Free games of the week

From extremely challenging platformers that challenge your typing skills to walking simulators just meant for relaxation, there is a bit of everything to be played this week. Starting off, I have a platformer that might cause you to rage quit - but it is very unique in concept. You must type in order to move from area to area, in search of a mysterious item that will save your species. If difficult platformers aren’t your thing, you can explore beautiful worlds full of swaying grass and nice structures in a well made walking simulator or solve some light bending puzzles and take photos of a strangely abandoned planet. Speaking of abandoned, you might want to find out what mysteries are deep within a house where the family was murdered, or even explore the memories of your late mother. There are many types of adventures to explore…

Looking for more free games? Check out our round up of the best free PC games that you can download and play right now.

Exit84 by Bhérring Paucar Bonifacio & Álvaro Fernández

Ever try to move from platform to platform by typing? In Exit84, you need to rely on your typing skills to complete your mission to obtain something from deep within the planet B-84. While on this dangerous planet, you are unable to move around on your own. Instead, you need to use your radar to find coordinates, and type out these coordinates to move to that location.

This means that you need to time your typing with the dangers that are on the screen. Lasers, bullets, and aliens all appear on this world. You will need to type fast enough to move around and avoid these dangers. Typing out the coordinate that you see will reveal another coordinate that you need to type, and so on. Sometimes, this means that you will need to be particularly quick, as your coordinates only put you in the sky above spikes. Once you find the ‘Exit’ coordinate, you will move onto the next level. Dying, however, will force you to restart at the beginning of that area. Exit84 is a wonderful concept that becomes super challenging when you depend on it to avoid death. Your entire planet is counting on you, so make sure you give it your best shot!

Birthplace of Ossian by Connor Sherlock

Sometimes, you just want to walk around a huge world full of mountains and beautiful grass. Birthplace of Ossian is a walking simulator where you can explore a lovely, massive bit of land, walking through grass and up hills as you go. The world is massive, yet calm. You can find strange structures as well as unique mountains around you. Exploring and discovering some of the more stunning landscapes or weird structures brings wonder to this world. I quite enjoyed relaxing and exploring around, discovering beautiful bits of nature as I go. After a long week of stressful work, it is nice to have no goals, no quests, and just be able to explore.

From Light by Faffinabout

A 2D puzzle platformer in which you use your camera to change the world around you. Your old friend and penpal went on holiday to a strange planet, after receiving a slightly strange postcard, you decide to go out and search for them. Upon arriving at this paradise, you find that the world seems to be abandoned. A small flying robot, called Clarifly, pops out to act as your tour guide. This robot can take pictures for you and help you explore the planet.

When you take a photo, the platforms and world behind the photo continues moving, while leaving what you took a picture of in frame. This means that moving platforms can be frozen in place and you can phase through objects. You can also move while taking the photo to move the light around you. This light will then stick as platforms - you can walk on them. From Light is beautifully narrated, as you find characters who live in this land and interact with your lovely guide, you are able to hear their voices and really get sucked into the game. From Light is currently seeking funding on FIG, so if you like this demo, you can consider supporting it!

Ellen by Red Mount Media

If you are interested in paranormal events, Ellen, an adventure game, is one to check out. You are in the small town of White Hill, where years ago a horrific murder occurred. The case was never solved and the daughter of the family disappeared from the scene of the crime. After years of nothingness, suddenly the townsfolk are growing concerned with reports of seeing the little girl in the windows of their families home. You play James, a young investigator who has gone into the home to solve the mystery himself.

You have fallen into the basement, which seems to have been left unattended for a long time. The fall, however, has really hurt you. You will need to find something to fix yourself up and then investigate the house. You aren’t the only one inside it seems, or maybe you are overthinking it. As you start to make your way into the rest of the house, you will start to discover what people have been seeing and reporting within the windows. You might even be able to discover what happened to the Smith’s family. Ellen is a very creepy adventure game, filled with strange beings, and loads to interact with.

Aline by Kano / Robin Beaurepaire

In the world of Aline, you are a young child in your room. You don’t want to sleep and the door is locked, so your only option is to play video games. In playing these video games, you are dealing with the emotions behind the recent death of your mother. Each game tells you a little bit more about the death of your mother and allows you to interact with that memory through different sentences. You can interact with a key word in each piece of the story to be transported to that memory. These memories may not be completely believable, but they are all part of the story around the death of your mom. There are some strange circumstances around your mother's death - but people keep telling you the town is now safe.

Reliving these strange and sometimes frightening memories brings a lot of curiosity to the story. You probably want to escape your room, but instead, you get to ‘play video games’ and see what new memory is coming to the surface...