A growing number of subscription services offer players free games every month. Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass is probably the most well-known of these services, but it is by no means the only one, with Amazon Prime Games offering free titles every month.
Today, Amazon Prime Games announced March's monthly free games on its official Twitter account. Prime Subscribers can now download and keep seven new games, including EA’s Madden NFL 2022 and Haemimont Games’ Surviving Mars, along with an eclectic collection of games from smaller studios.
Prime Gaming is one of the features that subscribers get from their $15 a month Amazon Prime membership. Benefits include monthly in-game rewards and a free Twitch subscription in addition to the monthly free games. The full list of this month’s free games consists of the above-mentioned Madden NFL 2022 and Surviving Mars plus smaller titles like Steam World Quest: Hand of Gilgamech, Crypto Against All Odds, Look Inside, Pesterquest, and The Stillness of the Wind.
EA’s annual American football sim needs no introduction. Critics praised Madden 22’s improved AI and gameday atmosphere. However, some criticized the game for technical issues and an excess of poorly integrated gameplay systems. Others felt it simply didn’t do enough to move the series forward. Meanwhile, Surviving Mars is the successful sci-fi city builder from Tropico 5 developer Haemimont Games and Published by Paradox Interactive. It tasks players with establishing and running a colony on the titular Red Planet and uses real-world data to craft its version of Mars. The game currently enjoys a respectable score of 76 on Metacritic with “Very Positive’ reviews on Steam.
The remaining five games are a bit more niche. SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech is a turn-based deck-building RPG from Swedish studio Image & Form. Set in a post-apocalyptic steampunk fantasy world, it’s memorable for combining a fairytale storybook aesthetic with an otherwise science fiction setting. Meanwhile, Crypto: Against All Odds is a cyberpunk tower defense game inspired by the cryptocurrency blockchain. Players take the role of a cybersecurity expert tasked with defending the blockchain from a sinister conspiracy. Alternatively, Amazon Prime subscribers can also try out Pesterquest, a satirical visual novel set in the Homestuck universe.
On the other hand, Look Inside is an episodic point-and-click adventure game that follows a girl named Manon exploring her family history. Players leaf through books and photographs as they piece together the stories of Manon’s ancestors. Finally, The Stillness of the Wind is a tale of love and loss about an old woman maintaining her isolated homestead. Players can farm, explore the desert, or simply draw in the dirt as they experience the lonely but emotional tale.