Words: Mahin Kesore
Another week brings with it more new games to try for free - or 'free' with subscription services - so why spend anything more when there's so much on offer. Especially for you horror fans - October is your month, and deservedly so. Here are this week's spooky and also not so spooky free games.
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Play As A Hero Or A Villain On The Epic Games Store
If the Overwatch-like shooter Paladins didn't win you over when it first released in September 2018, give it another chance with the Epic Games Store's free 'Epic Pack', which gets you four Champions and an alternate skin for each one. It is the season for dressing up, after all. The pack is available for download until October 21.
A few seasonally relevant, possibly-pumpkin-spiced games can be yours for free on the Epic Games Store this month. Available right now is Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse. Less of a horror game and more a slapstick comedy kind of experience, built on the Halo engine and originally released for the original Xbox, it sees you munch brains across a retro-futuristic town as the titular reanimated anti-hero. We reviewed the game's remaster here - and that's the version you can get on the EGS, right here.
Stubbs leaves the EGS on October 21, so snap it up while you can. Once it's gone, a spooky replacement arrives in the form of Among the Sleep - Enhanced Edition.
Play The Scarily Good 'Resident Evil - Code: Veronica X' And More On Xbox Games With Gold
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Colourful and futuristic multiplayer parkour game Hover is one of the two games hitting Xbox Games with Gold this month - it's definitely got some Jet Set Radio vibes about it - but the other inclusion is definitely more seasonally appropriate, with Halloween around the corner. Resident Evil - Code: Veronica X is a must-play game within its series, developed in tandem with Resident Evil 3 and set chronologically after the events of the second game. Indeed, it's often considered the true sequel to that survival horror classic.
You can read more about why Code Veronica is such a Resi essential here - and both it and Hover are available for Games With Gold subscribers to download and keep from October 16. If you're really quick about it, you can still grab Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, as it's available until October 15; and the excellent rhythm shooter Aaero will be up until October 31. Find more information here.
'Destiny 2: Beyond Light' And 'Back 4 Blood' Blast Onto Xbox Game Pass
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Some big hitters arrive on Xbox Game Pass this week, starting with the Destiny 2: Beyond Light expansion. Destiny 2 has had a questionable run with attracting new players to the game when it took down its main story campaign and then went free to play, leaving people who paid for the game and midway through its campaign suddenly at a loss. With its fifth expansion now on Game Pass, is giving this game another chance your destiny?
The highly anticipated Back 4 Blood is also on Game Pass, right now. This co-op zombie shooter was developed by former members of the Left 4 Dead team, and they're certainly not hiding away with that with the new game's name. So you'll have to decide on whether you like killing zombies or aliens - or why not take a chance on some of the other games coming to the service this week. The Rift Breaker, Ring of Pain and The Good Life have also dropped on Xbox Game Pass, and are available to download right now!
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Related: check out who you'll be playing as in Back 4 Blood
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Trial, Trial, And Trial Again With New PlayStation 5 Additions
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Game Trials on the PS5 are relatively new with it having started on October 1 with Sackboy: A Big Adventure and Death Stranding: Director's Cut. This new service gives players five hours to try out a game and decide if they like it or not, and this week saw Biomutant added to this the trial list until October 28.
Set in a post-apocalyptic open world, this game is something like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild... if you played as Epona. Customise your main character, who is some form of mutated animal depending on your choices, and explore a land covered in toxic waste, enemies and remnants of a previous world. And if you're not yet swayed, read our review here. Do note, however, that your trial begins at the start of downloading your game, so those of you with slow internet, be warned.
Freak Out In The 'Apex Legends Monsters Within Event'
It really is the week for free add-ons to existing games - but I'm not complaining! The Monsters Within Event for Apex Legends is on right now, and while it's live (until November 2) players can experience the new map 'Encore', and can go down three different reward tracks - one for each week of the event, granting players cosmetics, loot pack skins and more! During the last week of the event, the highly anticipated 'Shadow Royale' mode is also back. This mode sees players come back to life in Shadow Form to help teammates out. Did I mention this was Halloween related at all?
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So, there we have all the best content that free gaming can offer - and this is just the start of the spookiest month of the year. Expect some more dark-sided games within the next few weeks - and if that's not your thing, Christmas is just around the corner so before long I'm sure we can also expect some wholesome wintry gaming goodness.
Follow the author on Twitter at Machine_Mahin, and GAMINGbible at @GAMINGbible.
Featured Image Credit: Aspyr, THQ Nordic, CapcomTopics: Resident Evil, free games