You love video games, but you’re not made of money. Lucky for you, game studios and subscription services offer a handful of free titles every month. Don’t miss out. Here’s what you can download in February.
Control (Image: Remedy) Everyone loves free games. Steam has a hefty collection of them, but some places offer titles for only a limited amount of time. Epic Games gives away multiple games a week. Amazon’s Prime Gaming subscription service has new titles each month. But if you’re not paying attention, you’ll lose out on a PC game you could have kept forever. In an effort to help gamers know what’s out there to claim, we’ll be tracking the best free games available in a given month. While some titles are free outright, others are included as part of a subscription service. Here’s everything you can grab this month. Best Free Blizzard Battle.net Games Blizzard Entertainment has a small collection of popular franchises, including Diablo, Overwatch, StarCraft, and World of Warcraft, which can all be played through the Battle.net gaming platform. Since most of these games are free-to-play, they can be downloaded from Blizzard at any time. However, if you scroll down to Classic Games, there are several titles that were previously paid but are now available for free. Click the title you wish to download, and choose the appropriate operating system. The game will then automatically begin downloading. How complicated the setup is will be determined by the game you choose to play. Some require you to connect with Battle.net and set up an account with Blizzard, while others may simply download to your computer and play locally. Here are the classic Blizzard games you can now play for free:Blackthorne In this 1994 platformer, explore an alien world and defeat the enemy army that prevents you from seizing the kingdom you should have rightfully inherited. Navigate the game’s maze-like levels, find keys to move unlock new areas, and gun down the bad guys on your quest for revenge. The Lost Vikings This 1993 puzzle platformer puts you in control of three vikings as they attempt to escape from their alien abductors. You can switch over to each character in order to use their unique abilities to solve various puzzles along the way. Rock N’ Roll Racing A classic to the home gaming scene of the 90s, Rock N’ Roll Racing is a isometric racing game that focuses on vehicular combat, maneuvering over terrain, and avoiding obstacles. Players can upgrade their cars abilities as they move through the rankings. StarCraft Blizzard released StarCraft: Remastered in 2017, so it made the original real-time strategy game, and its sequel, free to play. You can download StarCraft Anthology, which packaged the original game with the Brood War expansion pack, and StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty for free. Best Free Epic Games Store Games Epic Games gives away free titles every week; no need for a subscription. Head over to the Epic Games Store website or open the launcher, scroll down to the Free Games section, and hit the blue Free Now banner on the title you want. Then, go through the process as if you were purchasing the game. You won’t be charged, and the game will appear in your games library on the Epic Games launcher. Halcyon 6: Lightspeed Edition (Until Feb.18) Halcyon 6 is a turn-based tactical RPG that centers on the managing and building of a base, where you must gather resources and fight enemies to clear out rooms. Absolute Drift (Feb.18-25) Different from other racing games, Absolute Drift focuses on drift-based challenges with a minimalist art style. Unlock new cars and levels as you complete various objectives. Rage 2 (Feb.18-25) Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Rage 2 combines first-person shooter mechanics with open world gameplay, allowing you to explore the world and take out enemy factions with advanced weaponry and upgradable gear and skill-based superpowers. The game also features vehicular combat to add extra mayhem to the game world. Sludge Life (Until May 28) This third-person 3D platformer with retro CRT graphics is really just a vandalism simulator in disguise. Sludge Life is short and sweet, allowing you to explore the game’s surreal world, meet a cast of crass characters, and tag areas with graffiti. Devolver Digital has made the game free to keep for the next year. Rocket League (Now Free) Rocket League combines high-speed racing with competitive sports gameplay as you play soccer with racecars. And last fall, the game moved exclusively to the Epic Game Store and became free-to-play for anyone who wants it. We previously gave it an Editors’ Choice award, praising it for a fantastic concept and over-the-top fun while maintaining enough nuance to be a high competitive esports title. We consider it to be one of the best PC sports games available, and now you can get it for free. Best Free GOG Games GOG doesn’t have regular giveaways like some other websites do, but there is a small collection of free games, which mainly comprises classic computer games. Titles like Shadow Warrior Classic Complete and Postal: Classic and Uncut, which you would have to pay for on Steam, are free on GOG. Other classics, like Ultima 4 (1985) and Akalabeth: World of Doom (1979), are not available anywhere else. Akalabeth: World of Doom (1979)Ascendant (2014)Beneath a Steel Sky (1994)Bio Menace (1993)Cayne (2017)Delores: A Thimbleweed Park Mini-Adventure (2020)Doomdark’s Revenge (2014)Eschalon: Book I (2006)Flight of the Amazon Queen (1995)Jill of the Jungle: The Complete Trilogy (1991)The Lords of Midnight (2013)Lure of the Temptress (1992)Postal: Classic and Uncut (2003)Sang-Froid: Tales of Werewolves (2013)Shadow Warrior Classic Complete (1997)Stargunner (1996)Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius (2014)Teenagent (1994)Treasure Adventure Game (2011)Tyrian 2000 (1999)Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar (1985)Ultima World of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams (1991)Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire (1990)War Wind (1996)Children of Morta (While Supplies Last) This giveaway is a little different because it requires you to make a purchase, but you get a free game out of it. GOG and Visa are teaming up to give away 53,000 codes for the action RPG Children of Morta. Get the game by signing up at the giveaway page, then making a $25 payment using a Visa card. Save the card to your account for future purchases, and you will get your free copy of this roguelike tale of the Bergson family’s journey to free Mount Morta of the evil Corruption. The Witcher: Enhanced Edition GOG allows you to score a free copy of the first Witcher game if you download the GOG Galaxy desktop client, download and install the free-to-play Gwent: The Witcher Card Game, and subscribe to the GOG.com newsletter. Once you’ve done that, click Subscribe & Claim on the offer page, then add The Witcher: Enhanced Edition to your cart. The game should be reduced to $0.00, and all you have to do is check out. If the website doesn’t allow you to check out, reload the page a few times until the checkout button is clickable. Don’t want to go through all that hassle? There’s now an easier way. Best Free Microsoft Store Games Microsoft doesn’t usually give away games on the Microsoft Store, but there are a few titles the company has decided to make free moving forward (some you can find only on the web, and not the desktop app).
