The Epic Games Store is not a stranger to making fantastic games completely free for its customers. While this strategy often loses the Store money, it also manages to get huge numbers of players on board and using the storefront. Until August 12, gamers can log into the Epic Store and claim both A Plague Tale: Innocence and the much smaller title Minit. Both titles offer interesting takes on their respective genres.
However, Minit provides a unique experience not on offer in most games. The one-minute time-loop mechanic, while initially seeming restrictive, reveals an incredibly ambitious indie game quickly. Minit was only a very recent addition to the Epic Games Store's August lineup. The store originally had Speed Brawl slated for the August 5 free slot, but swapped it out at the last moment for Minit. The game received a lot of high praise from critics at launch in 2018, so it looks like gamers have not missed out.
Why Is Minit Free On The Epic Games Store?
According to the Epic Games' official Twitter account, Speed Brawl's free release on the storefront "has been temporarily delayed" due to a technical issue. With the Epic Game Store team working on fixing the problem, it is likely that Speed Brawl will be ready to play relatively soon. Whether the game will still release as a free Epic Store game in August is unknown, but is certainly possible.
The Epic Games Store swapping Speed Brawl with Minit makes perfect sense. Both titles are fast paced, with Speed Brawl using that speed for its chaotic combat action, whereas Minit plays with the tiny time loop in a slightly more cerebral manner. Alongside the game's pacing similarities to Speed Brawl, Minit has already been free on the Epic Game Store. Many games appear free multiple times on Epic's "Discover: Free Games" section, so seeing Minit back again for free is not too surprising.
What is Minit?
Released in 2018, Minit is a time-bending adventure puzzler published by Devolver Digital. The game is not the product of a particular indie studio or one creator, but a collaboration of four different independent developers: Kitty Calis, Jan Willem Nijman, Dominik Johann, and Jukio Kallio. These creators have worked on other titles like Nuclear Throne, Disc Room, Fall Guys, and even higher profile titles like Horizon Zero Dawn. The industry prestige does not go to waste in Minit. The game is arguably the perfect example of a time-loop experience, as it boils down the mechanic to its simplest possible form.
While other time-loop games like The Forgotten City might bring flashy graphics, intricate philosophical narratives, and voice acting to support their timeline-jumping shenanigans, Minit is a game that is so uniquely confident in its base mechanic that the game removes anything that might distract from it. In fact, the game's entire aesthetic draws attention to the tiny time limit, building to some incredibly tense moments of play (in spite of the game's adorable presentation).
Is Minit Worth Getting For Free?
Minit is worthy of any gamer's time, especially now that it's free on the Epic Games Store. It is rare to see a title as utterly coherent as Minit, where every single aspect of the game's production plays off the next in some perfect synergy. To some degree, this is to be expected from a game produced in part by Devolver Digital and Vlambeer, teams that specialize in releasing some of the best indie games.
Minit also knows exactly when to play with the premise of time-loop games and mock the player. For example, there is one NPC particularly early on that speaks slowly. The dialogue text appears at a painstakingly glacial pace, creeping across the screen as the clock counts down without remorse. The game is testing the player's nerves by placing essential information in contrast to this main mechanic.
The structuring of the game around this one core conceit makes it so satisfying to eventually master. Like with Dark Souls' difficulty, once a player starts to internalize the game's mechanics, the experience changes. From the very beginning, players are able to end the 60-second loop whenever they want, and be warped back to the last saved "home." When players memorize parts of the game's layout, this can make for an incredible feeling as they zip across the game to complete their various tasks.
Minit will be free on the Epic Games Store until August 12.