For a few years now, the Epic Games Store has been giving away titles for you to claim and add to your library permanently, totally free of charge. There's been a big range in what they've offered, but a surprising number of free games have been popular, high-quality, mainstream titles.
Every now and then, these free offerings include notable thinky games: until this Thursday you can claim the minimal puzzle game Monument Valley 2, and as long as you grab it within that window you can keep it and get around to playing it whenever you like.
I know there are varied opinions out there about making use of an alternative digital storefront, but in my estimation, supporting any operation that makes an effort to compete with the dominant monopoly juggernaut that is Steam can only be a net positive for the consumers in the long run. (Plus, these games are entirely free to claim... what have we really got to lose here?)
Monument Valley is a series of simple, elegant little puzzle games that started back in the heyday of mobile games and have since graduated to being available on PC. They feature archetypal, fairy tale stories about guiding little figures through beautifully realized settings and scenes made up of bright and colorful Escher-inspired impossible architecture.
The first Monument Valley was free last week (sorry I didn't get this announcement out sooner) and this week Epic is offering the second game in the series. This one was followed up by another sequel, Monument Valley 3, which released late last year.
Admittedly these games are relatively simple affairs, as puzzle games go, but that's not always a negative depending on the audience and the age of the player, and I think they more than make up for it with some truly striking visuals that have often made me think "why aren't most games this pretty."
You can get Monument Valley 2 for PC free on the Epic Store right now, and they've previewed that part of next week's giveaway is the hand-illustrated point-and-click adventure Samorost 2 from Amanita Design.
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