The Epic Games Store has made a name for itself by giving away free games every week. Every Thursday at 10 AM CT, games are rotated in and out alongside the announcement of what players can expect for next week. Sometimes leaks will be quicker on the draw than Epic themselves, but checking the free games page regularly is the best way to know what's coming next. The free games promotion has been around since 2019, and in that time, fans have been able to keep track of specific trends with the giveaways. The mystery games that are given away daily during the holidays are an Epic Games Store staple, but other smaller trends like holiday-themed freebies are also easy to expect. April 2025 has seen a big mix-up in Epic's usual formula, though.
Valentine's Day came and went with only an Apex Legends unlock pack being given away, and April has followed suit with plenty of live-service freebies instead of the full games fans have come to expect. Two live-service games gave away bundles in one week, and ever since, there has been at least one similar exclusive package on the Epic Games Store free games page throughout April. Epic seems to have learned quickly that players still wanted at least one full game giveaway on the page as River City Girls was added to the live-service-packed listing in the middle of the week. From there, Botanicula was offered alongside Firestone's free Epic exclusive bundle. The freebies for April 24 seem to learn from this mistake: players can claim an Albion Online bundle with the full title Chuchel.
The 10 Best Epic Games Store Free Games of 2024
The Epic Games Store gives away freebies every week regularly with a few special promotions in between to spice things up, giving away a few gems.
Epic Games Store Free Game Chuchel Explained
Chuchel is another comedy-adventure game by the creators of Botanicula. Compared to the last Epic Games freebie, Chuchel has a more simplistic but lighthearted story about the titular hero solving puzzles against his rival Kekel for a cherry as the prize. Players have commented that the cartoony humor of the short adventure is a great way to brighten one's mood, making it a rather breezy game to pick up on a rainy day. The short runtime and easy difficulty make it great to keep in Epic Games Store's users' libraries for free.
Some players enjoy the shenanigans that Chuchel and Kekel get into, but others may feel like the adventure is made up of more cutscenes than gameplay. Some have criticized the way the wacky and random antics take away any reward the puzzles give to players, but others enjoy the way that Chuchel allows players to interact with a silly world. Overall, while it may be far more lackadaisical compared to Botanicula, those who enjoyed Amanita's unique art style and humor will likely enjoy Chuchel. The fact that both games are being given away for free, one after the other, works out well.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 80 /100 Critics Rec: 68%
- Released
- March 7, 2018
- Developer(s)
- Amanita Design
- Publisher(s)
- Amanita Design
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WHERE TO PLAY
Epic Games Store Free Game Albion Online Explained
Meanwhile, Albion Online is offering a bundle designed to help new Epic Games Store players start the game on the right foot. Some players may have heard of Albion before due to how it allows players to use mounts from the very beginning, while in most other MMOs it takes a few hours of playtime to unlock them. Fans who pick up this Epic Game Store exclusive bundle should be careful, as one of the items available is 3 days of premium, meaning they should take advantage of those 72 hours while they have it. The full list of freebies for Albion can be found below.
- Knight Adventurer vanity bundle
- Mistbison mount skin
- 3 days Premium
- 250 Learning Points
- 350 Community Tokens
- 10 Adept's Focus Restoration Potions
- 10 Adept's Tomes of Insight (worth a total of 100,000 Fame)
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 79 /100 Critics Rec: 60%
- Released
- July 17, 2017
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ • Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Comic Mischief
- Developer(s)
- Sandbox Interactive
- Publisher(s)
- Sandbox Interactive
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unity
- Genre(s)
- MMORPG
The end of April will be marked on the Epic Games Store by Chuchel and Albion Online being rotated out, and that may end the streak of live-service bundles with it. On the other hand, there are more games by Amanita that could be added to the promotion, just like Chuchel and Botanicula before it. April was certainly a time of experimentation for the Epic Games Store's free offerings, and the latest giveaway seems to say Epic has learned from it going forward.
