below, there are a bunch of 3D action games in this week’s collection of Steam freebies. While I am not overly impressed by the sci-fi aesthetic, Blight’s Grasp seems to have enjoyable 3D action combat. It currently has 39 reviews with 93% of them being positive!
A super charming genre bending shooter with a playful art style and a nice looking town. It features a strong fishing theme.
This is another top-down survivor shooter game. Based on first impressions from the trailer, it has some quality music and art direction. It also has over 60 reviews with a very positive rating on steam!
With its mix of 2D sprites and 3D environments, and a bloody noir aesthetic, this game has a real intriguing look to it. It may be too fast paced for some, but with its great style I think it will find its audience in time.
Reel Run is a 3D character action game with a stylized western theme. It doesn’t have too many reviews, but people seem to be having a good time playing it!
In regard to art design, this is the most original looking 3D platformer game for the week. It takes place on an alien planet with an incredible 70’s psychedelic art style and an impressive musical score. Yes, the game does feature a minivan!
As far as art design goes, this is an excellent looking cyberpunk rhythm-based First Person Shooter. I don’t know if the gameplay holds up but I hope it finds its audience!
If you miss the simple pleasures of the arcade shooters of the 80’s, especially those like Asteroids, then Super Space Club may be for you! It has a stylish art design and cool atmospheric music as you face endless waves of enemies. It is available on the Epic Games Store.
In this student project game, you are a broken tank that does not have working treads to move around. Instead, you get around by blasting away with your cannon which causes you to fly around toward your enemies. I think the idea is super cool!
Strategy, RPG, and Adventure
Diplomacy is Not an Option: Shareware
Although the subtitle is kind of weird, this is a free prequel to the popular city builder strategy game.
If you want in-depth gameplay out of your free titles, this may be the best choice for the week! it is an expanded version of the classic roguelike, Nethack. It doesn’t look like much, but for fans of old-school 80’s computer games, they’ll probably eat this up!
An incredibly popular point and click adventure title that celebrates 10 years of Rusty Lake. It has over 700 reviews!!
While I am not too excited about this game’s artwork, I am curious about it. It is a point and click adventure game from the first-person perspective that focuses on escape room puzzles.
A 3D exploration game that considers the concept of death as you journey through an atmospheric graveyard. I’m not sure how much gameplay there is in this one, but it just might encourage you to ponder some important topics.
A Visual Novel
A visual novel featuring two different time periods that is set in the Midwestern United States. One is focused on romance, while the other involves unraveling a murder mystery. Note: The game does include blood, violence, and profanity, along with discussions of suicidal ideation and psychological distress. It is also available on itch.io.
Conclusion
After exploring the large number of games listed above, it’s hard for me to decide what I’m most interested in. Still, while I was putting this post together, what really stood out for me was the large number of new 3D action/adventure games available. These include Blight’s Grasp, MORTALITY DECOMP. KILLERS, Reel Run, RockStars!, and Sound of Survival.
What about yourselves? Will you be adding some of these to your library? Let us know in the comments below!
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