Amazon Prime Day 2018: The Best Free Games Available on Twitch

If you didn’t already know, one of the perks of Amazon Prime is the promotional video games. For Prime Day 2018, subscribers can claim 21 titles for the low, low price of absolutely free. Here’s the rundown of what games are available, how to get them, and which titles to look out for.

Twitch has been giving away free games since March with the Twitch Prime program, which Amazon Prime subscribers can opt into for free. This was a smart move for both parties. Since Amazon acquired Twitch in 2014, the live streaming platform has expanded its partnership program and branched out into retail. Although Steam is still the top distributor of online games, Amazon has leveraged Twitch to sell them in a unique way by letting you watch your favorite streamer play a game before you buy it.

Here’s the schedule of the 21 games that will be released for free to Twitch Prime subscribers from July to the beginning of August.

It’s a very good list. You should pick up all 21 games (after all, they’re free), but here are the ones I recommend you try first.

Pillars of Eternity: Definitive Edition is a Narrative-Driven Classic RPG With Modern Sensibility

I was one of the Kickstarter backers for Pillars of Eternity, and it didn’t disappoint. It’s a high fantasy isometric RPG that’s a throwback to the great CRPGs of my childhood like Baldur’s Gate and Planescape: Torment with a modern sensibility.

The real heart of this game is the storytelling. Pillars is directed by Josh Sawyer, who was the lead on Fallout: New Vegas. So if you love character development, complex cultures, and existential philosophy, you’ll probably dig this game.

Broken Age is an Gorgeous Adventure Game About Growing Up

Broken Age is another game I backed on Kickstarter. It’s an adventure game from Double Fine Productions directed by Tim Schafer. Schafer is responsible for a lot of classics, but the ones that really stick out are The Secret of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, Psychonauts, and the very under-appreciated Costume Quest.

In Broken Age, players control two characters with seemingly separate stories. The first is Vella Tartine (played by Masasa Moyo), a young woman who is chosen by her village to be a ritual sacrifice to a great monster. Joining her is Shay Volta (played by Elijah Wood), a young man trapped on a spaceship with two AI helicopter parents.

The game’s art is absolutely gorgeous and it’s a nice, leisurely title you can finish over a quiet weekend.

Brutal Legend is a Dark Metal Platformer That Doesn’t Take Itself Too Seriously

Brutal Legend is another Double Fine title, inspired by Schafer’s childhood fascination with heavy metal album covers, which often featured dark fantasy illustrations with techno barbarians and wild, hellish landscapes. Schafer took those concepts and turned it into a video game.

In Brutal Legend, you play as Eddie Riggs, a roadie who gets spirited away to Schafer’s vision of a metal fantasy world with electric guitar axes, demonic hot rods, and glam rock amazons. If that’s not enough to sell you on the game, then maybe the ensemble cast will.

Eddie Riggs was played by Jack Black. He was joined by rock legends Rob Halford, Ozzy Osbourne, Lita Ford, and Lemmy Kilmister. The big bad was voiced by Tim Curry.

Headbanging while slaying demons in this game is optional but recommended.

Battle Chef Brigade is a Genre-Bending Anime Cooking Game

Battle Chef Brigade is a cooking anime come to life, which means the actual cooking part is probably the least of your worries. Think more Toriko and less Shokugeki no Soma.

As a battle chef in the world of Victusia, you’re a true farm-to-table entrepreneur. You have to go out into the wild and fight monsters for top shelf ingredients, then bring them back to cook up some dank grub. That means the game is half side-scrolling brawler (the fighting) and half tile-matching puzzle (the cooking).

Don’t play this game on an empty stomach. It’s just going to make you resentful.

Tyranny is a RPG That Has an Devious Twist

Tyranny takes place in Terratus, a fantasy world ruled by the cruel dictator Kyros. After 400 years, Kyros the Overlord has finally completed her brutal campaign and conquered Tiers, the final holdout to resist the empire. However, a new rebellion in Tiers has convinced freedom fighters to make one last stand against total domination.

You’re not one of those freedom fighters. Instead, you play as a Fatebinder, a elite agent of Kyros’ empire. The Fatebinders are secret police who hunt down and suppress dissidents by any means necessary. Yes, that’s right — you’re the baddie.

How you go about this is up to you. You can serve Kyros faithfully, defect to the rebellion, or screw over both sides and declare yourself as the new honcho. However, being that Tyranny is set in a crapsack world, there are no clean choices here. Rather than thinking in terms of good and evil, the game is best understood as a meditation on order and chaos. What the rebellion calls freedom is seen by the empire as anarchy. What the empire claims is security is seen by the rebellion as oppression.

Don’t be surprised if you find yourself occasionally sympathizing with the evil empire — the game is designed to make you feel uncomfortable. That’s why it’s worth playing.

But friendly reminder: If this game makes you sympathize with actual dictators, you’re doing it wrong. Life isn’t a video game and totalitarian states are abominable.

Does That Mean These Are the Only Games Worth Playing?

Not at all. Those five games are just the titles that stuck out to me, but all 21 games have been well received by both fans and critics. It’s just a matter of what you like, and if you have Amazon Prime, they’re all free. If you don’t like them, you can rest easy knowing you didn’t pay for them.

Each game will be available in a limited time window so be sure to check the Twitch Prime calendar regularly. Some such as Metal Slug 3 and The Last Blade 2 will be available from July 3 to August 3 but Tyranny is only up for grabs on July 16 to July 17.

Happy Prime Day. These titles should keep you busy for a while.