Free titles on the Epic Games Store are certainly popular. Despite many other controversial business practices, giving free products to gamers always seems to go down well. The games offered in the free weekly deals range from huge, classic games to tiny indie masterpieces. It is this exact range that keeps the offerings every week so exciting, as customers could be building a sprawling Mars metropolis one week and clambering through claustrophobic corridors as an animated space suit the next.
Following the recent pattern of science fiction titles being released free on the store are this week’s offerings. Last week’s free Epic Games Store title was 2014 Game Awards indie darling The Fall. The game stars a robot space suit delving into the broken corpse of a crash landing on an alien planet. In a similar vein, the games featured this week focus around futuristic protagonists entering the sprawling chaos of bizarre cyberpunk settings.
For Creature in the Well, the currently free title, the game’s robot is trying to save a cyberpunk cityscape by exploring the electric recesses of a broken mountain power station. Next week’s free Epic Games title, Tales of the Neon Sea, is a much more classic cyberpunk tale. The titular neon sea in this game is a gorgeous futuristic metropolis. Rather than the high octane sword pinball of Creature in the Well, next week’s free game is all about noir detective work against bright neon lights.
Stunning visuals, electrifying combat, and a unique setting await throughout Creature in the Well. It also has magic pinball with swords. The game uses this incredibly original setting and a set of delightfully drawn cyberpunk aesthetics to create a dynamic and addictive experience. While some players may worry about the Epic Games Store draining PC battery life on some systems, it should not concern Creature in the Well fans, as the game’s lo-fi graphics make it easy to run on most systems.
Throughout Creature in the Well, the player BOT-C unit must travel into the dark depths of a mountainside power station. This journey to the heart of a mountain engine in disrepair is haunted by the titular Creature. It is a Creature that is desperate for escape, switching between begging the player for help and taunting them viciously. As such, the normal minutiae of a game like this is radically altered. Similar titles like Hyper Light Drifter opt for a more lofty, mysterious antagonist. In Creature in the Well, the mystery and intrigue of other cyberpunk titles is replaced by a villain players get to know intimately.
The game also takes a surprising move of not depicting the genre staple of a cyberpunk city. While the dilapidated tunnels of pink and purple might be familiar, the high octane pinball swordplay certainly is not. Mechanics like these are only a small taste of how Creature in the Well distinguishes itself from its competition. If players are looking for a free example of a top-down hack and slash that also satisfies the nostalgia for Windows 3D Space Pinball, then Creature in the Well is the perfect game to pick up for free.
Returning to something a bit more classic, Tales of the Neon Sea delivers a pitch perfect example of traditional cyberpunk. A true neon-noir thriller, the game oozes style. Unlike other controversial cyberpunk games, Tales of the Neon Sea takes great care to craft a great narrative as well. The time-honored tension of humans and robots in this genre is present here too. However, the Palm Pioneer team are not content with relying on cliche. Instead, the iconic cyberpunk visuals come with bizarre and evocative NPCs, including a cabal of criminal cats.
As a natural companion to the cyberpunk genre, the game is a detective story. The title presents a heady blend of puzzles, collectables, and environmental storytelling. Many have said that videogames are the future of storytelling. The mixing of mechanics and narrative in games like Tales of the Neon Sea is a powerful example for arguments like this. Gorgeous pixel art, complex puzzles, fascinating plot hooks, and a real sense of intrigue underscore this excellent choice for a free game next week. Players are also able to embody a cat in this title, which is a great positive point for any videogame.
What more is there to say about Rocket League? Panic Button Games’ superlative soccer (goal) shooter is a prime example of cyberpunk visuals layered on top of a unique game system. While trying to wrangle cars with surprisingly reactive handling, Rocket League tasks players with one simple mission: just hit the ball into the goal. It uses some trappings of neo-future visuals, but none of the grit and drama. As a result, Rocket League looks as good as other cyberpunk games on this list but is a lot more joyous.
Simple core mechanics make for compelling games. The team at Panic Button Games understand that perfectly. Since becoming free-to-play on the Epic Games Store, Rocket League has gone from strength to strength. Unfortunately, this surge in popularity for the game has even caused Rocket League server downtime due to the huge influx of new players.
Despite the occasional server issue, the game still plays as well as it did on launch in 2015. Rocket League also does not need PS Plus for multiplayer, or anything like a Switch subscription. Further to that, cross-platform multiplayer is entirely possible. As such, Rocket League is arguably one of the most consumer friendly multiplayer titles right now. If Epic Games Store customers want to find a mechanically solid title with multiplayer, Rocket League is an obvious choice.
Creature in the Well is free until April 1st. Tales of the Neon Sea is free from April 1st to the 8th.
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