Some Epic Games Store Users Are Having Trouble with the Latest Free Game

Players on the Epic Games Store are having difficulty with the platform’s latest free game giveaway, Beholder. Initial reports indicated that Beholder was completely unplayable, but it seems that there are still issues remaining even after a fix was released.

Every week, Epic Games Store gives its users free games that they can download and keep forever. For November 2024, this list included numerous titles, including a Castlevania collection. While many players were excited to see Beholder on the list, with some even saying that they were gladly accepting a second copy after having previously paid for it on Steam, not everyone is having a smooth experience with the game.

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Shortly after Beholder went free on Epic Games Store, players started reporting that the title would simply not play. The majority of players said that after booting up the game, it would reach the Unity screen and then simply crash or freeze on a black window. To their credit, the Beholder devs scrambled, immediately issuing a response to the issue and that the team was looking into it. Shortly after, a patch was issued, but it seems that hasn’t resolved all of the problems for players.

What’s Happening with Beholder Now?

There seem to be two lingering issues with Beholder at this time. A few players have reported that the free Epic Games Store game still isn’t working for them at all, but they appear to be in the minority. The main difficulty at the moment is that the game seems to have a bug that isn’t present in its other versions. According to players, in one area of the game, NPCs who are supposed to leave an apartment instead either hang around at the door or keep cycling their animation, walking back in and out again. Players need to be able to access this apartment (sans NPC) to progress the game, meaning that those impacted are stuck at this point.

When Beholder launched the patch, it noted that players with remaining issues should try restarting the game. However, there has been no response yet to the new concerns regarding gameplay, and it’s not clear from users if players have had any success with that supposed fix. However, given the speed with which the first patch was released, hopefully these new problems will be addressed soon.

It’s not clear exactly what went wrong with the game in the first place, nor whether this bug was already present in this version of the game or if the fix the team implemented somehow caused it. For now, all players can do is sit tight and wait. Thankfully, since this is a free game, no one has to feel like they’ve been swindled out of their cash. With any luck, Beholder will be back up and running properly and a whole new bunch of players can enjoy it for the first time. In the meantime, there are other free games on Epic available during November, so gamers might want to check those out while they wait.

Welcome to a grim dystopian future.

A totalitarian State controls every aspect of private and public life.

Laws are oppressive. Surveillance is total. Privacy is dead.
You are the State-installed manager of an apartment building. Your daily routine involves making the building a sweet spot for tenants, who will come and go. However, that is simply a facade that hides your real mission…

Your primary task is to covertly watch your tenants and eavesdrop on their conversations. You must BUG their apartments while they’re away, SEARCH their belongings for whatever can threaten the authority of the State, and PROFILE them for your superiors. You must also REPORT anyone capable of violating the laws or plotting subversive activities against the State to the authorities.

You are a cog in a totalitarian machine with your own family who also has needs. Do you cling to your humanity and cover up your tenants? Or do you survive by staying loyal to the regime? The choice is yours.

You can report the suspicious activities of a father but orphan his children. Or you can withhold the details about his illegal activities and give him a chance to make things right? Or you can blackmail him to earn something your family.

As you play the game, you’ll interact with many characters and complete dozens of quests. You’ll also make decisions that will affect the way the story unfolds. This will lead to one of several game endings – the ending you have earned!
 

The developers describe the content like this: This Game may contain content not appropriate for all ages, or may not be appropriate for viewing at work: Frequent Violence or Gore, General Mature Content

Released

November 9, 2016

Developer(s)

Warm Lamp Games

Publisher(s)

Alawar Entertainment

Engine

Unity

ESRB

T For Teen // Blood, Drug Reference, Language, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

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