Hunt prey as a wily fox in striking hunting game Rev

Hunting games tend to simulate the act of humans slaughtering animals for 'sport', but here's a less icky alternative that puts you in the role of a fox. Or, rather, foxes. Set in a gorgeous bunch of ruins in a beautiful woodland, Rev has you locating animals (deer, rabbits etc), before creeping up on them, and charging up a powerful attack.

Its idea of stealth is pretty innovative. You have to remain close to your prey while you charge up, but not too close, as that will alert them and cause them to flee clear across the map. When they scarper, you'll need to rely on your Fox Senses. That basically means waiting a bit until glowing footprints appear on-screen.

As you meet hunting quotas to clear each stage (they all take place on the same map, but populated with different arrangements of creatures), you earn skill points that you can spend to improve your fox. You can also use them to increase your follower count: the other foxes that will tag along, to aid with the hunt.

While the follower AI isn't exceptional, it generally does the job, and really it works quite well when it comes to its main function: attacking. You ideally position your posse to set up traps. After you attack an animal, it will hopefully flee in the direction of your hungry chums.

Rev escalates nicely. As you get to grips with the accomplished hunting mechanics, the game gradually, subtly invites feelings of guilt. In one stage, a mature bison-looking-thing roams the ruins, protecting its child. You've no hope of tackling the parent, but the smaller creature...

For more great free experiences, check out our roundup of the best free PC games.

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.