On PC, it’s easy to get ripped off by Steam, GOG or Origin. The offers are tempting and the promotions regular. However, there are a lot of free games that will have no trouble keeping you busy for tens or even hundreds of hours (a thousand hours is possible for the most relentless among you). In addition to keeping your hand out of your wallet, these games offer you the opportunity to spend money, only if you want to. In addition to supporting the developers, you’ll be able to acquire little extras, usually in the form of weapon or character skins or exp bonuses and virtual currency. It is not a Pay to Win but a Pay to Fast, nuance. Anyway, here is a nice bunch of free games that will keep you busy for a while without making you spend a cent.
League of Legends
The most played title in the world, League of Legends will enter its eighth year in late October 2017. The principle is simple, two teams of five players compete against each other and must manage to destroy the enemy base. However, it will take a few good hours of learning before you can make your way into the LoL universe. Some of them have been around for a few years already and will have no mercy in crushing you during a game. Anyway, good luck in the Summoner’s Rift.
Dota 2
A sequel, in a way, to the game that launched the MOBA era, Dota 2 is the title around which the biggest competitive rewards on the planet orbit. Besides that, 5 players face 5 other players, each one incarnating a champion and aiming at destroying the opponent’s camp. Once done, the game is won and the pill is much easier to swallow if you are part of the winners. In its gameplay, Dota 2 is more raw than League of Legends, more difficult to learn. However, the mechanics are the same as for MOBAs, nothing changes there.
World of Tanks/Warships/Warplanes
Exit the MOBAs, make way for World of Tanks and its small flock of tanks of all kinds. As you know, World of Tanks is also derived in World of Warships and World of Warplanes. Depending on your preferences between land, sky and sea, take control of different vehicles and slaughter enemy squads. In these games, there is no quarter given. Simple, clean and precise, these F2P games will only require you to aim well.
Eve Online
This time, we leave the Earth and go to space. In Eve Online, you take control of a spaceship and do absolutely anything you want. Miner, merchant, spy or leader of a secret rebel organization, everything is possible. It remains to be seen whether you have the funds and, above all, the skill to avoid crashing on your first interstellar voyage.
Path of Exile
The most complete free hack’n slash on PC, Path of Exile is a breath of nostalgia to be consumed in moderation. The customization possibilities are very, very extensive and several characters are usually needed before you can find your way. Hundreds of skills and builds are available.
Team Fortress 2
Valve’s iconic shooter, Team Fortress 2 has long been one of the most popular free-to-play games of recent years. Even though the title has been overtaken in terms of player numbers by other giants in the field, Scout, Pyro or Spy will forever remain terms that will instantly remind you of your games on 2Fort.
Hearthstone
Some of you have certainly spent your childhood trading Pokémon cards in the playground or dueling Yu-Gi-Oh cards in the playground. Well, Hearthstone allows you to reconnect with cards of all kinds, especially digital ones. Build your deck, compete against other players, collect gold coins and open card packs. Continue the downward spiral for a while and become world champion.
Heroes of the Storm
Blizzard’s MOBA, Heroes of the Storm takes all the heroes from the American developer’s universes and places them directly on the battlefield. The emblematic characters of Diablo, WoW and Overwatch are all in the same place with a single objective, to crush their opponents. HotS uses the rules of classic MOBAs but with a Blizzard twist, with a few small additions.
RuneScape
RuneScape is a browser-based MMORPG with a huge community of players. Released in 2001, the game has been climbing steadily since then, and is now getting a boost from Twitch and its regular streamers. Since then, RuneScape has been competing for viewers with bigger, more mainstream titles like CS:GO and H1Z1: King of the Kill. The premise is simple, complete quests and dungeons and upgrade your skills to become a part of this old-school looking MMORPG.
Paladins
A free competitor to Overwatch, Paladins is a FPS where the principle is the same as in the Blizzard title. Players compete through champions with different powers and must complete their objective, whether it is to slaughter the opposing team or bring a convoy to safety. Whether you choose to play as a knight with a flamethrower or a turtle with an anchor, it’s up to you.
Neverwinter
Released in 2013, Neverwinter takes the codes left by the famous Dungeons and Dragons games and translates them directly into a massively multiplayer online game. Play as your favorite class and, alone or with others, complete quests, level up, equip new gear and scour the title’s lands for powerful items.
Brawlhalla
A Super Smash Bros Melee style fighting game, Brawlhalla is a title available for free on Steam. As with the Nintendo saga, choose your champion and compete against other players to see who is the best, keyboard or controller in hand. Items can be picked up on the field to be used to ridicule your enemies, no less.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Become a Sith or a Jedi and go save or conquer the galaxy in this MMORPG based on the Star Wars universe. Depending on your alignment, your quests will differ, just as the planets differ depending on your initial choice. Train and strengthen your relationship with the Force before leaping, lightsaber in hand, into player vs. player battlefields.
TERA
One of the best-known free-to-play MMORPGs in the West, TERA throws its players into a fantasy world with a third-person view. As with most massively multiplayer online games, you start with character creation, continue through the first initiation quests before embarking on dungeons, guild battles and huge bosses. Accompanied by your mount, go in search of weapons and amures that will make your peers jealous.
PlanetSide 2
Loaded rifle at the wheel of an offender, rush to conquer the planet Auraxis accompanied by the other members of your faction. Ground and air vehicles will not fail to kill you if you are not careful. Battles take place in huge maps where moving on foot can be a bit long. Nevertheless, take a seat in one of the many vehicles and go after your enemies.
Bonus : Clicker Heroes
Just to get off the beaten track, let’s go to a quality idle game, Clicker Heroes. The goal is simple, own as many heroes as possible to produce a maximum of gold coins allowing you to collect other heroes and so on. Your production is exponential and as you progress in the game, your wallet will have numbers with too many zeros. Perfect if you like to let the game run without having too many actions to do.