The Epic Games Store will be offering two major Obsidian RPGs for free next week, in the form of Tyranny and Pillars of Eternity. The Epic Games Store has been offering free games on a weekly basis for a long time now as a way to increase draw and compete with its main competitor Steam. These titles aren't cheap throwaway games, either; some truly high-profile games have been offered for free on the Epic Games Store. Back in may the store even offered Grand Theft Auto Five, drawing so much attention that it was forced offline due to high traffic.
Now the storefront has set its sights on Obsidian RPGs for its marketing gimmicks, and it's easy to see why. Obsidian is renowned for its RPGs; fans have praised the developer's finely tuned character progression systems and their deep worlds which are heavily influenced by player choice. The company is responsible for such landmark titles as Fallout: New Vegas, which many fans of the franchise agree is the best entry in the series. Last year it also released dystopian space RPG The Outer Worlds, and an epic fantasy RPG called Avowed is on the horizon, which is already being speculated as a major contender to the Elder Scrolls franchise.
But as high profile as these titles are, they're far from the only roleplaying games Obsidian has on offer. The Epic Games Store will be highlighting two more Obsidian RPGs next week, totally free of charge to the consumer. One of these RPGs is Tyranny, an isometric RPG that casts the player as the enforcer for an evil overlord who has already succeeded in conquering the world. This bizarre reversal of roles results in a grim world full of morally dubious decisions with very far-reaching consequences. The other game, Pillars of Eternity, is a slightly more conventional title, and should be of interest to people who are excited for Avowed, because it takes place in the same universe as the upcoming title. Both Pillars of Eternity and its wildly successful sequel should serve as an excellent way for fans to get acquainted with the universe in time for Avowed's release.
Obsidian has been churning out some quality content recently, and it shows no signs of slowing down. In addition to Avowed and ongoing content updates for its early access survival crafting game Grounded, the studio seems to be already working on another new game which fans are still in the dark about. Only time will tell what this new game might be or when fans will get to enjoy it for themselves.
Both Tyranny and Pillars of Eternity were reviewed well when they hit the markets. They're both a bit past their prime, having released in 2016 and 2015 respectively, which is probably why Epic is able to offer them free of charge. But they hold up as superb examples of Obsidian's game design principles, and any self-respecting fan of computer RPGs would be a fool to miss out on picking them up for free on the Epic Games Store.
Source: Epic Games Store