4 ms·

Ask HN: Best free games to play on PC?

10 points by crazypython 6y ago

Hi, With the pandemic lull, does anyone have ideas for free, in-depth games to play? 0 A.D. comes to mind for me.

crazypython 6y ago
One of my favorites is my own game: http://vnav.io http://vnav.io Disclaimer: Still in beta. Move around to fight people.
sralbert 6y ago
This is HN so if by "free" you mean open-source ignore this. Rocket League Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Team Fortress 2 Starcraft 2 Fortnite Diabotical
- tubularhells 6y ago
  TF2 is great. Don't play causal matches, but find a community server where aimhacking and botting is not allowed, though.
foopod 6y ago
I have been playing a lot of Mindustry lately, not just free, the game is open source too. "Mindustry is a hybrid tower-defense sandbox factory game. Create elaborate supply chains of conveyor belts to feed ammo into your turrets, produce materials to use for building, and defend your structures from waves of enemies. Features include a map editor, 24 built-in maps, cross-platform multiplayer and large-scale PvP unit battles." https://anuke.itch.io/mindustry https://anuke.itch.io/mindustry
tubularhells 6y ago
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup is deep, rich and hard as hell to master. I great rogue like with a nice tileset.
- jaytaylor 6y ago
  For the uninitiated: https://crawl.develz.org/ https://crawl.develz.org/
facorreia 6y ago
Epic Store has a list of free games here: https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/free-games https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/free-games Edit: also GOG: https://www.gog.com/partner/stay_at_home https://www.gog.com/partner/stay_at_home
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
speedgoose 6y ago
Just remember that the free to play model is about using tricks to encourage you to spend money, usually with shitty game mechanics unless you pay. If you are not going to pay on a multi-player game, your role is to improve the user experience for other players that are actually spending money. To replace an AI, so they spend more. So I would skip the free to play games if you don't have a budget for them. My personal favorite free and open-source game is OpenTTD but it's a bit dated.
- crazypython 6y ago
  Yeah, I think "free to play; pay to enjoy" is a bad model. That's a philosophy embodied in my game downthread.
replax 6y ago
Xonotic [0] is an amazing game if you're into quake style arena shooters. It's a fast paced multiplayer shooter and like 0 A. D. also OSS. Easiest to get up to speed in the "minstagib" or "instagib" mode, where basically one shot kills and "bullets" arrive at their target instantly. Once you're familiar with the mechanics, the other modes are quite fun, too. [0]: https://xonotic.org/ https://xonotic.org/
danbolt 6y ago
itch is oozing with free-to-download or pay-optional games by hobbyist and new game developers. I'm a big fan of it. Some of the stuff is very raw though, compared to Steam or Epic pages being more product-oriented. I don't think my picks will be similar to 0 A.D., but some interesting ones that stick out to me are: https://alt254.itch.io/triforce https://alt254.itch.io/triforce https://namatakahashi.itch.io/i-want-eat-the-sun https://namatakahashi.itch.io/i-want-eat-the-sun https://seregsarn.itch.io/taraman-castle-oni-story https://seregsarn.itch.io/taraman-castle-oni-story https://aetherinteractive.itch.io/sol-hemochroma https://aetherinteractive.itch.io/sol-hemochroma https://minkcv.itch.io/urbansnake https://minkcv.itch.io/urbansnake https://cyangmou.itch.io/fantastic-fetus https://cyangmou.itch.io/fantastic-fetus https://co5monaut.itch.io/do-not-take-your-eyes-away-from-the-red-fridge https://co5monaut.itch.io/do-not-take-your-eyes-away-from-th...
spazx 6y ago
There's UnCiv, also on the FDroid store. FOSS CivV on Android and desktop. https://github.com/yairm210/Unciv https://github.com/yairm210/Unciv
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
URfejk 6y ago
No One Lives Forever 1 and 2: http://nolfrevival.tk/ http://nolfrevival.tk/ The Dark Mod: https://www.thedarkmod.com/main/ https://www.thedarkmod.com/main/ S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Anomaly: https://www.moddb.com/mods/stalker-anomaly https://www.moddb.com/mods/stalker-anomaly
- ElCapitanMarkla 6y ago
  No One Lives Forever was a great game. Multiplayer was fun too
twoquestions 6y ago
I've heard good things about Path of Exile, if you're into Diablo type games: https://www.pathofexile.com/ https://www.pathofexile.com/ If you're willing to shell out $6, I can't recommend Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri enough, especially if you're into turn-based civ games. GoG has a ton of older stuff for less than a Hamilton. https://www.gog.com/game/sid_meiers_alpha_centauri https://www.gog.com/game/sid_meiers_alpha_centauri
probinso 6y ago
Dwarf Fortress

10 points by crazypython 6y ago

Hi, With the pandemic lull, does anyone have ideas for free, in-depth games to play? 0 A.D. comes to mind for me.

One of my favorites is my own game: http://vnav.io http://vnav.io Disclaimer: Still in beta. Move around to fight people.

sralbert 6y ago

This is HN so if by "free" you mean open-source ignore this. Rocket League Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Team Fortress 2 Starcraft 2 Fortnite Diabotical

tubularhells 6y ago
TF2 is great. Don't play causal matches, but find a community server where aimhacking and botting is not allowed, though.

foopod 6y ago

I have been playing a lot of Mindustry lately, not just free, the game is open source too. "Mindustry is a hybrid tower-defense sandbox factory game. Create elaborate supply chains of conveyor belts to feed ammo into your turrets, produce materials to use for building, and defend your structures from waves of enemies. Features include a map editor, 24 built-in maps, cross-platform multiplayer and large-scale PvP unit battles." https://anuke.itch.io/mindustry https://anuke.itch.io/mindustry

tubularhells 6y ago

Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup is deep, rich and hard as hell to master. I great rogue like with a nice tileset.

jaytaylor 6y ago
For the uninitiated: https://crawl.develz.org/ https://crawl.develz.org/

facorreia 6y ago

Epic Store has a list of free games here: https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/free-games https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/free-games Edit: also GOG: https://www.gog.com/partner/stay_at_home https://www.gog.com/partner/stay_at_home

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

speedgoose 6y ago

Just remember that the free to play model is about using tricks to encourage you to spend money, usually with shitty game mechanics unless you pay. If you are not going to pay on a multi-player game, your role is to improve the user experience for other players that are actually spending money. To replace an AI, so they spend more. So I would skip the free to play games if you don't have a budget for them. My personal favorite free and open-source game is OpenTTD but it's a bit dated.

crazypython 6y ago
Yeah, I think "free to play; pay to enjoy" is a bad model. That's a philosophy embodied in my game downthread.

replax 6y ago

Xonotic [0] is an amazing game if you're into quake style arena shooters. It's a fast paced multiplayer shooter and like 0 A. D. also OSS. Easiest to get up to speed in the "minstagib" or "instagib" mode, where basically one shot kills and "bullets" arrive at their target instantly. Once you're familiar with the mechanics, the other modes are quite fun, too. [0]: https://xonotic.org/ https://xonotic.org/

danbolt 6y ago

itch is oozing with free-to-download or pay-optional games by hobbyist and new game developers. I'm a big fan of it. Some of the stuff is very raw though, compared to Steam or Epic pages being more product-oriented. I don't think my picks will be similar to 0 A.D., but some interesting ones that stick out to me are: https://alt254.itch.io/triforce https://alt254.itch.io/triforce https://namatakahashi.itch.io/i-want-eat-the-sun https://namatakahashi.itch.io/i-want-eat-the-sun https://seregsarn.itch.io/taraman-castle-oni-story https://seregsarn.itch.io/taraman-castle-oni-story https://aetherinteractive.itch.io/sol-hemochroma https://aetherinteractive.itch.io/sol-hemochroma https://minkcv.itch.io/urbansnake https://minkcv.itch.io/urbansnake https://cyangmou.itch.io/fantastic-fetus https://cyangmou.itch.io/fantastic-fetus https://co5monaut.itch.io/do-not-take-your-eyes-away-from-the-red-fridge https://co5monaut.itch.io/do-not-take-your-eyes-away-from-th...

spazx 6y ago

There's UnCiv, also on the FDroid store. FOSS CivV on Android and desktop. https://github.com/yairm210/Unciv https://github.com/yairm210/Unciv

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

URfejk 6y ago

No One Lives Forever 1 and 2: http://nolfrevival.tk/ http://nolfrevival.tk/ The Dark Mod: https://www.thedarkmod.com/main/ https://www.thedarkmod.com/main/ S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Anomaly: https://www.moddb.com/mods/stalker-anomaly https://www.moddb.com/mods/stalker-anomaly

ElCapitanMarkla 6y ago
No One Lives Forever was a great game. Multiplayer was fun too

twoquestions 6y ago

I've heard good things about Path of Exile, if you're into Diablo type games: https://www.pathofexile.com/ https://www.pathofexile.com/ If you're willing to shell out $6, I can't recommend Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri enough, especially if you're into turn-based civ games. GoG has a ton of older stuff for less than a Hamilton. https://www.gog.com/game/sid_meiers_alpha_centauri https://www.gog.com/game/sid_meiers_alpha_centauri

probinso 6y ago

Dwarf Fortress