As far as I'm concerned, fall is nowhere near being upon us. The days are sunny, the nights are warm, and uncomfortable thoughts of all this being enveloped in snow and darkness and blowing cold are still far, far off. We've got a lot of summer left and I will hear no more about it—except from GOG, that is, which despite my pleas of no, not yet, it's too soon, has kicked off its 2023 Autumn Sale with a free game for everyone.
That free game would be Hero of the Kingdom 2, the epic tale of a guy who embarks on a quest to rescue his sister after she's [[link]] kidnapped by bloodthirsty pirates. "You must be brave," the GOG page says. "You will travel to the end of the world, helping people, fulfilling quests, learning valuable skills, and finding hundreds of useful items."
That is admittedly not the most soul-stirring game description ever, but it's actually quite well-regarded on GOG, where it holds a 4.5/5 overall rating. There are admittedly only three user reviews, but it's the same story on Steam, where Hero of the Kingdom 2 holds a "very positive" rating over nearly 1,700 user reviews. And it's free, too, so if it [[link]] turns out you don't like it, you'll have spent precisely zero dollars on it anyway.
As is the way with videogame sales, there are also plenty of other videogames on sale—not quite as cheap as free, no, but there are some [[link]] very good deals to be had. Cyberpunk 2077 and Yakuza: Like a Dragon are half price, the Metro bundle is 84% off, Weird West Definitive Edition (which is super good) is 75% off, and Horizon: Zero Dawn Complete is 67% off.
On a really tight budget? Here are a handful of games you can score for less than a fiver:
- Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
- Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition
- Swat 4 Gold
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut
- System Shock 2
- Far: Lone Sails
And if you're digging Baldur's Gate 3 and want to see where it all started, Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2 Enhanced Editions are both under the $5 mark right now too. Not only that, but we've got some very good advice from a verifiable Baldur's Gate freak on how to play them.
GOG's 2023 Autumn Sale runs for two weeks—until September 11—which as I said earlier is still summer to me. But hey, they're giving away a free game so I guess they can call it what they want. Hero of the Kingdom 2 is free for the taking until August 31.