Epic Games Store's New Free Download Is One of 2020's Best Games

Epic Games Store has a new free game to download between now and April 18, which is next Thursday. As always, once EGS users claim the game, it is theirs to keep, but it has to be done in this period. Like every week, there are no strings attached or subscriptions you need to have to access this free game download; all you need is an EGS account. This week, PC gamers on Epic Games Store are being treated to Ghostrunner, one of 2020's better games.

Released initially on October 27, 2020 via developer One More Level and Slipgate Ironworks, Ghostrunner is a high-speed action game meets parkour game meets platformer. For the former, this was the release that put the studio on the map, having previously shipped God's Trigger in 2019 and Deadlings: Rotten Edition in 2014, neither of which found the same success or cultural impact on the landscape of gaming. Meanwhile, in 2020 Slipgate Ironworks wasn't very well known, mostly because it, up until that point, had been a port house and a support team. 

Ghostrunner was a big release for the pair, shipping 2.5 million units as of September of last year. What also happened last year was the game got a sequel, Ghostrunner 2, though this time the game was handled by just One More Level. Meanwhile, both times, 505 Games published. 

"Ghostrunner is a hardcore FPP slasher packed with lightning-fast action, set in a grim, cyberpunk megastructure," reads an official elevator pitch of the game. "Climb Dharma Tower, humanity's last shelter, after a world-ending cataclysm. Make your way up from the bottom to the top, confront the tyrannical Keymaster, and take your revenge."

A bonafide sleeper hit in 2020, Ghostrunner released to an 81 on Metacritic. Its sequel is as good, if not better, but unfortunately is it not free with Epic Games Store. And given how new it is, it probably won't be for a long time, assuming it ever happens in the first place. 

If you decide to check out Ghostrunner now that it is free with Epic Games Store today and until next Thursday, you can expect a game that is about seven to ten hours long, depending on various factors. However, completionists will need closer to 15 hours with the game.