Summary
- Every Thursday, Epic Games Store players can check the "free games" section to add titles to their libraries at no extra charge.
- Europa Universalis 4 and Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You are the next free games, appealing to grand strategy and simulation fans.
- Each game has its own way of analyzing human society through different game genres.
It's become a weekly tradition for Epic Games Store players that each week on Thursday, they check the "free games" part of the website to see what titles are available to add to their libraries at no extra charge while also planning for what's yet to come. Just like the week before, and the week before that, the games for August 3 are free to snag and the Epic Games Store titles available on August 10 have been announced alongside them.
While unorthodox, the pairing of Loop Hero and Bloons TD 6 gives players plenty of item management action while responding to just how busy many PC gamers have been since Baldur's Gate 3 is now available on the Epic Games Store the same day that it switched out its offerings. Compared to the popular RPG and tower-defense monkey havoc, the match-up of Europa Universalis 4 and Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You is a bit more down-to-earth.
Europa Universalis 4 Explained
Europa Universalis 4 is a grand strategy simulation game that sees players try to conquer a world that's been colonized by themselves and opposing AI rulers. They'll have to fight for more control through military power, trade dominance, and more until they either control over 500 nations or lose their empire trying. Civilization fans will likely feel right at home with Europa Universalis 4; Paradox Development's game has been praised for being welcoming to more general simulated strategy players without sacrificing the important parts of grand strategy games.
If some Epic Games Store users feel like this game is familiar, Europe Universalis 4 has been made free on the platform in the past, but it's still worth picking up. While grand strategy titles might not be everyone's cup of tea, exploring history through Europe Universalis 4 promises to be a welcoming endeavor to new fans in its own way, even if the game turns ten years old this year.
Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You Explained
Named after Animal Farm and 1984 author George Orwell, Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You is a more modernized and thrilling simulation game that may catch the attention of players who aren't interested in Europe Universalis 4. In the five parts that make up the first installment of the two-part game, players are hired as a private investigator for an authoritarian government in a country called The Nation, chosen to spy on citizens to capture terrorists.
In Orwell, players gather evidence against potential subjects off of the internet and social media platforms, which is chosen by them and only them. These choices have been praised by critics as particularly prominent, since each one shapes the game and its story. Unfortunately, if fans love the three episodes they'll get to play for free, they'll need to purchase the sequel Orwell: Ignorance is Strength separately, as it's not included in the Epic Games Store giveaway.
There's a clear theme between both free titles as not only are both games on different sides of the simulation genre, but they show where humanity has been, and put an emphasis on how the choices made by people matter in the grand scheme of things, no matter what their intentions are. While one of these free Epic Games Store offerings has been part of the promotion in the past, that doesn't mean players should pass up on it; it could easily take two more years to be offered up again. If some gamers aren't really enthused about the simulation games being given away next week, then all they need to do is wait and see what the Epic Games Store will offer on August 17.