The Epic Games Store released indie critical darling The Spectrum Retreat for free this week. This is part of the store's "Discover: Free Games" initiative, one that started in 2018. Sprawling open-world RPGs as well as tiny independent games have all appeared for free on the storefront. The store just had its June Mega Sale, during which time it switched up the free games strategy. Each free title was a "mystery game," not revealed until the day it released. That streak ended with Control and Genshin Impact two weeks ago, and the store returned to its usual strategy.

After The Spectrum Retreat finishes its free stint on the Epic Games Store, two games are coming on July 8. These games are Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead and Ironcast. While both have very different tones and mechanics, one thing ties them both together: Resource management, and puzzles. Ironcast explicitly references PuzzleQuest on its Steam page, and Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead is all about maximizing resource while approaching life-or-death problems with a range of solutions.

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For the first half of July, it looks like the Epic Games Store is doubling down on releasing some amazing puzzle games - and there are even more puzzling titles the store could make available for free during the rest of the month.

The Spectrum Retreat is free on the Epic Games Store until July 8. This mind, time, and space-bending first person puzzler plays like a blend of Portal, Control, and The Twilight Zone. Created by a BAFTA-winning young developer, Dan Smith, the game is a sprawling sci-fi suspense exploration in a suspicious hotel. It's a good example of what young, bright voices in the independent scene are bringing to gaming. According to his website, the developer has a new project coming soon, so it's worth checking out The Spectrum Retreat for free before his next game releases.

July 8's free Epic Games Store titles are both resource-based puzzlers. Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead takes an established game formula and the incredibly popular property of The Walking Dead in a fitting match. Iconic characters from the series take part in the player's complex and often circuitous problem solutions. The normally fraught and difficult gameplay of Bridge Constructor games becomes even scarier thanks to undead armies stalking the protagonists.

Ironcast takes a really interesting approach to the mechanized, Victorian steampunk war game concept by marrying it with PuzzleQuest mechanics. It also borrows popular rogue-like mechanics, which is a smart move, as games like PuzzleQuest fit well with the shorter play sessions encouraged by rogue-like structures. Overall, the store is showing off some really unique puzzle games in the first half of July. If Epic customers are lucky, then more of the store's puzzlers could show up for free in July.

Superliminal is incredibly similar to The Spectrum Retreat in many ways. Both are tightly wound first-person puzzle games with some bizarre surroundings. Superliminal is inarguably unique thanks to its innovative use of perspective. Players manipulate their own field of view and distance from items to literally change the size of obstacles in the environment. Many puzzle games have problems that require out-of-the-box thinking. However, Superliminal is one of the first to ask players to change the very dimensions of the box itself.

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This game would be an amazing free game for Epic customers in July. Not only does the game have some unmatched gameplay innovations, but a compelling story. It blew people's minds back in 2013 when it first premiered at the Tokyo Game Show, and it is not hard to see why. The game occupies a special place in the puzzle genre, alongside reality-shifting peers like Portal and Antichamber, and could be a fantastic addition to Epic's free games roster.

Released last May, Timelie is a stealth puzzle adventure with time manipulation mechanics. However, to leave its description like that would be an injustice. The title allows players to flip and rewind time like it's on a media player. It wouldn't be a gorgeous lo-fi independent game without suitably excellent music, and Timelie has that in spades. No Last Eternity, the song used in all of the game's trailers, perfectly captures the ethereal, otherworldly quality of the graphics and gameplay on display. It also has a mysterious cat as a companion, and pets in games are always welcome.

Finally, Mobius Digital's Outer Wilds would be an amazing free game in July 2021. Like many of the other puzzlers on this list, it surrounds itself with science-fiction aesthetic trappings, and also crafts a gorgeous narrative at the same time. Outer Wilds is on a much larger scale than some other puzzle games, trawling across an entire solar system and its various mysteries. Arguably the game's most impressive feat it accomplishes is maintaining a deeply personal, touching, and meaningful story despite the interplanetary stakes at risk.

This is partially thanks to the game's fully realized characters. The orchestra of smooth guitars and synths also help here, twisting and turning along with the fantastic story. The perfect blend of Andrew Prahlow's score with the gameplay design of Alex Beachum and Loan Verneau makes for a superlative puzzle gaming experience.

The Spectrum Retreat is free on the Epic Games Store until July 8. Bridge Constructor Walking Dead and Ironcast will be free from July 8 to July 15.

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