Of 2014: The “Free” Games
One thing I tried to do in 2014 was come up with a better term for the games you get when you keep a paid membership to a service. Calling them “free” games and putting a major emphasis on the quotations is the easiest but it isn’t being totally honest. Rights-limited-access Games, no. Fringe Benefit Games, no. I dunno, I guess we just keep calling them “free” and everyone agrees that we all know they aren’t really “free”.
Despite finally getting some goods from Microsoft, 2014’s “free” games weren’t all that great. They basically served as confirmation that I didn’t like a bunch of games I was curious about. Aside from Binding of Isaac I won’t be re-upping my memberships to hold onto access to many of these games. Here’s just a quick thought on each as I run down the list of all the “free” games I played.
Ooh! What if we call them Gimme Games? No? No.
Xbox 360 and Xbox One
Chariot
Another pleasant indie puzzle platformer. Played alone it’s not so much fun so I stopped.
Crimson Dragon
All the fun of a Panzer Dragoon game crippled by the constant nagging of modern free-to-play design; microtransactions, limiting “energy” and repetitive grinding.
Deadlight
Love the art style and setting but the control never feels reliable enough to enjoy the dressing.
Max: The Curse of Brotherhood
The analog sticks stand in well for the traditional motion controls and the game presents an enjoyable, if mild, physics-powered puzzle platformer.
Strike Suit Zero: Director’s Cut
A sterile and boring space shooter with all the fun of anime nonsense for a story.
Super Time Force
Neat time mechanic and internet humor. Despite being only a few hours long it still felt like it overstayed its welcome.
Volgarr the Viking
Yup, that’s Rastan alright! A great, punishing throwback of an arcade game.
PlayStation 3 and Vita
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
1000% more secrets! I like everything they did with this long-in-development expansion… except for the music.
Borderlands 2
More like Bored– eh, you get the joke. I don’t like Borderlands.
Doki-Doki Universe
A unique adventure game akin to Scribblenauts or LittleBigPlanet. You might learn something about yourself too.
Luftrausers
Not as bad as I initially felt about it, it’s a decent way to kill 35 seconds and maybe unlock something new.
Muramasa Rebirth
Umm, just not my thing anymore. Loved the art though.
My Singing Monsters
Sculpting a tune over a series of days was neat. Ultimately just another F2P “game” I bored of quickly.
Puppeteer
Ultra gorgeous art, frustrating control. Really a shame because I wanted to dive deep into this one.
Quiet Please
An enjoyably simple adventure game with an appreciably simple goal.
Smart As…
… an idiot. This game made me feel pretty dumb. It also took way too long to load and restart.
TkX
That sure is Tempest. I’m no good at Tempest.
Unit 13
Almost up to snuff with the action of a Splinter Cell or Metal Gear, this Vita launch game is pretty bland and I dropped it pretty quickly.
