Jotun & Prey, Free on The Epic Games Store

Monday, I fell in love with a Rwandan-Scottish man and spent Sunday morning crying happy tears. Tuesday, WoW Classic expansions make like Nirvana and come as they are, while Dave the Diver was announced for Early Access. Wednesday, Gotham Knights was crossed off a number of people’s lists, and EA was crossed off FIFA’s bribe list. Thursday, Nintendo trotted out the indies again, and a deleted text for Mass Effect merch sparked rumors. I’d be shocked if you could tell me what I’m most excited about.

Moving on to this week’s free games on the Epic Games Store, we have a surprise triple bill, though with two repeats. We’ll start with what sits behind me in a metal case, mostly because I’ve played that lately, and I have fresher memories. Prey (2017) has nothing to do with the 2006 game called Prey. One was fairly Doom-inspired from the people best known for the travesty that was The Quiet Man, the other is the alright 2017 game. That’s my trouble with Prey, it is all too polished, too clean, and safe. When you start looking for flaws or imperfections, you have to search for absolute detail.

However, that imperfection also creates an air of the forgettable. Beyond the time a cup jumps up at you, or that idealistic simulation thing before it all goes to hell, what is there to remember? It is good that it pilfers its plot from System Shock 2, otherwise, you’d have forgotten that too. There is no weapon, no character, and no moment to say “that was great!” or “that’s god awful!” You see, the polished video game works both ways. Something can lose all the things that are wrong, but also all the fantastic things with that refinement.

I’ve been replaying Just Cause 4 and No Man’s Sky lately, and you wouldn’t believe how much fun and enjoyment I’m getting out of games with imperfections. Personally, I don’t like Prey (2017) all that much because the biggest flaw of this game attempting to be horror is that it doesn’t have any. Strangely, it is frustrating to fight the most memorable enemy when your field-of-view isn’t that of an owl on meth. Is it a bad game? No, that’s the lasting problem. It was a good game, a fine game on bad days, but a fine game like True Crime: Streets of L,A needs something to be remembered by, like that hand and gun living through “meme culture.”

Moving on to the second game, I’ve got more to say about the forgettable. Thunder Lotus’ Jotun: Valhalla Edition, is an isometric Norse mythology Souls-like that I simply can’t find anything enjoyable about. I’ve attempted to play Jotun a few times, mostly out of a desire to get into it. However, there is always something. Be it the combat (hitboxes aren’t great), art direction, pacing, or otherwise, something in there puts me off. Once again, it is not a bad game, but it is safe enough that it is forgettable or unenjoyable.

Then in a surprise announcement, you can also pick up Redout: Enhanced Edition. If the title seems familiar to those of us old enough to have actually been alive during the early 00s, that’s because it is Wipeout with a legal team that understood the loopholes of copyright laws. With hyper-realistic HD blur with particle effects that aren’t just massive blocks, Redout takes the basic formula of the racers before it and gives them a colorful and shiny upscaling. The true reason for such a late addition to the free game slate is the sequel to this reasonably received 2016 game releases on the 26th of May.

All this week, you can pick up Jotun: Valhalla Edition, Prey (2017), and Redout: Enhanced Edition for free on the Epic Games Store. Next week, I’ll fling myself in front of a high-speed train as I return to work again, and I have to talk about whatever is yet to be revealed. Yes, it is another one of those sales, and thus the mystery game has returned, as I’d predicted lately. So next week, expect a live stream of me shooting myself with a high-powered rifle at point-blank rage as I pin a plaque around my neck saying: “Tim Sweeney made me do it!”