Forget Fallout 5, Steam’s Latest Free Event Has Dozens of Game Alternatives

We’re in the midst of a drought for several post-apocalyptic franchises.

Fallout 5 is happening, but it could be a decade before it graces us with its presence, and that’s not an exaggeration.

The Last of Us is another absent series. While Part III is believed to have entered production, that too is likely also a next-gen game.

While major IPs are on hiatus though, there are plenty of smaller titles keeping the post-apocalyptic genre alive.

In fact, they’re currently being celebrated on PC storefront Steam as a part of the aptly titled Post-Apocalyptic Festival run by Red Rover Interactive.

There are several aspects to the event. First of all, there are great discounts running on a wide array of titles.

For example, you can currently nab Pacific Drive for £18.74 (50% off) or Thymesia for £6.79 (66% off).

More aptly here, there are also plenty of free demos included in the event, granting you the opportunity to sample upcoming post-apocalytic titles that are set to arrive before Fallout 5.

It’s well worth having a browse of the event page but here are five demos we don’t think you should miss.

Enginefall

The creator of the event Red Rover Interactive is set to launch Enginefall at an unspecified date later this year, and you can trial what it has to offer right now.

Enginefall describes itself as a “player-driven crafting shooter” that’s set on a “megatrain” travelling across a sprawling desert.

The idea is that you’ll build your way up to first class, seizing gear and defeating fellow players who seek to take you out and nab your loot.

You can set up makeshift bases throughout the train but always keep your wits about you. An ally could turn at any moment.

SAND: Raiders of Sophie

SAND: Raiders of Sophie isn’t all that dissimilar to a desert-based Howl’s Moving Castle.

Developed by Hologrpyh and TowerHaus, players will customise an enormous mech fortress which they can either do so as a squad or solo.

You’ll pick up loot throughout your travels as you engage in combat with plenty of desert-dwellers large and small as you will need to depart your mech from time to time.

Set in an alternate 1910, this is a procedurally generated desert so you shouldn’t run out of land to explore. It’s listed as “coming soon”.

Hello World

Created by Agency, 2027 release Hello World adds survival and tactical combat into the post-apocalyptic mix.

Players assume control of a smiley-faced robot that, sorry to this robot, looks more like a trash can than anything else.

It’s up to you to establish your own little colony as you build a community of both robots and humans amid a bioengineered jungle.

Rogue machines roam this world though, which is where the turn-based tactical combat comes into play.

ORMOD: Directive

House 16 Software’s ORMOD: Directive is an upcoming 2026 “infinite open-world sandbox” that’s set on “MMO-style servers”.

Either alone, in co-op or in a squad, players can select between PvP and PvE modes as they “build, automate, fight, and survive”.

You’ll partake in all of the usual fare with ORMOD: Directive definitely also fitting nicely into the survival genre.

Players will need to establish a base which uses a unique tactical tile-based system plus there’s a decent amount of gunplay as you deal with threats throughout this sprawling open-world.

Permafrost

Permafrost is yet another 2026 launch.

This one comes from SpaceRocket Games and also takes heavy inspiration from the survival genre.

Players will inhabit a world frozen over. To survive, you’ll need to hunt, craft, and build all whilst making sure the deadly cold doesn’t prove too detrimental.

You can play solo or with a team of up to four friends as you “reclaim what’s left of humanity in this brutal white hell”.

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