Octopus Overlords

It’s Thursday, and that means it’s time to see the next selection of free PC games from the Epic Games Store. Epic has revealed what to expect next week, and it’s – wait a minute. Friends, I have been writing a news story about the free Epic game once per week for well over a year now, and we have entered unprecedented times. The next free Epic title is a “mystery game”.

Yes, for the first time I can remember, the latest free Epic Games Store title is going to remain a mystery until it launches. It’ll still go live on May 14 at the usual time of 8:00 PDT / 11:00 EDT / 16:00 BST, and you’ll be able to hit the promotion page, claim the game, and add it to your account forever. Probably. I don’t know, things are changing and I’m scared.

Epic’s been making a few changes to its rollout of free games, including the temporary requirement of two-factor authentication in order to claim the giveaways. The three-week window of enhanced security – and the mystery around this next launch – suggest that maybe next week’s game is going to be big. Or maybe Epic just wants to mess with us news writers.

We’ll find out for sure on May 14.

For now, you can pick up Death Coming, a cutesy murder simulator about harvesting human souls, as part of this week’s promotion.

Sudy wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 11:34 am And they're very offline.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 12:49 pm I do wonder why they don't have a separate connection to their authentication servers so that a rush on the store doesn't lock everyone out of their game libraries.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 9:58 am The "mystery" free game is GTA V.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 1:28 pm Will grab it while it's free though, and maybe I'll find a time I can lock myself in the office and give it a shot at some point.

Sudy wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 3:11 pm Jokes aside, switching the language doesn't work... mine still shows as English being selected. I get a different display language every time I restart the client.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 1:28 pm I've always been interested in it, but never pulled the trigger because, frankly, I'm not sure when I'd ever get to play it. Cursing is frowned upon at the Skinypupy household, and there's just not that many times when neither the kids or the wife are around that I'd be able to fire up a game like that. I used to have a couple hours every week to play any M-rated games while they were at church, but since that's been cancelled, I'm kinda out of luck on that front.

Will grab it while it's free though, and maybe I'll find a time I can lock myself in the office and give it a shot at some point.

coopasonic wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 4:54 pm Headphones?

It's amusing that it is the swearing that gets you in trouble, not the murder and crime. We really screwed our priorities up. (it's the same in my house, for the record, though my kids are a bit older)

Daehawk wrote: ↑Sat May 16, 2020 12:19 pm Ghost Recon Breakpoint is about $20. With a $10 coupon its only $10. Is it like Wildlands or a different type game?

Lassr wrote: ↑Sun May 17, 2020 12:28 pm I used the $10 coupon to pre-purchase Old World. Looks fun, from the maker of Civ IV.

coopasonic wrote: ↑Sat May 16, 2020 6:20 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Sat May 16, 2020 12:19 pm Ghost Recon Breakpoint is about $20. With a $10 coupon its only $10. Is it like Wildlands or a different type game?

Very similar to Wildlands, but far from the same. Breakpoint feels less structured which might sound better, but it's not. Open world games can be too open, as it turns out. I can't think of any way breakpoint improved on wildlands