It's the start of a new month! Are you excited? It's the first payday since Christmas, and good lord, it's much needed. I've had to dip into my tax pot, so my February will be spent building that back up so HMRC doesn't knock my door down and take all my belongings.
So, I can't really justify buying all these fancy new games being released this month, as much as I'd love to. Elden Ring will have to remain on the store shelves until a sale hits. Do you know what that does mean, though? Lots of time to play these glorious free and subscription service games!
So, here's my list of free gems to go for in this short month.
No Lie
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Sam Barlow is a pioneer of Full Motion Video gaming and storytelling. If you haven't played Her Story, stop reading this right now and go give it a go.
Described as a 'desktop thriller', Telling Lies is Barlow's 2019 follow-up. It isn't a direct sequel, so feel free to give it a go right away.
Telling Lies has you using keywords to search for videos on an FBI agent's USB stick. Without spoiling too much (both for you and myself), it goes into spy thriller territory with a hefty dose of interpersonal relationships and lies mixed in.
Mike absolutely loved it, describing it in his feature in glowing terms, praising Telling Lies for its rare requirement of players: actually thinking about things.
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"This is a mystery unlike many others, perhaps any others, in the video game space, where the gameplay - the UI of a computer, basically, and the scrolling of video clips to pause on select phrases and words - is merely a tool for your own grey matter to crunch the numbers, to do the heavy lifting. You can't just click on everything, or poke an avatar into every corner of a room feeling for secrets, and answers will present themselves. Telling Lies demands that you watch, listen and think - and maybe, probably, make a whole load of notes as you go, scrawled across whatever paper you can grab."
It'll go straight on my list, and is available right now on Xbox and PC Game Pass, so go ahead and give it a try.
On A Musical Note...
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Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is free on the Epic Games Store this week. That's right, it's available to keep right now. It's a spin-off to the original Yooka-Laylee, and takes the game into the 2D platforming realm.
You're still controlling the titular chameleon and bat duo (Yooka and Laylee), gaining collectables and boogieing to the Grant Kirkhope soundtrack, and if you're into that kind of thing, you'll have a great ol' time with this game.
It was reviewed very well, with an average of 81 on Metacritic, so grabbing it for free on Epic is an easy decision to make.
Get Scrappy
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I play a whole lot of UFC 3 with my housemate. We grab the PS4 controllers, hop onto the sofa, and start raining hell upon one another. To be fair, I'm not very good at the game, so usually pick fighters with a bit more striking ability and ban my opponent from taking me to the ground. It's more fun that way, in my opinion.
How about we get a little update, then? UFC 4 is one of this month's free PS Plus games, so anyone who subscribes to the service gets a copy for absolutely nothing. Add it to your library and learn all about the intricate fighting styles and all the different ways to approach your opponent - rising your way up the ranks in a career mode is a particular highlight.
Or, you could do what I do and just leg kick your opponent until someone falls. That's the most fun way to play for me. Some fans have slammed this month's PS Plus showings, but I'm happy with this one.
If you're interested in learning a little more about the MMA world, have a look at fighter Brendan Loughnane giving his lowdown in the run-up to UFC 4's release too!
Planet Coaster
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You management sim lovers are in for a treat. Planet Coaster is free on PS Plus too!
I'm yet to play it (don't worry, it's already in my library), so I'll defer to our beloved editor Mark on this one. His review of Planet Coaster: Console Edition is a glowing one, praising the game's excellent transition to the console sphere.
"You already know what you're getting, and what you're getting is really very good. An excellent time sink where you can meticulously craft your ultimate theme park. If management sims interest you and you haven't checked the game out before, now is a great time to pick it up."
And now is an even better time to pick it up for PS Plus subscribers. Because it's free. Easy decision to make, that.
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How's that for the start of a month? Hopefully, there's something here that tickles your fancy this February.
Anyone have plans for the next 28 days? Aside from watching the Super Bowl and Valentine's Day (on back-to-back days), I'm having a pretty chill one! We'll see how that goes, and we'll also see how possible it'll be for me to avoid splashing out on the big and exciting game releases coming out.
I'll cover my eyes and leg kick people to oblivion in UFC, promise.
Featured Image Credit: Frontier Developments / Playtonic / EATopics: Free Games