GOG kicks off its Black Friday sale with a free game
The combat-heavy pixel-platformer Narita Boy is free for the taking for the next two days.
Black Friday week is now in full swing, the sales are flying, and GOG is giving away another game. Today's offering is Narita Boy, a combat-heavy pixel-platformer that takes place in a digital world inside a 1980s game console.
We thought Narita Boy was quite good when we reviewed it in 2021. "Slicing and dicing through enemies feels punchy, and there are plenty of ways to take out an enemy without spamming the attack button," we wrote in our 70% review. "Boss fights are more challenging, but not as much as I was expecting. These dramatic encounters feel more about showing off the idea behind the creation rather than being actually difficult. One boss battle I had to dodge a giant mechanical carp in a bathhouse as I surfed on a giant floppy disk—which was pretty fantastic."
It's not without drawbacks, of course. The world can be confusing and easy to get lost in, and the graphics are a little too retro in places, which sometimes makes it difficult to tell exits and other room features from general background graphics. Overall, though, it "removes the vapidness of '80s gaming nostalgia and couples it with an epic fantasy narrative with an earnest core," which is a pretty solid recommendation in my book, and even more so when it's free.
The Narita Boy giveaway is part of GOG's own Black Friday sale, which has deep discounts on all sorts of games and bundles, daily deals (although they seem to be running for two days, so make of that what you will), and publisher collections. As always, my favorite section is the "Deepest Discounts" category, which includes the Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition for less than $1 (it includes the soundtrack, which is worth the price all by itself) and Deus Ex: Invisible War for the same price, if you want to finally see what it's really like. Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is also 85% off, an excellent price on an excellent shooter.
Plenty of newer releases are on the table, too:
Cyberpunk 2077 - 50% off
$59.99 $29.99 at GOG (save $30)
Take a trip to the neon world of Night City as a cyberpunk mercenary wrapped up in a do-or-die fight for survival.
A Plague Tale: Requiem - 20% off
$49.99 $39.99 at GOG (save $10)
Embark on a heartrending journey into a brutal, breathtaking world twisted by supernatural forces, and discover the cost of saving those you love in a desperate struggle for survival.
Control Ultimate Edition - 75% off
$39.99 $9.99 at GOG (save $30)
Corruption is taking over the Oldest House, and only you—the new, unexpected head of the Federal Bureau of Control—can stop it.
And of course, a perennial favorite—just in time for the free next-gen update that's coming on December 14.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Game of the Year Edition - 80% percent off
$49.99 $9.99 at GOG (save $40)
Play the most polished and complete version of one of the best RPGs of all time, now bundled with all available expansions and additional content.
As always, you'll want to be sure while you're browsing to double-check to see if Steam isn't offering an even deeper discount—it's currently running its own Autumn sale.
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Narita Boy will be free on GOG until 9 am ET on November 25. GOG's Black Friday sale itself will run until 6 pm ET on November 30—and yes, there will be other game giveaways, so you might want to keep an eye on it. For even more deals, be sure not to miss our running list of the best Black Friday PC gaming deals of 2022—it's everything you need to know about where to spend your money.
Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.