The Stranger is a free first-person adventure (with a grappling hook)

Earlier, I posted about the game ICBM, in which you do—in a very real sense—absolutely nothing. For balance, then, here's a free game in which you do something. It's called The Stranger, and it's a first-person adventure platformer in which you explore a mysterious island.

There's a talking squirrel, a triangle-headed guy, and lots of things to discover. More importantly, there's a grappling hook device that lets you grab onto specific parts of the environment.

Really, though, the reason to play is the The Stranger's atmosphere. First-person exploration games can be very self-serious, but here it's just sort of... nice. Take a look at the trailer to see what I mean.

on Itch.io

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.