Games to download

After making several games exclusively for the Korean market, Gameforge has finally released Elsword to the rest of the world, breaking it out from 4 long years of exclusivity for our Asian counterparts.

The game follows a fairly linear plot, with lightweight gameplay that’s just entertaining enough for beginners without the demands of complex gameplay or narrative. Starting up, you choose from six characters who must immediately go off in search of fragments of the El stone, a powerful crystal that brings life and prosperity to the land.

The gameplay itself is a mix of action and side-scrolling platforms where, within various dungeons, you’ll punch up monsters with a flick of your fingers across the keys.

Graphically, the game puts up a cheery disposition but really lacks in detail, appearing more like a badly animated comic strip than an actual 3D game up to the standard of modern titles.

Elsword is a game that’s lightly fun but far from excellent, catering mainly to those who are happy to make do for free and spam punches at any beast or human within reach. You know what they say - without infamy and without praise.

Piercing Blow is a free-to-play MMOFPS from Korea, where it’s been out for a while. It’s low on character customisation, but high on map variety, offering several modes across over 40 maps for you to explore and kill people on. The majority of the environments and scenarios are completely without novelty for any experienced player - all the old favourites are here.

While the game may not feel the need to add anything new to an already successful formula, it does offer fairly decent shooter gameplay. Maps are well designed, even if the Counterstrike-era graphics are mostly ugly, and with a small, undemanding file size, Piercing Blow runs smoothly.

A wealth of guns and weapon upgrades are available to those willing to pay real money for them, a factor that significantly unbalances the playing field. The only other way to unlock decent gear is by playing and winning daily tournaments. Basically, if you’re not already a skilled shooter or ready to pay for a better gun, you’re not going to make it here.

Dawngate is a MOBA released by Waystone Games, a company under the umbrella of Visceral Games, which is under EA. With those names involved, you’ll expect a high quality product and Dawngate does not disappoint. Even in open beta, the graphics are great in this title – vivid and lush, though undeniably similar in palette to the game Dawngate is competing with, League of Legends.

But Dawngate isn’t just another clone in the crowded MOBA genre. It does add some real originality to its gameplay – narrowing down to just two lanes, adding roles for your heroes (called Shapers here) to focus on and granting bonuses to your minions when you destroy enemy Bindings or towers.

There is certainly enough new content being brought to the table here to intrigue any MOBA fan.

Embark on the immersive world of Naraka: Bladepoint, a distinctive battle royale game released in August 2021 and converted to Free-to-Play in late 2023 by 24 Entertainment and NetEase Games Montreal. Set on Morus Island, the game accommodates up to 60 players, allowing them to choose from a diverse roster of heroes, each equipped with unique skills.

Naraka: Bladepoint stands out with its focus on martial arts-inspired melee combat and a rock-paper-scissors combat system, creating a dynamic and challenging gameplay experience.

Whether venturing solo or teaming up in trios, players navigate the island, adapting to a shrinking safe zone and strategic encounters with other squads.

With a global player base surpassing 6 million copies sold, the game transitioned to a free-to-play model, extending its reach across PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PlayStation 5 platforms.

Naraka: Bladepoint offers an engaging and accessible entry into the world of battle royale, where players can enjoy the thrill of combat and strategic gameplay in a visually captivating environment.

➔ Main points:

• Martial Arts Mayhem: Get ready for melee combat like you've never seen! It's like Bruce Lee meets a rock-paper-scissors showdown, with weapons, grappling hooks, and skills that'll make you go "whoa!"
• Solo or Trio Tango: Play it your way - solo or team up with two buddies. Because why fight alone when you can have a squad with you? Teamwork makes the dream work, baby!
• Chaos on Morus Island: Explore, fight, and survive on this crazy island. As the safe zone shrinks, the shadow corruption spreads, and you'll be praying at Buddhist sites, dodging enemies, and respawning like it's a wild, action-packed game of tag.
• Global Gaming Galore: With over 6 million copies sold worldwide, Naraka: Bladepoint is strutting its stuff on PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PlayStation 5. Plus, it went free-to-play, so now everyone can join the party without breaking the bank!

Perfect World is a stunning MMORPG which is heavily influenced by Chinese mythology; casting players into an immersive, spiritual world of magic and intrigue. Some predictable RPG elements are present, including character customization and XP building, but that in no way hinders the enjoy-ability of the game.

With countless PVE quests, items to collect and character skills to learn, this game is more than capable of stealing hours off your life with its huge variety and captivating game play.

Perfect World is an in-depth, mystical experience well worth your time and dedication if fantasy RPGs are your thing!

➔ Main points:

• Visually stunning and immersive environments to explore.
• Huge array of items, quests and character skills to acquire.
• Active online community further enhances game play opportunities.
• Totally free to play, but cash shop is available for rare items etc.

Satisfy your thirst for destruction with Armored Warfare, a modern day military game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Mail.Ru.
An open beta was launched on October 8, 2015 with optional premium accounts coming soon.

Armored Warfare has been noted for its competitive co-op battles and use of modern day tanks and artillery.
In this free-to-play MMO, you have the opportunity to take on your environment or your fellow players. The chance for ultimate destruction is guaranteed.

➔ Main points:

• Captivating Story-line
• Beautiful Next-Gen Visuals
• Dynamic Destructible Environment
• Engaging Team-Based Combat
• Customizable Equipment

Orcs Must Die! Unchained is one of the latest Tower Defense Games in which your aim is to repel a hoard of orcs trying to breach your defenses and reach the innermost area of your base.
A number of paths are accessible to your orc enemies which they can use to point their offense in an effective way.
On the contrary, you have mines and other repelling items to stop them and, in turn, try to breach their base.

Orcs Must Die! Unchained allows you to team up with your friends or go solo with a number of tactics available for either option.
Just like other similar games, a number of classes are available for character selection with each class having a unique set of abilities.
In-game purchases can also be made to upgrade your characters and pose an even more serious threat to your opponents.

➔ Main points:

• 2015 MOBA with an amazing humoristic and entertaining style.
• Set-up deadly traps and kill all the orcs trying to destroy your base, and breach theirs in turn!
• Five available classes of characters.
• Can be played solo or co-op.

Savage Hunt - Dragon's Prophet is a relaunch of the original Dragon's Prophet. All the dragons are now free, and the game is the culmination of five ears of bug fixes, changes, and new content.

➔ Main points:

• Lots of dragons to tame.
• Action-based combat is fun.
• Large-scale Frontier PvP.

Winning Putt is a golf simulator set in a realistic environment, published by Bandai Namco and developed on CryEngine. Among other features, it allows players to customize their characters' appearance and gear, and offers three classes to choose from: Power, Accuracy, and Balance.

Players level up and earn gold by completing challenges that allow them to purchase new items. The game's shop offers new golf balls and bags, along with sets of clubs to optimize the gameplay. Factors such as the wind's direction, the slope of the course, the characters' mentality and stamina, and the club equipped define the players' success in each session.

Consumable items, such as edibles and GPS mini-maps, are stored in the golf bag and can be used to revitalize energy or have a better view of the terrain, respectively.

➔ Main points:

• Club joining bonuses
• Rich and realistic environments
• Diverse variables that can affect the ending result
• PVP tournaments

Heroes Evolved by R2 Games is unmistakably a MOBA that takes its inspiration from fan-favorites DOTA 2 and League of Legends. Don’t write off its resemblance as just a copy though, as the game tries to be different and succeeds by introducing interesting gameplay mechanics such as a Glyph system, which allows players to alter the stats of their heroes like an RPG game.

Players will also have access to a large pool of heroes at release, and all 58 heroes are uniquely themed, well designed and come fully voiced. The MOBA gameplay feels both fresh and familiar and there are two types of match modes available alongside two maps. While it isn’t the best looking game out there graphically, it does hold its own style with a mix of LoL’s comic and cartoon design with a bit of anime.

Overall, Heroes Evolved is a worthy alternative in the MOBA universe. The game’s easy accessibility thanks to its quick client download and free to play fee makes it hassle-free to jump in and start a few games. Heroes Evolved does have a few issues ranging from balance to match-making, but as with any other game it will only get better in time.

➔ Main points:

• Familiar MOBA gameplay with new mechanics
• Over 50 unique and fully voiced heroes to pick from
• Light and fast client download
• Daily rewards for just logging in