GOG is giving away a free game to start its big Winter Sale

(Image credit: SeithCG)

Winter is here and you know what that means: Cold, snow, 5 pm darkness, and the subtle but unmistakable funk of wet, sweaty boots piled in the front hall. But it's also the time of year-end sales, and the GOG Winter Sale is kicking things off with a giveaway of the mousey RPG Ghost of a Tale.

Ghost of a Tale follows the story of Tilo, a medieval mouse exploring the secrets and dangers of Dwindling Heights Keep. Tilo isn't much of a fighter—he's literally a mouse—and so he relies on stealth and speed to get around instead. It suffered from a number of technical issues at launch but post-launch updates promised to make the game "what it should have been" from the start, and it holds a 4.6/5 overall rating on GOG and a solid 75 aggregate score on Metacritic.

Also, it's free. Literally, just go to GOG.com, click the "add to library" button, and you're done.

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You don't necessarily have to be done, though, because if you feel like spending some money, this is, as I mentioned, a sale. And so, as I like to do when these things happen, allow me to recommend a few games that I have either previous enjoyed or might be inclined to throw some cash at:

Wasteland 3: Colorado Collection - $15 (71% off)
Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition - $17 (67% off)
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut - $10 (75% off)
Inside - $5 (75% off)
Psychonauts 2 - $20 (66% off)
Tron 2.0 - $3 (70% off, and for the record Tron 2.0 is an amazing shooter and I am willing to fight about it.)
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak - $1.50 (90% off)
XCOM 2 - $3 (95% off)

There are also "Deals of the Day," which are basically flash sales that run for 48 hours. The first three daily deals are Chernobylte, the GOG Strategy Bundle, and the GOG Kinky Bundle. Hey, we all have interests.

As always, you'll probably want to shop around a bit before you commit: Frankly, I don't think you're going to do much better than, say, FEAR Platinum for a buck-fifty, but this is the season of seasonal sales and so you'll probably want to take a minute to ensure you're getting the best deal.

GOG's Winter Sale is live now and runs until January 2. The Ghost of a Tale giveaway is on a much shorter timeline—it ends at 9 am ET on December 15—but there will be five more freebies to follow, "plus additional free goodies collections."

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.