Steam makes 3 games 100% free until July 13 (and one that's truly great)

While Steam users are quite used to an ample supply of cheap and discounted games, as well as games that are completely free, Valve's storefront also offers games that are free for a limited time. This weekend, until July 13, three games are free to play on Steam, including the early-access dino-survival game Ark: Survival Ascended and one of the best city builders we've ever played.

If you're looking for something to play this weekend for the right price — aka completely free — here's what's on offer on Steam right now, including two games that have extremely high user ratings.

Ark: Survival Ascended

Ark: Survival Ascended is Studio Wildcard's 2023 remaster of the original Ark: Survival Evolved. Still in early access, the latest Ark is "reimagined from the ground-up" in Unreal Engine 5. "Form a tribe, tame & breed hundreds of unique dinosaurs and primeval creatures, explore, craft, build, and fight your way to the top of the food chain," Studio Wildcard says.

Fan response to Ark: Survival Ascended has been mixed, as players have dinged the remaster over technical issues and monetization tactics. One negative review of Ark: Survival Ascended from a player with more than 5,000 hours logged in the game reads, "the concept of this game is amazing," but "the people running the game on the other hand, they have no shame."

A more positive review from another Steam user reads simply, "dinosaurs." So, if "dinosaurs" pique your interest, go try out Ark: Survival Ascended. If you like it, the game and the original Ark: Survival Evolved are currently on sale on Steam, as is a bunch of DLC.

Against the Storm

Against the Storm is a "dark fantasy city builder, where you must rebuild civilization in the face of apocalyptic rains." You'll lead teams of humans, beavers, lizards, foxes, and harpies to reclaim the wilderness and secure a future for civilization's last survivors, according to developer Eremite Games and publisher Hooded Horse.

After the game's release in 2023, we sang the praises of Against the Storm's roguelite city building style, heralding it for "throwing out the city builder formula. Instead of working on a city for hundreds of hours, steadily building it up from a tiny village into a bustling metropolis, you start your city over every 1-2 hours. Its roguelite progression should be antithetical to the city building genre, but instead it revitalizes it." Steam users like it too; Against the Storm has a 94.6% positive rating based on 34,489 reviews.

"Against the Storm always has a new trick up its sleeve," we said in our early impressions of the game, "and like any great roguelite, it’s encouraged me to make unusual, gutsy plays that I would never try in a more typical city builder. Knowing each run has a finite end means I can always start over if things don’t" work out. And when they do — it’s even sweeter."

The game's free weekend also coincides with a sale: Against the Storm is just $8.99 (70% off) on Steam right now.

Gogh: Focus with Your Avatar

Image: ambr

The lesser-known free game this weekend is Gogh: Focus with Your Avatar, which developer ambr describes as "a cozy multiplayer co-working sandbox with character customization, room building, and productivity tools. Focus, study, work, and relax together with friends and players around the world."

Gogh: Focus with Your Avatar is less of a game than a virtual space to chill, socialize, and be productive. The title includes tools to support work and study sessions, including a pomodoro timer, to-do-lists, daily habits, a journal, and in-game focus statistics. Steam users love it: The game has a "very positive" rating based on more than 1,000 reviews.

And, lo and behold, Gogh: Focus with Your Avatar is also on sale right now. It's just $7.19 (40% off).

Beyond Steam, PC gamers also have a handful of free titles they can claim from the Epic Games Store right now.