The Epic Games Store often courts controversy with its business practices. However, this is not the case with its incredibly successful weekly free games policy. Every week, a new game becomes free to download on the store, running from Thursday to Thursday.
Science fiction is a hugely popular genre in gaming, and the Epic Games Store recognized that this week with its free indie offerings. As such, the company has Surviving Mars available this week, with The Fall following next week. Both of these titles are incredible pieces of sci-fi, and both take the genre in very different directions. With homages to great authors and some incredible atmosphere, these free games are brilliant value. Interestingly enough, several of the Epic Games Store’s free-to-play titles on its “Discover: Free Games” page are also focused on interesting interpretations of science fiction.
“Hard Science Fiction” is an interesting subgenre within sci-fi. It focuses on the gritty details of theoretical science, hard choices made for survival, and the power of human cooperation. This is the prevailing theme of the brilliant Surviving Mars. Unsurprisingly, the game is a city builder/survival simulator, so in this instance, survival is about more than just gathering food and making campfires. The city that the player is building in this instance is a sprawling colony across the surface of Earth’s scarlet astral neighbor. Commissioned by a space merchant company to build them a brilliant Mars colony, the player begins the creation of a Mars base.
If players want their colonists to live through the red planet, the ability to make hard decisions around research, resource management, and understanding individual colonist needs is essential. Although many fans wondered about a Surviving Mars multiplayer mode, it does not exist. What players instead get is a solitary experience of survival. Arguably one of the deepest sci-fi survival games out there, this title has many intricate mechanics. One of these is having to meet the needs of specific characters so that the colony can carry on. For example, it is possible for a scientist to develop a cure for a horrid disease one week but fall to alcoholism the next if they are not supported.
Scattered throughout the game are nods to the great authors that inspired it. References to the work and styles of Isaac Asimov, Liu Cixin and Arthur C. Clarke abound in the game’s hidden stories. Secret plotlines about the red planet’s mysteries appear throughout the game, emerging alongside the unique procedurally generated research trees that Surviving Mars also employs. It was announced with last week’s free Epic Games Store games, and remains free until March 18th.
After its release in 2014, The Fall won big in The Game Awards for its incredible story. While Surviving Mars might channel the spirit of hard science fiction’s giants, The Fall focuses on the claustrophobic atmosphere of classics like Alien. In The Fall, players take on the role of a semi-sentient space-suit AI ‘ARID’, whose only task is trying to save its unconscious wearer. Throughout ARID’s journey, The Fall deals with ideas of rules, moral relations, and what it really means to be human.
The Fall’s events take place on a brilliantly realized alien planet. The planet itself is written with an eye towards detailed environmental storytelling. Storytelling of this quality is rare, on par with some of the best sci-fi books. Not only is the writing top tier, but the graphics and music are also incredibly impressive. The painterly quality to the game’s art style, combined with strategic use of lighting effects, make for a particularly tense experience. The game’s puzzles are not just difficult, but engaging due to a deep connection to the abundant environmental storytelling. According to the game, “waking up is painful”. That is true for ARID, whose path takes them away from everything they know, including the protocols that define them.
The use of darkness and silhouette is particularly impactful in this title. This is used to great effect with The Fall‘s torch tool, which is one of the main ways players navigate the dark landscape. So, fans of atmospheric sci-fi with excellent lighting should not overlook this game. Over The Moon’s action puzzler was announced in this week’s Epic Games Store free titles when Surviving Mars became free. Epic Games Store customers can pick up The Fall on the 18th of March.
There are many free-to-play games on The Epic Games Store, and currently, one on the store’s featured free-to-play titles is the unique battle royale The Cycle. This game sets itself apart from others like it by not making the focus only “battle.” One of the ways in which victory can be found in The Cycle is in the completion of various player versus enemy “contracts.” The player takes command of a “Prospector” on the far edges of space, hustling to earn as much money as possible before the dreaded cycle draws in.
Like its peers of PUBG and Fortnite, this battle royale functions around the closing storm-eye mechanic. As this storm closes in, a delicate balance of thwarting foes and focusing on their own missions is necessary if players hope to claim victory. Thanks to this balancing act, the game creates an interesting set of priorities for its players. Further to even that, this mechanic makes the game more accessible for a large number of players. Being able to kill as many of your opponents as possible is not the main concern of The Cycle. This means less intense gamers still have a chance of succeeding in the game, unlike other Battle Royales. The skill ceiling is slightly lower, and it is always good to see more approachable entries into this type of competitive game.
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