Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

The high-fantasy strategy of Total War: THREE KINGDOMS and the sci-fi extraction of Wildgate have officially rotated out as of today, January 8. In their place, Epic has launched today Bloons TD 6 as the free title available to claim until January 15 at 11:00 AM ET. Following this window, the store will shift into a stealth-focused week by giving away Styx: Master of Shadows from January 15 through January 22. While the giveaway is the most resourceful way to build your library, those who prefer other platforms can find Bloons TD 6 on the Steam Store for $13.99. For a significantly cheaper alternative, G2A (affiliate link) currently lists global keys for roughly $2.45, which is a 76% discount compared to official retail.

Tactical Depth Beneath a Colorful Exterior

Bloons TD 6 is far more complex than its bright art style suggests. It is a massive tower defense title featuring 24 distinct “Monkey Towers,” each with three separate upgrade paths and unique 5th-tier abilities. The game also introduces powerful “Heroes” that level up automatically during a match, providing specialized buffs or massive screen-clearing attacks. Since its release, the developer has added a steady stream of content including weekly Boss Events, four-player co-op, and “Paragon” towers that fuse multiple tier-5 upgrades into a single ultimate unit. It is a resourceful pickup for anyone looking for a strategy loop that supports both quick ten-minute sessions and long-term completionist goals across nearly 90 different maps.

Upcoming Shadow Work in the Tower of Akenash

Starting next Thursday, January 15, the mood shifts significantly with the arrival of Styx: Master of Shadows. This is a dedicated stealth-RPG where you play as a two-century-old goblin navigating a massive, vertically-designed fortress. Unlike many modern “stealth” games that allow you to fight your way out of a mistake, Styx disincentivizes direct combat, forcing you to rely on cloning yourself for diversions, using invisibility, and manipulating the environment to stay alive. If you want to jump in early or grab it on Valve’s platform, Styx: Master of Shadows is priced at $19.99 on Steam. However, you can find keys on G2A (affiliate link) for approximately $2.60, representing a 92% discount for those who miss the upcoming free period.

Managing Your January Claims

You have exactly seven days to claim Bloons TD 6 before it is replaced by the Styx giveaway. Both of these titles represent a solid start to the year for gamers who value mechanical variety over raw graphical power. While Bloons provides a social, co-op experience for up to four people, Styx offers a challenging, single-player dive into traditional stealth mechanics. Make sure to hit the “Get” button on Epic before the refresh next Thursday to ensure these remain in your library permanently, or use the Steam and G2A links to secure them for your preferred secondary launcher at record-low prices.

The post Strategy and Stealth: Epic Rotates to ‘Bloons TD 6’ and Teases ‘Styx’ appeared first on Game Reviews, News, Videos & More for Every Gamer – PC, PlayStation, Xbox in 2026.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

The Architecture Of A Digital Fever Dream

Claiming a free title on Steam usually feels like hoarding digital clutter, but ENA: Dream BBQ represents a pivot toward high-concept exploration that feels earned. Released in March 2025 by the ENA Team, the first chapter, “Lonely Door,” remains a masterclass in using the jagged, low-poly aesthetics of the PS1 era to build something that feels genuinely alien. The world is a hyper-saturated void where corporate language and surrealist horror merge, forcing the player to navigate environments that feel both nostalgic and hostile. It avoids the typical traps of modern indie design by refusing to explain its internal logic, instead opting for a sensory blitz that rewards the patient observer. You find yourself trapped in a reality where the colors are too loud and the dialogue is too sharp, yet the lack of a price tag makes the initial friction feel like a fair trade for the visual brilliance on display.

Labor As A Psychedelic Aesthetic

The core loop of the experience centers on tasks that feel like a mockery of productive labor, placing ENA in a position of perpetual, confused service. Walking through the Red Outworld or navigating the “Purge Route” involves interacting with entities that speak in riddles and demand nonsensical favors. This isn’t a power fantasy; the game functions as an exploration of emotional instability through a mechanical lens. The dual nature of the protagonist—shifting between the manic “salesperson” and the melancholic “meanie”—mirrors the exhaustion of maintaining a persona in a world that only values you for what you can provide. It utilizes the Unity engine to simulate a kind of hardware instability that feels intentional, creating a space where the glitch is the point and the discomfort is the primary export. This specific focus on the mundane made strange keeps the experience grounded even when the scenery begins to melt into a kaleidoscopic blur.

The Economy Of Episodic Discomfort

Choosing to release the first chapter for free on Steam was a calculated move by Joel G that bypassed the traditional demo cycle to create a self-contained cultural event. While the Supporter Edition and future chapters carry a cost, “Lonely Door” serves as a complete artistic statement that doesn’t hold back on the creator’s idiosyncratic vision. It captures a specific brand of “Internet Weird” that has matured from YouTube shorts into a fully realized interactive medium. The “Overwhelmingly Positive” reviews reflect a community that values vision over traditional gameplay polish, proving that there is a massive audience for games that prioritize mood over mechanics. We see a landscape where the most interesting ideas are often the ones given away for nothing, forcing the paid market to justify its existence against the high-quality surrealism found in these episodic experiments. It remains an essential download for anyone who thinks the current state of gaming has become too predictable or too safe.

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The holiday sprint has officially cooled down, and Epic is swapping the daily chaos for a much more manageable weekly rotation. Yesterday’s final 24-hour gift, Chivalry 2, is no longer up for grabs, but the replacement is a heavy-hitting double feature. From today, January 1, until January 8 at 11:00 AM ET, you can claim both Total War: THREE KINGDOMS and the sci-fi newcomer Wildgate for zero dollars. This shift signals a return to form for the storefront, moving away from “mystery” reveals back into a predictable schedule that actually gives you time to play the games you’re hoarding.

Total War: THREE KINGDOMS

This is arguably the most polished entry in the long-standing strategy franchise, set during the legendary collapse of the Han Dynasty. It isn’t just about moving thousands of soldiers across a map; it’s a character-driven epic where personal rivalries and diplomatic betrayals dictate the fate of ancient China. The “Romanticized” mode turns your generals into superhuman warriors capable of taking on entire units solo, while the “Records” mode keeps things grounded in historical realism. If you happen to miss the free week on Epic, the Steam Store is currently running an 80% discount through January 5, and the G2A Marketplace (affiliate link) often has keys for roughly $9.00, making it a resourceful pickup even after the giveaway ends.

Wildgate

Providing a sharp contrast to the slow-burn strategy of the Three Kingdoms, Wildgate is a 2025 arrival that focuses on high-stakes PvPvE extraction in deep space. You and your crew are dropped into hostile sectors where you have to balance hunting for ship upgrades against the threat of rival players and lethal environmental anomalies. The combat is a hybrid of first-person shooting and tactical ship-to-ship maneuvering, requiring genuine coordination to survive the extraction phase. While the Epic giveaway is the best current deal, the Steam Store has it for 60% off until next week. If you’re looking for a second chance later, G2A typically lists keys around $1.80, which is basically pocket change for a modern sci-fi title.

A Resourceful Start to the Year

Securing these two titles adds over $90 of retail value to your library for nothing, covering both the grand-scale strategy and the competitive shooter niches. Total War provides a campaign that can easily eat up a hundred hours of your January, while Wildgate offers a fresh loop for your weekend squad sessions. Make sure you hit the claim button before the next rotation on January 8 to start 2026 with a significantly more valuable library.

The post The Grand Strategy and Space Extraction Era: Epic’s First Weekly Drop of 2026 appeared first on Game Reviews, News, Videos & More for Every Gamer – PC, PlayStation, Xbox in 2026.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

While yesterday’s gift, the Trine Classic Collection, offered a lighthearted fantasy escape for three, today’s drop is all about the chaotic, unrefined noise of the front lines. Today, December 31, Epic is giving away Chivalry 2 as its final 24-hour mystery gift of the year. You have until January 1, 2026, at 11:00 AM ET to secure this $40 multiplayer slasher before the storefront shifts to the New Year’s Day reveal. For those who prefer the Steam ecosystem, the Steam Store has it listed at a massive 80% discount until January 5, priced at just $7.99. If you’re really hunting for spare change, the secondary market at G2A currently has keys for a couple of bucks less than Steam, though the giveaway makes that choice irrelevant for the next day.

Medieval Mayhem on a Cinematic Scale

This isn’t a game about delicate fencing or precise dueling; it is a 64-player mosh pit designed to feel like a gritty historical movie. You are thrown into sprawling objective-based maps where you might be defending a castle gate one minute and charging a burning village the next. The combat system uses directional swings and parries, but it shines most when the plan falls apart—you can pick up severred limbs, heavy furniture, or even flaming chickens to keep the pressure on. It manages to capture a specific brand of dark humor, where the screams of your character are just as important as the weight of your war hammer.

Variety in the Vanguard

The progression system is actually resourceful for a freebie, offering four distinct base classes that branch into specialized subclasses. Whether you want to be a tanky Knight holding a choke point or a high-mobility Vanguard flanking with a two-handed sword, there is a clear mechanical difference in how you approach the battlefield. The inclusion of the Tenosian Empire update also brings mounted combat into the mix, adding a layer of high-speed horse-to-horse melee to the classic infantry sieges.

Claiming the Final Drops of 2025

This 24-hour window for Chivalry 2 is the peak of the final stretch of Epic’s holiday promotion. Given the high player count required for the best maps, this massive influx of new users today means the servers will be packed for the holiday weekend. Make sure to grab it before the timer hits zero tomorrow morning, as the New Year’s Day giveaway is rumored to be the last “big” drop before the store returns to its weekly cadence for 2026.

The post Battlements and Brutality: Chivalry 2 is Today’s New Year’s Eve Freebie appeared first on Game Reviews, News, Videos & More for Every Gamer – PC, PlayStation, Xbox in 2026.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

While the internet keeps chasing ghosts with fake AAA leak lists, Epic is actually delivering a four-course meal of high-fantasy competence. Today, December 30, the Trine Classic Collection hit the zero-dollar mark on the Epic Games Store. You’ve got until December 31 at 11:00 AM ET to claim the first four games of a series that basically defined the “physics-puzzler-with-swords” archetype. If you prefer Valve’s ecosystem or missed the window, the Steam Store is currently running a 75% discount through January 5, though even that feels pricey compared to the secondary market. A quick glance at G2A (affiliate link) shows keys floating around the $10 range, but honestly, paying anything for this today is a failure of basic consumer awareness.

Cheeese, Boxes, and Grappling Hooks: How Trine Actually Plays

The gimmick is simple: you control a Wizard who conjures boxes, a Thief with a grappling hook, and a Knight who hits things. The reality is much more chaotic. Trine thrives on the fact that its puzzles are “soft.” There isn’t a single correct way to cross a spike pit; if you can stack enough conjured crates into a precarious, wobbling tower and jump off the top before the whole thing collapses, the game counts it. This collection takes you from the hand-drawn beauty of the original Enchanted Edition and Trine 2—widely considered the peak of the genre—into the experimental 3D levels of Trine 3, finally landing on the polished, back-to-basics brilliance of Trine 4. It’s a series that rewards the “street intellectual” approach to gaming—don’t follow the developer’s breadcrumbs if you can just break the engine to get where you’re going.

Multiplayer Friction and Resourceful Cooperation

This is strictly better with friends, but it’s also a quick way to find out which of your buddies has zero spatial awareness. The three-player co-op turns every bridge-building exercise into a debate about weight distribution and momentum. It is a resourceful addition to any library because it scales perfectly; you can play it with kids who just want to swing on ropes or with a dedicated group trying to optimize every movement. Since these games are optimized for efficiency rather than raw power, you don’t need a top-tier rig to see the hand-painted assets in their best light. It’s an easy pick for the holiday break that provides dozens of hours of gameplay without demanding you learn a complex combat system or sit through endless cinematic fluff.

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Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

The annual inventory dump (until 8th of January 2026) on the Epic Games Store is less about holiday cheer and more about the cold mathematics of moving digital units. For those of us tracking the daily Mystery Games, which recently tossed out heavy-hitters like Hogwarts Legacy and Disco Elysium, the current sale is the final mathematical correction of the year. The mystery continues, but the storefront has effectively become a high-stakes clearance rack where the raw percentages finally favor the consumer.

The AAA Market Correction

High-profile releases from the 2024 and 2025 cycles are seeing early price collapses as publishers scramble to meet end-of-year targets. We see titles like Alan Wake 2 and Dying Light 2 Stay Human – Reloaded Edition sitting at 70%, a significant drop for software that still carries a high level of technical polish. Even the much-discussed Star Wars Outlaws and Assassin’s Creed Mirage have hit that same 70% floor, signaling a desperate need to inflate player numbers before the next fiscal quarter begins.

Meanwhile, the latest entries in perennial franchises like EA SPORTS FC 26 and EA SPORTS Madden NFL 26 have already reached a 60% discount, proving that the annual sports cycle is a race to the bottom once the initial launch window closes. For those looking at the newest bets, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, ARC Raiders, and Borderlands 4 are holding steady at 20%, offering a minor reprieve for early adopters who missed the initial window.

The Liquidation Ledger: 2025 Holiday Discounts

Discount	Featured Games
95% Off	Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
90% Off	Riders Republic, Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Civ VI, Borderlands 3, AC Origins, AC Valhalla, WRC 9, Watch Dogs 2
85% Off	Alan Wake Remastered, GR Wildlands, Jedi: Survivor, RIDE 5, Mafia: Definitive Edition, AC Odyssey, AC Unity, Far Cry 5, Far Cry 4, Dying Light Essentials
80% Off	The Witcher 3 CE, Mortal Kombat 1, The Crew Motorfest, Dead Island 2, Batman Arkham Knight, Batman Arkham City GOTY, It Takes Two, Mafia II & III DE
75% Off	Red Dead Redemption 2, Overcooked! 2, Hell Let Loose, Anno 1800, Jurassic World Evo 2, Slime Rancher, 3DMark
70% Off	Alan Wake 2, Dying Light 2, Outlast Trials, Star Wars Outlaws, AC Mirage, Cities: Skylines, Remnant II
60-67% Off	Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves (67%), GTA Trilogy (67%), Cyberpunk 2077 (65%), Spider-Man Remastered (60%), God of War (60%), Death Stranding DC (60%)
50% Off	GTA V Enhanced, F1 25, AC Shadows, The Last of Us Part I, Silent Hill 2, Red Dead Redemption, Planet Coaster 2
30-40% Off	Ghost of Tsushima DC (40%), Frostpunk 2 (40%), Civilization VII (35%), Manor Lords (35%), Battlefield 6 (30%)
10-25% Off	Cronos: The New Dawn (25%), Expedition 33 (20%), Stellar Blade (20%), Borderlands 4 (20%), Football Manager 26 (10%)

Seeing software like Suicide Squad hit a 95% discount is a grim autopsy of a failed project, essentially offering the title for the price of a coffee. However, the real value for a cautious buyer lies in the 60-80% brackets where polished experiences like Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 are sitting at price points that actually respect your bank account. Take the 20% rewards and run, but don’t expect the industry to stay this vulnerable forever.

The post The Epic Games 2025 Holiday Purge is Now appeared first on Game Reviews, News, Videos & More for Every Gamer – PC, PlayStation, Xbox in 2026.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Stop wasting your time tracking fake AAA leaks and pay attention to the high-concept genius actually sitting in your library. Today, December 29, the Epic mystery vault has opened to reveal Viewfinder, a puzzle game that makes most other first-person titles look physically unimaginative. You are handed a camera and told to break the world. You hold up a 2D photograph, line it up with the horizon, and let go—the image instantly stamps itself into the 3D geometry, creating new bridges, buildings, and paths out of thin air. It is a mechanical magic trick that works every single time, forcing you to treat your own perspective as a physical tool rather than just a way to see.

From Pixelated Dread to Solar-Punk Solitude

Yesterday’s gift, SKALD: Against the Black Priory, was a gritty dive into 8-bit cosmic rot, and the transition to the bright, overgrown brutalism of Viewfinder is a massive tonal whiplash. While SKALD relied on dice rolls and grim-dark prose, this game relies on your spatial awareness and your ability to see solutions where others see a dead end. Both games represent Epic’s current strategy of highlighting titles with actual artistic backbone instead of just dumping generic shooters. It is a win for anyone who values a refined, five-hour experience over a bloated hundred-hour map-clearing exercise.

Securing Your Second Chance

If you miss the 24-hour window to claim this for free, you have a solid backup on the Steam Store, where the game is currently slashed by 65% through January 5. For those looking to squeeze the most value out of their holiday budget, G2A often has keys listed for even less than the official sale price, sometimes dipping closer to a couple of dollars depending on the seller. It’s also the final stretch to secure the Monument Valley collection on the mobile Epic store before that deal expires on January 1. This is a resourceful day to be a gamer, provided you’re quick enough to click the button before the next mystery reveals itself tomorrow.

The post Today’s Epic Mystery Game for Free is Viewfinder appeared first on Game Reviews, News, Videos & More for Every Gamer – PC, PlayStation, Xbox in 2026.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

The Epic Games holiday marathon continues, and if you were expecting another flashy, neon-soaked adventure like yesterday, think again. Today, December 20, Epic is taking us into the dirt, the dark, and the downright cursed with stealth FPS Blood West.

This is the fourth game in the lineup, and it further cements the fact that the “mainstream blockbuster” leaks were way off the mark. Instead, we’re getting a gritty, low-poly masterpiece that feels like a lost artifact from the late 90s.

What is Blood West?

Imagine if the original Thief games had a baby with S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and then that baby was raised in a haunted version of the Wild West.

You play as an undead gunslinger—literally brought back from the dead by mysterious spirits—to “clean up” the frontier. But this isn’t a power fantasy. In the Barren Lands, everything wants you back in the grave, and usually, it only takes a couple of hits to put you there.

Why It Stands Out:

• Methodical Stealth: This isn’t a “run and gun” game. If you try to play it like Call of Duty, you’ll die in seconds. You have to scout environments, crouch through the brush, and pick your shots carefully.
• The Voice of a Legend: Fun fact for stealth fans—the protagonist is voiced by Stephen Russell, the same legendary voice behind Garrett from the original Thief series. It adds a massive layer of “immersive sim” credibility to the atmosphere.
• Eldritch Horror: You aren’t just fighting outlaws. You’re up against wendigos, bird-men, and Lovecraftian abominations. The “Weird West” vibe is thick, dark, and genuinely unsettling.
• RPG Depth: It features a deep perk system and inventory management. You’ll spend just as much time weighing the benefits of a cursed artifact vs. a silver-plated revolver as you will actually pulling the trigger.

The “Ugly-Beautiful” Aesthetic

Don’t let the “retro” graphics fool you. The low-poly, pixelated look is a deliberate choice that makes the lighting and shadows feel much more oppressive. It’s “boomer shooter” tech used to create a survival horror experience that feels massive, with three huge open-ended maps to explore.

How To Get It

Blood West (usually $24.99) is free on the Epic Games Store right now. You have until December 21 at 11:00 AM ET to add it to your library.

If you’re tired of modern games holding your hand with quest markers and regenerating health, this is the challenge you’ve been looking for. Just remember: in these lands, ammo is more precious than gold.

The post Survival of the Deadest: Why Today’s Freebie ‘Blood West’ is a Must-Grab on Epic appeared first on Game Reviews, News, Videos & More for Every Gamer – PC, PlayStation, Xbox in 2026.

We’re not usually in the business of promoting cash shop anything – if you spend in an MMORPG, that’s your call – but we also would be remiss if we didn’t call attention to an opportunity to get free cash shop currency for simply logging in to a game too. That’s just what’s being offered […]