Gorgeous endless runner The Alto Collection is free on the Epic Games Store next week

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Let it slide.

I thought endless runners were supposed to be hectic, stressful, to reflect the inexorable march of time. The Alto Collection, by contrast, looks remarkably peaceful and laid-back: less Temple Run and more Temple Saunter. It's the latest game to be announced as going temporarily free on the Epic Games Store, and you can grab it between August 13 and August 20. After which you can still grab it, but you'll have to reach for your wallet first.

Technically it's two games—Alto's Adventure and Alto's Odyssey—previously released separately for phones but bundled together for PC and consoles. You're sliding rather than running across these mathematically jumbled yet gorgeous environments, executing tricks and avoiding hazards as you search for your missing llamas. So it's a little bit Canabalt, a little bit Journey, a little bit Cool Boarders? I, perhaps, need some newer comparisons, but, still, that sounds like a great mash-up to me.

The Alto Collection will be free on the Epic Games Store from next Thursday, August 13. While you're there, you'll also be able to grab A Total War Saga: Troy free for 24 hours. To keep track of all the Epic Games Store freebies, keep an eye on our evolving list.

Tom Sykes
Tom Sykes

Tom loves exploring in games, whether it’s going the wrong way in a platformer or burgling an apartment in Deus Ex. His favourite game worlds—Stalker, Dark Souls, Thief—have an atmosphere you could wallop with a blackjack. He enjoys horror, adventure, puzzle games and RPGs, and played the Japanese version of Final Fantasy VIII with a translated script he printed off from the internet. Tom has been writing about free games for PC Gamer since 2012. If he were packing for a desert island, he’d take his giant Columbo boxset and a laptop stuffed with PuzzleScript games.