Every week, Epic Games Store users get one or two free games to claim. They are currently able to claim Terraforming Mars, but come May 12, they will be able to claim Jotun and Prey (alongside its Mooncrash DLC). Prey is a rerun on the service, but if EGS is going to have a rerun, it’s a good choice. In fact, both of these titles are good choices for Epic Games Store users.
Epic Games Store was on a hot streak during April, and while Terraforming Mars could be a dip in that hot streak, these two games reflect it sticking to its newly-acquired guns. Epic Games Store has been following a pattern of the past few weeks of introducing a big, popular game to the service and a beautiful indie (or equivalent) game that could easily prove to be a hidden gem. But what sets these two apart is the "extra" content in them.
Epic Games Store Free Games – Jotun, the Hidden Gem
Jotun puts players into the shoes of a deceased Viking woman named Thora, as she attempts to redeem herself following an inglorious death. Thora must travel the realm defeating elemental giants in order to gain access to Valhalla, including a plant giant, a lightning giant, an ice giant, a fire giant, and a warrior giant. It’s a loose interpretation of the meaning of Jotun, but the name of the game is pretty obvious.
Gameplay-wise, Jotun describes itself as an action-exploration game though there are plenty of puzzles too. Exploration leads to finding runes to unleash the aforementioned Jotun, and then using Thora’s axe, the blessings of the Gods, and the player’s skill to defeat. The God Powers Thora can access include Frigg’s Healing, Freya’s Speed, Thor’s Hammer, Odin’s Spear, Loki’s Decoy, or Heimdall’s Shield. After each Jotun is defeated, players will hear more about Thora’s life before her death.
Players will explore nine levels all based on Viking mythology; she accesses these from Jotun’s hub, Ginnungagap. This means the Void. There are five areas, each consisting of two stages except one (making for nine levels). Beating both stages leads to the boss fight.
What truly sets it apart is Jotun’s visuals, as it is a hand-drawn with frame-by-frame art. Many also praised the story, even if the combat itself is pretty simple. There are 2-to-3 hit combos, a heavy attack, a light attack, and a dodge, but these do flow well with the visuals of the game. Furthermore, players should know that the version of the game they are getting is the Jotun: Valhalla Edition, which includes the titular Valhalla Mode. Jotun’s Valhalla Mode is essentially a Boss Rush mode, where players must fight the various bosses again. However, they have been modified to be even more difficult. For players looking to add even more challenge to this mode, there’s an achievement for beating them all without taking damage.
Epic Games Store Free Games – Prey, the Big Popular Game
Prey hardly needs any introduction but comes out of Arkane Studios’ catalog (Dishonored, Deathloop) as a reboot of a much older game. Prey players awaken aboard a space station orbiting the moon, as part of an experiment that has gone wrong. The space station has been overtaken by aliens, and players are being hunted by them. The space station is full of secrets, and Prey players are completely equipped to discover what these secrets are.
Alongside pretty unique weapons like the Gelifoam Lattice Organism Obstructor Cannon and the Nullwave Transmitter, players gain access to a skill tree filled with human and alien powers. The latter includes psionic abilities, morphing powers, and telepathic skills. In all of this, players can expect anywhere from 15-30 hours of gameplay, but that’s not all fans are getting.
Prey’s beloved DLC Mooncrash is also free as part of this Epic Games Store giveaway, and it comes loaded with additional content. Mooncrash takes place shortly after the events of the base game, where the moon base has stopped transmitting. Peter, a hacker, must discover why in a new roguelike campaign. Players must escape the moon base, but will have to do so in a campaign that constantly changes enemies, weapons, and objectives.
They’ll also be able to unlock new Prey characters with specialized skills—these include the engineer Joan, the security officer Bhatia, and the psychic Andrius. Furthermore, Mooncrash features Typhon Hunter—an online multiplayer mode. It’s described as a “lethal game of hide-and-seek” as one survivor tries to survive five other players who are shape-shifting mimic aliens. What’s clear is that Epic Games Store users are eating good on May 12, as both games come packed with interesting content.
Epic Games Store users get a handful of free games every month.