Get Into the Breach free on the Epic Games Store

(Image credit: Subset Games)

Into the Breach is an outstanding strategy game from FTL developer Subset Games about a desperate war against an insectoid race known as the Vek. It's "a much tighter, more focused game" than FTL, we said in our 93/100 review, offering "more than enough to fuel a hundred hours or more of the most consistently rewarding tactics I’ve played in many years." That's pretty high praise.

It is also, for the next seven days, free for the taking on the Epic Games Store. Those with good memories (or who check our ongoing list of Epic giveaways) will know that this isn't the first time it's been put on the freebie block, but it's definitely one that's worthy of a second go-around.

Next week's offerings will include Railway Empire and Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, the latter of which saw significant pre-release hype. The critical response was all over the map, though—some folks loved it, we did not—and it tanked badly at launch. It'll be interesting to see if making it free will breathe new life into it, and possibly help turn it into a kind of "overlooked cult classic" down the road.

Into the Breach is free until September 10. For more don't-pay-to-play stuff, be sure to check out our running list of all the free games you can grab right now.

Andy Chalk

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.