Epic Games is at it again this week, what with the free games and all. Every week the gaming company best known for Fortnite kicks off another week-long giveaway where PC gamers to try and entice them to download the launcher. This has been a thing for a while now, and this week’s selection is two indie titles with wildly different themes.
It’s the only reason so far I’ve had to use the Epic launcher, because who can say no to free games. So if you want some free titles, install the launcher and go claim them. If you’re like me, you’re quite content to grab the free games and ignore the storefront itself until it actually reaches a usable and bug-free state, but I digress.
First up is Nuclear Throne, a top-down shooter that many console gamers will be well familiar with by now. The brutal and yet compellingly cute aesthetic of this post-apocalyptic action title is quite the culture clash, and it works pretty well for the feeling that developer Vlambeer was going for. The gameplay itself is a roguelite, which means a mix of persistent progress and unforgiving failure is the order of the day in this wasteland. The core of the game revolves around collecting radiation from fallen enemies to mutate new limbs and abilities that make the player a more efficient killing machine. It’s quite fun, and you can’t beat the free price tag.
RUINER on the other hand is entirely different in tone, execution and identity. It may also be a difficult top-down shooter, but that is where the similarities with the previous title end. The game is a much more a brutal action shooter set in the year 2091, where you take on the role of a murderous lunatic who is out to decimate anything and everything in their path in this dystopian future. There’s an undercurrent of story here with a plot about a kidnapped brother, but most people just want to play it for the gratuitous violence.
You can get your free copy for Nuclear Throne from here, and to get RUINER go over here. PC gamers can acquire their free copies for these two games from today and until November 14th.