Month: January 2019

Epic Games is giving away a free PC game every two weeks this year via its new Store, and the next of those titles has now been announced. From February 7 until February 21, Axiom Verge will be available for the low, low price of nothing.

All you need to do is create an Epic account on the company’s Store and claim the game within those dates. You’ll then be able to play it for free whenever you like, even after February 7. Currently, the free game is the Jackbox Party Pack, but that promotional price will expire on February 7.

Axiom Verge is a Metroidvania-style platformer that launched in 2015. “Axiom Verge is a game that’s easy to fall in love with because it hits so many high notes,” wrote Peter Brown in our Axiom Verge review. “It takes the Metroidvania model and adds layers of ingenuity that are in a league all of their own, the most notable being the Address Disruptor.

“Yes it’s occasionally drab looking, and some enemies may not fit in with the rest of the world, but when a game is this good, these blemishes quickly fade into the back of your mind. The chilling sci-fi setting, mysterious plot, and a seemingly endless number of abilities keep your mind busy, and your curiosity at fever pitch. It’s not a stretch to say that Axiom Verge is better than the games that inspired it, because it’s so inventive and thoughtfully crafted. There’s no excuse to hold onto the past when the present is this amazing.”

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds developer PUBG Corp. has announced a new version of the PC game. Titled PUBG Lite, the new product is a standalone free-to-play edition of the hit battle royale game that’s now in beta in Thailand.

PUBG Corp. says PUBG Lite is designed for “players in areas where the core game’s required specifications are more difficult to achieve due to the hardware available.” This free-to-play version is therefore playable on lower-spec PCs.

The beta includes the first PUBG map, Erangel, though PUBG Corp. says the free-to-play title has “its own dedicated dev team that will create exclusive content and quality of life features while also adding maps and content familiar to PUBG players.”

Thailand is the only confirmed territory for PUBG Lite’s beta “for now.” The beta will help PUBG Corp. “determine if this is a viable product for other regions,” so it remains to be seen if the free-to-play edition makes its way to the west in the future.

PUBG’s PS4 and Xbox One versions, meanwhile, recently added the new Vikendi map, the game’s fourth map to date. Vikendi is a snow-covered mountainous region that includes a new vehicle, the snowmobile. Arriving alongside Vikendi is the Vikendi Survivor Pass. Much like Fortnite’s Battle Pass, it gives players a variety of challenges to complete over 10 weeks. Doing these challenges will level the pass up, which in turn will unlock cosmetics and other rewards.