As always, Thursday is an important day for Epic Games Store users. Last Thursday, Galactic Civilizations 3 began its free week, and Epic Games Store also confirmed the free game for January 20. At 10 am CT on January 20, Galactic Civilizations 3 will rotate out and be replaced by Relicta.
Chances are, Relicta may have flown under a lot of radars when it was released back in 2020, but interested fans should know that it received pretty good scores at launch. Critics praised its atmospheres and puzzles, with OpenCritic having Relicta sitting at a 75 Critic Average and a ‘Strong’ Rating. Notably, Relicta isn’t just a puzzle game either as it brings multiple other methods of storytelling in too, really making it a strong follow-up to the Epic Games Store's Galactic Civilizations 3 release.
Epic Games Store – Relicta’s Story
Relicta can be compared to a sci-fi psychological thriller, as while—yes—gameplay is by and large focused on solving physics-based puzzles, players are doing so to unravel the secrets of the mysterious Chandra Base. Players are the top physicist stranded on the Moon, with their scientific mind and research being all that stands between their daughter’s life and/or the fate of humanity. Overall, part of this relates to the “dangers” of scientific research, tackling the age-old sci-fi theme of “just because they could doesn’t mean they should.”
There’s even a bit of a detective game theme to Relicta, as players can rush ahead, solve puzzles, and get to safety, or they can take their time, gather clues, and come to understand the ins and outs of 22nd-century politics. Plus, with the incredibly detailed environments, Relicta’s approach to environmental storytelling is second to none, and that helps bring out the mysteries.
Epic Games Store – Relicta’s Gameplay
Gameplay-wise, players will have to manipulate gravity and magnetism to solve physics-based puzzles to find their way around terraformed craters. It’s pretty straightforward, but the above Relicta launch trailer above gives fans a clearer idea of what the gameplay looks like. In solving these puzzles, players will also be able to combine their abilities and go about them in inventive ways. Because Relicta is in first-person, it adds a realistic and immersive approach to the overall gameplay.
Perhaps the best part of free games on services like the Epic Games Store is finding a hidden gem that someone may not have played before. While Relicta may not be for everyone, it can easily fill that “hidden gem” hole for many, and checking it out for free might make that even sweeter.
Epic Games Store users typically get a handful of free games every month.