This Week's Epic Free Games Are Live Now

Publishers and storefronts have been offering a ton of free games recently to help people combat the boredom of being stuck inside, and the Epic Games Store is continuing to give away free games on a weekly basis as well. The latest duo of free games just went live and keeps up the trend of offering stellar experiences free of charge. The revelatory Gone Home and Hob are free at the Epic Games Store until April 9 at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET. Drawful 2 is still available for free until April 9 as well, and you can also get new multiplayer physics game Totally Reliable Delivery Service for free until April 8. To claim any Epic free games, you just need a free account.

Gone Home is a first-person exploration game where you play as a woman who's just returned home after spending a year abroad. Despite expecting your family to be there to welcome you, you quickly discover no one is home, and you must explore the empty house to discover what has happened. The beginning of Gone Home is eerie, but this is no horror game; instead, it's a deeply personal story about a family's struggles and heartache. While Gone Home was derisively called a "walking simulator" by some when it released in 2013, the genre has since blossomed, with Gone Home paving the way for other acclaimed narrative adventures like What Remains of Edith Finch, Firewatch, and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture. If you're a fan of these games, you shouldn't miss out on Gone Home, which earned a superb 9.5/10 in GameSpot's Gone Home review.

"Gone Home gives you a house to explore, and as you do so, that house slowly reveals to you the story of the people who live there," wrote critic Carolyn Petit. "That story is intimate and honest and beautiful, and the active way in which you piece that story together, coming to understand the Greenbriar family through the things you find as you investigate their house, makes Gone Home one of the most captivating story-driven games in the medium's history."

In addition, Epic users can claim Hob, a suspenseful action-adventure game from the studio behind Torchlight I and II. Hob's story unfolds without text or dialogue, requiring you to explore the world and interact with the strange lifeforms on it to learn more about what's going on. The world of Hob is in disarray, and you soon discover the entire planet is in danger. Hob involves puzzle-solving and combat, using unique mechanical glove-arm abilities to punch, grapple, and warp around. While GameSpot hasn't reviewed Hob, the game has maintained a Very Positive rating on Steam with over 2,800 reviews, so it's worth grabbing while free.

Gone Home, Hob, and Drawful 2 will be replaced by Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments next Thursday.

If you're looking for more things to do while stuck inside, check out our full list of all the free games you can claim right now. Plus, see more of the best games, TV, and movies to play while you're social distancing.