Guide
NO MONEY, NO PROBLEM | The best free-to-play games to try in 2024
Here are some good games for you to play without the need to splash the cash.
Rebecca Jones
Guides Writer
After a six-month stint at VG247 back in 2021, Rebecca (she/her) finally settled in as a permanent addition to the team in 2023. A former member of staff at our sister site Rock Paper Shotgun, she's also had her writing featured on Eurogamer and PC Gamer over the course of her five-year career.
She holds a BA in English and an MA in Medieval English, and isn't entirely convinced she's putting the latter to its most logical use writing about a medium that's barely 50 years old, but at least she's enjoying herself. A veteran fan of the life sim genre, she's racked up almost 2,000 hours of play time between The Sims 4 and Animal Crossing: New Horizons alone, and still isn't sure whether that's a badge of honour or a source of shame.
Agnostic when it comes to platform, AAA vs indie, or free-to-play vs one-time-purchase, Rebecca is nevertheless very clear about what she most likes to play and is way likelier to know a lot about a game if it features sad teenagers, hot lawyers, or kissable vampires; in other words, she particularly enjoys horror games, visual novels, adventure games, and RPGs. She can also be heard enthusing about her favourite indie games over on the Indieventure podcast.
Guide
DOUBLE JUMP SCARES | The best horror games to play in 2024
From founding fathers of horror to underrated gems, here are some of the best horror games to sink your teeth into.
Guide
Clover Retribution codes
Get free spins and stat resets in Clover Retribution with these codes.
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11037 | Tribe Nine is what happens if you mix Danganronpa with a HoYoverse RPG, an ideal timewaster for people who share my exact anime brainrot
An open beta of Too Kyo Games' maiden gacha effort has been launched as part of October's Steam Next Fest.
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To The Max | Life is Strange has grown up with its protagonist in Double Exposure, which makes for a great story, but also a grim reminder of our own lost youth
Max Caulfield is pushing 30 in her return to the series, and while the franchise formula remains largely intact, a lot of its teenage optimism has dissipated.
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Don't Fear Him | The Sims 4 Reaper's Rewards Event Guide: What it is, how can you take part, and what are the rewards?
All of your Reaper's Rewards FAQs answered, including how to take part, the event duration, quest list and rewards!
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From A Past Life | How to import your choices into Life is Strange: Double Exposure
Double Exposure is a direct sequel to the original Life is Strange, so naturally you'll want to see those old outcomes reflected here.
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NFL Universe Football codes
Get free coins and cosmetics in NFL Universe Football with these codes.
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A Moment Of Zen | Create gorgeous miniature Japanese landscapes in soothing Sudoku-like puzzle Nurikabe World, playable at October's Steam Next Fest
This upcoming indie game enhances the pen-and-paper logic puzzle Nurikabe with beautiful visuals, and it could just be your new daily puzzle fixation.
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Anime Last Stand codes
Get rerolls, gems, emeralds and more in Anime Last Stand with these codes.
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Before Sunrise | How to save everyone in Until Dawn
Full walkthroughs on how to ensure each of the eight main characters survive the night. You can also ignore this advice if you want to get everyone killed - there are trophies for both, so I'm not judging.
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Golden Ending | How to get the new endings in Until Dawn (2024)
Make the right choices and you'll see a couple of brand-new scenes at the end of the enhanced version of Until Dawn.
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Schrödinger's Cut | Until Dawn review: a last-gen stand-out rescued from the jaws of oblivion
Ballistic Moon's second pass at Until Dawn is more than a remaster yet not wholly a remake — but most importantly, it definitively preserves one of the best modern adventure games with only a few compromises.
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Seeing In Polychrome | Zenless Zone Zero codes
Claim free Polychrome and more using our list of ZZZ codes, checked and updated regularly.
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Dis-Koala-Fied | A cult classic from the PS Vita turns 10 today, but might not see the light of day again in a console generation that's less weird, messy, and experimental
Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls was a rich yet baffling supplement to series lore, but was conspicuously missing from the recent remastered collection.
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LUSTROUS TIDES | Wuthering Waves codes
Don’t miss out on any free Astrite, Tides and other WuWa rewards!
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Honkai Star Rail: How to unlock March 7th Hunt and Eidolons
The long and short ways to get March 7th's new form, and collect all of her Eidolons up to E6.
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Skilfully Brutal | Which of the best skills in God of War Ragnarok should you unlock first?
A Spartan Speciality
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HAVE HOPE | Sword of Convallaria Codes
Sword of Convallaria has plenty of codes offering Hope Luxites, crafting materials and more!
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We're Retro Now | The best Sims game turns 20 today, calling forth a wave of warm nostalgia in the face of the franchise's uncertain future
The Sims 2 was released on this day in 2004, so if you're interested in reading this, chances are you're old like me.
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Ooboo Vroose Baa Doo | Today, The Sims 4 becomes the first game in the franchise to turn 10 – and it marks a massive departure for the series and EA
Spending a full decade in active development post-release is a noteworthy milestone for a Sims game, albeit a bit of a mixed blessing.
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Feelin' Lucky | How to win at Kessel Sabbacc in Star Wars Outlaws
Hints and tips on the best strategies to turn this game of chance into a game of skill.
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Master of the Galaxy | Star Wars Outlaws slicing puzzle explained
Slicing in Star Wars Outlaws can be great fun once you understand what the mini-game entails, but if it's left you feeling a bit too puzzled, here's an explainer of the rules.
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Big Boss Man | Should you sell Gorak's Ring in Star Wars Outlaws?
Nix nicked this nifty trinket, but now what should you do with it?
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A Quick Buck | How to earn Credits fast in Star Wars Outlaws
Credits make the galaxy go 'round, and nobody knows this better than a wretched scumbag like Kay, so here's how to line your pockets as fast as possible.
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Git Gud | Star Wars Outlaws experts and abilities: Unlock criteria for every ability
Unlock conditions for all 60 abilities in Star Wars: Outlaws, plus the experts you need to schmooze to get them.
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Boo! Tricked You | As The Dark Pictures Anthology celebrates its fifth anniversary, here's why its first entry remains its best
Though its story was divisive, Man of Medan set the gold standard for branching in narrative horror games.
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Millennial Pause | Lost Records: Bloom & Rage places Dontnod in the odd position of being its own strongest competitor - hands-on preview
A life by any other name would be as strange.
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Indy Games | Indiana Jones and the Great Circle whips up the Gamescom crowd with a release date — and some big news for PlayStation fans
Stealth, gunfights, sleuthing and whip swinging. What else could you ask for? As it turns out, a PS5 release!
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Soon Enough? | Arena Breakout: Infinite targets a full release by the end of 2024
As promised, Arena Breakout: Infinite delivered the news many of us have been looking forward to.
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Another New World | Four years later, Genshin Impact is finally coming to Xbox — but HoYoverse still wants to squeeze you for a pre-order
HoYoverse finally throws Xbox fans a bone, but it comes with a not-entirely-unexpected price attached.
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What U Dune | Dune Awakening spices up Gamescom Opening Night Live with a 2025 release date
Finally, you at home can feel the sand beneath your feet.
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Ooh, a Spooky Thing | Dying Light: The Beast revealed at Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024, following that 'The Beast Is Coming' tease
The beast has indeed come, now please stop giggling about that being the case.
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A Strong Hook | Supermassive is as on-form as ever with The Casting of Frank Stone, a Dead by Daylight spin-off for fans of lore and gore - hands-on preview
A 45-minute preview of the early game left us with more questions than ever, but at least we finally know who Frank Stone is.
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Ghost In The Machine | 10 years on, P.T. remains the most influential horror game that never existed
A playable teaser for the Kojima-helmed Silent Hill game that never was, looking back on a decade of P.T. proves that it has one of the most unusual legacies in gaming.
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Hot And Heavy | Life is Strange: Heatwaves proves that the franchise is still willing to experiment, and has me more excited than ever for Double Exposure
The second prose novel tie-in to Square Enix's coming of age superhero drama series is more interesting than Steph's Story, but not quite as satisfying.
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Hot Date | How to set Turn Ons and Turn Offs in The Sims 4 Lovestruck
The Sims 4's new Attraction system revives the popular Chemistry mechanic that's been absent since The Sims 2.
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Open And Honest | How to make Sims polyamorous in The Sims 4 Lovestruck
The new Romantic Boundaries system in The Sims 4 allows you to modify your Sims' feelings on monogamy in a series first.
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The Lottery | Zenless Zone Zero Scratch Cards: All possible prizes from Howl's News Stand
Your adorable and friendly Thiren neighbour Howl lets you have a free winning scratch card every day — so it's just a matter of how big the prize is.
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Double Dipping | Zenless Zone Zero trophy list
Which ZZZ achievements ping on your PlayStation Network account?
Guide
Boo! | Zenless Zone Zero Bangboo list: What are the best Bangboos for your teams?
Every Bangboo in Zenless Zone Zero V1.0, their skills and team compositions.
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Hit The Arcade | How to play Zenless Zone Zero multiplayer with friends
Zenless Zone Zero does indeed feature co-op, though only in a limited mode.
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Maximise Your Pulls | How to claim all 180 free pulls in Zenless Zone Zero Version 1.0
HoYoverse have talked up 180 free pulls as a big draw for ZZZ's launch, but how do you get those goodies?
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Mellifluous Tones | Zenless Zone Zero voice cast: Who are the voice actors in the English dub?
Who voices your latest husbando/waifu? Where have you heard that voice before? Do we know who Billy Kid's actor is yet?
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Make A Wish | How to wish in Zenless Zone Zero
When can you wish in Zenless Zone Zero? Here's how long you can expect to wait before ZZZ lets you into its gacha.
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Free Agents | Zenless Zone Zero: How to claim free characters
Bulk up your Zenless Zone Zero roster before even touching the gacha by getting a respectable handful of Agents for free.
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New Eridu Ethereals | Zenless Zone Zero Agent list: All characters in Version 1.0
Zzz is hardly a snooze