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Gaming is typically becoming more expensive nowadays, especially with the advent of the so-called “AAAA” games. However, there’s still plenty of room in the industry for those who are financially cautious. This year, you’ll find no shortage of free Steam games– some of which have arguably better quality and gameplay than their full-priced competition. All you have to do is look and try, and we’ve done the looking for you with these 10 best free Steam games of 2024.
The First Descendant
First on the list is The First Descendant with a strong showing in the middle of 2024. It’s a looter-shooter action RPG, which, at a glance, you might mistake for either Warframe or Destiny 2 since it borrowed quite a lot from both games. Even so, The First Descendant is distinct enough to stand on its own with character designs doing most of the heavy lifting.
Once Human
Once Human is many games stitched together by people who love to play games and know which ones have the fun mechanics. The result is a survival RPG that’s familiar yet unlike any other and with content that will keep you coming back for more. It’s Fallout 76 meets The Division coated with Control and Stranger Things.
Predecessor
MOBAs are still alive and kicking and Predecessor is here to prove that repeatedly for the lowest price tag of all. If it sounds too similar to Paragon, that’s because Predecessor is the spiritual sequel. At its core, it’s a MOBA shooter game that provides a fun respite from the toxicity of its more competitive contemporaries.
Supermarket Together
Who’d have thought that pink-collar jobs make for great video game settings? Supermarket Together is the living embodiment of that odd notion. It’s a multiplayer or co-op game where you and your friends or randos try not to run a supermarket into bankruptcy. You can do that by participating in every aspect of the supermarket ecosystem from management to cleanup.
Nightmare Kart
Nightmare Kart isn’t as well-known as the more prominent and modern-looking Unreal Engine titles of 2024, but it has its own nostalgic charm. This one’s a gothic racing game with gritty and blocky graphics straight out of the PS1 era. It’s a bit niche but the free price tag might just get you hooked especially if you grew up in the 1990s.
Ocean World: Eden Crafters
If you’re not quite tired of survival crafting games yet, then Ocean World: Eden Crafters might just reignite your passion for the genre. If you remember that hopeless ocean planet sequence in Interstellar? That’s Ocean World: Eden Crafters, except you’re not a helpless egghead and can actually terraform that watery grave into your own homeworld.
Enlisted
Enlisted is many things, and that’s something you usually don’t expect from a WW2 shooter. This squad-based MMO is one of the most ambitious takes on WW2 multiplayer games since you can join in nearly every facet of that warfare one squad at a time. So unlike most other games in the same setting and genre, Enlisted won’t fail to capture the scale.
Stormgate
Stormgate is apparently being developed by former Blizzard employees– those who once worked on Starcraft 2 and Warcraft 3. They wanted to bring that kind of magic back to the gaming scene but in a more modern coat of paint. The free-to-play price tag is just the cherry on top here. You can now experience the hype that dominated gaming back in the early 2000s, all for free.
Dungeonborne
Dungeonborne is still in early access at the time of writing but it’s already shown much promise with its Dark Messiah-esque gameplay and atmospheric dungeon crawling. The game is a first-person PvPvE dungeon crawler game. What sets it apart is the more casual-friendly approach compared to other free Steam games like Dark and Darker.
Dark and Darker
Speaking of which, Dark and Darker is practically the more hardcore and sweatier version of Dungeonborne. Its graphics are literally darker to match that reputation. This one isn’t for the faint of heart in regards to both the learning curve and the community. So you might want to bring friends to share the suffering with you. It’s still a fun ordeal, regardless.
