Free-to-play games have taken the gaming market by storm as developers try to get their games out in any form just to make a quick buck here or there. Most of these games are either completely horrendous, shove adverts in your face, or are just a picture of a banana.
So, I spent days trawling the free-to-play genre on Steam, hunting for good games that would keep you entertained without costing a dime.
Yes, I sacrificed my sanity and squandered my eyes on some hell-spawn, but every now and again, I came across a game, whether big or small, that kept me glued to the screen for hours, both in frustration and joy.
Out of the 40-odd games I tried, here are five that are worth the download.
Desktop Siege
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Genre: Casual; Tower Defense
In-Game Purchases: None
Game State: Complete
Desktop Siege is a simple game. Stop the enemies from getting to your base. Tower Defense games have been around for years, and I often find myself picking up new ones to kill time. Desktop Siege takes a more casual approach, allowing users to have the game open on their desktop while doing other stuff, like work. I suppose.
Your mouse functions as a pistol, which quickly gets quite weak as the enemies gain more and more health, but the more things you upgrade, the more towers you unlock and eventually, you step into what the game calls Free Tower mode.
The first 30 minutes or so involved me frantically clicking on every enemy I could to protect my base until I eventually realised that the enemies couldn’t, in fact, make it past your fence. This is where the casual part of the game kicks in. Instead of praying you don’t die, you can simply pop your towers where you’d like and watch the infinitely high damage counters flow onto the screen.
In Free Tower mode, you can purchase as many towers as you want and try your best to keep the minions at bay. I thought 40 laser towers would do the trick, which it did, but the amount of lasers mixed with damage counters caused the game to become a laggy mess.
The game isn’t perfect, and yes, you can’t lose, but the time spent was still enough to mark this one off as enjoyable.
Transformice
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Genre: MMO; Platformer
In-Game Purchases: Cosmetic
Game State: Complete
Transformice has yet another simple premise. You are a mouse, and you must get the cheese and bring it back home. The challenge occurs when every level is randomly selected, placing a puzzle on your hands. Using physics, wall jumps (which I still can’t get the hang of) and magic abilities laid out by a Shaman mouse, you will have to fight your way to the cheese.
Ideally, everyone should work together to get the cheese, but there are also bonus points for being the first to do so. Some mice will force you off a cliff, while others will hang around and show you how to get the job done. If you are selected as the Shaman mouse, your role is to get as many mice back home safely.
It’s a fun little platformer, and you can purchase different outfits for your tiny critter using points you gain from collecting the cheese.
If old-school games like Liero were your cup of tea, you would enjoy this one.
Sky: Children of the Light
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Genre: MMO; Co-op
In-Game Purchases: Cosmetic and Abilities
Game State: Early Access
Sky: Children of the Light is an interesting one. It’s one of the few MMO games I’ve spent time in, where every other player is there to help you. There’s no combat, so there’s no need to be better than any other player.
You are a child of the light, and on an epic intro flight, you crash into a land now covered in darkness. The goal is to use your inner light to remove the darkness from said land and connect it back to the heavens so everyone can live in joyful times.
The game doesn’t have much to show graphically. It’s an indie, soft, voxel art style, but it allows your senses to focus elsewhere. In this game, your senses are elevated by sound.
The developers have masterfully used sound to guide players through the game and enhance the overall gameplay experience. Playing Sky: Children of the Light is almost like meditating while actively solving puzzles.
Other players are there to keep your light glowing in the rain or other darkening situations, or they can leave clues and tips on solving certain puzzles with little messages, ala Elden Ring.
If you’re looking for a casual gameplay experience similar to Journey but crave other people flapping their wings in the background, Sky: Children of the Light is exactly it.
Shardbound
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Genre: Tactical Battler; Card Game
In-Game Purchases: Cards and Upgrades
Game State: Early Access
I love me a good card game, and when you combine that with another favourite genre of mine, tactical battling, you can guarantee that I’m going to spend money.
Luckily for my wallet, though, Shardbound is free to play.
The game works on a PvP system, where each player controls a commander. Different commanders have access to other cards. Each card can be a power-up for your units, more units to deploy, or something to alter the battlefield.
What makes the game interesting is that once a unit is deployed, you still have to win the fight on the battlefield itself. Line-of-site for ranged units, movement paths, and differing terrains play a vital role here.
As you play, you unlock access to more cards. Doubles can be used to enhance your other cards, or you can purchase cards and packs from the shop.
There also seems to be a decent enough player base, as I didn’t have to wait long between matches. Thirty or so seconds at the most.
I also got a taste of a few different commanders and their different playstyles when facing other players, which means there’s more than enough variety here to craft different kinds of decks to crush your enemies.
The game also feels polished and complete, even though it’s still in Early Access, and I’m excited to see what else the developers bring to the party.
Dark and Darker
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Genre: Online Extraction RPG
In-Game Purchases: Access to More Maps; XP; Character Slots
Game State: Early Access
Ok, I hear you. Dark and Darker may not necessarily be a hidden gem. But after all the drama of the game being kicked off of every platform and players hating it for its use of assets, the game disappeared into the darkness (get it?).
Two years after all the chaos, I stumbled across it on Steam again, and I thought, why not?
The answer to that question is addiction.
After just a few rounds of the game, I’m hooked. I can’t stop slinging fireballs at everything I face in the depths. It may not be a valid strategy for getting out alive, but it’s hella fun.
I’ve successfully made it out alive twice, and, as with all extraction-type games, I’m hoarding all my loot for when I’m feeling brave enough to take it to my death.
The game provides exciting rounds in the dark where you can go solo, with a duo partner, or with a party of three. Duo’s seem to be the sweet spot for finding people who are actually invested in making it out alive, while Trio’s is just full of naked men rushing for loot, trying not to die to skeletons.
Other real-life players are also creeping around in the dark with you, so you need to be wary of them, too.
The game is quite hardcore. Swinging your sword in a closed room will result in hitting the walls instead of the creep in front of you, and sorcerers have very limited spells, but all of this just adds to the tension.
I haven’t yet felt the need to pay for anything in the game, including the R550 Legendary Status, which grants access to better loot and more XP, but I’m playing the game enough to be considering it.
For a free-to-play game that’s somehow survived negative reviews and copyright lawsuits, Dark and Darker is some of the most fun I’ve had in a while.
If you’ve picked up anything that’s cost you mahala in the past while and just can’t put it down, let us know your current favourite free-to-play game down in the comments below.