Rock the Vote
It be Friday, and like clockwork Epic Games Store has revealed the next titles that it will be offering up to all of its users gratis in the coming week — This time around it’s looking like you’ll need a real appetite for destruction, with the arrival of Deep Silver’s Saints Row IV: Re-Elected and Daedalic’s Wildcat Gun Machine.
Released in 2020, Saints Row IV: Re-Elected is the ultimate edition of Volition’s over-the-top 2013 open-world crime sim. Essentially the very peak of Saints Row‘s ‘no rules’ design philosophies, the fourth mainline edition of the increasingly eccentric franchise took the chaos to the point where it could go no further. Now essentially the rulers of the United States, the player controls protagonist The Boss (now President) as they defend the Earth — essentially their own gang territory — from the ruthless intergalactic menace known as The Zin.
Re-Elected includes the initial release of Saints Row IV, alongside all previous expansion packs and additional DLC content. Given that the franchise had reached something of a dead-end with this release, Saints Row was rebooted earlier this year with the more down-to-earth, “Gen-Z-oriented” Saints Row, which launched to an incredibly divisive reception from both critics and fans.
Developed by Australian indie outfit Chunkybox Games, Wildcat Gun Machine is a frenetic twin-stick shooter that launched in May of this year. Combining dungeon crawling-action with the challenge of a bullet-hell shmup, players guide a gun-toting badass as they barrel their way through a plethora of grim chambers, taking down battalions of enemies and grossly designed boss characters.
Wildcat Gun Machine offers up 40 unique weapons, from standard rifles and explosive launchers to laser guns and even mighty mech units, as well as a variety of skill-based power-ups to throw a little more favor into our hero’s hands. Since its release, WGM has received a mixed reception from players, who enjoy the aesthetics and the challenge offered, but have also criticized the lack of both any form of narrative and a compelling gameplay “hook”.
Saints Row IV Re-Elected and Wildcat Gun Machine will be available to download from Epic Games Store on December 8. Until then, users can still bag current freebies Fort Triumph and RPG In A Box.
