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Freeware games! | I'll sort out the trash so you can get to the good stuff.

M

Mister Chippy

Member
Freeware - Noun - Software that is available free of charge.

Freeware is amazing. The idea that you can find loads and loads of great games for no charge is amazing. The people who make these awesome games just to share them with us are amazing. The only thing that isn't amazing? There are a lot of free games out there that aren't all that good. The solution? Find some sucker to play through all the freeware games he can get his hands on so he can point out the good ones for you. The sucker? Me! (Or you if you're feeling like being amazing yourself.)

That's right, in this thread we're gonna try to make a list of all the great freeware games available out there, and also some of the other ones that might be worth a shot. That way we can all discuss them and take full advantage of the wonderful favor these devs have done for us by releasing these games for free.

I'm going to start by going through all 101 games that a website that shall not be named in this thread recently released in a bundle and putting up summaries, my opinions, and links to where you can get the games (no torrent sites allowed)!

If you know of any great freeware games yourself, feel free to share them in the thread! That way I can add them to the list so more people will get to enjoy them. I'm gonna try to add 5 games to the list a day if I can, although that might slow down once I finish the bundle and exhaust my own personal favorite pieces of freeware. Hopefully some of you will help pick up the slack.

The list currently consists of titles, creators, screens, and a link to a blog I put up to contain the summaries. If anyone has a better idea of how I could handle this list, please let me know. If we do wind up keeping the blog and you want to put summaries up yourself just message me and I'll add you as an author. I'll also try improving the list's format if this thread actually goes anywhere.

Games (notable ones are bolded):
 
A

axisofweevils

Holy crap! Today's real megaton is that more than two people can have the same first name.
Subscribed! Interesting idea for a thread, though the blogs with game info appear to have been deleted.
 
T

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
You should start going through the Indie Games threads which have a huge focus on cheap/free games anyway:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=777686&page=2

We have a ton of free games each month, and also do a voting at the end of the month to vote on the games that were most worthwhile.

Actually, in case this thread dies down, feel free to hop over to us and post impressions of the games in the Indie threads, we are always looking for more impressions. Also, just a quick tip, the formatting you currently use in the OP is not informative enough. Screenshot + Description are needed or no one will look at a list with more than 10 entries. Similarly, you probably shouldnt dismiss free alphas and demos as those might offer more gameplay/fun than freeware only games.

Interesting free games just from this month alone:

Action Painting Pro
Astrovoid
Black Ice (!)
Blue Saga
Bosses Forever 2.Bro
Cosmochoria Alpha
iZbot Beta
KiloBite
Lenna's Inception (!)
Lift Alpha
MagicMaker Alpha
Mirage
Nothing to Hide
Principia Demo (!)
Underdusk (!)
Xaxi (!)


Edit: Additionally, the premise of the thread regarding "I'll sort out" is a bit flawed. I experimented with multiple thread ideas and you'll always end up missing games other people enjoy, because a single person cant possibly like everything (Even though I'd say "I like everything good" myself as well). You said other people can post games but the thread title might be a bit.. unlucky.
 
M

Mister Chippy

Member
Toma said:
You should start going through the Indie Games threads which have a huge focus on cheap/free games anyway:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=777686&page=2

We have a ton of free games each month, and also do a voting at the end of the month to vote on the games that were most worthwhile.

Actually, in case this thread dies down, feel free to hop over to us and post impressions of the games in the Indie threads, we are always looking for more impressions. Also, just a quick tip, the formatting you currently use in the OP is not informative enough. Screenshot + Description are needed or no one will look at a list with more than 10 entries. Similarly, you probably shouldnt dismiss free alphas and demos as those might offer more gameplay/fun than freeware only games.

Interesting free games just from this month alone:

Action Painting Pro
Astrovoid
Black Ice (!)
Blue Saga
Bosses Forever 2.Bro
Cosmochoria Alpha
iZbot Beta
KiloBite
Lenna's Inception (!)
Lift Alpha
MagicMaker Alpha
Mirage
Nothing to Hide
Principia Demo (!)
Underdusk (!)
Xaxi (!)


Edit: Additionally, the premise of the thread regarding "I'll sort out" is a bit flawed. I experimented with multiple thread ideas and you'll always end up missing games other people enjoy, because a single person cant possibly like everything (Even though I'd say "I like everything good" myself as well). You said other people can post games but the thread title might be a bit.. unlucky.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know I might miss games, thats why I'm posting my impressions of every game I play, as well as a hopefully unbiased summary in addition to my own opinion. I really want to get other people posting summaries here too, so I guess I'll edit the title some.

I'd love to have more informative formatting of the list, since I know the current formatting sucks. I'm not sure including the screenshots + descriptions in the OP would be sustainable in the long run because of length, but I'll try to at least get some screenshots up somewhere and format the list so that it's a bit more catagorized.

Prototype said:
I'll keep my eyes on this thread. Good idea, OP. Even if the thread could use a bigger list.
Click to expand...

Don't worry! I'm planning on posting something like 20 more games today alone.


Also, I've added 5 more games from the bundle to the list and in a few hours I hope to do the following:

[ ]Format the list into the catagories "Full Games", "Alphas", "Small Games/Concepts", and "Other". If anyone has a better idea for how to curate the list please let me know, since I don't think the current system of just bolding notable games can really give all the games the attention they deserve.

[x]Go through all the games I've played so far and get screenshots. Not sure if I'll add these to the OP or just stick them in the blog entries, but Toma is right in saying that the list would be a lot better with them.

[x]Try to add in 5 - 10 really stellar freeware games in addition to the ones from the bundle I've been doing so far. (Probably including a few done by Danie Remar/Ludosity, like Roshin suggested.)

[ ]Start putting descriptions in the list Toma provided. Please remember, if you've played any of these games or like any of them feel free to write summaries of them yourself! The more people are doing this, the longer and better we can make this list!
 
M

Mister Chippy

Member
I've added seven more games, five of them being incredibly high quality titles that I'm sure some if not most of you have heard of before!

Also, pictures!!!

Remember, anyone can help! If you have some free game that you love and want to share, feel free to post it. Even better, post it with a summary that I can put up with the rest of them on the blogger.

Things I hope to get done later this evening:

[ ] Put very short 1 line descriptions next to games on the list.

[ ] Add 5 more really really good games.

[ ] Write a few more descriptions for the games Toma provided and others have provided so far.

[ ] Organize the list a bit better.
 
M

Mister Chippy

Member
Ok! I've added 5 more great games as well as one more of the games Toma provided! Tomorrow I'll get to adding in the other games given in the comments of this thread, plus 5 more games from the bundle.

At some point in the future I've got some great VNs that I wanna post here. I just have to actually play all of them first.

As you can see I've tried to put a funny and slightly informative description with each game. Please come up with funnier ones for me.
 
B

Baka Sempai

Member
If i may add (or contribute to this thread)

Nitronic Rush

nitronicrush1-4ebaac1-intro.png


I've been into racing video games since back in to the days of "super hang on" for the master system, and have to say this game definitely felt like a full fledged $50-$60 dollar title, much more so than those free-to-play (bait and switch as i call them) games in the app stores, and/or even steam.

This is no mario kart, neither a direct competitor to sonic all star racing, but for being a completely free game (no banners, no ads, no DLC bs) it was quite impressive, and when i say "was" i imply it because last i heard, the same school who designed the original is already working on the sequel.

tl;dr - If you're a fan of tron and racing games from around the same era (revolt, cruis'n usa, sf rush) you will definitely get the same vibe out of this awesome truly FREE game.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
You have iji in your list. Good man

You must add Nitronic Rush, Outer Wilds, Zineth, Facade, and Warning Forever. Any freeware list is incomplete without them

Outer Wilds
SupernovaEclipse.jpg

Learn the basics, practice zero gravity flight, fly a remote drone, admire the beautiful planet and star filled sky. Land your craft on unexplored worlds, meet new species both friendly and hostile. Maybe you'll even find a way to save us all.

Zineth
15725.jpg

Zineth is a student game made over a few months meant to celebrate speed, movement, and twitter.

Facade
facade%20screencap.jpg

A "one-act interactive drama" and a freeware classic

And if you including browser games, Westerado and Gods Will Be Watching are must plays

Westerado
westerado3-620x.jpg

Open world western mystery from Adult Swim

Gods Will Be Watching
gods.jpg

A taut struggle for survival where there are no good choices, only bad or worse

Unfortunately I couldn't find any more working links for Warning Forever. A shame, that game is a must play. The David vs Goliath of shmups against a boss that learns and adapts to your tactics
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Mister Chippy said:
Nitronic Rush is one of the games in my backlog of things that must get on here soon, don't worry!
Click to expand...
Cool. Such a great game and Distance looks even better. Nitronic, Facade, and Warning Forever introduced me to indie gaming so I hold them in high regard

Oh, and you might want to drop by the Indie Threads sometimes. We're always recommending and discussing the newest and most obscure freeware games, and there's over a year of threads to check out with dozens of great free games
 
M

Mister Chippy

Member
More_Badass said:
Cool. Such a great game and Distance looks even better. Nitronic, Facade, and Warning Forever introduced me to indie gaming so I hold them in high regard

Oh, and you might want to drop by the Indie Threads sometimes. We're always recommending and discussing the newest and most obscure freeware games, and there's over a year of threads to check out with dozens of great free games
Click to expand...

You might notice that there's a huge portion of undescribed games in the list, all of which have been recommended by Toma. The Indie game thread is definitely a source I'm going to hope to use to put things here, but right now I've got a pretty big backlog of good games I know about that need to get on here.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Hey, how's it going? I know firsthand that managing a big thread like this can be tough (I'm managing the 2014 Kickstarter thread). Hope you don't mind a little help :) I didn't quote them so you could just copy and paste.

Action Painting Pro
41069.jpg

Paint your masterpiece in this colorful fun platformer

Bosses Forever 2.Bro
hqdefault.jpg

"the game is a madcap dual with an increasingly intelligent and powerful robot that you’ll have to become rather amazing at maneuvering to defeat." Chris Priestman - IndieStatik

Cosmochoria Alpha
ab89dbbce344dae22f3b3906362d758a_large.gif

Save the galaxy as a naked cosmonaut with a jetpack,

Lift Alpha
uscosmicgrenade.png

Build and fly planes with realistic physics in abstract environments

Nothing to Hide
E5EfUo4.png

An anti-stealth puzzler set in a world of dystopian control and constant surveillance

Trilby: The Art of Theft
262628-trilby-the-art-of-theft-windows-screenshot-seventh-heists.png

Fans of Gunpoint will enjoy this 2D pixel stealth platformer about a gentleman thief from the Escapist's Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw
 
E

Enk

makes good threads.
Fantastic thread!

I love me some Maldita Castilla! It's a great little tribute to one of my favorite video game series.
 
G

Grayman

Member
You may want to give love to:

Wolfenstein Enemy Territory http://www.splashdamage.com/content/wolfenstein-enemy-territory-barracks
Warsow and other arena shooters www.warsow.net and a million others
Tee worlds (formerly tee wars) https://www.teeworlds.com/
Warning forever (top down shooter of only bosses) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warning_Forever
Tourus Trooper (tunnel shooter/racer thing) http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/windows/tt_e.html
I wanna be the guy http://kayin.pyoko.org/iwbtg/
Bonesaw http://db.tigsource.com/games/bonesaw-the-game

and many many many more.

formerly commercial games GTA 1 and 2, and Elder Scrolls arena are free on the publishers sites.
 
M

mclem

Member
I'd recommend the A Game With A Kitty series found at http://www.origamihero.com/ori6/games.php (along with a few others of the designer's works). Can't speak for the more recent ones, but the first few were great.

If you're including Zork, I have to mention, too, the absolutely massive modern IF movement, the vast majority of content in which is free. There's the yearly IFComp focussing on games that are beatable in short periods of time ('two hours' is the accepted judging period); the Spring Thing, which is for longer works, plus occasional releases elsewhere in the year. There's a massive database of released works, the IFDB, which leads you to items in the main archive.
 
K

kiriin

Member
Ib

Ib_top_01.jpg


Horror adventure game focus on exploration and puzzles. Pretty simple but it has great art style and atmosphere to it.
 
B

BlueSteel

Member
More_Badass said:
You have iji in your list. Good man

You must add Nitronic Rush, Outer Wilds, Zenith, Facade, and Warning Forever. Any freeware list is incomplete without them

And if you including browser games, Westerado and Gods Will Be Watching are must plays

(Will add links and images later)
Click to expand...
Another who has played iji?!? My mannn
 
M

Mister Chippy

Member
BlueSteel said:
Another who has played iji?!? My mannn
Click to expand...

Iji is goddamned amazing. I never would have heard about it if I hadn't played Card City Nights a while back either. I really hope that Iji 2 is made by Ludosity, that would be awesome!

Anyways, thanks to everyone who posted all these great games! I was sick yesterday so I didn't update the list but I'm feeling better today so I'll get right on it! Today I'm going to make an effort to finally get all the games in the comments here in the real list!

Also, thanks to Arthur Gould for putting a download link to his game CrissCross on his website after I asked him if one existed anywhere. You should really try that game, it's pretty fun. Also, he says that as far as he's aware nobody's ever beaten it, so maybe you can be the first...

Grayman said:
You may want to give love to:

Wolfenstein Enemy Territory http://www.splashdamage.com/content/wolfenstein-enemy-territory-barracks
Warsow and other arena shooters www.warsow.net and a million others
Tee worlds (formerly tee wars) https://www.teeworlds.com/
Warning forever (top down shooter of only bosses) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warning_Forever
Tourus Trooper (tunnel shooter/racer thing) http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/windows/tt_e.html
I wanna be the guy http://kayin.pyoko.org/iwbtg/
Bonesaw http://db.tigsource.com/games/bonesaw-the-game

and many many many more.

formerly commercial games GTA 1 and 2, and Elder Scrolls arena are free on the publishers sites.
Click to expand...

Trust me, arena shooters like Warsow are a must for this list. I love love love love love arena shooters and it's plain criminal that they're so underplayed. I think I'm only gonna put Warsow up at first though, because honestly I think part of the reason it's so hard to find full servers in an arena shooter is because everyone is playing a different game.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Hey, didn't realize you had a blog. Cool, and good work so far. Do you have a Twitter page? Added your site to my Recommended Links on my blog :)

Oh, and here's my No Money, No Problem page, which has links to all the freeware games I've written about
 
M

Mister Chippy

Member
More_Badass said:
Hey, didn't realize you had a blog. Cool, and good work so far. Do you have a Twitter page? Added your site to my Recommended Links on my blog :)

Oh, and here's my No Money, No Problem page, which has links to all the freeware games I've written about
Click to expand...

Hey thanks! I just made the blog because I wanted to have a place to write descriptions for these games without cluttering up the OP, but I'm considering maybe doing more with it.

I'll add a link to your blog to both the OP and to my blog once I start updating both with today's material.
 
D

DoktorEvil

Banned
I love the fact that there is a freeware thread!

I have some additions for you OP: The Marathon Series by Bungie is freeware and has some awesome mods for you to check out on top of the core 3 games.
 
S

Sir_Crocodile

Member
Lure of the Temptress & Beneath a Steel Sky, two great point & clicks have been released as freeware by Revolution.

Same for Flight of the Amazon Queen by IBI & Teen Agent by Metropolis Software House.

Quickest way to get them is probably by creating a free GOG account, although I think scummvm may host enhance music for BASS.

http://www.gog.com/game/beneath_a_steel_sky
http://www.gog.com/game/lure_of_the_temptress
http://www.gog.com/game/flight_of_the_amazon_queen
http://www.gog.com/game/teenagent
 
G

gngf123

Member
R

_Ryo_

Member
Digital: A Love Story

digitallovestory.png


Digital: A Love Story is a 2010 indie visual novel by video game developer Christine Love and released for free in February 2010. The game's story is linear, with the player's actions unable to significantly change the course of the plot. Set "five minutes into the future of 1988", Digital tells the story of the protagonist's online relationship with a girl and their attempts to solve a mystery surrounding the deaths of several artificial intelligences.[1] The game is presented entirely through the interface of a 1980s computer with online Bulletin Board System posts and messages from other characters;[1] the protagonist's own messages are implied but never shown. The game was received positively, with critics especially praising the game's writing and plot, and it was noted in lists of the best indie games of 2010.
Click to expand...

Katawa Shoujo

screen_6.jpg


Katawa Shoujo is a bishoujo-style visual novel set in the fictional Yamaku High School for disabled children, located somewhere in modern Japan. Hisao Nakai, a normal boy living a normal life, has his life turned upside down when a congenital heart defect forces him to move to a new school after a long hospitalization. Despite his difficulties, Hisao is able to find friends—and perhaps love, if he plays his cards right. There are five main paths corresponding to the 5 main female characters, each path following the storyline pertaining to that character.
Click to expand...

Don't Take It Personally Babe, It Just Ain't Your Story

screenshot1-thumb.png


A spiritual sequel of sorts to Digital: A Love Story, set in a prestigious private high school, and on the social networks of 2027.

Seven students, three endings, one eavesdropping teacher. A full length visual novel about the erosion of privacy, gay drama, young sexuality, and the perils of modern online life for a high school literature class.
Click to expand...
 
S

Syril

Member
Mister Chippy said:
Iji is goddamned amazing. I never would have heard about it if I hadn't played Card City Nights a while back either. I really hope that Iji 2 is made by Ludosity, that would be awesome!
Click to expand...

Iji is probably my favorite indie game of all time alongside Cave Story. Anyone who bitches about Uncharted or Bioshock Infinite and calls their main characters mass murderers just because there's too many gunfights should play Iji because it's clearly the game that they wanted.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Syril said:
Iji is probably my favorite indie game of all time alongside Cave Story. Anyone who bitches about Uncharted or Bioshock Infinite and calls their main characters mass murderers just because there's too many gunfights should play Iji because it's clearly the game that they wanted.
Click to expand...
Lol, yeah

My favorite freeware games would have to be
- Iji
- Nitronic Rush (could easily be a paid release on consoles, it's that good)
- Outer Wilds (captures the thrill of discovering some unexplored atmospheric solar system better than any other space game I've played)
- Westerado (take a western, and give it an atmospheric pixel art look, randomly generated murder mystery, and Adult Swim's usual polish)
- Facade (it's old and brief, but it's still innovative. And it was the earliest indie game I remember playing, that started the passion I have for indies)
 
G

GoaThief

Member
Outer Wilds looks interesting, tried Nitronic Rush and didn't think too much of it.

Shame most seem to be retro styled platformers. Any more first person games?
 
M

More_Badass

Member
GoaThief said:
Outer Wilds looks interesting, tried Nitronic Rush and didn't think too much of it.

Shame most seem to be retro styled platformers. Any more first person games?
Click to expand...
Sure, give me a sec

MTB Freeride
screen4.jpg

First person downhill biking...now with a wingsuit mode

Tessallation
tessallation.png

Single player co-op, Yes, time travel and work together with your past selves

From Hell's Heart
GameScreen_2.png

Atmospheric steampunk Moby Dick

And some others that aren't first person

Perspective
perspective%20digipen.jpg

One of the most innovative platformers I've played, a mindbending mix of 2D and 3D perspective

Futuridium
4.png

Twitchy fast paced action with an awesome stylized look
 
M

Mister Chippy

Member
GoaThief said:
Outer Wilds looks interesting, tried Nitronic Rush and didn't think too much of it.

Shame most seem to be retro styled platformers. Any more first person games?
Click to expand...

There are some. Once I get done with all the wonderful suggestions people here have been offering and all the kinda well known but still "Holy shit this game is free?" games I'm gonna be adding stuff like really good and detailed demos, which will include way more first person games. First person freeware has been kinda rare for a long time since historically it's been harder to produce a first person game than it is to make a 2d one. That's changing now thanks to unity, and I can't wait for all the great games that are gonna come from the now hugely affordable Unreal and CryEngine.

I plan on adding some free (and not just F2P, but 100% free) multiplayer FPS later though. After those I might end up putting some of the very best F2P FPS there are on here, although I'm not sure about that yet.

Also, don't worry about these being only retro platformers. The next 20 or so games I'm putting on here are primarily other genres.

_Ryo_ said:
Digital: A Love Story

digitallovestory.png




Katawa Shoujo

screen_6.jpg




Don't Take It Personally Babe, It Just Ain't Your Story

screenshot1-thumb.png
Click to expand...

Katawa Shoujo and Digital are totally getting on here, don't worry! My backlog is just currently a few miles long so don't expect to see to many games from the same genre get on this list at once.

I've heard good things about Don't Take It Personally, but I haven't played it yet and VNs typically take longer to play through enough for a good summary (partially because well done endings are a huge part of the genre and partially because I just like playing them) than most games, so it might take a while longer to get on than some other games.





Anyways, thanks to everyone here helping out! It's great seeing other people share free games they love!
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Okay, just played The Fourth Wall. Wow, just a simple mechanic, used in some cool interesting ways

It was made by the developer of Perspective and what's more, he just launched a Kickstarter for a spirtual successor Four Sided Fantasy. I wasn't sure if I was going to back the game, but The Fourth Wall sold me on the mechanic

The Fourth Wall
the_fourth_wall_promo04.jpg

A screen wrap puzzle platformer
 
R

_Ryo_

Member
Mister Chippy said:
There are some. Once I get done with all the wonderful suggestions people here have been offering and all the kinda well known but still "Holy shit this game is free?" games I'm gonna be adding stuff like really good and detailed demos, which will include way more first person games. First person freeware has been kinda rare for a long time since historically it's been harder to produce a first person game than it is to make a 2d one. That's changing now thanks to unity, and I can't wait for all the great games that are gonna come from the now hugely affordable Unreal and CryEngine.

I plan on adding some free (and not just F2P, but 100% free) multiplayer FPS later though. After those I might end up putting some of the very best F2P FPS there are on here, although I'm not sure about that yet.

Also, don't worry about these being only retro platformers. The next 20 or so games I'm putting on here are primarily other genres.

Edit: At least for me it was short.

Katawa Shoujo and Digital are totally getting on here, don't worry! My backlog is just currently a few miles long so don't expect to see to many games from the same genre get on this list at once.

I've heard good things about Don't Take It Personally, but I haven't played it yet and VNs typically take longer to play through enough for a good summary (partially because well done endings are a huge part of the genre and partially because I just like playing them) than most games, so it might take a while longer to get on than some other games.





Anyways, thanks to everyone here helping out! It's great seeing other people share free games they love!
Click to expand...

Don't Take it Personally, Babe, It Just Ain't Your Story is really short. A few hours and you're done. :)
 
M

More_Badass

Member
This game is still in development, but fans of freeware games should keep a close eye on this

Indie Action: Clash of Indie Game Heroes
v8M7ymR.png
Click to expand...
http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=25354.0
It's essentially Super Smash Bros. with indie game characters. The eight characters include:

Iji from 'IJI' by Daniel Remar
ij1.png
ij2.png


Trilby from 'The Defoe series' and 'Trilby Art of theft' by Ben 'yahtzee' Croshaw
tb1y.png
tb2l.png


Quote from 'Cave Story' by Pixel
atmug.png
77125306.png


Dishwasher from 'The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai' by Ska Studios
dw1r.png
dw2w.png


Run-Man from 'Run-Man : Race Around The World' by  Tom Sennett and Matt Thorson
rnmug.png
80541984.png


Seikleja from 'Seiklus' by Cly5m
sk1w.png
sk2dg.png


Charles Barkley from 'Barkley: Shut up and jam Gaiden' by Tales of games
bk1g.png
bk3.png


Naija from 'Aquaria' by Bit-Blot
nj1.png
nj2w.png


Xoda from 'Noitu Love 2' by Joakim Sandberg
xo1.png
xo2.png


Duvalier from 'Telepath RPG: servants of god' by Sinister Design
dvmug.png
19747141.png


Arianna from 'Frayed Knights : The Skull of S'makh-Daon' by Rampant Games
armug.png
47581736.png


Kaltos from 'The Spirit Engine 2' by Mark Pay
ktmug.png
Click to expand...
 
L

L Thammy

Member
Cool thread. Just to let you know, a lot of Epic's library from the MegaGames days is freeware now. One Must Fall 2097, Tyrian 2000 and ZZT come immediately to mind. Some other cool freeware games are Warning Forever and Miracle Kidz's remake of Nekketsu Kakutō Densetsu.

Also The Ur-Quan Masters, Vantage Master Online.
 
G

GooeyHeat

Member
On a related note to that crossover fighter, be sure to check out Runman: Race Around the World! It's a 2D platformer based around making great time, with MSPaint-looking graphics and a generally adorable look. It's here: http://whatareyouwait.info/
That URL is genius, by the way.

And, of course, Chef Boyardee’s Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden, Chapter 1 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa. A grand JRPG-like game of heroes, villains, life, death, and b-ball.
http://www.talesofgames.com/related_game/barkley-shut-up-jam-gaiden/
 
L

L Thammy

Member
Adding to my previous post, here's descriptions and download links for the games. They're all old, but they're still freeware.


SnqoHu8.png
Click to expand...

Lord Monarch Online
A real-time strategy game by Falcom. This one I haven't played, but it's in English. Seems like a Nobunaga's Ambition type thing to me. Doesn't actually have online.

rPQNhbS.jpg
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Nekketsu Kakutō Densetsu
Enhanced remake of a Famicom game from the same series as River City Ransom. It's an eight-player fighting game. If you're familiar with River City Ransom then you'll have a good idea of how this will play, though there's also some special moves. It's in Japanese. I don't think you lose a lot, seeing as how it's an action game. Still, if you want to play it in English, you can play a translated older version.

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One Must Fall 2097
It's a fighting game in the style of Street Fighter II, but with giant robots. There's a single player mode where you earn money off your fights and use it to upgrade your robot. Make sure you learn how to do the advanced options cheat and turn on rehit mode: it enables juggle combos.

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Tyrian 2000 [Also on GOG, free either way]
It's a shmup, but you can collect money and buy upgrades. You also have regenerating shield, so being hit isn't always a game over. There's a ton of content. Hardcore shmup fans will probably find it be poorly crafted, though. The difficulty is all over the place, for example.

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The Ur-Quan Masters
Port of Star Control 2 for the 3DO. You travel through the (huge) galaxy in order to build up your rebel forces and take it back from alien invaders. Combat is like Asteroids, but with different types of ships. Pretty complex game. You can scavenge planets, customize your main ship and fleet. There are conversation trees. I'm not sure how many solar systems there are to explore; I think there's a few hundred, and they often have multiple planets.

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Vantage Master Online
A turn-based strategy game by Falcom. It's in English. You and your opponent run around the field summoning monsters to try to kill each other. Again, doesn't have online.

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Warning Forever
This one is fascinating. It's a boss rush shmup where the bosses evolve to counter you. If you keep attacking it from one side, it will grow in that direction so that it's harder to attack. If you get hit by any one of its weapons, it will grow more of that weapon. You have unlimited lives, but not time. There's an English patch, but there's almost no text in the game anyway.

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ZZT
It's a primitive game maker. And I do mean primitive. Sounds come from the PC speaker and graphics are just ASCII. But you still got some awesome proto-indie games out of it, and the fans created workarounds in order to make different kinds of gameplay. This list below is full of stuff that I vaguely recall being good. Can't vouch for it all. But I'm pretty sure that Code Red and Wartorn are fantastic and Asmodeus and Dungeon Master's Gallery are really good as well.

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Alicesoft stuff (NSWF!)
Alicesoft is a hentai game company that's been around since the later '80s. Not sure if I should be posting this, but it does fit the thread: a ton of their old games have been made freeware. These are all the Japanese versions, but there are translation patches for some of them. I don't know much about them aside from them being free, so I can't personally recommend any. 鬼畜王ランス (Kichikou Rance) is a strategy RPG which I've heard is good.
 
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