Rage 2 is going free on the Epic Store next week
First up, though, we've got the sci-fi strategy game Halcyon 6: Lightspeed Edition.
The bad news, if you didn't snag For the King and Metro: Last Light Redux for free from the Epic Games Store prior to this afternoon, is that it's too late now—they're gone. The good news, however, is that there's a different freebie that you can grab instead, Halcyon 6: Lightspeed Edition, a "massively enhanced" version of the 2016 sci-fi strategy-RPG.
The game takes place on a derelict space station discovered at the edge of known space, left behind by some mysterious precursor race. With a mysterious alien force rushing toward Earth, presumably with less-than-friendly intentions, your job is to reclaim and rebuild the station, and use it to research new technologies, establish new alliances, and figure out some way to head off the invasion. The Lightspeed Edition makes some significant tweaks to gameplay, including improvement to combat, big changes to the UI, and a "streamlined" campaign that dramatically speeds up the pace of progression.
A slightly bigger name is going on the block next week: Rage 2, id Software's pink-apocalypse FPS, which we described following its 2019 release as "an exceptional shooter cursed by a bland world." It will be joined by Absolute Drift, a minimalist top-down racing sim from Funselektor Labs, the maker of the Art of Rally.
Halcyon 6: Lightspeed Edition will be free on the Epic Store until February 18.
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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.