Free Experimental Games on Steam
Steam currently has 1,351 Experimental games available to download and play. Explore our list of the best free games ranked by popularity and ratings. Data for this list is calculated from reviews and player counts reported directly by Steam and will be updated in real-time. Free Experimental game rankings were last updated on 5/16/2024.
Looking for more? Explore other lists such as:
- Best experimental games on Steam
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- Best experimental Linux games on Steam
- Free Steam games
- Most played Steam games
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1. Eternal Return
Eternal Return is a free-to-play, 2.5D perspective Battle Royale game. Search, Craft, Hunt, and Fight using a variety of characters. Plan your strategy and become the last survivor on this eternal experiment.
Eternal Return holds the #1 spot for "best free Experimental game on Steam" with a Player Score of 78. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 56,071 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 44,193 positive reviews and 11,878 negative reviews — making it "Mostly Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Eternal Return on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
| Release Date | 7/20/2023 |
| Developer | Nimble Neuron |
| Publishers | |
| Steam App Id | 1049590 |
2. Idle Slayer
Idle Slayer is an incremental game with idle and active playstyle mechanics, medieval pixel art visuals and retro 8-bit sounds and music.
Idle Slayer has achieved a Player Score of 84, placing it in the #2 spot for the best free Experimental games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 6,649 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 5,736 positive reviews and 913 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.
| Release Date | 12/22/2020 |
| Developer | Pablo Leban |
| Publisher | Pablo Leban |
| Steam App Id | 1353300 |
3. Virtual Cottage
Virtual Cottage gives you a comfy place to rest and be productive without any distractions. Open the game, set yourself a goal and enjoy the atmosphere.
Virtual Cottage has achieved a Player Score of 95, placing it in the #3 spot for the best free Experimental games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 9,208 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 9,007 positive reviews and 201 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Virtual Cottage on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
4. Animaze by FaceRig
Livestream, chat, or create videos as world-class 2D and 3D avatars. Use one of the over 60 avatars provided or import your own 2D, 3D, VRM, or Ready Player Me model. Animaze is powering PuffPuff, the number 1 most followed virtual being on TikTok with 4.7 million followers.
Animaze by FaceRig has achieved a Player Score of 65, placing it in the #4 spot for the best free Experimental games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 2,862 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 1,918 positive reviews and 944 negative reviews — making it "Mixed" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, it is not possible to play or run Animaze by FaceRig on the Steam Deck.
| Release Date | 11/17/2021 |
| Developer | Holotech Studios Inc. |
| Publisher | Holotech Studios Inc. |
| Steam App Id | 1364390 |
5. Juice Galaxy
Juice Galaxy is a happy place to fly around and smack things and drink juice. And explore things. And just, flip around doing stuff.
Juice Galaxy has achieved a Player Score of 95, placing it in the #5 spot for the best free Experimental games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 4,064 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 4,006 positive reviews and 58 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Juice Galaxy on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
6. Yume Nikki
This is a game in which you traverse the extremely dark world inside a dream.
Yume Nikki has achieved a Player Score of 91, placing it in the #6 spot for the best free Experimental games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 6,989 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 6,569 positive reviews and 420 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Yume Nikki on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
7. BABBDI
Find your way out of BABBDI. A short, first person exploration experience.
BABBDI has achieved a Player Score of 94, placing it in the #7 spot for the best free Experimental games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 4,407 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 4,317 positive reviews and 90 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play BABBDI on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
| Release Date | 12/22/2022 |
| Developers | |
| Publisher | Lemaitre Bros |
| Steam App Id | 2240530 |
8. TELEFORUM
TELEFORUM is a found-footage-styled horror game exploring the unknown side of media. You’re visiting a widow’s apartment to conduct an interview about her husband's death. But that’s not the main reason why you’re here. It’s all about the tape, isn’t it?
TELEFORUM has achieved a Player Score of 89, placing it in the #8 spot for the best free Experimental games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 1,895 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 1,769 positive reviews and 126 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on both Windows and Mac systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.
| Release Date | 10/19/2023 |
| Franchise | CRITICAL REFLEX |
| Developer | Monumental Collab |
| Publishers | |
| Steam App Id | 2186570 |
9. Simplode Suite
Simplode Suite is a toolset which does all kinds of things. You can dynamically balance microphone and speaker volume, force borderless fullscreen, optimize your CPU power settings, take partial screenshots, create click through borderless/windowed mode overlays, and so much more.
Simplode Suite has achieved a Player Score of 57, placing it in the #9 spot for the best free Experimental games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 36 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 22 positive reviews and 14 negative reviews — making it "Mixed" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, it is not possible to play or run Simplode Suite on the Steam Deck.
| Release Date | 9/17/2020 |
| Developer | Simplode LLC |
| Publisher | Simplode LLC |
| Steam App Id | 1242710 |
10. Occupy White Walls
A game about building art galleries may sound boring until you realise that just about anything can be an art gallery... Add in cutting edge AI, extremely creative community, Unreal graphics, and did we mention it's free?
Occupy White Walls has achieved a Player Score of 88, placing it in the #10 spot for the best free Experimental games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 1,255 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 1,162 positive reviews and 93 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Occupy White Walls on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
| Release Date | 7/8/2022 |
| Developer | KULTURA Ex Machina |
| Publisher | KULTURA Ex Machina |
| Steam App Id | 876160 |
More Free Experimental Games
Explore even more rankings for the 100 best free Experimental games available on Steam.
| Image | Name | Actions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 2,049 | 7/20/2023 | 78 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 928 | 12/22/2020 | 84 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 362 | 10/7/2020 | 95 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 322 | 11/17/2021 | 65 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 122 | 11/22/2023 | 95 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 54 | 1/10/2018 | 91 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 23 | 12/22/2022 | 94 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 21 | 10/19/2023 | 89 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 6 | 9/17/2020 | 57 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 6 | 7/8/2022 | 88 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 5 | 6/19/2021 | 62 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 4 | 8/31/2016 | 68 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 4 | 3/28/2022 | 88 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 3 | 9/30/2020 | 90 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 3 | 12/19/2019 | 67 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 3 | 4/6/2021 | 63 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 3 | 3/4/2021 | 67 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 3 | 1/7/2021 | 63 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 3 | 5/15/2024 | 75 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 2 | 10/2/2020 | 79 | Free | Steam Charts |
Soures & References
Steambase has best-in-class data powered directly by Steam, our data partners, and in-house experts. Player counts and rankings are enriched, analyzed, and updated in real-time to ensure we surface the most up-to-date insights. Learn more about the Steambase approach to data collection and our review methodology.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, May 16). Steam Store. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, May 16). Eternal Return on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, April 4). Idle Slayer on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, May 14). Virtual Cottage on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, May 18). Animaze by FaceRig on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, April 17). Juice Galaxy on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, May 15). Yume Nikki on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, May 6). BABBDI on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, May 16). TELEFORUM on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, April 7). Simplode Suite on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, March 26). Occupy White Walls on Steam. Steam Store.