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The best demos, betas, and free-to-play games you can try this weekend

By Mike Epstein Updated December 3, 2020

Gaming can be a notoriously expensive hobby if you indulge the impulse to play all the latest and greatest games. It doesn’t have to be, though! These days there is a wide range of new betas, demos, and free game trials available every week. If you are looking for something new to play but don’t want to commit, we have a list of the best demos, betas, and free games that you can try out this weekend.

‘Fallout 4’ free weekend (Xbox One)

Fallout 4 - Official Trailer

Fallout 4 has been out for well over two years, but if you haven’t had a chance to try it out, you’ll be able to do so for free this weekend on Xbox One. The game will be free to play for Xbox Live Gold subscribers until Sunday, January 28. During the free weekend, all Fallout 4 content is discounted. The full game is 33 percent off ($20), and the Game of the Year Edition, which includes the game and all its DLC, is 40 percent off ($36). The season pass is also available for half-price ($25). Any progress you make will be saved should you choose to purchase the full game.

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If you’d prefer to play the game on PC, don’t fret: You’ll be getting your own free weekend, beginning Thursday, February 1.

Grab both Amnesia games for free on PC

Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Trailer

Frictional Games’ Amnesia: The Dark Descent helped to usher in a new wave of horror games with an emphasis on atmosphere rather than action, and if you haven’t played it yet, it’s absolutely free through the Humble store until Saturday, January 27 at 1 p.m. ET. The offer also includes the sequel Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, developed by The Chinese Room, and it’s playable on PC, Mac, and Linux. The games only require 2GB of RAM and an Intel Core i3 processor, so you should have no trouble running them, even with a dated PC.

Free Xbox Live Games With Gold for January

Xbox - January 2018 Games with Gold

A new month brings new games to Xbox Live’s subscription program. Three games are available this weekend for Xbox Live Games With Gold.

Xbox One owners can currently download The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III, which released alongside its Games With Gold debut this month. Ubisoft’s Zombi — a port of the Wii U game ZombiU — is also available until February 15.

Until the end of the month, Xbox 360 owners can grab the original Army of Two. The cooperative third-person shooter is, like all Xbox 360 games released through the program, backward compatible on Xbox One.

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Free PlayStation Plus games for January

January 2018 Free PS4 Games Lineup | PlayStation Plus

January’s free PlayStation Plus games are also here, including six games across three Sony platforms and a competitive PlayStation VR title.

PlayStation 4 owners are in for a treat this month, getting free access to Deux Ex: Mankind Divided. The immersive sim is a sequel to the sleeper hit Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and uses a “play as you want” model, which option available for stealth, action, or just talking your way out of a conflict.

The first season of Telltale’s Batman is also free for PlayStation 4 owners, meaning those who own an Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will have access to two free Telltale games this month. It uses the same choice-based story structure of other Telltale games, with a decidedly different tone than that of the Arkham series.

PlayStation 3 owners have access to the role-playing game Sacred 3 throughout January, as well as The Book of Unwritten Tales 2. Vita owners get the PS4 cross-buy games Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness as well as the retro-inspired survival-horror game Uncanny Valley, which doesn’t ever actually go into the titular valley.

Lastly, PlayStation VR owners can pick up the competitive aerial shooter Starblood Arena. While the game was criticized at launch for being too shallow, its influx of players this month should make it easy to find a multiplayer match.

See more Free PlayStation Plus games

Update: Updated with Fallout 4 free weekend and The Amnesia Collection Humble offer.

Associate Editor, Gaming

Michael is a New York-based tech and culture reporter, and a graduate of Northwestwern University’s Medill School of…

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PS5 themes: Can you customize your homescreen?

A person plays Crash Bandicoot using a PS5 DualSense controller.

The PlayStation launched without many features that we loved from the PS4 . Over the years, a few have come back, but what about themes? These could be earned, downloaded, or purchased, and some even came included with certain games that gave your home screen a new look and background soundtrack related to different games or concepts. This made customizing your home screen that much more fun and personal. However, is this feature on the PS5? Here's whether or not you can put custom themes on your new console or change the background.
Does the PS5 have themes?

No, the PS5 does not have any themes. Instead, whenever you highlight a game or app on your home screen, the background will change to art related to that game, as well as show more information on it. While far from ideal, it is the closest we are likely to get to the themes we had on our PS4.
Can you change the background on a PS5?
Again, due to the PS5 dynamically changing the background depending on what you're currently looking at, there's no way to alter your background at this time. Since the background is constantly changing, even if you had a custom image, it would always be changing as you cycled through games. There are a few other ways you can customize your PS5, however, unless Sony gives us the option with an update, there's no way to set a theme on your PS5.

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Best PlayStation deals: PS5, controllers, headsets on sale

PS5 and DualSense art.

Even though the PlayStation 5 had a bit of a tumultuous release, it's really picked up in the last few years, with a ton of great games and accessories to pick from, as well as having a lot more stock, making it easily accessible. In fact, we've even seen two new versions, the Slim and the Pro, further making things a little bit more complicated. Because of that, there aren't a ton of great deals on PS5 consoles right now since the market is still settling, but we have found a few great renewed offers that are worth looking at.

That said, if the options below don't quite do it for you, be sure to check out these gaming console deals instead, and if you already have a PS5, then do check out these PS5 game deals to help buff up your library.
Sony Inzone H9 gaming headset (renewed) — $149 $298 50% off

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Best gaming console deals: cheapest prices on PS5, Xbox S and X and Switch

father and son playing video games

While gaming on a PC is great, it can be very pricey, especially if you're the sort of person who really wants to push the graphics to the limit. Unfortunately, doing that can cost you a big chunk of money, not to mention that it requires the time and effort to put one together. Luckily, consoles like the PS5 and Xbox are easy to use for pretty much anybody and are very much plug-and-play. That said, there aren't a ton of great deals on the consoles themselves right now, although there are still quite a few good bundle deals that are worth grabbing. To that end, we've gone out and collected our favorite Series S and X deals, PlayStation 5 deals, and Nintendo Switch deals, so you can pick whichever one sparks your fancy.
Nintendo Switch OLED Refurbished -- $298 $349 15% off

The Nintendo Switch, in many ways, is the ultimate handheld gaming device. Everything Nintendo has released since the Gameboy has culminated here. That makes it even more exciting when they commit some serious resources to making the mobile aspect as good as it can be. For instance, adding an OLED screen. The Nintendo Switch OLED is an obvious upgrade that will be most exciting for people who like to game on the go. If you don't own an OLED TV already, you might find yourself playing it in handheld mode just for the gorgeous visuals. When comparing the Switch OLED versus the standard Switch, the only real difference is the screen and a slight memory upgrade. Unfortunately, there currently aren't any good deals on bundles or consoles for the Nintendo Switch OLED, so the best thing to do is go for a refurbished version if you want to buy cheaper.