Free Games: Flight Sim, Saints Row, and 'Celeste'

How do you like free stuff on a cold November night? This week, we're taking a leisurely trip around the world, climbing a desolate mountain, and being trapped in a terrifying simulation by aliens taking over planet Earth.

That's right, I'm back with more freebies for you lot. We have mountains of treats for the cold winter evenings. Something to lose yourself in or an all-time classic (according to me). You have a whole load of exciting treats to play, depending on your subscriptions and consoles. From PC to Stadia, you're covered here.

Microsoft

Like Shooting Stars

Fancy taking to the skies on a glorious trip through the clouds? Love taking the highest of roads and marvelling at the ground below? Or how about trying ill-advised tricks on a consumer-grade 747? Well, Microsoft Flight Simulator is getting a free update which the developers are describing as Microsoft Flight Simulator: Game Of The Year Edition. It's completely free on Xbox Game Pass and is also going to be a free update for anyone who already owns the game. This edition includes five new aircraft and eight new airports, from Leipzig to US airbases, so if you need to get out of the country and take a trip, now is the time. 

If you've been waiting it out and haven't taken the plunge (or the runway, I guess), now is absolutely the time. Players have found tons of ways to make Microsoft Flight Simulator an extremely unique experience, whether that's opening a portal to hell or zooming all the way up to the forbidden beyond of space. In all, Microsoft Flight Simulator is an absolute treat for Game Pass owners, provided you have the hard drive space to match its expectations.

Deep Silver Volition

Stadia's Row

Saints Row IV is one of my favourite games of all time. The utter absurdity of it all just fills my heart with confusion and laughter. So, if I were a Stadia owner who happened to have Stadia Pro, I'd be delighted to hear that Saints Row IV is free right now.

While the series reboot is looking to go down a more grounded route, this gem destroys the planet Earth, kills all humans, and forces our heroes into a simulation a-la The Matrix. You can run around at lightning speed, do over-the-top wrestling moves, and shoot people with a dubstep gun. It was made in 2013, okay?

My Best Friend

My Friend Pedro is a game about murdering on the orders of a sentient banana. It's pretty funky. Violence and destruction ensue as you flip through levels and shoot enemies in the face powered by nothing but adrenaline and intensity.

Using Max Payne-style slow-mo and John Wick-style wanton killing, My Friend Pedro offers an absurdist experience few games have delivered. It's also free on Xbox Game Pass if you fancy it! Now available on both PC and Xbox One, you can start shooting random bad guys for no reason right now.

Gambrinous

Get In The Dungeon

Guild of Dungeoneering is free on the Epic Games Store. That means it's completely free, without requiring any subscription at all. Is it any good, though? 

Well, Guild of Dungeoneering is a turn-based dungeon-crawler with a unique twist: you need to build the dungeon around your hero with cards earned by defeating monsters and adventuring through the rooms you just put down. It's an interesting twist on the standard deckbuilding dungeoneering dalliance, and is well worth a shot, particularly for the low, low price of £0.

Feeling Dicey

If you haven't played Dicey Dungeons before, this is your sign to give it a shot. It got a shoutout in Julian's 2019 Game of the Year list, and it's just as fascinating an experience today. For those of you who like a roguelike deckbuilder, Dicey Dungeons flips the concept upside down and inside out.

The game is based around six-sided dice, but you have access to different characters, all of whom use the dice differently. Maybe rolling a six is the best move that deals the most damage to your enemy with one character, but another requires specific rolls or combinations to emerge victorious. It's a surprisingly deep game when it comes to strategy, and you can get lost in the dungeons for hours on end in a 'just one more run' way. The soundtrack is banging too.

Terry Cavanagh's triumph is free on Xbox Game Pass right now too, so go ahead and get stuck in if you haven't already. 

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That's all for this week's free games! I hope you find something to enjoy in this bunch of treats. It's a lovely excuse for me to jump back into a few games I haven't played in a while, as well as give a few new ones a go. Maybe I'll even take some time to clear out a bit of hard drive space for Flight Sim, and even more time to download it on my excruciatingly slow internet. Have a great weekend everyone.

Topics: Free Games