Unlike other services like Xbox's Games with Gold or PlayStation's PS Plus, certain weekly releases on the Epic Games Store are free and are not subject to a subscription fee. With at least one new free PC game released every Thursday, players have plenty to keep them busy throughout the month. Now, with the final announcement this week of the last list of free games for November, players can look at what was on offer throughout the whole month.
The Epic Games Store had a strong showing last month, with several Halloween-appropriate releases to see gamers through the spooky season. This was in addition to its seasonal sale with discounts on hundreds of games and themed events to get everyone in the spirit of the holiday. The end of 2020 had a similarly impressive list of final free releases, with players able to pick up titles like Pillars of Eternity, Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty, and Alien: Isolation. Now that the final list of free games has been announced, players can see how the end of 2021 is shaping up.
theHunter: Call of the Wild
TheHunter: Call of the Wild is an immersive hunting simulator in a similar genre to Essex: The Whale Hunter, offering players a semi-realistic experience tracking down majestic deer, boars, and various other wildlife in its vast open-world landscapes in Germany and America’s Pacific Northwest. With its gorgeous vistas and scenic environments, players can enjoy the scenery just as much as tracking and taking down animals.
As a simulator, theHunter: Call of the Wild is not a hack and slash or an all guns blazing affair – players have to hunt for signs of the animals and track them down before they can engage. It requires stealth and a steady hand, and even when they've found their quarry they need to take into account things like wind speed and increased heart rate. It's an interesting game that requires a lot of patience, but if players are willing to put in the work then the game can really open up. While not one of the most popular, it did receive a score of 83 on Metacritic.
theHunter: Call of the Wild is available from November 25 – December 2.
Antstream – Epic Welcome Pack
Antstream isn't really just one game – it's a whole host of arcade classics from Metal Slug X and Bubble Bobble to Space Invaders and Asteroids. And the Epic Games Store isn't really offering players these games either, it's giving them 1090 Gems to use in-game (which essentially amount to game tokens). According to the Epic Games Store, this in-game currency can be used to participate in limited-time tournaments and various challenges, as well as to play the long list of old-school games.
Inevitably with large collections of games like Anstream, there are plenty of duds in there amongst the diamonds. Games that were hardly worth playing the first time around, let alone nowadays where players are used to much more complex gameplay and sophisticated design. But there is something inordinately comforting in revisiting (or perhaps experiencing for the first time) these retro classics like Pac-Man, and with a heap of tokens to use it seems like a no-brainer.
Antstream - Epic Welcome Pack is available from November 25 – December 2.
Guild of Dungeoneering
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
Guild of Dungeoneering is a dungeon crawl role-playing game with turn-based combat with an unusual mechanic – players don't control the hero, as they might expect, but instead are the architects behind the creation of the dungeon. Players draw cards from Guild decks which they then lay down in order to build rooms, deploy different monsters, claim loot, and set traps. For similar games in the same genre, think Minecraft Dungeons.
Guild of Dungeoneering may feature an unfamiliar setup than most gamers are used to, but the mechanics are quick to pick up and are engaging. The art style is endearing and quirky, and even though the gameplay overall might seem a little simplistic, it's a good way to while away a few hours with a puzzling and entertaining game if you enjoy other puzzle games like SpaceChem.
Guild of Dungeoneering is available from November 18 – November 25.
KID A MNESIA EXHIBITION
While not strictly a game, the KID A MNESIA EXHIBITION was still a release on the Epic Games Store that players can enjoy for free. It heralds a new age for the medium, that sees things like the combination of several art forms to create new experiences and the realization that games in themselves can be works of art. The KID A MNESIA EXHIBITION is a dreamlike universe created using art, creatures, words, and recordings from the band Radiohead’s Kid A and Amnesiac albums.
KID A MNESIA EXHIBITION commemorates 21 years since the release of these two Radiohead albums and allows players to delve into the (at times) bizarre and innovative minds of Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood. Although it may seem like a strange concept, exploring this musical museum opens up what games can be capable of and offers an exciting glimpse of what they might achieve in the future. It tests the boundaries of the medium, and while it's definitely not for everyone, for fans of the band it's certainly a must-play.
KID A MNESIA EXHIBITION is available from November 18 – November 25.
Never Alone
Never Alone is a puzzle-platformer adventure game that is based on the traditional Inupiaq tale "Kunuuksaayuka." The story follows an Inupiaq girl called Nuna and her Arctic fox, with control swapping between the two throughout the game. Players utilize the different skill sets of both characters to solve puzzles and explore Never Alone's visually stunning environments.
The heartfelt Alaskan tale about the transference of inter-generational wisdom is poignant and beautifully told, and the game was nominated for a Game Developer's Choice award for Best Debut. It also features co-op play, which makes it a perfect option for some low-stakes entertainment to experience with a friend. Game Rant gave Never Alone 3.5 out of 5 and called it "an experience worth having and sharing."
Never Alone is available from November 18 – November 25.
Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure
Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure is a standalone game version of the Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep DLC from Borderlands 2. The wildly popular expansion saw the titular Tiny Tina set up a version of Dungeons & Dragons for the Borderlands universe, replacing hordes of skags and psychos with more on-brand D&D adversaries like orcs and skeletons. Vault Hunters were launched into this imagined version of the game, and players were able to live out their Borderlands/D&D crossover fantasies.
Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure has all the tongue-in-cheek humor and sarcastic side-eyes of a Borderlands escapade, but developer Gearbox Software has completely committed to the fantasy setting, reskinning everything except guns and the Borderlands 2 UI. It may be a fun romp, but it's only really the teaser for the full-size follow-up Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. Still, it's good fun for Borderlands and D&D fans alike.
Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure was available from November 11 – November 18.
Rogue Company Season Four Epic Pack
Rogue Company is a free-to-play multiplayer third-person shooter with 20+ million players. This tactical action shooter lets players engage in a variety of 4v4 and 6v6 objective and action-based game modes with a selection of weapons, gadgets, and abilities. Throughout matches, players earn cash to spend in-game for upgrades and new weapons, and Rogue Company has full cross-play and cross-progression capabilities.
The Rogue Company Season Four Epic Pack was an exclusive Epic Games release to celebrate the game's fourth season and lets players unlock two new playable characters called Switchblade and Scorch who use fire and napalm to bring down their enemies. The pack also included an Inferno Imp outfit for Switchblade and 20K Battle Pass XP. With Rogue Company already free to play, the Epic Games Store just provided a little tasty extra for fans of the game similar to previous additions like the new playable character Seeker.
Rogue Company Season Four Epic Pack was available from November 11 – November 18.
Aven Colony
Aven Colony is a city-building strategy game set on Aven Prime – a planet lightyears from Earth made up of unfriendly deserts, desolate tundras, and sprawling wetlands. Players are tasked with building up their colonies to create thriving metropolises that can withstand the many hardships that come with colonizing a new planet.
Building a new home for humanity is no easy task, and players have to contend with low-oxygen atmospheres, extreme weather conditions, and a variety of alien locals from giant sandworms to insidious lifeforms like a creeping deadly fungus. As such, there are lots of elements that players need to keep an eye on to ensure their colony's success in Aven Colony, and this can get a little exhausting. However, fans of other city-building franchises like SimCity will find lots to like.
Aven Colony was available from November 4 – November 11.