If you are a Steam user, you may know that Steam has an ever-growing assortment of games that are free to play. Valve does include demoes, free to play, and free games in the category, which makes it a bit difficult to find the interesting ones.
Generally speaking, free means that the game is free to download and play. These games usually do not include payable content.
Free to play games, on the other hand, usually come with content that you need to pay for. Some limit this to cosmetic items, others limit progression or entire parts of the game, if you do not pay.
Here is the overview:
Free — No in-game purchases. May offer DLC though.
Free to Play — May include in-game purchases, often to unlock content.
Free demos — Test versions of games that offer limited access to content.
Up until now, there was not really an option to check out trending free games on Steam. While you could browse the free to play listing of games, you’d only find “new & trending” and “trending upcoming” games there.
If you wanted to get a list of the hottest free games on Steam at the time of writing, you’d be out of luck.
Valve added a new trending free listing to Steam, but it is not where you’d expect it to be. You do not find it on the free to play page on Steam. Instead, it is found on the startpage.
Here is how you get there:
Open the Steam Store, either in the browser or in the Steam client.
Scroll down until you come to the New & trending listing.
Activate Trending Free there to display the free games that are trending on Steam right now.
Steam displays the top 10 free games that are trending on Steam right now. Note that you may get a mix of everything the free category has to offer. This means, that you may see free demos next to free to play and free games on Steam.
Is it a groundbreaking feature? Not really. Still, if you like to browse what is trending on Steam, you may find this new trending free filter useful as well.
Do you use Steam or another digital gaming platform? Feel free to leave a comment down below.
Steam games can be installed on any drive or partition on the system. The default installation path is always the main drive, but users may select a different drive.
Reasons for doing so include running out of space on the main drive, putting games that require less speed on slower drives, or to improve manageability.
This guide provides step-by-step instructions to install Steam games on any drive.
Installing Steam Games
Valve Software, maker of Steam, improved the Steam client significantly in the past years. One of the improvements added support for installing Steam games on different drives.
The process is straightforward and identical for all games, apps and other content:
Select the game that you want to install.
Activate the install button on the page.
Tip: you may also right-click on any game to select install from its context menu.
The install dialog lists all available installation locations. Each location lists the available free storage.
Select one with the mouse or by tapping on it to make it the target for the installation.
Activate the install button to start the download and installation of the game.
If a drive is not listed, select the cogwheel icon to jump to the Storage settings. Display the list of available drives there with a click on the arrow icon and select “add drive” to add a new drive for game installations.
Tip: please note that you may also use the “add drive” option to add a new folder of a drive that is already used by Steam. Valve confirms this on the Steam Help website. Note that the instructions ask the user to click on a plus button at the top, but do not point out that it becomes available only after expanding the menu.
Making another location the default on Steam
Steam resets the installation location to the main one each time a game is installed. There is an option to make another location the default, but it is well hidden.
Select the Steam menu at the top and then Settings.
Switch to the Storage section when the Steam Settings window opens.
Select the location that you want to make the new default from the menu at the top.
Click on the three-dots icon on the page and select the “make default” option.
This makes the selected location the new default installation path on Steam. In other words, it is selected by default whenever the install action is selected on Steam.
Manage installed games on Steam
Select Steam and then Settings from the menu that opens to open the Settings in a new window.
Switch to Storage with a click. Steam lists all games installed on the main drive. You may click on the arrow icon at the top to list games installed on a different drive. Note that you may also add a new drive, e.g., an external drive.
Each game is listed with its name, size on disk and the last playtime. The install path is also listed on the page.
Check the box next to a game and then the “uninstall” button to remove it from the PC.
There is also an option to move a game to another drive; this is useful in some cases, including:
To make room for another game, system updates or anything else that requires a certain amount of storage.
To move a game to a faster or slower drive.
To move a game to a drive with more free storage. Useful if you plan to install an update or DLC.
Cursed Treasure 2 is the successor of the popular Cursed Treasure game by Iriysoft. It is a well-designed tower defense game that is available for mobile platforms, Steam and also as a web-based version.
A word on ads and in-game monetization
Cursed Treasure 2 is a game that is light on ads, at least when it comes to the Android and web-based versions, which I played. There are no ads during gameplay or even after levels. You may watch an ad to double the experience gained in a level, but that is about it and completely optional.
An option to make a purchase to remove all ads is provided, but it is unclear how much it costs. Users may want to stay away from that option because of that.
Cursed Treasure 2: the Game
Cursed Treasure 2 follows the main game philosophy of most tower defense games. Players place towers on the map that attack rushing waves of enemies. The main goal of the game is to prevent the enemies from reaching your treasure and stealing all the gems. It is game over for the map when enemies manage to steal them all.
The game lets players place towers nearly everywhere. Some locations are blocked, but the majority aren’t. The three core towers, Den, Temple and Crypt attack enemies with arrows, fire and magic. These can be upgraded and different paths become available for towers. The Temple tower, for example, can be upgraded to shoot two fire beams at enemies or unleash an area of attack damage regularly.
Towers gain experience when they shoot at enemies. Once they reach a certain threshold, they may be upgraded. Upgrading makes them stronger, e.g., by increasing damage or abilities.
The two core currencies in the game are money and mana. Money is used to build and upgrade towers, and to influence some of the independent buildings on the map. Mana is used to influence other buildings and used for spell casting.
Experience points and skills
Players earn experience points while playing the game. They need to complete a level or fail to earn experience.
Experience is used to level up and this awards players with skill points. These points are invested into the three skill trees Orcs, Undead and Demons, which correspond to the three core tower types Den, Crypt and Temple.
Skills fall into several groups. Some improve mana or gold during game start or while performing certain actions in the game. Ancestral Wisdom, for instance, adds 30 mana at start for each invested skill points, which is a lot.
Another group of skills makes placing towers, upgrading towers, cutting trees or casting mana cheaper or more rewarding.
A third group increases random rewards that defeated enemies may drop. The fourth and final group increase damage output. Any invested skill gives the corresponding tower a bonus, such as faster recharge times or increased range.
Spellcasting
Spellcasting plays an import role in the game. Player spells are limited to just two and certain items. The two spells are Meteor and Terror.
Meteor fires a a blazing rock from the sky on the designated target location, hitting all enemies in range. It can be improved with skills, so that it leaves a smoldering pool on the ground that damages enemies who step on it.
Terror frightens enemies in range. Frightened enemies move back the path for as long as they are frightened. Another positive effect of casting terror is that negative effects are removed from towers and that they are protected from effects for three seconds.
Items play a big part as well. There are three scrolls that enemies may drop. Players may activate the scrolls at any time with a tap or click to cast their spell. The spells are polymorph, which transforms enemies into chicken, stasis, which keeps them in place, and thunder, which damages them with lightning.
Enemies may drop coins, mana potions or skulls. Coins and potions give the player money or mana. Skulls allow players to cheat. They may be used to gain lots of gold or mana, return all gems to the treasure or wreak havoc on all enemies on the screen.
The enemies
A tower defense game would be nothing without a good assortment of enemies.
Cursed Treasure 2 delivers in this area. It distinguishes between regular enemies, champions and bosses. Regular enemies range from peasants and guards to enemies with special abilities.
Valkyries can fly over water and lakes, monks heal enemies and paladins are immune to most magic. There is a good variety of regular enemies and the level designers have done a good job at creating the levels and enemy waves.
Champions are special enemies that have more health and usually special abilities as well. The Templar, for instance can’t be frightened, is protected against evil magic and has a spell that halves damage and fire rate of nearby towers.
Bosses are even tougher enemies and they almost always have one or multiple abilities. The General, for instance, is protected by armor, may summon knights and Valkyries, may give mass magic armor to allies and has a final rush ability that breaks the armor but increases the speed of the General.
Gameplay and story
If there is one area in which Cursed Treasure 2 fails to deliver, it is the story. A dark overlord has set sight on the treasures of the kingdom, and it is the player’s task to protect the gems from the evil creature.
Each map adds a bit to the story, but most players may skip reading these altogether, as they don’t miss much.
Gameplay, on the other hand, is excellent. Players who like Tower Defense games will enjoy this game. It is well designed, but never unfair. Some maps may look impossible on first try, at least when it comes to protecting all gems, but all it may take is to add a few more points into skills.
Steam gamers may play it on Steam, but it costs $4.99 on the platform.
Cursed Treasure 2 Verdict
Cursed Treasure 2 is an excellent tower defense game. You need to like the genre to enjoy it, but if you do, you will certainly have hours of fun playing it.
It is quick to jump in and play a map, which usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes. The game explains some of its concepts during the first levels, which may help new players understand core game mechanics.
