Many comments on the Web suggest that nobody can fully escape Doki Doki Literature Club! once they've played it… but that doesn't stop us from hopping into a car and flooring it. This weekend's free games offer two solid cases of extreme motorsport: on one hand, the Epic Games Store is giving away Dakar Desert Rally, the simulator of the most demanding rally competition in the world, and on the other, Good Old Games is sharing FlatOut, ideal for those who want to see scrap metal flying in all directions.
Some simulation enthusiasts invest thousands of dollars in accessories, trying to reproduce an experience as close as possible to the real vehicle. Others prefer a more… arcade or flexible gameplay, so to speak. Personally, I usually favor the second category, and I fondly remember titles like Formula One Grand Prix, NFS: Porsche 2000, and NFS: Underground. However, there's nothing wrong with a simulation with low error tolerance, that demands we be a little better with each race. And that brings us to this weekend's free games: Dakar Desert Rally on the Epic Games Store, and the first FlatOut via GOG.
Dakar Desert Rally
How much Dakar is in the modern Dakar? From a strictly geographical standpoint, the answer is nothing, because the original Paris-Dakar route was blocked in 2008 when Mauritania blew up, and the competition never returned there. A relatively successful stint in South America led to its development in Saudi Arabia starting in 2020... and the result is Dakar Desert Rally.
The game features dozens of stages from the official routes, over 150 vehicles across five categories, three difficulty modes (if you want to suffer, Simulation is what you're looking for), repairs inside and outside the race, variable weather (yes, sometimes it snows in Saudi Arabia), and a free roam mode. The actual Dakar is locked at the beginning, and you need to reach level 25 to enter Simulation and unlock it.
The combination of grind, bugs, and performance issues affected the original score of Dakar Desert Rally, but all these details seem to have been left behind, and visually it's spectacular. That means you need some serious firepower to run it, and above all, patience: the total download exceeds 60 gigabytes.
FlatOut
On the other side, there's no desert, no advanced teams working day and night. It's just you, with the desire to buy a clunker that barely has four wheels, and go racing ignoring every conceivable safety measure: If your car finishes the race intact, you're doing things wrong.
FlatOut is the spiritual predecessor of Wreckfest, and at the same time draws inspiration from classics like Destruction Derby and the inexhaustible Street Rod. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to race and win on improvised obstacle-filled tracks, earn a few miserable dollars, unlock and buy new parts, participate in Bonus events (among which turning the driver into a projectile stands out)... and repeat the whole process.
Exaggerated ragdolls, a good soundtrack, and the fact that it runs even on a gas pump (the game is from 2004) make FlatOut an instant classic. Come on, who doesn't want to take a '71 Fiat 127 and turn it into a beast?
Dakar Desert Rally will be available until next Thursday, but the FlatOut giveaway has less than 24 hours left. Don't sleep on it!
Good Old Games: Click here
