Your Favourite F2P games

[fletch254]

With CS:GO recently topping Dota in the average player count charts on Steam, I was wondering what all of your favourite F2P games are at the minute.

The notable ones for me are, of course, CS:GO, Destiny 2 since it changed to the new model last year and Warframe. What F2P games are you playing - any hidden gems out there?

I've also attached a poll - do you think F2P models with micro purchases are going to be the norm in the future of Gaming or will full paid games hold their own?

 

[Permaheart]

Mindustry, its free on Itch.io or you can pay for it on steam. Paid version just adds better multiplayer but the game itself is kinda like a less complicated factorio but it has the charm to it that makes me sink in countless hours. Good game, check it out.

 

[SWard]

League

I think full purchase games CAN hold their own, as long as their live service is updated. If you constantly release a new stream of free content updates, the subscriber model hypothetically is still sound. The other issue aside from new content is releasing the correct new content, e.g making sure your content not only pleases the bulk of your players, but extends endgame and brings in new users. This is hard to do with online multiplayer via DLC because essentially if you pay gate it, less people are in that funnel/map. There's also a push for dlc to only be cosmetic (Loot Box restrictions that are in play) so new games DLC may end up holding less substance in the long run...

It's nuanced per IP, and I can see why users are hesitant to pay 40 bucks plus for an online game these days, the player count can be so fickle. I think though, for these huge IP's that are absolutely nailing DLC and constant new content and quality of life releases, giving users the option to "pay once to unlock all DLC FOREVER" could also be an interesting gambit.

 

[fletch254]

Mindustry, its free on Itch.io or you can pay for it on steam. Paid version just adds better multiplayer but the game itself is kinda like a less complicated factorio but it has the charm to it that makes me sink in countless hours. Good game, check it out.

I have played Mindustry a little (I paid on Steam, had no idea it was free on itch!). It's a good game no doubt I just found it a little difficult to keep playing. Like you say it's like a less complicated Factorio but I think that the beauty of Factorio is just how complicated it is and how complex you can make your production. I felt like Mindustry just didn't quite have enough of that to keep me interested.

 

[Permaheart]

I have played Mindustry a little (I paid on Steam, had no idea it was free on itch!). It's a good game no doubt I just found it a little difficult to keep playing. Like you say it's like a less complicated Factorio but I think that the beauty of Factorio is just how complicated it is and how complex you can make your production. I felt like Mindustry just didn't quite have enough of that to keep me interested.

I see what you mean, Mindustry is getting more and more modding support plus fast updates so I'm excited to see where everything goes.

 

[fletch254]

League

I think full purchase games CAN hold their own, as long as their live service is updated. If you constantly release a new stream of free content updates, the subscriber model hypothetically is still sound. The other issue aside from new content is releasing the correct new content, e.g making sure your content not only pleases the bulk of your players, but extends endgame and brings in new users. This is hard to do with online multiplayer via DLC because essentially if you pay gate it, less people are in that funnel/map. There's also a push for dlc to only be cosmetic (Loot Box restrictions that are in play) so new games DLC may end up holding less substance in the long run...

It's nuanced per IP, and I can see why users are hesitant to pay 40 bucks plus for an online game these days, the player count can be so fickle. I think though, for these huge IP's that are absolutely nailing DLC and constant new content and quality of life releases, giving users the option to "pay once to unlock all DLC FOREVER" could also be an interesting gambit.

I could never get into League! To be honest it's the same with all MOBA games - I enjoy watching them and can see the competitive side of it being really exciting but then as soon as I'm in playing myself I can't keep my interest in it for long.

I agree that updates are the most important part for full purchase games - whether it be DLC or free updates. I'm not a big fan of cosmetic paid content but having nothing against games charging me for extra story or functionality content. Prime example I can think of is with The Witcher 3 - the DLC you can buy for that are amazing stories in their own right and that's why they work.

What I don't like is DLC that you feel should already be in the base game, or DLC that just unlocks parts of the game that are already in there. For example, in the Total War games (more so in the version including and previous to Atilla) a lot of the DLC was simply unlocking other factions for you to play as. Now those factions are already in the game as they're playable by the AI, yet I have to pay £7+ to play as them myself? That seems wrong. In Creative Assembly's defence, in the more recent releases they've done for Warhammer and Warhammer 2, the unlocked factions tend to have a lot of unique functionality and play differently. In that case I feel like I'm actually paying for new functionality that is worthwhile.

 

[fletch254]

I see what you mean, Mindustry is getting more and more modding support plus fast updates so I'm excited to see where everything goes.

Modding is a game changer! I really think that a game that is easy to mod (TES Series, Fallout, etc) gives a game much more shelf life. When a community can create their own content for a game, sometimes as big as officially released DLC, it can draw players back to a game that they shelved a long time ago.

 

[denixius]

Hello!

I don't really support F2P games, but some of the games are worth to play; such as Paladins, Warframe (even it is hardcore grind), Path of Exile, EverQuest 2 and Neverwinter. But there are a lot of FP2 games which you have to pay lots of money to survive in the game. Nowadays, F2P games have too many cheaters, and I started to think, developers are acting slowly to prevent these cheats because it is free. Still, it ruins the game.

Cheers,

 

[Chubzdoomer]

PlanetSide 2 is my all-time favorite F2P game. What it does is pretty incredible (hundreds of players fighting simultaneously; massive, seamless continents; three unique factions). It gets no love, but I'd argue it's one of the best combined arms shooters ever made.

 

[fletch254]

Hello!

I don't really support F2P games, but some of the games are worth to play; such as Paladins, Warframe (even it is hardcore grind), Path of Exile, EverQuest 2 and Neverwinter. But there are a lot of FP2 games which you have to pay lots of money to survive in the game. Nowadays, F2P games have too many cheaters, and I started to think, developers are acting slowly to prevent these cheats because it is free. Still, it ruins the game.

Cheers,

I found cheaters to be an issue when CS:GO first went over to F2P. People were just grabbing new Steam accounts and cheating away with no worry of getting banned. It has improved a lot since they brought in the "Prime" functionality but you still get the odd few slip through the net. It would be nice to see more F2P games have something like this but it's difficult to sell... "If you want to play without cheaters, you need to pay £X.XX" - sort of takes away from the idea of it being F2P.

 

[fletch254]

PlanetSide 2 is my all-time favorite F2P game. What it does is pretty incredible (hundreds of players fighting simultaneously; massive, seamless continents; three unique factions). It gets no love, but I'd argue it's one of the best combined arms shooters ever made.

Heard a lot of good things about Planetside 2 but never knew it was F2P - might be something I have to check out! Thanks for the heads up on this one.

 

[Rensje]

Can't go wrong with Path of Exile. To me, this is hands-down the best F2P game ever made. It's also the only F2P game I have ever dropped ANY money on.

Warframe is great too, but the lack of random loot kills my personal enjoyment. I will say that it feels amazing to play in the moment. Another great free shooter that I thoroughly enjoyed is Apex Legends, even if I lack the skill to really keep up.

Shoutout to collectible card games, as well. There's plenty of good ones. Hearthstone, obviously. Elder Scrolls: Legends, Magic: The Gathering Arena, Gwent, etc.

 

[Mobyduck]

Been playing lots of Heroes of the Storm recently. It's the only MOBA that I feel like playing nowadays, both due to its short match time, as well as the heroes.

I've tried Path of Exile in the past but it just bores me, same as any other diablolike. The start is fun, but then it just becomes a boring grind.

 

[denixius]

I found cheaters to be an issue when CS:GO first went over to F2P. People were just grabbing new Steam accounts and cheating away with no worry of getting banned. It has improved a lot since they brought in the "Prime" functionality but you still get the odd few slip through the net. It would be nice to see more F2P games have something like this but it's difficult to sell... "If you want to play without cheaters, you need to pay £X.XX" - sort of takes away from the idea of it being F2P.

I'm playing Overwatch a lot, and I also don't like to play MOBA, but Paladins, some kind of mixture of Overwatch-kind and MOBA. The Champions are seemed balanced in this game, but sometimes it seems not; you can even eliminate a component with a tank or healer. The meta is good sometimes, but if you make it balanced. Some Champions are 30K Gold and some others are 60K Gold. The Champions you can unlock for 60K Gold seems strong than the lower-rate Champions. This must be fixed.

Also, don't judge this game as P2W. Just saying, it is not. You can purchase so beautiful cosmetics with Diamonds, so the prices of Diamonds are so cheap, thanks to Hi-Rez Studios.

Still, they have to do something about CHEATS! There are lots of cheaters! I don't recommend this game if you are not used to playing with cheaters. Also, a lot of people, too, using exploits.

 

[Frindis]

PoE and Cusine Royale. CR is not perfect by all means, but as a free game, it is surprisingly good.

 

[Johnway]

back in thr day it would have been planetside 2. The game offered a truly unique experience in the epic battles i experienced. Glorious charges, alamo last stands, open pitched battles etc. its one of the few games that isn't P2W at time as the starting stuff was pretty good and weapons felt like more like side upgrades. But in the later years it just became more money grabbing and you could see if with the augs, battery power, etc.

But over time the game didn't have the numbers to really sustain the game and kept merging them. There would be one or 2 decent fights and thats it. its not helped that the teams were seriously imbalanced on servers. Some factions would just dominated and it was a real shame.

i hear that the recent iteration of planetside 2 isn't looking hot. apparently Kill cams have been implemented (even despite the game telling you which direction you were killed) and the numbers keep dropping that its impacting the game. But i stopped some years back (before Ant was implemented) as the numbers weren't there and the cheating/hacks that were apparent. like being in a biodome and rather then the enemies destroying the generators in order, someone just went straight for the main one and tried to blow that. Others include wall hacks or shooting players underneath the world. Ruined many games. Oh and you can't spawn near its most busy isn't good.


Current p2w game is Path of exile. For a free game its pretty good and the constant leagues makes it feel fresh each time nearly clocked 800 hours. The MTX are cosemetic and whilst the tabs aren't exactly necessary, it doesn't help that they are beneficial and/or are practically required to sell stuff.

 

[Xianders]

Apex Legends. This is a very cool game and I like their approach to multiplayer the most. I spent a lot of time with my friends in this game. I use apex stats to play better. I can't tell if it will help me or not. If you hesitate to play this game, then you are a fool. At least it's worth a try.

 

[MorganPark]

This is kind of a random selection, but I loved Fistful of Frags on Steam. A simple F2P cowboy FPS made on Source. No microtransactions, just simple deathmatch fun with cowboy twists. And a GREAT kick button. You can prob still play it, but I'm sure the population is small.

 

[PCG James]

Fortnite!

Forget the battle royale mode. It's great, but isn't the main draw for me anymore. Fortnite's creative mode is where it's at. There are so many rad custom modes and maps that it's basically become the PC's LittleBigPlanet. I highly recommend roping up a few friends and toying around in all the cool creative maps—great way to spend an evening in the Discord.

We have a biiiig list of our favorites in case you're not sure where to start.

 

[Julez]

This is kind of a random selection, but I loved Fistful of Frags on Steam. A simple F2P cowboy FPS made on Source. No microtransactions, just simple deathmatch fun with cowboy twists. And a GREAT kick button. You can prob still play it, but I'm sure the population is small.

Oh man, I've been meaning to get a group together for that game. Thanks for the reminder!

 

[MorganPark]

Oh man, I've been meaning to get a group together for that game. Thanks for the reminder!

Sign me up!

 

[mkultrafanboy]

Path of Exile, I don't play it anymore but I got probably 500 or 1000 hours in that game. It's what Diablo 3 should have been. The game devs are also very open and honest, they don't engage in shady business practices like most other companies.

 

[Buck]

Team Fortress 2 is the only F2P I play regularly.

I think going F2P is a good option for aging multiplayer games just to help keep the player base up, so as long as microtransactions are kept in check and just cosmetics or taunts. I feel like the PC gaming community in general already does a good job with voting with their money and time, as some of the most popular games like Fortnite, Counter Strike, and TF2 have reasonable microtransactions.

 

[fletch254]

Team Fortress 2 is the only F2P I play regularly.

I think going F2P is a good option for aging multiplayer games just to help keep the player base up, so as long as microtransactions are kept in check and just cosmetics or taunts. I feel like the PC gaming community in general already does a good job with voting with their money and time, as some of the most popular games like Fortnite, Counter Strike, and TF2 have reasonable microtransactions.

I used to love TF2 but I think I burnt out on it by playing too much and I've never really got back into it since (everyone got too good for me...). I think you're right that it's the players that decide this kind of thing - if the microtransactions turn the game into a P2W model I believe most players would call it quits there. If a game can make enough money from cosmetic items to sustain itself then fair play to them!

 

[Sarafan]

Quake Champions is the only F2P game I play currently from time to time. I guess I'll need to switch to something else in the future, because not many people are playing it these days. In the past I played Gwent, Hearthstone and some MMORPGs such as D&D Online.