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The Epic Games Store has continued its weekly practice of giving out free games this month, and the list has included quite a few horror games to keep up with the spooky vibes of October, including Observer, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, and Layers of Fear: Masterpiece Edition. So it’s no surprise this week’s free games are continuing the pattern. As of October 31, you can claim underwater sci-fi horror game Soma and adorable Halloween adventure Costume Quest for free. All you need is a free Epic Games Store account to add them to, and they’ll be yours to keep forever.
Soma is an acclaimed survival horror game from the creators of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and it’s set on a mysterious underwater research facility where machines have begun to take on human characteristics. You’ll play as Simon Jarrett, who wakes up at the facility after a car accident in 2015 and discovers he’s now in the year 2104. As Simon begins to explore the facility, he must put together clues, solve puzzles, and avoid monsters as he discovers more about the facility and his own fate.
The game earned an impressive 9/10 in GameSpot’s Soma review, where Richard Wakeling praised its engaging and thought-provoking story, excellent writing, chilling sound design, and overall tension-building. “While Soma may have been dubbed a spiritual successor to the terrifying Amnesia: The Dark Descent, it would be reductive to simply call it a ‘science-fiction Amnesia’. For all its foreboding dread and ghastly creatures that go bump in the night, Soma is driven more by an enigmatic narrative than any chilling moments of bloodcurdling terror,” he wrote.
Costume Quest, on the other hand, isn’t spooky at all, but this simple RPG has a charming nostalgia to it that still makes it worth your time. This adorable adventure takes place on Halloween and follows two twins, Reynold and Wren, as they prepare to go trick-or-treating in their new neighborhood. When one of the twins gets kidnapped by a monster, the remaining sibling must brave the night alone as they gather candy (the in-game currency), pick up costume parts, complete side quests for hints to the missing twin’s location, and fight monsters in turn-based battles.
In GameSpot’s Costume Quest review, the game earned a 7/10 for its great visual design, clever and humorous writing, and strategic battles, although critic Giancarlo Varanini noted the game’s slow start and cluttered display information. “Without question, the art and overall premise serve as Costume Quest’s biggest hook, and these things are ultimately what drive the game and turn it into something much more than a superficial RPG,” he wrote. “Still, whether or not you can overlook and overcome its initial shortcomings is tied directly to how much you buy into its premise on a nostalgic and comedic level. That said, when Costume Quest picks up steam and truly reveals all it has to offer from a gameplay perspective, it relies less on that premise and simply delivers an all-around satisfying gaming experience.”
Soma and Costume Quest are free to claim now through November 7, when they’ll be replaced by the next round of free games, Nuclear Throne and Ruiner.
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