This is Thursday, and that means it's time to bang on Tim Sweeney's door and demand some free candy—figuratively, of course, please don't bother the man, he's busy and has more important things to do than be answering his doorbell all night. The candy is also figurative, because the freebies here are actually games.
They are thematically appropriate though, given this late October date and the looming arrival of Halloween. First up is Costume Quest 2 (opens in new tab), Double Fine's game of dressing up, transforming into "Hallo-warriors," and wielding collectible treat cards against "a megalomaniacal dentist with an anti-candy agenda [who] is leapfrogging through the space-time continuum, leading to a grim future where Halloween has been outlawed." Yeah, that sounds like a Double Fine game, alright.
The second game offers a more traditional horror experience: Layers of Fear 2 (opens in new tab) is a first-person psychological horror game about a Hollywood actor who takes the lead role on a project he probably should've skipped. It has its moments, but can't quite stick the landing: We said in our 2019 review (opens in new tab) that "its early chilling atmosphere [is] replaced by an attempt at psychoanalytical storytelling it doesn't quite know how to handle."
Costume Quest 2 and Layers of Fear 2 are both free until October 29. After that, two more tasty confections will take their places: Blair Witch and Ghostbusters Remastered. For even more free games, check out our lists of the best free PC games (opens in new tab) and time-limited giveaways (opens in new tab).
