Every week, the Epic Games Store gives away a title or two for free, and this week’s freebie is a colorful, energetic beat-’em-up from developer WayForward. Available to add to your library from now until the 17th of April, River City Girls features two protagonists, Misako and Kyoko, who are on a mission to save their boyfriends, Kunio and Riki.

The game was originally released by WayForward in 2019 as a spinoff to the studio’s Kunio-kun franchise, and its retro-inspired 16-bit graphic style, complete with anime-style cutscenes, made it a fan favorite, along with a two-player co-op mode. This game typically retails for $29.99 on the Epic Games Store and Steam; it holds ‘Very Positive’ reviews on the latter.

Not the only freebie on the Epic Games Store this week

River City Girls follows a similar style to other arcade-style side-scrolling games. Combat consists of combos, counters, throws, and special moves, alongside weapons and items to inflict additional damage. Players even have the ability to recruit defeated foes as temporary partners, and over time, you'll unlock new abilities to tackle the rising difficulty. So if you’re in the mood for scrapping, we definitely recommend giving it a shot. However, if this isn’t your vibe, there’s even more stuff to grab for free.

Alongside the free game, Epic Games is also offering goodies for two free-to-play titles: Arcadegeddon and Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms. Firstly, if you play Arcadegeddon on the Epic Games Store, you can snap up 5,000 ARCoins for free, which is the in-game currency you can use to kit yourself out. Secondly, if you log into Idle Champions between now and April 17th, you can score over $100 worth of content at no additional cost, including exclusive skins, chests, potions, and more.

About the Author

Hassam Nasir

Hassam boasts over seven years of professional experience as a dedicated PC hardware reviewer and writer.