It’s a great time to be a PC gamer. The AAA factory is busier than ever, and there’s no stopping the indie studios from churning out standout titles. Every other month seems to bring a new sale on either Steam or Epic Games Store. If your gaming hunger is still not satiated, and you want to play the best free PC games, this list delivers the goods.
1. Roblox
Roblox is a community-driven platform populated by countless user-created games that span multiple genres. And the one thing these vastly different game worlds have in common? They’re all incredibly easy to create and boundlessly fun to play.
Create and customize your avatar, join a game that you like (adventure, role-playing, simulation, and more), and join the fun. Different games can have different objectives, from completing quests to defeating enemies to building mind-boggling structures.
Roblox provides gamers the tools to birth any world they can think of, using simplified drag-and-drop mechanics. The platform places a huge focus on the social aspect of the game, where players can come together at virtual events and create memories by interacting with each other’s games. There are even purchasable cosmetic and functional items that can be bought with Robux, the in-game currency of Roblox.
Tip: Find out how it stacks up against a competitor in Minecraft vs. Roblox.
2. Rocket League
Rocket League is a ridiculous fusion of soccer and vehicular combat that delivers thrill and challenge like no other game.
Rocket League started out as a paid game and later went free-to-play. Fun crossovers from Twisted Metal and Top Gun to Game of Thrones and Batman always keep the game fresh with ample cosmetics to customize your ride. From 1v1 duels and basketball-like “Hoops” modes to competitive ranked modes, there’s enough variety for everyone.
When you first play Rocket League, you’ll likely find yourself hilariously outclassed and confused about how to aim the ball with your rocket-propelled car. Boosts scattered around the arena and the gravity-defying structure of the arenas give an added zing to the gameplay.
3. RuneScape
Don’t write off RuneScape because of its two decades appearing on PC screens. This MMORPG has stood the test of time for good reason: simple but deep PvP gameplay, varied content, and regular updates. It allows you to master skills from combat and crafting to woodcutting and fishing.
There’s even Old School RuneScape for the purists who simply can’t take anything other than the retro version. In the fantasy world of RuneScape, you have the freedom to curate your playstyle the way you want, and indulge in over 100 quests and dozens of boss fights. Buy the “Membership” with the in-game currency to get access to additional content, quests, skills, and areas. You can also buy, sell, and trade items with other players.
This point-and-click adventure is still one of the most content-rich and enjoyable fantasy MMOs we’ve played. With the option to play the modern version always available, you don’t have any excuse not to try RuneScape.
Something to consider: getting tired of gaming on your PC? Consider these reasons to switch from PC to console gaming.
4. EVE Online
EVE Online is a 20-year-old space MMORPG that is unlike anything you have ever played. Some people consider it more than just a game. With its fledgling in-game economy and varied professions that you can participate in, it’s kind of easy to see why.
In EVE Online, everyone plays on the same always-live server, exploring a shared universe that is continuously being expanded. You get to choose whether to make ends meet as a humble merchant or fight legendary space battles that change the course of the game’s history. With countless ships to pilot, ancient ruins to explore, asteroids to mine, and massive battles to fight, EVE Online is no slouch.
EVE Online has a real, player-driven economy where your actions and market forces affect everything in real time. Another unique aspect of the game is the always-on skill training of your character – even when you’re not playing the game. Add to this the ability to form alliances, engage in wars and espionage, and explore an always-evolving, player-driven universe, and you begin to realize the endless depth of the game’s PvE and PvP gameplay.
5. Destiny 2
Destiny 2 has been around since 2017 but only became free-to-play two years later. There are many parts of Destiny 2 that you can enjoy without paying a dime. The main “New Light” storyline, seasonal missions, and almost all the PvP content are included in the free version of the game.
Destiny 2 puts you in the shoes of “Guardians” – resurrected interstellar warriors who are basically immortal – fighting “The Darkness” in all its incarnations. There are cool dungeons to explore, impressive gun battles to enjoy, and interplanetary threats to defeat, all wrapped up in one of the most polished PvE and PvP experiences available today.
If you’re someone who loves the Call of Duty and Battlefield games but are up for a change in lore and gunplay, Destiny 2 could be a natural pivot for you.
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6. The Sims 4
The Sims 4 offers an opportunity to build a second life, just in case your real one doesn’t cut it anymore. The Sims 4 is EA’s first-ever free-to-play entry in the long-running, hit franchise. It packs much content under its free umbrella.
You can design your Sims with incredible freedom, right down to their personalities, thanks to the extensive library of custom content tools and mods. After you’re satisfied with how your Sim has turned out, you get to explore your neighborhood, choose a career, start a family, and live a life – from infancy to elderhood.
You can use cheats to unlock unlimited construction abilities if you’re running out of funds to design your fancy house. The game can be enjoyed for hundreds of hours without paying anything, but there’s also an incredible variety of paid expansion packs to widen the scope of the gameplay.
7. Hearthstone
Set in Blizzard’s Warcraft universe, Hearthstone drops you in a head-to-head turn-based card duel against a single opponent. Your objective is to strategically use your 30-card deck to defeat your opponent by emptying their health bar.
Hearthstone demands careful planning and meticulous tactics. Battles can be intense and draining. Blizzard’s brilliance lies in crafting a hugely accessible, deeply strategic, and insanely addictive experience from a seemingly niche genre.
The first things you’ll notice in Hearthstone are the impressive polish, perfect balance, and top-notch aesthetics of the game. The joy of unlocking and leveraging Warcraft relics and characters is unparalleled for the ardent fan.
Good to know: do you like to game on Ubuntu? Learn how to install and play World of Warcraft on Ubuntu.
8. MultiVersus
MultiVersus from Warner Bros. sounds exactly like what it is: it pits universes against each other. From the DC Universe and Game of Thrones to Looney Tunes and Rick and Morty, you can engage in absurd but incredibly fun battles between beloved characters. Whether it’ll capture the same degree of success as other landmark fighting games is something time will tell.
MultiVersus’s platform fighting mechanics have a lot of potential. The gameplay is tight, and each character feels authentic and distinct, thanks to many of the original voice artists reprising their roles. You can go in solo or team up in a 2v2 matchup, legitimately pitting Batman and Superman against Bugs Bunny and Taz.
There’s one minor issue: MultiVersus has ended its open beta and gone on a long hiatus until early 2024. You can be sure that Warner Bros. will implement several quality-of-life changes before they relaunch the popular title.
9. Smite
If you like League of Legends or Dota 2, you’ll probably like Smite: essentially a spin on the MOBA genre, replacing fantasy characters with gods inspired by religious mythology. It also replaces the conventional top-down view with a third-person perspective to further mix things up and heighten the action.
The objective here is simple and familiar: take on the opposition in 5v5 battles and destroy their base and towers. You can choose from over 125 mythological gods and deploy their unique powers, iconic weapons, and varied strategies to dominate the battlefield. Even if MOBAs aren’t your thing, Smite will appeal to you due to its simplified mechanics, such as auto-buying and auto-leveling.
Smite’s action is fast-paced and incredibly varied to keep you hooked for hours on end. The maps at your disposal are decidedly polished, and the vast roster of mythic characters is designed well.
Good to know: if you’re into gaming on Linux, learn how to install League of Legends on Linux.
10. Fall Guys
Fall Guys, a game that defined the early days of the pandemic lockdown, went free-to-play around two years after its initial launch. More happened after that, such as epic crossovers and the introduction of cross-platform play.
Fall Guys is essentially a cute spin on the popular battle royale genre, with cartoonish characters racing to the finish line, overcoming obstacle courses in a series of levels. Successive rounds get harder as players are eliminated. This 60-player battle royale version of Takeshi’s Castle (or American Ninja Warrior, if you please) can sometimes get pretty intense, despite the bright and funny visuals.
Gather some friends and launch into a few rounds of impressively varied challenges, and you may find yourself addicted to the persistent ordeal of these cute little creatures.
Conclusion
A single guide won’t be enough to cover every single title in the treasure trove that is the free-to-play genre. Hence, we opted to shed light on titles that tend to escape the attention of some of our readers. Also check out our list of the top free horror games on Steam. And if you’re wondering which gaming launcher to use to download these games, read on to learn about the best game launchers on Windows.
Image credit: Steam
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