PC gaming can be an expensive hobby if you’re primarily concerned with the big budget triple A titles out there. Thankfully services like Steam provide a plethora of affordable and even free games that offer excellent high quality gameplay. Here’s my list of the 10 Best Free-to-Play Steam Games you really should check out.
Number 10: Brawlhalla: Brawlhalla is a 2D platform fighter game in which up to four players compete in a series of vibrant and dynamic arenas. This is a button bashing, old school-style side scrolling action platformer complete with a massive amount of unlockable content and power-ups.
While the gameplay appears overly simplistic, you’ll find yourself playing this one longer than you might expect. It’s a surprisingly fun party game to play with your friends.
Number 9: Unturned: These blocky graphics may remind you of Minecraft but this is actually a zombie survival game in a large open world. Your goal is to scavenge for supplies, weapons and food as you seek to survive against hordes of blocky zombie enemies. You’ll also stave off infection from their nasty zombie bites and make use of a multitude of vehicles. Don’t let the deliberately primitive graphics fool you, Unturned is a very intense and at times unnerving zombie survival simulator.
Number 8: Trove: This is a sandbox MMORPG in which you play as one of multiple classes. You make use of portals that allow you to progress to new game worlds, each with their own set of objectives and challenges. As you might imagine from this genre of game, there’s no particular narrative to follow, the objectives and tasks you choose to achieve in Trove are as wide and multifaceted as the game world itself.
You’ll loot for resources, craft buildings, fight off NPCs, trade with other players and unlock new items and abilities across a range of professions. What you get out of these games is directly proportional to the effort you put in.
Number 7: Team Fortress 2: There’s a good reason this game continues to show up in most Top 10 Free Steam Game lists, it’s a classic. Filled with fun and entertaining characters, Team Fortress 2 stays true to its roots and focuses on tactical team-based FPS gameplay. There’s a ton of games modes, 70 maps, lots of unlockable items and content and an enormity of replay value. It’s a must-have for anyone with Steam installed on their computer.
Number 6: Dota 2: This massive multiplayer online arena game is played in discrete matches in 3D environments and the player commands an arsenal of 109 heroes, each with their own sets of powerful combat strengths. It ranks very highly on Steam with over 800,000 concurrent players daily, there’s a bit of a steep learning curve here but once you get into it, it’s offers some great mechanics and superb fun.
Number 5: Lord of the Rings Online: Another MMORPG this time steeped in the intricate mythology of the JRR Tolken’s Middle Earth universe, you play as a customisable avatar appropriate to the Lord of the Rings franchise. Hobbits, Dwarfs and Elves are all available if you’re willing to make a small in-app purchase or you can begin as a human and unlock them later.
You explore a truly vast open world complete with all of the atmosphere, lore, nuances and backstory of the cinematic franchise. You interact with NCPs and other players completing missions, gaining experience levels and progressing in the storyline. You hone your battle skills in a variety of combat scenarios, gain health and hit points through LOTRO morale, which is accumulated through food, rest, music and battle cries.
You also engage in cooking and farming as part of the game’s crafting system. Fellowships can be formed with up to six characters to complete quests and pursue group hunts. This is a lovingly recreated tribute to the Lord of the Rings movie series and books and beautifully captures its rich and colourful mythos.
Number 4: Marvel Heroes: An action role play game set in the Marvel universe with all of your favourite super heroes such as Captain America, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Wolverine, Ant-Man, Spiderman and many more besides. The game is free-to-play but is supported through micro-transactions like Lord of the Rings Online so be aware of that. The story is as follows, Doctor Doom has stolen the Cosmic Cube while the heroes must stop him from using it.
They’ll fight against a range of franchise super villains and once Doom has been defeated you can unlock the Bifrost Bridge to Asgard. Combat is slick although can get a bit repetitive at times but spell effects, special moves and character animations and models are true to the franchise. If you’re a Marvel fan you should enjoy this one.
Number 3: Star Conflict: Dogs of War: 3D space combat with excellent weapons, frenetic online play and gorgeous graphics what’s not to love? It’s a great sci-fi space simulator. You fire lasers, torpedoes and command fighters, light vessels and capital warships. Battles are intense and tough and I found it a bit disappointing that this game is online only. A single player campaign mode would have been nice. Nevertheless, this is an awesome game that’s well worth downloading.
Number 2: No More Room in Hell: This is a truly terrifying FPS zombie survival game. This is a free mod for Half-Life 2, so you’ll need to own that game before you can play this. The post-apocalyptic action takes place in a variety of abandoned locations such as downtown city areas, rural farm houses, shopping malls and military bases. You use a variety of weapons from shotguns, handguns and machine guns but melee weapons are my favourite and usually the most accurate.
The game is played online with human-controlled teammates as you battle to withstand 10 waves of zombie hordes. You can board up doorways and windows to keep out the undead and you’ll receive FEMA supply drops, which provide weapons, ammunition and medical supplies to help fight infection if you’ve been bitten. It’s an insanely tough and unnerving game that’s as fun as it is terrifying.
Number 1: War Thunder: A World War 2 multiplayer combat game that combines both air and land-based battles together. It’s truly extraordinary that this game is free, excellent graphics and amazing online performance. You fight as either the Russians, Americans, British or Japanese across large battlefields. It’s long and short-range team-based action where you seek to gain control over crucial tactical zones on the map.
There are various in-app purchases but grinding for better weaponry and tanks isn’t necessary. There’s an insane amount of high-quality gameplay on offer here and anyone who has Steam installed for their PC or Mac should download this game ASAP. War Thunder is exceptional.
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