Every so often, a game comes along which injects pure joy into the lives of those who play it. One such game, Super Crazy Rhythm Castle, is currently available for free on Ep??i??c Games Store and I urge you to go and give it a try. 

Super Crazy Rhythm Castle might be, and I don’t say this lightly, the most fun I’ve had playing a video game in a very long time. I hav??e laughed so hard I’ve been reduced to tears and been physically incapable of continuing before getting a grip, I’ve thrown ?a soccer ball at my fiancés head (in-game, of course, I’m not a total monster) in order to stop him from scoring more points than me, and I’ve raced along the river in a musically charged boat. 

Essentially, Rhythm Castle is Guitar Hero with the a?dded side-problem of puzzles needing to be solved. While you’re trying to play the music in time with the moving colored blocks, you also need to stop some bizarre baby creatures from screaming by kicking gems into their faces (seriously!), or use weed killer to prevent vines from covering the moving platform of notes. 

The ‘Super Crazyâ€?part is taken very literally in Rhythm Castle, and everywhere you go there’s something new, hilarious, and at times highly frustrating to overcome. For instance, at one point the king (who you’re trying to beat musically, at least I think that’s the end goal of the game) decides that simply throwing music challenges at you isn’t enough. To amuse himself, and make things harder on you, he decides that the platform on which you stand needs to? spin around in circles. 

Now, I know my left from my right. I’ve gone approximately three decades knowing how to use my hands, and yet when the notes begin spinning around in circles, it’s hard to remember which side is which and whether I’m even the right way up. That level has a warning for those who suffer from mot?ion sickness. If that doesn’t reflect the frustration you may feel while playing it, then nothing will. 

The music in Rhythm Castle is hugely varied, and there’s something for everyone. In the first six songs, I heard everything from Hippo and Frog (w??hich is what reduced me to tears, and I’m still not quite sure why) to Heavy Metal, which is exactly as it sounds. In between, you’re treated to this absolute earworm that is still stuck in my head days later and is now a permanent addition to my soundtrack of life:

There's even an area where you can take game cartridges, which are found through the rest of the game, to play old video game soundtracks. I won't spoil what's to come if you c?hoose to play, but you're in for a wild ride of both nostalgi??a and mild panic.

Anyway, like I said, Super Crazy Rhythm Castle is currently available for free on Epic Games Store. If you’ve got some friends who you want to drag on an absolutely bizarre ride through music, then you’ve got nothing to lose by downloading it. I’m not sure I would have ever played if it hadn’t come up for nothing, but Iâ€??™m forever going to be thankful that I’ve experienced the crazy joy tha??t it brings.

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If you grew up in the '90s like me, then you’ve likely got at least one fond memory of The Rugrats. Starting on September 12, Epic Games Store is giving players the opportunity to get Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland entirely for free. 

The Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland is a thoroughly enjoyable dive into epic nostalgia. Filled with colle?ctables to find, interchangeable characters with special abilities, and levels that lo??ok like something directly out of the cartoons you grew up watching. 

If you’re feeling even more nostalgic and want to truly take a trip down memory lane, you can always play in retro style by switching to 8-bit mode. I played the Adventures in Gameland demo in March and thoroughly enjoyed it. Everything from th?e music to the voices brought back wave upon wave of nost?algia, so I highly recommend any '90s kid make the most of this freebie when it arrives.

Also, there’s multiplayer, which means you can wander around the Rugrats house? (and beyond) with a friend,? and really bring those memories of cartoons past to life. On top of that, it's coming to Epic Games Store as a freebie only two days after it's set to release! What’s not to love?

If you’re not ready to be overwhelmed by nostalgia, you could always go for the second game on offer that week �Super Crazy Rhythm Castle. You can play solo, or with up to thre??e friends, making the approach to Rhythm Castle to try and take down King Ferdinand. 

The game has over 30 tracks of all genres to play your way through, so there’s something for all tastes. Imagine Guitar Hero, but with ?cuter graphics and a story? of overcoming adversity and puzzle solving on the side. It’s all about embracing chaos and, if there’s ever something I can get on board with, it’s chaotic fun.

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