2 Games You Can Play for Free, This Weekend Only (Bonus: Prey Demo Opening Hour)

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 28 Apr 2017

The week is almost over and you’re excited to go home and play video games all weekend long. But... you don’t want to play any of the games you already own and you don’t want to spend any money on buying something new. Well, since you’re not exactly sure what to play, let me throw a couple suggestions your way.

Two games have gone free to play on Steam this weekend: The Culling and Duck Game. And Bethesda’s upcoming Prey video game has landed on the PlayStation Store and Xbox Marketplace as a free demo.

1. The Culling



If I had to compare The Culling to something that you’re already familiar with, I’d have to compare it with The Hunger Games. Alongside 15 other people, you are a contestant in a deadly game show that takes place in a remote island paradise. Your goal is simple: slay every other contestant, by whatever means necessary. There’s no respawning! Once you’re dead, you’re dead, so make every action count. The match will end when there’s only one survivor, so make sure that’s you!

You start each match empty-handed and you must explore the island to scavenge items, craft weapons, and build traps. With a strong focus on melee combat, The Culling features more than 30 melee weapons: blades, axes, bludgeons, and spears. For players who don’t like melee, there are ranged weapons. And for the tactical players who like to outwit the enemy, there are various types of traps. The problem is that you don’t have a lot of inventory space, so think twice about how you want to play the game.

Released in March 2016, The Culling still carries the "Early Access" badge. According to developer Xaviant, the game will graduate from Early Access "sometime in 2017." Perhaps the reviews will get better then, because right now they aren’t very good. The overall feeling towards the game is "mixed" and the recent reviews are "mostly negative." Ouch. Still, the game is free to play this weekend so you might as well give it a try and see if you like it or not.

If you do like the game and you want to purchase it, you can do so for a discount. The Culling is 33% off, priced at $16.74 instead of $24.99 (€15.40 instead of €22.99) until Monday, the 1st of May.



The Culling Quick Facts
  • Game type – battle royale online first-person combat video game for 16 players.
  • Release date – March 2016 as a Steam Early Access Game.
  • Price – regularly priced at $24.99 or €22.99 on Steam. Free to play and discounted by 33% until May 1.
  • About – Welcome to The Culling. As a contestant on this deadly game show you must explore, scavenge items, craft weapons, and build traps that will enable you to slay your fellow contestants and emerge victorious before the end of the round. Only with cunning, skill, and a little luck will you be able to prevail and survive the match.
Learn more about The Culling and go get the game from Steam.

Don’t forget that The Culling is free to play until Monday, May 1, at 10AM Pacific Time.


2. Duck Game



Just like The Culling, this game also asks you to go slay all other players. But unlike The Culling, this game has a retro look, all the characters are ducks, you can enjoy local multiplayer as well as online play, there’s a single player challenge mode, the game comes with 50+ levels and a level editor, and it has positive reviews on Steam.

If you’ve yet to play Duck Game, this is your chance to try it for free. And if you like the game and you want to add it to your library, you can do so for cheap. The game is on sale, discounted by 50% until Monday. This means that you can buy the Duck Game for $6.49 instead of $12.99 (the same in Euros) or the Duck Game Four Pack for $19.99 instead of $39.99 (€$18.49 instead of €36.99).



Duck Game Quick Facts
  • Game type – 2D four-player platform brawler.
  • Release date – June 2015 for PC on Steam.
  • Price – regularly priced at $12.99 on Steam. Free to play and discounted by 50% until May 1.
  • About – Enter the futuristic year of 1984, an age where ducks run wild in a frantic battle for glory. Blast your friends with Shotguns, Net Guns, Mind Control Rays, Saxophones, Magnet Guns, and much, much more. This is DUCK GAME. Don't blink.
Learn more about Duck Game and go get it from Steam.

Don’t forget that Duck Game is free to play until Monday, May 1, at 10AM Pacific Time.


BONUS – Prey Demo for consoles



Starting on Thursday, April 27, console players have the chance to try Prey before it launches on May 5. Go get the Prey Demo for PS4 or Xbox One and you can play the first hour of the game for free.

Prey 2017 is a reimagined version of 2006’s Prey, an upcoming first-person action-adventure video game that takes place in 2032 on the Talos space station. You play as Morgan Yu, the subject of morally dubious experiments designed to improve the human race. Something’s gone wrong on Talos and now you have to use your wits, weapons and mind-bending abilities to combat the aliens that stalk the station, constantly multiplying and growing stronger.

"It’s up to you as the player to figure out: How did I get here? What’s going on? How do I survive? And how do I get off this space station?" said Lead Designer Ricardo Bare. "You’ll need to use your wits, the tools that you can scrounge, the weapons that you can find, and ultimately the powers that you acquire."



Prey Quick Facts
  • Game type – first-person action-adventure video game with role-playing elements and strong narrative.
  • Release date – May 5 for PC, Xbox One and PS4.
  • Price – $59.99.
  • About – In Prey, you awaken aboard Talos I, a space station orbiting the moon in the year 2032. You are the key subject of an experiment meant to alter humanity forever – but things have gone terribly wrong. The space station has been overrun by hostile aliens and you are now being hunted. As you dig into the dark secrets of Talos I and your own past, you must survive using the tools found on the station -- your wits, weapons, and mind-bending abilities. The fate of the Talos I and everyone aboard is in your hands.
Learn more about Prey.

Unfortunately, the Prey demo isn’t available on Steam. I really hope that Bethesda will make the demo available on Steam as well. Doom is available as a demo, Dishonored 2 is available as a demo, so I really hope that Prey will be available as a demo as well.


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