It’s that time again PC gamers, as a new video game is being given away by Epic in an attempt to lure yet more gamers to their burgeoning platform. And though these attempts have met with middling success for many gamers, it’s definitely become an easy source of free games that gamers on a budget will make use of, or at least they should. The famous game studio previously game away various Batman titles to celebrate 80 years of the superhero, followed up by a great Metro game combined with a very unique indie title. And this week continues with another very strange and compelling indie pickup, the 60-second adventure, Minit. In essence, this game is what happened if you forced Zelda to exist on a stopwatch timer, and it’s actually a really cool idea for a puzzle game.
The simplistic adventure title was the labor of love of one Jan Willem Nijman, co-founder and one-half of Vlambeer. Kitty Calis, known for their work on Horizon Zero Dawn, also put in some time with the game. Being that it’s an indie puzzle game, things can get a little weird, in a good way. The player takes on the role of a duck, yes really. The task you’re given is just as strange as the goal is to uncover a variety of secrets hidden throughout the deceptively quaint surroundings. Players will have to be careful though, as the journey will undoubtedly result in angering some dangerous foes, ones that you will have to escape from through creative means.
If you’re curious, you can see the game in the trailer down below. You can acquire your free copy of Minit by visiting its Epic Games Store page.
But as has become tradition with the mega-company, Epic is gearing up to give away more free PC games next week too. Minit is free until October 10th, after which another game will take over the slot on the Epic store. The company has been doing this for a while now, all for the goal of pulling in more gamers in their multi-million dollar attempt to compete with the titan that is Steam. The success of these efforts has been pretty middling judging by the general public perception of Epic and their platform. A spate of consistent controversy keeps popping up as Epic pushes more titles to be exclusives on their storefront, usually through financial incentives of some form. This practice has been pretty lucrative for both the publisher and the developers, although a lot of gamers hate it, often review bombing in retaliation.
Other issues, like a lack of substantive features on the launcher, have been slow to be dealt with, as Epic appears to be having more and problems with their goal of competing with Valve in a sustainable manner. Only time will tell if Epic manages to rebound from these troubles and changes the landscape of digital game distribution on PC.
The next PC title being teed up for a giveaway from Epic is the futuristic strategy title Surviving Mars. Sadly, it’s just the base game being given away for free, but the intent is clearly to entice you to pick up the expansions as well. But since it’s free, why not at least give it a try. The sci-fi infused city building game has the player take on the task of building a full-scale Martian colony in the far future. Can you handle the stresses of space exploration? Find out when that game drops for free next week.
