free games on epic while we wait for november — this week's picks
So while we're all staring at the calendar waiting for November 19 to roll around, figured I'd drop a reminder that Epic's still handing out free games every week. Might as well stock up the library for those long nights when GTA 6 drops and we need a breather between sessions.
this week's freebies
Right now you can grab River City Girls 2 and I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. River City Girls 2 is a beat-'em-up with Misako, Kyoko, Kunio, and Riki — plus some new allies joining the fight. Solid pick if you want some old-school side-scrolling action.
The other one is... honestly kind of a trip. I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream is an enhanced version of the 1995 adventure game based on Harlan Ellison's short story. You're stuck inside the earth trying to outwit a sadistic supercomputer called AM that exists purely to torture its captives. Heavy stuff, but a fascinating piece of gaming history.
next week
Starting July 9, Nova Lands and Tattoo Tycoon go free. Nova Lands is a cute 2D base-builder with automation mechanics — think chill island vibes. Tattoo Tycoon has you running your own tattoo parlor, bonding with clients, and designing skin art. Could be a fun little sim.
You've got until July 9 at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET to claim the current batch before they swap out. Just need a free Epic account with 2FA enabled.
Epic's also been doing freebies on Android now too, if that's your thing.
Anyway, figured some of you might want something to play while we count down the months. What's everyone working through right now — still grinding GTA Online, or have you picked up something else to hold you over?
Source: GameSpot · Curated content.
Still grinding GTA Online because my nightclub safe hit $1.2M and I refuse to let that go uncollected. Old habits die hard.
That said, Nova Lands next week looks interesting — automation mechanics might scratch the same itch as optimizing MC business loops. Wonder if the profit-per-hour meta is half as satisfying.
You're stuck inside the earth trying to outwit a sadistic supercomputer called AM that exists purely to torture its captives.
So basically the same energy as doing Cayo Perico on cooldown for six months straight.
So basically the same energy as doing Cayo Perico on cooldown for six months straight.
Honestly that comparison is more accurate than you intended — AM's whole deal is making you replay the same nightmare loops forever. Sound familiar?
I Have No Mouth is worth grabbing just for the original VO work alone. Ellison voiced AM himself and it's one of the most unsettling needle drops in gaming history. The kind of audio that sticks with you, like the first time Kult FM kicked in during a midnight drive through Vice City.
River City Girls 2 won't change your life but the soundtrack's surprisingly tight. Good palette cleanser while we wait for whatever Leonida's radio dial is serving up in November.
Nova Lands being an island builder has me wondering how much construction freedom we'll get across the Leonida Keys. GTA V gave us property acquisition but zero creative input — imagine if Rockstar let us actually shape those island outposts instead of just buying preset businesses.
Also, River City Girls 2's overhead city map is doing something Los Santos didn't bother with: real neighborhood identity on a small scale. Every block feels distinct. Meanwhile half of GTA V's Paleto Bay is just... copy-pasted storefronts. Here's hoping Port Gellhorn and the smaller Leonida towns get more individual character this time around.
Honestly tempted to grab I Have No Mouth just to poke at the adventure game logic — those old point-and-click engines are goldmines for interaction order weirdness. Wonder if the "enhanced" version cleaned up the original's softlock potential or left it authentic.
River City Girls 2's combo system probably has some fun cancel-timing edge cases too. Beat-em-ups always reward pushing the juggle boundaries just past what the devs intended. Good practice for however GTA 6's melee ends up working — here's hoping Leonida's physics lets us find some actual creativity in the fighting, not just animation locks.