Jalopy, the Eastern European road trip game, is free on the Humble Store

Jalopy, the "haunting piece of Eastern Bloc nostalgia" about a road trip from Berlin to Turkey in breakdown-prone Laika 601 Deluxe, is free for the taking for the next couple of days on the Humble Store. The latest Humble giveaway marks the beginning of the store's Spring Sale Encore, which features hundreds of games back on sale for the next four days.

The Jalopy roadtrip isn't about just driving a car: You'll have to assemble it first, and keep it running, repaired, and fueled as you trudge through a bleak, procedurally generated landscape. Our 2017 hands-on paints a grim portrait of crumbling infrastructure, loneliness, and stoic introspection:

"When I finally reach Yugoslavia, the game shows off the coastal area—something I’ve never seen before. But the roads still feel familiar. They bend in weird and dangerous ways, while stone hills loom over them. It’s nowhere in Yugoslavia; it’s everywhere in Yugoslavia. I gaze at the sea and reflect upon my journey. Have I changed like my Laika has? Different on the inside, with only the shell still the same? The car breaks down again and I’m reminded that no, it’s still the piece of garbage it has always been."

Not exactly the new Grid, in other words, but at the price I think we can all afford a little bit of experimentation. Jalopy is free until 10 am PT/1 pm ET on May 25, while the Humble Store Spring Sale Encore will run until the same time on May 27.

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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.