Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

The best demos, betas, and free-to-play games you can try this weekend

By Mike Epstein January 26, 2018

Gaming can be a notoriously expensive hobby if you indulge the impulse to play all the latest and greatest games. It doesn’t have to be, though! These days there is a wide range of new betas, demos, and free game trials available every week. If you are looking for something new to play but don’t want to commit, we have a list of the best demos, betas, and free games that you can try out this weekend.

‘Fallout 4’ free weekend (Xbox One)

Fallout 4 - Official Trailer

Fallout 4 has been out for well over two years, but if you haven’t had a chance to try it out, you’ll be able to do so for free this weekend on Xbox One. The game will be free to play for Xbox Live Gold subscribers until Sunday, January 28. During the free weekend, all Fallout 4 content is discounted. The full game is 33 percent off ($20), and the Game of the Year Edition, which includes the game and all its DLC, is 40 percent off ($36). The season pass is also available for half-price ($25). Any progress you make will be saved should you choose to purchase the full game.

Related Videos

If you’d prefer to play the game on PC, don’t fret: You’ll be getting your own free weekend, beginning Thursday, February 1.

Grab both Amnesia games for free on PC

Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Trailer

Frictional Games’ Amnesia: The Dark Descent helped to usher in a new wave of horror games with an emphasis on atmosphere rather than action, and if you haven’t played it yet, it’s absolutely free through the Humble store until Saturday, January 27 at 1 p.m. ET. The offer also includes the sequel Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, developed by The Chinese Room, and it’s playable on PC, Mac, and Linux. The games only require 2GB of RAM and an Intel Core i3 processor, so you should have no trouble running them, even with a dated PC.

Free Xbox Live Games With Gold for January

Xbox - January 2018 Games with Gold

A new month brings new games to Xbox Live’s subscription program. Three games are available this weekend for Xbox Live Games With Gold.

Xbox One owners can currently download The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III, which released alongside its Games With Gold debut this month. Ubisoft’s Zombi — a port of the Wii U game ZombiU — is also available until February 15.

Until the end of the month, Xbox 360 owners can grab the original Army of Two. The cooperative third-person shooter is, like all Xbox 360 games released through the program, backward compatible on Xbox One.

Shop Games with Gold now

Free PlayStation Plus games for January

January 2018 Free PS4 Games Lineup | PlayStation Plus

January’s free PlayStation Plus games are also here, including six games across three Sony platforms and a competitive PlayStation VR title.

PlayStation 4 owners are in for a treat this month, getting free access to Deux Ex: Mankind Divided. The immersive sim is a sequel to the sleeper hit Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and uses a “play as you want” model, which option available for stealth, action, or just talking your way out of a conflict.

The first season of Telltale’s Batman is also free for PlayStation 4 owners, meaning those who own an Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will have access to two free Telltale games this month. It uses the same choice-based story structure of other Telltale games, with a decidedly different tone than that of the Arkham series.

PlayStation 3 owners have access to the role-playing game Sacred 3 throughout January, as well as The Book of Unwritten Tales 2. Vita owners get the PS4 cross-buy games Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness as well as the retro-inspired survival-horror game Uncanny Valley, which doesn’t ever actually go into the titular valley.

Lastly, PlayStation VR owners can pick up the competitive aerial shooter Starblood Arena. While the game was criticized at launch for being too shallow, its influx of players this month should make it easy to find a multiplayer match.

See more Free PlayStation Plus games

Update: Updated with Fallout 4 free weekend and The Amnesia Collection Humble offer.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Gaming

All cross-platform games (PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC)

Two squads of heroes clash in an Overwatch 2 trailer.

Cross-platform support is becoming more important in the world of video games. Multiplayer hits like Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 and Fortnite have pushed crossplay into the limelight, and now most AAA multiplayer games release with at least partial cross-platform support. Finding every cross-platform game is no easy feat, though, so we did the hard work to bring you a comprehensive list of games that support crossplay.

Unfortunately, there aren't any rules when it comes to crossplay, so each game handles the feature a little differently. To make matters more confusing, certain backward-compatible games on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X still support crossplay on the most recent hardware, even if there isn't an official release for that hardware.

Gaming

The best free FPS games you can play right now

10 essential tips for Arena Mode in Apex Legends

A few years ago, it was hard to find any decent free-to-play games that weren't MMORPGs, and good free first-person shooter (FPS) games were almost non-existent. The few that were around usually came from less-than-reputable sources and usually experienced a host of bugs and connectivity issues.

With battle royale games offering a boon to the free-to-play model, though, AAA studios have started releasing high-quality, free FPS games. Games like Warframe paved the way for Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0.

Gaming

Best PlayStation Plus Deals: Save on Essential, Plus and Premium

Best PS Plus deals

PlayStation Plus (PS Plus) is the best way to get the most from your PlayStation gaming time, thanks to adding online multiplayer, free games, and a whole heap more for one subscription fee. In recent times, it has been expanded to offer three different tiers -- each offering varying benefits to gamers. PlayStation Plus Essential, PlayStation Plus Extra, and PlayStation Plus Premium all have their roles to play depending on how you play and what level of value you want to get from the service. Some form of PS Plus subscription is vital if you want to be able to play certain PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 games online with your friends, but there are more benefits than just that.

With PlayStation Plus, you also get exclusive deals on the PlayStation Store, Even better, there are free games to download every month that you'll be able to keep playing as long as you keep your PlayStation Plus subscription active. Until May 9, you also retain access to the PlayStation Plus Collection which contains some of the best games for both systems. Depending on the tier, you might get even more than that. Read on while we take you through the differences between the different tiers of PlayStation Plus, and round up the best PlayStation Plus deals and prices available right now, so you can save money if you want to play online, while also enjoying free games on the cheap.
What is PlayStation Plus?
Along with online multiplayer and other in-game network features, a PlayStation Plus Essential membership grants you access to exclusive discounts and other promotions. Perhaps the most notable benefit of PlayStation Plus is that every month, Sony gives subscribers one PlayStation 5 and two PlayStation 4 games that are free to download. You have one month to add these free PlayStation Plus games to your library.