3 Awesome Free Games That You Should Try
Written by Jacob Butler
Thumbnail & Banner Photo by Alex Haney on Unsplash
Video games have been steadily growing in popularity since their inception, and it's easy to see why. Video games offer tons of unforgettable experiences, and with the rise in portable technology, they've become more accessible than ever.
Unfortunately, for many, there is still one massive barrier to entry when it comes to video games: the price. Video games are expensive, with most of the more popular ones costing upwards of 70 dollars, and while some games certainly earn that price tag with the quality experience they offer, many people don't want to spend that much money to support a hobby, especially if they're new to video games and aren't even sure which ones they'll enjoy.
However, just because most games are expensive, it doesn't mean they all have to be! There are hundreds of great games that cost no money at all– you just have to know where to find them. Here are three of my favourite free games that you can play right now!
Our Life: Beginnings and Always
Photo by GB Patch Games via FAQs 2 — GB Patch Games
Our Life: Beginnings and Always is a Choose Your Own Adventure game with beautiful artwork, a compelling story, and a great soundtrack. The game is a visual novel, meaning that the gameplay consists of reading a story and deciding what actions your character will take. Despite its relatively simple gameplay, the game stays consistently engaging through the sheer variety of choices offered to the player and its many well-formed characters.
The game centres around the lives of a handful of kids as they grow up together, sharing experiences and forming relationships in their hometown of Sunset Bird. The game offers players many options for creating their own story. Players get to design their character, decide what kinds of adventures they go on, and influence every line of dialogue, leading to an extremely varied and replayable experience. The sheer number of player choices in Our Life: Beginnings and Always makes it feel like you have complete control over this brand-new life.
The art style and soundtrack are also exceptional. Each scene looks incredible, and the characters each have their own unique design that matches their personality perfectly. The music is very gentle, pairing beautifully delicate piano and guitar melodies with soft drum rhythms to elicit a sense of comfort and nostalgia. Not only is Our Life: Beginnings and Always extraordinary for a free-to-play game, but it's also genuinely one of my favourite games in general. It has an exceptionally cozy atmosphere thanks to adorable art and music direction and an incredibly engaging story with so much replayability and great characters. It's worth a try if you're interested in the kind of experience a well-made visual novel can offer.
Perfect for: Fans of Visual Novels and Choose Your Own Adventure, players looking for a casual and wholesome experience with a great story.
Platforms: PC
Website: https://www.gbpatchgames.com/
The Finals
The Finals is an intensely exhilarating First Person Shooter game. The game consists of teams of players competing in one of several game modes, each requiring them to outplay, outgun, or outmaneuver the others to succeed. The Finals is a great starting point for anyone new to the First-Person Shooter genre, as its simple gameplay makes learning the basics of first-person combat much more manageable, while its lightning-quick pace makes the game extremely engaging and creates a high-skill ceiling for players to aspire towards. The Finals does a great job at making the game a blast for new players, allowing them to do fairly well while leaving plenty of room for players to improve.
The Finals also offers a variety of gameplay options, helping the game to constantly feel fresh and exciting. Not only does it contain several game modes, but it also allows players to choose between three different classes of characters, each with their own options for unique weapons and abilities. On top of that, it provides players with the choice between many different items and tools they can use to truly make their style of gameplay unique. Even the maps offer a tremendous amount of variation, as players can destroy buildings, shoot down walls, place cover, and manipulate their environment in all sorts of ways that make each round of gameplay different from the last.
The Finals is extremely fun for both new and experienced players alike. Its variation allows for endless replayability, and its simple yet breakneck gameplay leaves players room to develop their skills while making the game an absolute blast. Whether you want to try a more action-heavy game or just want to have a great time with friends, this game is an easy recommendation.
Perfect for: Players who want a fast-paced multiplayer experience, fans of First Person Shooter or online PVP games.
Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S, Playstation 5
Website: https://www.embark-studios.com/
Cards and Castles 2
Photo by Red Team Games via IGDB
Cards and Castles 2 is a highly engaging and endlessly playable online Strategy game. It's a card game where two players build decks consisting of cards that, when played against their opponent, will animate and become characters that move across the battlefield under the player's control.
Players are given immense freedom when choosing their cards- you can make a deck of dragons, knights, zombies, squirrels, and everything in between, and each comes with strengths and weaknesses. Players not only have to create their own strategies and be aware of how their deck works, but they also must account for their opponent's strategies, making sure to play the right cards at precisely the right time and maneuver their cards into the right places to counter their opponent’s plays and earn their victory. In this way, the game is intensely strategic- every choice you make could drastically impact the game, making it a great introduction to the kind of gameplay common to the Strategy genre.
The game is also super charming, with an adorable cartoon art style, wacky and creative characters, and many clever pop culture references littered throughout the game. Cards and Castles 2 art and sound design do a great job setting it apart from similar games by making it more silly and child-friendly. The characters are often references to other characters or elements from the fantasy genre, showing that this game isn't just an excellent card game but a love letter to similar card battler games and the fantasy genre. Cards and Castles 2 is engaging, strategic, charming, and perfect for both hardcore card game players and absolute beginners who want a casual and fun multiplayer experience.
Perfect for: Fans of Puzzle, Strategy, and card games, as well as fans of the fantasy genre and those who want a casual card game experience.
Platforms: PC, IOS, and Android
Despite spanning wildly different genres and publishers, these games are each excellent in their own right. While it's important to incentivize great games by buying them, it's equally as important to recognize the fantastic games studios share without even asking for money. I hope you find at least one of these games as fun as I have and that you continue to search for and support the fantastic games that are out there waiting for you.