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Introduction:
UPDATE:
Just a short intro. Due to my recent addiction to freeware games (that was due to my lack of funds) I decided to compile a list of the freeware games I found the best. I've wasted a lot of time on the games, so I thought that everyone should too! Mind you, this is only the main
Speaking of suggesting, suggest any game not on the list since
The most beloved free game of all time, Cave Story has been played by millions of gamers across the webs. The depth of the story combined with fun and exciting gameplay mechanics make it a very good game. Even more amazing, it's only a megabyte big, without all the extras. Everyone should play it. And I do mean everyone.
Desktop Tower Defense
Desktop Tower Defense is one of the most addictive games ever created. It's sucks you in and before you know it, it's 3 am in the morning and you're half asleep. If you're trying to finish something due tomorrow, do not play it. However, if it's Sunday and there's nothing you can do, fire up this flash game and prepare to get your time wasted.
Knytt Stories
Knytt Stories is a platformer in which you go through levels which are called stories, and where very story has its own unique, well, story. It seems like a simplistic platformer at first glance however it isn't. While the developer has only released a few stories on his own, there are a plethora of user-created stories to be found at his forum. These vary greatly in plot and difficulty so there's something in there for everyone.
Grand Theft Auto 1 & 2
Who would have thought Rockstar was this generous? Not only do they release a game for free, but they release 3. (they also have a rare gem called Wild Metal available) The classic top-down crime gameplay is still great fun, even by today's standards. It's still pretty good actually. Worth a download even if you have to sign up for their mailing list.
Sam and Max 104: Abe Lincoin Must Die
One of my favorites on this list, this adventure game starring the crime fighting dog and hyper-kinetic rabbity thing was released for free out of season one. I actually consider it to be the best of the season so that's a good thing. It's still as funny and as randomly entertaining as ever, and the classic point and click gameplay becomes really fun when you get dialog like this. Available on Steam.
osu!
Osu is a free rhythm game that is based primarily upon the Ouendan series, however it also takes elements from numerous other rhythm games like Taiko. Thanks to it's easily usable beat maker, Osu has a wide variety of songs called "beatmaps". They range from rock to pop to classical, and to the most seen and which is credited for a large number of the playerbase, Anime songs. It's fun, easy to learn but hard to master, and has too many songs to count.
TrackMania Nations Forever
This game was released to promote their full version, however it plays much like a full game itself. Even with the limited tracks and such, it's still great fun. The controls work great and the physics are wacky. It's not really the most realistic driving game in the world, but it's definitely great to play with you jumping up ramps and across lakes. Available on Steam and through their website.
Karoshi
Karoshi is a unique platformer because in this game, the aim is to die. No seriously, you're supposed to die. There are a total of 5 games in the series, all of them have something that makes them particularly special. For example, in the 5th game, you're supposed to figure out a way for both you and everyone else to die. It's insanely fun and kinda sadistic to try and kill your character. Then again, "Karoshi" means death from overwork.
Crayon Physics
The deluxe version may have already come out but the original is still on the internet and as good as ever. The drawing puzzle gameplay is still very fun. Some of you may have played Pocket Physics on the DS. This is sort of like that, except for the fact that you have to solve puzzles using your drawn creations.
Quake Live
Quake Live is Quake III Arena in your browser. Yes, in your browser. Thanks to a plugin, it plays within Firefox and now, Chrome. It's about as fun and twitchy as it was before. It's smooth, responsive, and well worth it for the tiny price of 0. It's the fast paced FPS that we all remember. Playable in your browser.
11-20
Super Crate Box is reminescent of old arcade games. And it plays a lot like it too. Combining action with some platforming gameplay, it's a fast paced and addictive game. It's simplistic, but it's very difficult to master. I remember when I first played it, I kept dying in the tutorial. It's going to keep you interested for a long time. Another thing I love is the nice soundtrack.
Alien Swarm
The game is a top down shooter released by our beloved Valve. The game is very professionally made for a free game and Valve decided to be generous. The gameplay is quite refreshing. The tactical gameplay is nice and well made, and the graphics are superb, at least for something free. Available on Steam.
RunMan: Race Around The World
Runman is a very fun platforming game with some elements derived from Sonic. You have to run to the end as fast as you possible. You can't die, you just get spit out where you came from where you die. It's actually superior to Sonic in some aspects. Since you can't die, you don't have to worry about going back to the start of the level. Just keep going until the end. It's pure fun and has very high replayability since you'll want to keep beating your own score. The graphics and soundtrack are adorable by the way.
Spelunky
Everyone loves Spelunky right? Yes, that's right. Spelunky is essentially a platformer + dungeon crawler where your character travels through underground caverns and such to retrieve goodies, treasure, and to save damsels in distress. The maps in the game are randomly generated so you never go what you're gonna get. That is probably the cause of the large difficulty curve that a new player has to face. It's quite easy to die but once you get the hang of it, it's going to be really fun.
N
You've probably played N+ right? Well, this is the original. The addicting yet frustrating ninja is still as fun as ever. And with user-submitted content and levels. I don't have to explain much here.
Echoes
This game, not to be confused with another game I've never heard of, is sort of like Asteroids. And Geometry Wars. But according to the website, it really is Asteroids hyperactive, drug crazed brother displayed in blur-o-vision© and viewed through psychedelic sunglasses in a cheap nightclub. Yeah, so it's a really fun Shmup. Really fun and really wacky too.
Eversion
This is a very good platformer. No game could go from extremely cute and adorable to seriously fucked up this fast. One moment, the world is full of clouds and flowers, and the other, there's one eyed black things, bubbles that look like their made of tar, and (this genuinely creeped me out) hands that randomly pop out from the sea and try to grab you. It's seriously fucked up, yet they actually take these things and turn them into great gameplay mechanics. If you're not easily scared, give it a shot.
Dwarf Fortress
This ASCII-ish game is very complex and very unique. Perhaps it may turn players off immediately by its intimidating difficulty, however if you get into it, it becomes really good. The difficulty is immense though, you'll die. Very often. However, the extreme depth and things to do here and the number of elements thrown there really make it worth a play, even though the motto of the game is "Losing is fun."
Canabalt
Canabalt is a simplistic action game where you simply press one button to jump over buildings and obstacles. It's not so deep or compelling, but it is great for coffee breaks or when you're bored. It's surprisingly fun actually.
Spirit Engine 2
This is a very good RPG. It implements a Real Time Sidescrolling system that's very deep and fun. The story is large, so large that is spans multiple characters and plots and all of that. It has very enjoyable graphics and dialog.
21-30
Desktop Dungeons is a very compacted and unique rogue like game. It's very complex yet one game of it manages to last 10 minutes, just about perfect for your snack break. It's deep and challenging due to the plethora of aspects like classes and races. The random-generation aspect of the game makes for a fresh experience each time. Perhaps one of the most different rogue-likes I've ever seen.
What Linus Bruckman Sees When His Eyes Are Closed
This is an excerpt from my review of the game:
"The way that this game plays is innovative and unique. It's one of the most original games I've ever played, and it's well worth a play even if the puzzle gameplay may seem to be a turn off. It's an amazing game and there's not really a reason why you shouldn't play it. The story is one of the most engrossing ones I've ever experienced. It's definitely a must-try."
And since I'm sure that's not descriptive enough, I'll (shamelessly) include a link to my review.
Fraxy
Fraxy is a great SHMUP with a very high level of customization. The user can easily customize the sprites, music, effects and other parts of the game. You can create stages of your own and bosses to go with them. Due to this, there is a lot of user downloadable content to be found on their website. Pretty great game to fool around with.
Iji
Iji is an action-packed strategic platform shooter with a detailed story, large levels with multiple paths, powerful bosses and lots of secrets. It's story is gigantic since most actions you take affect the dialog and events in many different ways. There is a high level of replayability since you'll want to see everything that happens, and also due to the great gameplay with a great leveling system. I know what I'm about to say may sound like blasphemy, but this game may actually be just as good as Cave Story.
Minecraft Classic
Minecraft Classic is the free version of the EXTREMELY POPULAR Minecraft. It's a version that allows you to just build and build without the complications of material gathering and such. It's played in the browser and is quite extensive for a free version. While it may have a limited number of available objects, it's still very fun to tinker around with. The perfect version for those tired of collecting and for those that have a lack of funds to buy the beta version.
King's Quest Series
King's Quest is a fantastic point and click adventure game in a fantasy setting. All of them have very large and engaging stories and interesting gameplay. The games are now available for free and all of them are worth a play. Fantastic game for anyone who like adventure games of this sort.
Meat Boy
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While it's big brother Super Meat Boy may be better and bigger, this game is nearly just as fun. Perhaps it may not have the shiny graphics and level design of the sequel, it's platforming goodness is still here. And it's free and ready for you to play online. What more can you really ask for?
Beneath A Steel Sky
While there are other free games released for the ScummVM software, this probably stood out the most. It provides a fantastically told story that's dark and gloomy. While the graphics may not seem like much, this story is one that is amazing to experience. According to a review of this game, "there are many newer games with infinitely superior graphics and sound that are inferior experiences to this."
Command and Conquer: Tiberian Dawn
The original Command and Conquer was released for free at some point. We all know the game by now so it's almost futile for me to describe it. The only problem is that it was taken off of the website, but it's still legally available to download for free. It's still Command and Conquer in all of its beautiful glory, amazingly fantastic.
To those that can't run it, here's a fix, courtesy of p1ngpong: Go into your game folder and set compatibility to windows 95 for the game exe, and then download and replace one of the game dll's in that same folder with the updated one in the file that can be downloaded below.
Samorost
Before Samorost 2 became famous, Samorost 1 was a very small and simplistic flash game. The story is interesting for some reason, and the puzzles are compelling, but what really makes the game stand out is the surrealistic art style and the unique score. This is a fascinating game that employs a message.
31-40
Nethack is an extremely popular game that nearly everyone who surfs the interwebz knows about. For those of you who don't know it for some reason, it's a roguelike game that primarily has an ASCII interface (although that can be changed pretty easily) that has a very good gameplay system, even though it's was developed in 1987. Since then, a large number of Graphical mods have been released and it is still being updated.
Battleships Forever
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Battleships Forever is an RTS game inspired by Warning Forever (which will appear on this list later on). This game is quite an innovative and detailed game. Almost every calculation concerning damage and battle is precise. There are numerous ships available and the abilities in these ships are new and original. For example, there is a shield in the game that allows you to draw the shape of the field.
Within a Deep Forest
Within a Deep Forest is a platforming game from the creator of Knytt Stories and Knytt, both of which are featured on this list. The base gameplay is generally much more difficult than Knytt, and that's a good thing actually for those who thought Knytt was really easy. (it was) The music is beautiful and the backgrounds are vivid.
Toribash
Toribash is a ragdoll-like physics based fighting game. If that sounds weird, then you're right. It is weird. But it is a very innovative game. In Toribash, you create the moves that your fighter is going to make, making it quite different from most fighting games where your character is limited to a set of moves given to him. Very fun to play and experiment with.
Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory
Wolfenstein: ET is a popular multiplayer-only FPS released as a freeware game when the planned implimimentation to the actual game didn't work out. Good for us that got this free game. The co-op gameplay is nice. There are two teams which must complete their objectives and the other must prevent them. There are a plethora of maps, not the official ones but user-made maps.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy & Remake
There are two versions to this game. First is the original text based version, and the second plays more like a graphic adventure. Both are fantastic games. They both generally have the same plot, however it's your decision which way you would rather experience it. Though at times, the text may be considered superior, the remake is more visual and thus easier to get into. Pick and play one.
Blocksum
There are many Tetris clones that made their own spin on things and such, however this one differs quite a lot from the others. This one is a puzzle game where instead of having to match colors, you have to connect numbers. You should have seriously quick counting skills and tetris skills to survive. That being said, this is a fantastic clone of Tetris that is certainly unique and very addictive.
Cloud
Before the creators of the well received Flower opened their game company, Cloud was their first game. And if you've played even the slightest bit of flower, you probably know what this game is going to be like. Cloud is a simplistic puzzle game that is intended to spark emotion in the player. It certainly achieves that. The entire game's ambient images of clouds were so.... *closed eyes*.
Grid Wars 1 & 2
Grid Wars is one of those games that never made is secret that it is basically a clone. It's a clone of Geometry Wars. Nearly every aspect right down to the name is similar to Grid Wars. It's so good and so close to Grid Wars that it eventually led to it being taken down, but no fear, it's still available, along with it's sequel, Grid Wars 2. It's basically your fix of Geometry Wars for free.
Warning Forever
One of my personal favorites, Warning Forever is another Shmup. "*Groan*, another Shmup?" Yes, be quiet. There are a lot of free shmups for some reason. This one is pretty bare, there's not even any background music. (you have to place it yourself) However, the gameplay is addictive. You have to battle a boss repeatedly, and the boss gets STRONGER AND STRONGER until his body occupies nearly the entire screen and it's hard to get anywhere without running into him. You will spend the next two hours of your like playing it once you start.
41-50
Allegiance is a game developed by Microsoft that no one played and was thus, abandoned by Microsoft. Now, it's being operated by a group of volunteers, even though it still has a low playerbase. It's an online strategy game where there are multiple faction that expand their bases and fight with other factions in order to do so. It's excellently made, and still well maintained.
The Ur-Quan Masters
Ur-Quan Masters is a freeware version of the PC and 3DO game, Star Control II.The game is an Adventure game in which you are tasked to free earth by battling and making alliences with diferent races. There is also a mode where you simply battle. Suffice to say that it is actually ]improved from the original, adding quite a bit of modifications that better the game as a whole.
Chalk
Chalk is somewhat similar to Okami, except with chalk instead of a celestial paintbrush, and with guns instead of fire demons. It's simple, yet very fun. It's gameplay approach is quite innovative, and you can define your own playstyle based on what you prefer to draw. You remove bullets by drawing circles, create them to use them as weapons, or deflect them. Your pick, but it's fun no matter what way you play it.
Dyson
You guys all know Eufloria, right? Of course you guys do. Well, this is what it was before it was commercially released. It used to be known as Dyson and Dyson is still online and free. It doesn't have as many features and thingies that Eufloria has, but no matter. It's still ambient and atmpospheric as ever. The procedurally generated gameplay is great.
Frozzd
Frozzd is an excellent game. This is a line taken from a review: “If only every freeware game had this level of professional polish, then maybe there would be much fewer wars and absolutely no terrorists.” While that may be an obvious hyperbole, it's adorable characters and wintery themes make this a memorable action adventure game. A tad bit strategic, the gameply is highly refined.
Freeciv
Freeciv, as you may have guessed, is a free game largely based on the Civilization series. It's actually more akin to Civilization II than the others. While it doesn't have the depth and polish of Civilization IV and V, it's very good for what it is. It's playable in your browser, so try it right now. There's also a game similar to it called Freecol, which wasn't included here but will be included as an honorable mention later on.
Give Up Robot 1 & 2
The Give Up Robot series is a psychedelic series of platformers that feel sort of similar to Portal due to the fact that there is a robot voice that nags you in ways. In the game, you control a robot who uses a hook in order to get through multiple stages, sort of like puzzles. It's fun and wacky and has very creatively made levels.
Marathon Trilogy
The Marathon Trilogy was developed by Bungie before they released their hit series, Halo. There are 3 games (obviously) and they are all very good, you can see that the company exhibited their ability even before they released Halo. Marathon is a very good FPS. It was originally developed for Mac and has no official Windows release, however the website has a few tools to get around that.
Hero Core
Hero Core is the sequel to Hero, and developed by the creator of Iji. It's a retro inspired Adventure Shmup (YES ANOTHER F'ING SHMUP) that is greatly non-linear. Actually, with the way the worl is designed you could head straight for the final area right away although I don't know if anyone would actually want that. The gameplay is pretty easy to learn, however the difficulty is quite great, especially on hard mode. Very worth a play.
Knytt
Probably one of my very first free indie games, Knytt is a very simplistic and easy game. The story on the other hand is excellent and quite similar to Earthbound. The game is very atmospheric and ambient, and the backgrounds are lush and are waiting to be explored. It's also extremely adorable for some reason. There's also a mod available called Brutally Unfair Knytt, and it's much more insane than the normal one.
User Submissions
A classic RPG released in 1996. Outdated, but the experience is good nonetheless. Great for those that would like to relieve the game too.
AnUntitledStory
AnUntitledStory is a metroidvania type of game (by the same guy that made RunMan). -Rydian It's pretty nice. Remember to play it with a gamepad. It's how it was meant to be played. Really cool and interesting.
Jumpman
Jumpman is a simplistic platformer where the basic goal is to get to the exit. It's very simplistic, however it's great to keep you busy repeatedly. It's REALLY simplistic actually. However, simplistic in a good way.
Synaesthete
I haven't played this in detail yet, but from what I've played this game is very well crafted, has a great concept and has a great soundtrack. Very, very worth a play. I might even kick off one of my top 50 spots just for this one. (that'll probably be Minecraft Classic when it goes out of business)
Red Alert: A Path Beyond
A sort of TPS/FPS/Strategy type game that I haven't played yet, but from what I've read and seen it looks pretty good. Fron the official site: "Red alert: A Path Beyond brings the exciting storyline and epic clashes from the classic Westwood Studios game "Command & Conquer: Red alert" to realm of first person shooters."
The Suffering
The Suffering is a survival horror game that was previously released as a commercial game for the XBOX, PC and PS2. (I think) However, it's free for the PC now (albeit with some mildly obtrusive ads) so that's good. It's a pretty big download, at 1.3 GB, but it'll be worth it since it's a very fun game. Er.. I didn't actually download it myself since I have some other stuff on my download agenda.
Igneous
Igneous is an adventure platformer where you have to navigate through a volcano. As obvious already, the entire game world is filled with all sorts of fire based things. I don't have much to say other than it looks fantastic graphically. "You're a stone that rolls away around obstacles. The engine is custom built from scrap and is kind of demanding for a free game." - omgpwn666 (My netbook can't run it so I had to use my cousin's laptop to test it out XD.)
Octodad
Octodad is an adventure game about an octopus that pretends to be a human. He's having numerous problems on mastering how to use his tentacles in order to preform mundane human tasks with his tentacles and keeping the secret of his octopus-ness from his human family. Perhaps the story sound wacky, well it is, but it's handled with a surprising amount of grace. Interesting, to say the least.
Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles
A very grand-scale Puzzle game with a STORY MODE that contributes over 30 hours of playtime. Oh the glory. It's gameplay is surprisingly fun, and the concept and gameplay are very extensive, most especially for a puzzle game. Definitely worth a play for puzzle lovers, and just about everyone else.
Dink Smallwood
I haven't given this a shot yet so unfortunately I'm not able to give it my own description, so here's a couple of glowing review quotes. "The main hook in this game has to be the sense of humor that permeates it... the difference is that this game is beautiful, gory, and has a wonderful (and twisted) sense of humor." "Dink Smallwood has been written about in many game magazines, including PC Gamer and PC Games, and is considered to be one of the highest-quality shareware freeware RPGs in cyberspace."
System Shock
System Shock is a freeware, or more appropriately, an abandonware game released in 1994 to huge critical acclain and that's for good reason. System Shock is a great blend of numerous elements that somehow are coherent with one another. The dark, dystopian storytelling and the great gameplay system that's somewhat of an RPG, FPS and Adventure are make this a great game. Shame I didn't find it was free when I was writing this list.
Honorable Mentions
You Have To Burn The Rope is a comment and an insult to common Video Game culture. Perhaps it's considered akin to Portal, however it almost reverses the concept of Portal's complexity. You Have To Burn The Rope is probably the simplest game ever made, yet somehow some people can't figure out what to do. Those are the same people who skip tutorials. It takes you 2 minutes to play the game, however it's worth your time for the ending song alone. Play it now. If you can't win, post it here. XD
Codename: Gordon
C'mon. You have to have heard of this at some point already. The somewhat fan-made spin-off to Half Life 2 is still available and it's still shiny and glorious. It's still fun for some 2D Shooting glory. Worth a download, it's available on Steam too, but it doesn't have a link. If someone could give me to link, it would be much appreciated. For now, I'll just post the normal download.
The Breach
A sci-fi metroidvania that's more metroid than vania. It's a fun and extremely atmospheric sci-fi action platformer with a great story. Worth a try, it's flash anyways.
Robot Unicorn Attack/Heavy Metal
It's not the most complex or advanced game gameplay wise, but we can all agree that the reason why this game is selling so well is because it's funny. It's funny because of the extremely flamboyant presentation of the first game, and the fact that everything suddenly turned weird in the second. And the theme song. After you play if a few times, you begin to realize that you've been singing the song of the first or banging your head to the song of the second. I dare you to forget about this game. You can't.
8Bit Killer
The game is an 8bit FPS. Doesn't that sound unique? Well yes, yes it is. It's a short game, but the gameplay mechanics, the retro look and feel and great soundtrack certainly make it worth a play. The story isn't the best, but, cut it some slack. It's meant to be a 90's game.
Rescue: The Beagles
This game is an adorable, animal friendly platformer that should be on PETA's campaign (but it isn't, since they prefer things like Super Tofu Boy, bleeeech!). The game is a simplistic and nicely designed platformer where you must rescue, well beagles, all while not getting beaten by the bad guys. It seems really... er... well, it doesn't sound that good written but trust me, the game will surprise you with it's fun simplicity. Give it a shot.
Teeworlds
Teeworlds is a retro online multiplayer shooter that's like an adorable 2D idea of a deathmatch game. You control these little adorable Kirby-like characters in which you nuke it out against your foes and enemies online in a variety of game modes. It's ADORABLE. For some reason. Even if I get killed by tons of nukes, I still find time to look at the cute visuals.
FreeCol
FreeCol is a strategy game often associated with FreeCiv, although they really aren't the same thing. FreeCol is based upon an old game called Colonization, NOT Civilization: Colonization. It's gameplay is somewhat similar to it's other free buddy, however in this game your goal is to create an independent country with a group of colonists. Nice strategic gameplay.
Passage
Passage isn't really much of a game, so much as it is a message. It's not really possible to reveal that much without spoiling it, however I'll try. You're supposed to go through the passage "of life" and basically you right ahead of you. Your viewpoint is limited to only the tiles ahead, meaning you have to go down or up to see what's there. Play it. And then read the creator's statement.
GENETOS
Genetos is basically a history lesson on Shmups. As you go through the game, the levels are built to represent the different stages of the genre's history, and it's evolution to what it is now. I think it's the first game ever to do that actually. It's a unique look at what your dad used to play in the Arcade, or what you may have played in the arcade. (I'm 14, and my dad hates video games so I don't belong to either of them)
*NOT DONE YET WITH HONORABLE MENTIONS, MORE TO COME!*