Epic Games Store is Kicking Off 2022 With a Bang

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One of the main reasons to download the Epic Games Store launcher is to take advantage of the free games that it gives away on a regular basis. The Epic Games Store gave away numerous free games throughout 2021, capping off the year by giving away 15 free mystery games culminating with Tomb Raider Trilogy. The Epic Games Store will be giving away many more free games in 2022 as well, and it's getting the year started off with a bang.

Right now, Epic Games Store users can claim Tomb Raider Trilogy completely free of charge, and they have until Thursday, January 6 at 10:00am CT to do so. At that point, Tomb Raider Trilogy will get replaced by Gods Will Fall, which will remain an Epic Games Store free game until it's replaced on Thursday, January 13 at the same time. It's unclear exactly what will replace Gods Will Fall when the time comes, but Epic Games Store users will find out next week.

The nice thing about the Epic Games Store free games is that they are completely free for users to claim with no strings attached. Similar free game promotions on consoles and elsewhere typically require a subscription fee. However, the only requirement for Epic Games Store users to claim these games is to have an account and the Epic Games Store launcher downloaded. And once they claim the games, they are free for users to keep forever.

Epic Games Store Free Games for January 2022

Tomb Raider Trilogy - December 30, 2021 to January 6, 2022
Gods Will Fall - January 6, 2022 to January 13, 2022

For those who may be unfamiliar with the Epic Games Store free games for January 2022, Tomb Raider Trilogy is technically three games in one. Tomb Raider Trilogy includes the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot, its sequel Rise of the Tomb Raider, and finally, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which caps off Lara Croft's origin story. All three games earned strong reviews from critics, with particular praise aimed at Tomb Raider and Rise of the Tomb Raider.

It's worth pointing out that Tomb Raider Trilogy doesn't just include the vanilla games, though. The version of Tomb Raider in the collection is the Game of the Year edition that comes with extra content, including various cosmetics for Lara Croft as well as the Tomb of the Lost Adventurer. The version of Rise of the Tomb Raider featured in the collection is the 20 Year Celebration, which gives players access to the base game as well as the post-launch content.

The Rise of the Tomb Raider post-launch content is rather substantial. The new content includes the ability to explore Croft Manor like was possible in the classic Tomb Raider games from the original PlayStation, as well as the Lara's Nightmare zombie mode. Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration also adds co-op to the mix, a higher difficulty level to test players' skill, various cosmetics, the Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch DLC, and the Cold Darkness Awakened expansion. Needless to say, Rise of the Tomb Raider should keep Epic Games Store users busy for quite some time if they do a deep dive and check out everything it has to offer.

Once Epic Games Store users are finally done with Rise of the Tomb Raider, they can move on to Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, which also comes with some extra content. Along with everything that was featured in the base game, Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition also has cosmetic DLC, new weapons, and all of the post-launch challenge tombs.

Tomb Raider Trilogy offers significant value for Epic Games Store and ensures that it's getting 2022 started off on the right foot. The Epic Games Store's 2022 momentum will continue with the next free game that's added to the service. Gods Will Fall is a roguelike with a high level of difficulty that should appeal to fans of the genre. Better yet, Gods Will Fall won't even be a year old yet before it's made available as an Epic Games Store free game, which is a good sign that the free games moving forward could be relatively new releases.

The Epic Games Store will likely give away one or two free games every week between now and summertime, at which point it may go back to giving away daily mystery games to promote its summer sale. Then in December 2022, Epic Games Store users can expect the free mystery game promotion to return to promote the winter sale as well as count down to the new year. For now, though Epic Games Store users can claim Tomb Raider Trilogy for free this week and snag Gods Will Fall as a freebie next week while they wait to see what's next in line.