Alba: A Wildlife Adventure and Shadow Tactics are the next Epic Games Store freebies

We could all use a little time out

It’s Friday, and that means that digital retailer Epic Games Store that it will be offering up to its users free of charge — And this week, it’s a veritable mix of wholesomeness and wanton violence, with the arrival of Alba: A Wildlife Adventure and Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun.

Developed by British outfit ustwo Games, the almost unbearably wholesome Alba: A Wildlife Adventure was released to critical and public acclaim back in 2020. It concerns a simple tale of a young explorer who stumbles across a Mediterranian isle in need while on vacation. Armed with little more than a phone camera, a metric to🧸n of spirit, and her friends and associates, Alba sets about capturing the beauty and wonder of Pinar del Mar, determined to prevent its gentrification by ruthless capitalists.

With a distinct visual style, leisurely paced exploration gameplay, and a relaxed, finish-in-a-sitting approach, Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is a great title to while away a lazy Sunday afternoon, away fr༒om the hustle and bustle of the waking world and the boꦑmbastic action of its bigger-budgeted brethren. Take the trip.

Developed by Mimimi Games and released on PC and consoles back in 2016, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is a stealth-heavy real-time-tactics title in the vein of scalpel-precise party planners such as Commandos or Desperados. Set against the backdrop of Edo-era Japan, players guide a team of uniquely skilled assassins as they attempt to locate the whereabouts of a mysterious warlord known only as “Kage-sama”.

A samurai, a geisha, a thief, and a ninja are the party of four tasked with utilizing subterfuge, stealth, distraction, and good old-fashioned ultraviolence in order to complete a series of missions and uncover the truth about their mission, their prey, and, surprisingly, themselves. For fans of the “clockwork planning” of the Commandos series, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is most definitely worth a whirl.

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure and Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun can be downloaded from the Epic Games Store from November 10. Until then, users can still bag themselves current freebies Filament and Rising Storm 2: Vietnam.