Fans never truly know what to expect on the Epic Games Store free game list. Sometimes, it offers fantastic RPGs and other times small indie gems. Sometimes, the Epic Games Store goes back for the retro vibe, and other times it picks a game that pushes the medium forward. Sometimes, it releases a title as massive as Grand Theft Auto 5, and on some weeks like March 24-31, players get a pinball game.
Replacing the current free Epic Games Store title, In Sound Mind, is Demon’s Tilt—a self-described occult pinball action game. Demon’s Tilt has pretty strong reviews, and it’s, at least, an entertaining approach to the genre. However, while it’s nothing against the title itself, this really isn’t the direction Epic Games Store should be moving toward.
Demon’s Tilt Has a Pretty Cool Premise…
Demon’s Tilt combines the pinball genre with a plethora of horror elements, including references and clear inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft, tarot cards, and more. The Pinball board of Demon’s Tilt has three sections: Lilith, Hermit, and Zodiac—all with their own unique objectives, twists, and so on. Players have three balls, more flippers than most pinball games, a nudge feature, hack and slash elements to use the ball to attack enemies, and bullet hell mechanics that impact ball progress.
Combining Demon’s Tilt’s interesting premise with a variety of in-game mechanics makes it stand out among other pinball games. Indeed, for anyone interested in the occult or pinball games, Demon’s Tilt is an easy enough recommendation and having it for free on the Epic Games Store is even better.
But It Drops The Ball for the Epic Games Store
The problem with the Epic Games Store offering Demon’s Tilt has nothing to do with the game itself, but the service. Choosing indie games that could be hidden gems is great, as someone is likely to find a hidden gem for themselves, but this is a pinball game. As interesting as Demon’s Tilt is, it is still a pinball game to the end of the day, and so it’s not a big popular genre that many could flock to. It’s a particular niche, and that hurts Epic Games Store’s quality this week.
It wouldn’t be so bad if this was one of the weeks where Epic Games Store offering more games—PS Plus once used a big game, niche game pattern that was pretty successful—but pinning it all on a pinball game doesn’t feel like it speaks to the sheer quality that Epic has to offer.
Epic Games Store users typically get a handful of free games.