Sometimes, the Epic Games Store selection process comes off as a bit random, other times there are clearly unifying themes. It's not always obvious, but for example, this week's two games are a board game adaptation set in a tactics RPG and the other is a sandbox game focused on dinosaurs. Yet, both Ark: Survival Evolved and Gloomhaven take hundreds of hours to beat, and so the two are unified by their common time sinks.
The Epic Games Store selection for September 29 is also unified by a common element, as they both take aspects of the racing genre but flip it on its head. Racing video games have been around nearly as long as there have been games, but there's not a car, truck, or common vehicle in either game. Runbow and The Drone Racing League Simulator are both racing games, but they're not traditional racing games.
Epic Games Store Two Free Games Are Unique Entries in the Racing Genre
Racing games are a staple of the industry, even if they're not quite as popular as they once were. Midnight Club, Need for Speed, and more are names just about every gamer should know, but Drone Racing Simulator and Runbow may not be. Both are racing games, but not racing as in cars. Runbow is a platformer racing game, meaning players are running on feet instead of wheels. There's combat, game modes, and more to vary up the gameplay, but race and run are the core elements of Runbow. Platforming racers aren't exactly new, and Runbow has competitors like Speedrunner.
However, it is particularly niche enough that no one probably thinks of these games when racing comes to mind. These are billed more as party games than anything else, but racing with friends locally or online is pure fun. They're just as important to the racing game genre as they are to the party game genre.
Meanwhile, Drone Racing Simulator says it all in its title. Players are able to simulate real-world races, but instead of cars, players are drones (although there is plenty of gamified elements like a Search and Destroy Mode). Drones certainly don't come to mind when one thinks of racing, and its simulation elements take allows for a lot of tinkering and adjustments on the player's behalf.
Indeed, perhaps there are many racing fans out there who have never played games quite like these, even though these are not "new," and that bodes well for their popularity on Epic Games Store.
Epic Games Store users get a handful of games every month.