Let's face it clearly: play at no cost has always been any player's dream. Despite the initial skepticism, over the years, an increasing number of games free-to-play has landed on the market; and if at first we could talk about low budget games and, consequently, low demands, now the trend has definitely reversed. The current free-to-play landscape includes a considerable, and constantly increasing, number of titles that can offer hours and hours of entertainment without having to shell out a single euro. However, even in this case, free games is not always a synonym for quality games.
For this very reason, we have compiled one list of the best free-to-play titles currently available. Let's be clear, this is not a ranking, due to the great heterogeneity of what we will offer you, but only a small list of video games that, in our opinion, will be able to capture you.
Free games: lots of fun at no cost
league of legends
Let's start immediately with what today is, in no uncertain terms, the undisputed king of free-to-play. With over 70 million registered users, over 67 million monthly players, over 27 million daily players and with more than 7,5 concurrent users during peak hours, league of legends (LoL for the most hasty) has managed to oust a monster like World of Warcraft from the throne of MMOs. For those unfamiliar with it, League of Legends is perhaps the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) most famous in the world. Divided into two teams of three or five champions, players will have to start from a certain area of the map, known as the Nexus, and go to destroy the opposing Nexus, obviously avoiding their own being destroyed.
Each champion will obviously have its own peculiarities, relegating the strategic element and team play to a very important role. It is therefore no coincidence that his arrival in the esports panorama. Our list of free games could only open with one of the undisputed protagonists of free-to-play.
Dota 2
From one MOBA to another. Born as a stand-alone sequel to Defense of the Ancients, a custom map of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, the game has some similarities to League, but also different mechanics. The player can choose between ben 113 heroes, all different in looks, abilities and stats. Once the hero has been chosen, the players will have to position themselves on the map and wait for the various waves of creeps, of the increasingly strong NPCs, who will direct themselves against the structures and the opposing Creeps, with the aim of destroying them. The players will have to collect, during the game, a sufficient number of coins, obtained by killing the opposing Creeps, thus arriving at destroy defense towers of the opposing base and the opposing base itself.
Fortnite
Our list of free games now moves on to one of the mass phenomena of recent times: i battle royale. If PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) represented the real best seller of the category, Fortnite he is managing, little by little, to undermine his throne. How? Simply by not charging the price of the entrance ticket! Let's explain: Fortnite is a paid game, but the battle royale mode is, instead, completely free. Playing Fortnite is as simple as it is intuitive: you will be catapulted onto a map together with other players, and the aim will be to remain the last character alive. There will be various weapons to fight with and, unlike PUBG, you can also build fortifications, in order to obtain various advantages, such as protection or even to be able to shoot from a higher position.
Despite accusations of plagiarism from PUBG developers, Fortnite has totaled over 40 million downloads, and its success seems to be still only just beginning.
Paladins
If you love Overwatch, you may not have never heard of Paladins. The situation is practically the same as occurred with Fortnite and PUBG: the two games are damn similar, in many respects. The only difference that puts Paladins on our list is that, of course, the game in question is free-to-play. As in Overwatch, also in Paladins you will have to choose your hero and, together with your team, face and defeat the opposing team. The game of Hi-Rez Studios it is an MMOFPS, like its illustrious rival, but characterized by the fact of having narrower and "concentrated" maps, in order to make the action even faster and more frenetic, making the kills even more spectacular.
We can't tell you who we plagiarized who, but we advise you to give Paladins a chance.
World of Tanks
If your dream has always been to pilot a tank, you have certainly already met World of Tanks. If not, we know that this is one of the most played MMORPGs of recent times. Each player will control their own vehicle, which they can choose from a comprehensive list over 300 vehicles, with which he will have to destroy the opposing tanks and conquer the enemy base. The teams are made up of 15 players each, and the various game modes designed by the development team will offer hours and hours of entertainment at no cost. Recommended for all fans of "old-fashioned" war games.
Team Fortress 2
Now is the turn to focus on one of the most successful games you can find on Steam. Born, also in this case, from one Quake mode, it is under the protective wing of Valve that the videogame acquires notoriety in the gamer public, until it becomes a free-to-play last June 24, 2011. The game is presented as an online first-person shooter, in which the player will find himself taking on the role of a mercenary of the team BLU or the team RED, choosing your role carefully from nine classes available, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. The many game modes and the excellent balance of the characters have made Team Fortress 2 one of the most appreciated titles by the demanding PC Gamer community. If you love fast-paced shooters and a generous one dose of humor, Team Fortress 2 is the game for you.
Gwent
The time has come to dive into the world of card game. In this respect, Gwent represents perhaps one of the biggest surprises of recent months. Born as a mini game of that masterpiece of The Witcher 3, the success achieved by the Gwent was such as to push CD Project Red to make a game of its own. As in The Witcher, the matches will take place between two players, who will face each other with their respective decks, built to reflect their style of play. The game takes place in rounds, it will be important to take advantage of the advantages conferred by the cards deployed, in order to remain the player with the most points and win the round. The winner will be the one who manages to win two rounds out of three. If you miss Geralt of Rivia, love Gwent madly.
Brawlhalla
Let's go back to talking about indie games and, in our list of free games, we cannot fail to include Brawlhalla. Developed by Blue Mammoth Studios, a studio with just 21 employees, the game quickly established itself as one of the most popular games for gamers around the world. For those who have never heard of it, just know that it is a fighting game whose mechanics are very similar to those of the famous Super Smash Bros. The player will be able to choose from a roster of over 30 heroes, each with their own stats, abilities and, most importantly, their own weapons. As in the famous Nintendo exclusive, to win the match you will need to either reduce your opponent's life bar to zero, or throw him out of the ring.
Brawlhalla was one of the most played titles on Steam, enough to attract the attention of the majors. Just yesterday, in fact, we learned of theacquisition of the game by Ubisoft, a sign that what was born as a small project is now an established reality.
Hearthstone
Did you think we forgot about Hearthstone? Well, you were very wrong! We simply wanted to keep the king of trading card games towards the end of our free games list. Yes, because Hearthstone, with its 70 millions of players, is without a doubt the leader of this genre of games. Born directly from the imagination of World of Warcraft, the card game will bring two players to face each other, each with their own fully customizable deck of cards. The two contenders will start the match with 30 life each one, and whoever manages to reset the opponent's life points will be able to win. The game uses the Mana system, not very different from that adopted, for example, by Magic the Gathering.
If collectible card games are your thing, play Hearthstone, but in moderation: you may no longer be able to part with it!
Warframe
We couldn't close our list of free games without talking about Warframe. Released for PC in March 2013, and later also on Playstation 4 and Xbox One, the Digital Extreme game represents, to date, one of the most played MMOs on Steam, coming to reach the 26 millions of players. In Warframe, the player will play as a Tenno, an alien race once dominating the universe. Once awakened from hibernation, the protagonist will find himself in the midst of a war between Grineer, a futuristic counterpart of the human race, the Corpus and the Infestation, an unspecified plague that endangers all life in the universe. . To be able to survive the many threats you will encounter, the only way is to resort to the Warframe, a very advanced exoskeleton that will guarantee superhuman skills and resistance.
THEhuge amount of content, coupled with constant updates from its publisher, have allowed Warframe to become one of the most played free-to-play games of the moment. If you love sci-fi games, this is the game for you.
