A few days ago, I was rounding up some games for one of our free Steam games lists, and I spotted one of the most ridiculous first-person shooters I’ve ever seen in my life.
After watching its trailer, I knew I had to play it– and I am so glad I did.
Some free games on Steam just absolutely baffle me, because I cannot figure out why someone would be giving away such an incredible game for… nothing.
The DeadLine, developed by ROTTEN APPLE and published by Jungle Game Lab, is one such example, because after playing it for a couple of hours last night I came to a strange conclusion; I would have definitely paid money for this, so why the hell is it free?
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The premise in The DeadLine is simple: kill zombies, and acquire a bunch of silly new guns so you can kill more zombies.
The execution of said premise is where it really shines though, because there are so many things about this game I could waffle on about.
The guns feel satisfying (yes, even the lunch tray), the soundtrack absolutely slaps, and there’s even a genuine feeling of progression throughout a run– something that even AAA publishers seemingly struggle with.
But don’t take my word for it, because here’s what the Steam reviewers have to say about it.
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“What a blast! Sometimes good games are like this - straightforward. Aim at zombies. Well, aim in the general direction of zombies, press fire, chill in the middle of the mayhem and gore with a heavy guitar soundtrack”, writes Steam reviewer Purple Dogg.
“There are no limits! Sure, you can fire 12 pistols at a time, sure, the double barrel shotgun can become an eight barrel shotgun, sure, you can fire chicken eggs and cats, WHY NOT?This is just pure, visceral fun!”
“Deadline is a genuinely fun Zombie shooter where you fight yourself through subway stations collecting fun weapons and activating fuses to get to the next station”, commented Steam user Life's A Trip.
“This game being free to play is genuinely crazy as i would def pay to play this game… Can fully recommend.”
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So, if it really is good enough to earn itself a 97% positive score on Steam… why IS The DeadLine free?
Thankfully, there is a very simple explanation for this; it’s a student project.
Publisher Jungle Game Lab is actually a South Korean game talent program, which is why all of their games go up on Steam for free.
Whatever the teachers are doing over there, it’s working. I’ll be keeping an eye on ROTTEN APPLE from this point onwards, because if this is what they can produce for free… imagine what they could do with a budget.
Topics: Steam, Valve, Free Games, PC