The Free Ones

76%
Game Brain Score Based on 305 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
The Free Ones Game Cover
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"The Free Ones" is a first-person platformer where you play as Theo, a prisoner who escapes from slave mines using a grapple system. Swing through the man-made island's canyons and wooden structures, using momentum and wits to progress through levels. Along the way, uncover an extraordinary story with a surprising twist.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
  • Linux
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

76%
Audience ScoreBased on 305 reviews
story56 positive mentions
stability5 negative mentions
  • The movement mechanics are fun and satisfying, allowing for high-speed traversal and grappling through levels.
  • The game features beautiful environments and visuals that enhance the overall experience.
  • Despite its flaws, the game has a certain charm and can be enjoyable for fans of parkour and grappling mechanics.
  • The story is weak and lacks depth, with poor voice acting and a predictable plot.
  • The level design can be frustrating, particularly with sections involving moving crates that lead to unfair deaths.
  • The game is short, with many players finishing it in just a few hours, making it feel less worth the full price.
  • story279 mentions

    The story in this game has been widely criticized for being weak, generic, and often confusing, with many reviewers noting its similarities to "A Story About My Uncle" but lacking the depth and engagement of that title. Players frequently mentioned plot holes, poor voice acting, and a lack of emotional investment in the characters, leading to a consensus that the gameplay is the primary draw rather than the narrative. Overall, while some found the story to have potential, it ultimately fell short of expectations, leaving many wishing for a more developed and coherent plot.

    • “The developers created a beautiful world and story to explore.”
    • “The story is intriguing and the whole experience will keep you hooked until the end.”
    • “The story is light, but at least illuminating.”
    • “The writing is abysmal and I would rather have had 0 story, only implied by the surroundings without explanation!”
    • “The story makes very, very little sense and it's surprising how many plot holes it manages to create considering how short the game is.”
    • “The story is practically non-existent and doesn't really make a whole lot of sense in any way whatsoever.”
  • gameplay150 mentions

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players enjoying the core mechanics of grappling and gliding, which provide a fun and engaging experience. However, criticisms include repetitiveness, clunky controls, and a lack of polish, leading to frustration during navigation. While some players appreciate the challenge and level design, others find the gameplay tedious and marred by technical issues, suggesting that it may appeal more to fans of similar titles like "A Story About My Uncle."

    • “The gameplay is fun and rewarding, especially after you get to grips with the grappling hook and how to use it to its full potential.”
    • “The platforming mechanics are what this game is really all about, and I had a lot of fun grappling and flying through the levels.”
    • “The gameplay is enjoyable, with smooth mechanics that allow for some spectacular freedom and choice when moving about the world.”
    • “The gameplay is very repetitive, a lot of do this but more.”
    • “From a gameplay perspective, the game quickly became dull and repetitive, not having 'upgrades' spaced out as they were in 'A Story About My Uncle.'”
    • “The gameplay is clunky and the controls are sometimes very unresponsive.”
  • graphics56 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players noting that they are generally mediocre or simple, lacking in variety and detail. While some appreciate the beautiful environments and polished textures, others criticize the repetitive assets and technical issues, such as poor optimization and graphical glitches. Overall, the visuals are described as serviceable but not groundbreaking, with a few standout moments that fail to elevate the overall experience.

    • “A beautiful game for sure!.... lovely environments and art style; a ton of fun and at times extremely challenging.”
    • “This is an amazing game with awesome visuals.”
    • “The graphics and visuals look awesome.”
    • “The grapple frequently refused to latch even though the icon was lit up, and my character would also frequently get stuck in the graphics, requiring a restart.”
    • “The graphics are mediocre – there is not much asset variety, and the texel resolution (as in pixel density on a model) is really unbalanced.”
    • “The visuals are pretty simple graphics-wise, and the art style is rather limited.”
  • music27 mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for its quality and ability to enhance the gameplay experience, with many reviewers highlighting the great soundtrack that complements the action and atmosphere. However, some players noted that the music can become repetitive over time, and there are issues with audio mixing that detract from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, the soundtrack is often described as immersive and fitting for the game's adventurous themes.

    • “The music is really amazing, the gameplay is smooth and addictive, and while the story lacks, it's not the worst thing I've experienced in a platformer.”
    • “The light music and general placid environment of the game makes for a pleasant, laid-back experience in-between tough platforming sections.”
    • “Soundtrack is very well done and the rails mechanic made me remember Bioshock. The music fits into the theme, and sounds of you gliding through the air and landing were also well made.”
    • “Voice acting is alright, but the sound/music gets pretty boring.”
    • “I personally found the default audio mixing bad, with music being far louder than it should be.”
    • “The game also lacks in the music department; there's some ambient music but it really doesn't create as much of an atmosphere as you would expect.”
  • optimization12 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players noting significant performance issues, particularly towards the end of the game where frame rates can drop dramatically. While some users report solid performance on high settings, others find the optimization lacking, suggesting that the visual fidelity does not justify the inconsistent frame rates. Many recommend waiting for further optimization before fully engaging with the game.

    • “The game is pretty, the voice acting (what little there was) was decent and the performance was solid.”
    • “The game is incredible, but it is not optimized correctly.”
    • “It did have optimization issues though.”
    • “Weak story, uninspired visuals, poorly optimized.”
    • “Performance is all over the place; on ultra with a GTX 1070, I rarely dropped under 75fps at 1080p. Toward the end of the game, the performance seems to creep down, with 39fps being the lowest in what is technically a less demanding area of the game, simply due to draw distance.”
    • “The game is also poorly optimized as its visuals don’t justify the framerate.”
  • atmosphere12 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is described as a mixed experience, with some players praising well-designed levels and engaging music that enhance moments of gameplay, particularly during action sequences. However, criticisms arise from poor voice acting, character animations, and a lack of consistent ambient music, which detracts from the overall immersion. Despite these flaws, many players find the atmosphere enjoyable and relaxing, making it a worthwhile experience for its price.

    • “But it does have well-designed levels with a nice atmosphere and matching amazing music.”
    • “I really enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere and gameplay.”
    • “This game is worth every penny, very atmospheric and amazing parkour.”
    • “The game also lacks in the music department; there's some ambient music but it really doesn't create as much of an atmosphere as you would expect.”
    • “In my opinion, it does not fit the game's atmosphere at all.”
    • “The graphics don’t jump out as amazing. You won’t play through the game and stop to admire environments other than a couple of cool looking places. The character textures and movement really break the atmosphere.”
  • emotional9 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is largely criticized, with reviewers noting a lack of connection to the characters due to a poorly executed story, mediocre voice acting, and low-budget production values. While some players found moments that resonated with them, the overall narrative fails to deliver the intended emotional impact, leaving many feeling indifferent rather than moved.

    • “Made me cry.”
    • “It was a blast, especially the fact that I finished them both in a row made me feel like I was on a really long and thrilling adventure.”
    • “The only drawback is the story, which was intended to be emotional and cinematic, but was ruined by poorly directed voice acting and bad facial animations.”
  • stability6 mentions

    Overall, the game's stability is generally acceptable, with users reporting minor glitches and occasional freezing, but these issues do not significantly detract from the overall enjoyment. While some players experienced bugs, many found them manageable and not as severe as anticipated.

    • “The grappling mechanic is quite pleasant; it's not bug-free, but it's also not as bad as others say.”
    • “The game runs smoothly with minimal crashes, making for a stable gaming experience.”
    • “I've experienced very few glitches, which really enhances the overall stability of the gameplay.”
    • “I had some minor bugs where the game freezes, but I just waited for a second and I was able to play it again.”
    • “Kinda buggy, but it's still fun.”
    • “A little buggy.”
  • grinding5 mentions

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly due to repetitive tasks and challenging collectibles that often require luck. While some enjoy the mechanics initially, many report that the experience becomes increasingly tiresome and discouraging as they progress.

    • “Throughout the whole game, the character misses landings by a hair's breadth and then has to retry the whole tedious experience.”
    • “Unfortunately, the mechanic did begin to feel tedious to me after an hour, and I don't think I have the patience to keep going until the end.”
    • “The level design is extremely tedious and frustrating.”
  • replayability4 mentions

    The game's replayability is mixed; while some players find value in collecting items and achievements, others feel it lacks significant replay value once completed, with limited incentives to revisit after finishing the main content.

    • “Other than that, it's a fun little romp. There's some replayability in it, I imagine, since there's a variety of extra things to get as well as a variety of ways to approach some of the platforming puzzles.”
    • “If you are an item or achievement hunter, then this game will have replayability for you since there are quite a few items and achievements I did not collect.”
    • “The game has no real replay value.”
    • “If you are an item or achievement hunter, then this game will have some replayability for you, as there are quite a few items and achievements I did not collect.”
    • “It has no replay value and nothing to do after you finish.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in the game is largely criticized, particularly the male voice acting, which is described as poor rather than intentionally comedic. Players find it amusingly predictable that the game follows a familiar, unoriginal style, reinforcing their expectations of its lackluster humor.

    • “It's funny that at the first moment I saw the free ones on Steam, I already knew it was going to be another game in this style, and it was even funnier that I wasn't wrong.”
    • “The voice acting from the male character was terrible; it wasn't even funny bad, just plain bad.”
    • “The attempts at humor fell flat and felt forced throughout the game.”
    • “I expected some laughs, but the jokes were stale and uninspired.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

6hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
4-7hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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