Epic Games Store and Steam are handing out three distinct free titles this week, ranging from the enhanced 90s JRPG Echo Generation and tightly wound psychological horror Luto to chaotic four-player platformer Catch Me!. Make sure to claim the Epic games before the July 23 deadline and lock in Steam’s party title before it drops on July 17 to keep them permanently.
This Week’s Free Games: A 90s RPG, Experimental Horror, and a 48-Hour Steam Grab
Claim Echo Generation, Luto, and Catch Me! before the windows close. Here is what you are actually getting.
Epic Games Store and Steam are handing out three distinct free titles this week, and the clock is already ticking. You have a cozy 90s turn-based RPG, a tightly wound psychological horror experiment, and a chaotic four-player party game to sort through.
Epic’s free slate runs from July 16 through July 23. Combined, the two offerings on its store clock in at $44.98. That is after recent price hikes, sure, but it is still a decent haul if you actually play what you claim.
First up is Echo Generation: Midnight Edition ($24.99). Developer Cococucumber originally shipped this JRPG-adjacent mystery in 2021, but the enhanced patch dropped in June 2024. It added fast travel, a quest journal, camera tilt, and a handful of new status effects. The game follows a group of kids in Maple Town chasing supernatural clues.
It blends party management with active turn-based combat. If you have ever wanted to play Stranger Things meets Final Fantasy for roughly ten hours, this is your shot. The mid-2024 update actually addresses a lot of the original pacing complaints, though the 90s nostalgia filter will not appeal to everyone.
Then there is Luto ($19.99), which feels like the polar opposite. Broken Bird Games built this first-person psychological horror entirely around exploration and environmental puzzle-solving. There is no combat. You are just a trapped protagonist navigating shifting corridors, spatial tricks, and audio cues that lean hard into dread.
I picked up Luto during its Steam Next Fest window back in April. The audio design alone is enough to make a seasoned horror vet reach for their water glass. It proves Spanish indie studios are finally getting the budget to make these tightly wound psychological experiences without cutting corners.
Critics have been remarkably kind here, with scores in the low 80s. One of the most harrowing and conceptually rich entries in the genre in years, wrote Impulse Gamer. It is less about jump scares and more about watching your protagonist unravel. Head here to claim both before the July 23 drop-off.
On Steam, things move faster. Catch Me! drops to free until July 17 at 10:00 AM. That is roughly a 48-hour window. Not much time.
ByteRockers Games released this back in early 2023 as a competitive online platformer for four players. One person plays the runner trying to hit specific checkpoints while the other three chase them down. When tagged, the roles flip. It is set across six city-inspired maps packed with chaotic interactables.
The Steam ratings are positive, though the review count is still small. If you have friends online and want something to blow off steam with for a weekend, it is worth the quick grab.
It is a weirdly balanced week for free games. You can go from mapping out a dungeon to sweating through a spatial horror maze, then boot up a tag party without leaving your chair. Catch Me! might fade from the store’s radar quickly, though, given Steam’s rotating free-to-keep schedule.
Keep in mind that both Epic titles become permanently locked to your account once claimed. Steam’s game vanishes from the free list on the 17th, but it will not cost a dime as long as you hit claim before the deadline. Epic typically teases next week’s lineup every Thursday, so you will not be left hanging for long.
