One of the biggest fallacies about gaming is that being a gamer is an expensive hobby. To debunk this, you can use a simple formula. First of all, take any game you have on Steam and look at the number of hours in the game. Then, take the cost that you paid for it and divide it by the number of hours. What other activity is as cheap?
Still, if you don’t have much money or still feel uncomfortable with the idea of spending money on Steam, Epic, or GOG, why not just look up what games are out there for free? You would be surprised at how many amazing games you could download today without spending too much money on them.
Rocket League
The concept of Rocket League already sounds too surreal to believe – playing soccer in cars instead of on foot. Still, the game is far more interesting than it may initially appear. The game is highly competitive; it’s incredibly easy to start and very hard to master. All of this gives you a reason to go back to it repeatedly.
Like all multiplayer games, it’s very social. You can meet new people there or convince some friends to play with you.
Once you start playing, you’ll also be more likely to watch. This is great news since Rocket League has a great pro scene and streaming community. This gives you a chance to enjoy hours and hours of content, sometimes even consuming it passively (in the background while doing something else).
Either way, the Rocket League games are quick, dynamic, and entertaining. You can get your daily fix of adrenaline or animation in a matter of seconds. This is what makes this game so intensely addictive.
League of Legends
Speaking of leagues, they say you can never really quit LoL; you just pause it. Well, this MOBA game is considered a flagship of the genre for a reason. The game is incredibly beginner-friendly, even in 2023. The rules are simple: the Elo system (although receiving a lot of negative attention) is pretty decent, and it won’t be that hard to get into it.
The game has many servers, and, for lag reasons, you should probably pick the geographically nearest one. Once again, lag is the only reason, and while you may use access to a VPN service, this is not necessary. For the most part, there are no geographical restrictions in place.
Now, many people are just getting into the series thanks to Netflix’s Arcane. A similar thing happened to Cyberpunk 2077 after the release of Edgerunners. If something happens once, it can be a coincidence; twice, it’s already a pattern. Shortly, many other video games may fund anime to attract new audiences. The release of the disastrous Witcher series ignited the passion of many new players for the successful game. In other words, this crossover between mediums is nothing new or unusual.
A lot of DOTA 2 fans argue against this game, and one of the main reasons they use it is its simplistic nature. Now, while DOTA 2 may be technically more complex, this doesn’t mean too much. Technically, a simpler game is easier to get into, and it’s not like the mastery level is easy to achieve in LOL. After all, you’re playing against other people, which means their skill determines how easy/hard the game will get.
Overall, if you’re competitive and want to get into something incredibly interesting (and highly addictive), this is your shot.
Teamfight Tactics
TFT started out as a LoL minigame. The principle is simple – the game is an auto battler where you gather, upgrade, and set champions in battle order. The game is fairly simple to figure out; there are a lot of guides and sites providing meta that you can read up on in a matter of minutes.
Naturally, skill and careful planning will only take you so far. Don’t let the chess-like board fool you; this game is completely RNG-dependent, and there are no two ways around it. Sometimes, everything will go your way, and sometimes, you’ll feel like the game works against you.
Now, since they introduced the team-based game mode, teams of two can play together. This means that you can play this with a friend or significant other. It’s a great game that doesn’t really require that much attention. Games like MOBAs, shooters, or RTS require you to be completely focused, but turn-based games and auto-battlers work at a bit slower pace.
The game itself is amazing, and it shares the world and the lore with the rest of the League. This means that if you really like Arcane and are not into MOBAs (you don’t like the pace, the toxicity, etc.), you can just play TFT.
The seasons are relatively frequent, meaning you get a ton of new content every few months. With all the changes, it will almost feel like a new game every few months. In other words, even if you turn it into a long-term commitment, you won’t feel like it’s too much.
Fortnite
While some of the biggest genres in gaming have existed for decades (strategies, RPGs, shooters, etc.), there are many microgenres that explode in popularity when their time comes. For instance, the middle of the first decade of the 2000s saw the dawn of MMORPGs, a genre that still has a strong following. Then, the era of MOBAs was spearheaded by DOTA, DOTA 2, and LoL.
After this, it was time for battle royale games to take center stage. The genre was inspired by Hunger Games and Hunger Games mod for Minecraft. The concept is simple. The map is huge, but it shrinks every couple of minutes. Anyone left out is out of the game. The last person standing is the winner.
While PUBG was its successful predecessor, Fortnite gave birth to the era of Battle Royale.
The game is more than just a shooter. It has so many survival mechanics, including looting, adjustment, and base-building. This latter part is completely optional; constructing for positioning is one of the skills that demonstrates one’s prowess in the game.
Most importantly, the game is incredibly fun. You can spend minutes or hours in the game, and it’s just as fun.
Guild Wars 2
A lot of WoW veterans have a hard time switching to any other MMORPG. Simply put, they see everything as a ripoff. They find something new, download it, make an account, play for an hour, and then return to WoW.
Well, Guild Wars 2 is its own game, and this is something you’ll be able to tell from the first moment you start playing. If anything, the game’s leveling system is closer to Dragon Age: Inquisition (even though GW2 is a much older game) than anything WoW or Warcraft-related.
Game mechanics are much different, classes are unique, and the game is something else. Just one example – there are no healer classes in the game. The developers figured this was the most passive role in the game and decided to eliminate it entirely. This way, everyone has their share of DPS fun.
Now, is this game free? Well… both yes and no. You need to buy the game, but you don’t have to pay a subscription fee. You can also play completely free of charge, but the account will be heavily restricted.
One more reason to get this game as soon as possible. Well, there may be Guild Wars 3 at one point in the future. When Guild Wars 2 came out, people who played the original game got some unique in-game rewards. Why miss out on getting the same treatment when the next game arrives?
With so many free games out there, you’ll never run out of gaming options
Sure, not every game is everyone’s cup of tea, but you know that there are people out there who play just Fortnite or League of Legends. This may be a bit extreme, but it’s possible. The games are so dynamic and competitive that they have infinite replayability potential. Use this to your advantage.
