Epic is giving away 5 games this week

The First Tree
(Image credit: David Wehle)

The Epic Games Store is offering not one, not two, but five free games this week (technically three, but we'll get into that in a minute), and for the most part they're genuinely good, especially if you're a fan of point-and-click adventures.

First up is Deponia: The Complete Journey, a bundling of the Deponia trilogy (hence the "technically three games but actually five") that follows the slapstick adventures of a self-absorbed idiot named Rufus who desperately wants to escape the garbage world he lives on. The second and third games in the series are uneven, but the first is fun and funny, and concludes well enough that you’re not likely to feel that you're missing out if you decide not to plow through the rest.

(Yes, I am the kind of person who has strong opinions about Daedalic adventure games.)

Next is Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth, which may actually be the best of the bunch: We called it "a beautiful medieval adventure that uses real history and interesting characters to tell a compelling story" in our 80% review. The final piece of the puzzle is The First Tree, a tale of a fox hunting for her family. I'm not familiar with it, but we praised its "scope for emotional storytelling" in 2017, saying that we "thoroughly enjoyed galloping around its gorgeous pastoral landscapes and moonlit moors, uncovering snippets of narrative all the while battling the ever-growing lump in my throat."

So that's five games, mostly very good, and all free. You've got until April 22 to pick them up. For even more free games, be sure to keep an eye on our lists of best free PC games, best free games on Steam, best browser games, and all the free games you can grab right now.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.