Times are great for PC gamers, especially if you’re having to look at your budget.
After exploring some of the best titles in Steam’s ongoing Autumn sale, there are also plenty of free-to-play titles to play, from soulslikes to shooters, strategy games and metroidvanias, that rival even Silksong in scope.
Usually, these games are well known and most players gravitate toward the usual suspects – your Counter Strike 2, Dota 2, Apex Legends, what have you. But to our surprise, what often gets overlooked are exactly the games sitting right beside them in the SteamDB charts, pulling huge numbers despite the fact, that most of these games receive little to no fanfare in the public media.
Here are a collection of the best free games on Steam you probably didn’t expect to be worth your time – but they absolutely are.
Best Free Games on Steam
1. Naraka Bladepoint
Another battle royale? But we already have Apex, Warzone and Fortnite – this one’s different, we swear. While most in the genre stick to the tried-and-true formula; loot guns, shrink zones and be the last one to survive, Naraka: Bladepoint goes changes this formula entirely.
With grappling hooks, wall runs and flashy melee combat, this is more fighting game, than battle royale. If you want something fresh, but don’t want to stray away from battle-royale entirely, check this one out. And – suffice to say – but this one’s free to play, so you really have nothing to lose.
2. World of Warships
You wouldn’t expect a slow-paced naval combat sim to rack up huge player counts, yet World of Warships has carved out a niche all its own. Think of it as World of Tanks on water, but with more tactical depth than you might assume, especially for one of those free-to-play titles.
Battles hinge entirely on positioning, timing, and understanding the unique strengths of your ships, so this isn’t your average shooter-slop. Sure, it’s definitely not for everyone, but the fact that so many players have embraced a game built around battleships and destroyers shows how far free-to-play can stretch.
3. Warframe
This one stings, but we have to call Warframe a surprise hit nonetheless. It’s almost a crime calling it that, given how long it’s been around, and it’s still one of the most-played free games on Steam each year.
What started as an admittedly pretty clunky space-ninja 3rd person shooter, has literally evolved into a huge MMO-lite, with one of the most generous free-to-play models in the industry as of yet. There are so many updates, including a lot of QOL changes that are still being made, and the community is still going strong. Definitely try it, if this is your cup of tea.
4. The Finals
Free-to-play shooters are everywhere and even we have a hard time trying to suss out which ones are ultimately worth our time, but The Finals stands out by leaning into pure chaos, instead of being tactical or having a build mode.
Matches are fast, destructible environments collapse around you, and the whole thing is presented like a televised esport. It’s slick, it’s bombastic, and it’s far more fun than it has any right to be.
5. Goose Goose Duck
You heard that right – Goose Goose Duck. If you think about the children’s game we used to play way back when, you’re not far off. What started as a simple and quite cheeky Among Us clone, has literally carved its own niche on Steam and remains to be a success story in its own right.
The reason for that fact is pretty simple. Lying to your friends can be incredibly fun, if no one really gets harmed, of course. This one adds enough new roles and twists to set itself apart from its bigger and older cousin, and comes highly recommended for that reason. There’s worse ways to kill an afternoon with far away friends – especially since it’s free.
