Downloaded & activated with no prob on Win10/64 laptop, but am I misreading the 'input' section of the game? it reads like you can use a joystick with this game? I always preferred the 'old fashion' joystick to the game pad. I'll have to give it a try...still have a couple of joysticks...I think :-)

This looks interesting. If this is on Steam, why can't I just get a free Steam code today and download it later? It's for sale on Steam for $2.99 Release date of Jan 3, 2017

Scorch

In Brief

A post-apocalyptic side scrolling shooter with gorgeous graphics.

Introduction

Human age of industry caused a steady depletion of the ozone layer, that could not be stopped. Multiple holes in ozone opened up around the world, exposing Earth to the direct solar radiation. This affected plant growth and produced radicals in seawater that killed most marine organisms, and wildlife. Scorching the face of the Earth, turning it into a barren wasteland.

Scorch is a fast paced action shoot em up platformer, set in a post-apocalyptic modern world. An immersive visually stunning world of Scorch will challenge your survival instincts, hostile environment will put your wits and reflexes to the test, as you will be facing different enemies, fighting, jumping and climbing your way through every level filled with astonishing detail, to submerge players and deliver the most out of the game play experience.

You can see a few videos of game play HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

Check out the Steam community reviews of today's giveaway HERE. Scorch is a 1.2GB download so it may take some time to download, especially if there are several community members downloading at the same time. Once installed the game is over 2 GB in size.

The Game

Scorch is a great looking side scrolling post apocalyptic action shooter with two modes; 'Survival' and 'Campaign'. The campaign mode has three acts that see you moving through different environments such as barren wastelands, ruined cities abandoned factories and dark caverns. There are several levels to complete, each with its own story and name (e.g. Overpass, Maze, Crossroads, Barrens, Rust, Tunnel and Giant)(see the map near the end of the images below). The campaign opens with a top down view of the first level called the Long Road prologue set in a desert like environment that you will be side scrolling through and reminiscent of a Mad Max'esque environment especially from the last movie in the franchise. Click on the small long road button to open up a small story board explaining how the protagonist woke up to the sounds of gun fire and screaming. Raiders' they never made it this far out of the wasteland before, no time to wait, something has to be done to stop them. This is where you enter the fray. Click on the Start Mission button and away you go.......Each level starts with a prologue story board that gives the game some substance and adds to the overall picture.

The survival mode includes two scenarios; 'Roswell' and 'Highway'. In both scenarios you have to scavenge for various items such as fuel, oil, spark plugs, tools and scrap to fix your buggy. Just walk over or past the items to collect them. An indicator in the top left of the screen will show you which items you have collected.

The controls are standard (for right handed community members), i.e. WASD to move (though I've not found any use for the W key. Space as usual is your jump key and your mouse pointer to aim your weapon. Personally I found the key bindings a little awkward, being left handed. It's a pity there's no ability to change the key bindings as control was a little awkward for me. You have three weapons to choose from; a single shot rifle, an automatic rifle and a shotgun. These are selected using the 1, 2 or 3 keys plus you have grenades. These are thrown using either the right mouse button or the G key, plus aiming with your mouse to get the right angle for the grenade to land where you want it to. This takes a little practice, but isn't hard to figure out. You can see which weapon is selected via the pictogram located along the bottom of the screen (assuming you are playing in full screen mode). Plus there are ammo indicators for each of the three weapons and the grenade. Above these on the left hand side is your health indicator, which when maxed out reads +10. You mouse pointer is a red circle with a cross-hair center; to fire your weapon use the left mouse button . You can use the left and right arrow keys for movement as well, but the down arrow does not work for crouching, which you will need when using cover from enemy fire. Enemies will sometimes come from both directions so you'll need to use cover as often as possible otherwise you won't survive; you cannot move while crouching. You can also perform executions if you are close to an enemy; just walk up to the target and press the left control key to perform the execution.

When starting the campaign mode the first level includes a useful tutorial that walks you through the controls and gives simple strategies on how to survive. When you kill opponents some will drop ammo, which is picked up automatically when you pass. You can see which type of ammo it is as each of the three weapons have shell casings that look different. Also there are grenades and health packs available to pick up; plus your health does regenerate slowly in the campaign mode, though I'm not sure if it does in the survival mode? I spent a few minutes waiting in a safe spot to see if it increased while playing the survival mode, but it remained the same throughout the waiting time. If your health is very low (while in Campaign mode), find a spot that is relatively safe and allow your health to regenerate. You can use items found in the environment such as gas tanks to your advantage as well. Shoot them to cause explosions that will kill any enemies nearby.

Conclusion

Scorch is definitely one of my favorite game giveaways from the last several months. If you like side scrolling shooters, this is well worth downloading. The Steam reviews are rather mixed, but generally the complaint is that the controls are a little dicey, but most, even those with negative reviews enjoyed playing it, though found it could became a little boring after while. For me, its an ideal accompaniment to a coffee break from more in depth games like The Elder Scrolls, Call of Duty, Arma 3 or one of the Survival games such as Conan Exiles, Rust, Fallout 4, 7 Days to Die, or one of the Assassin Creed or Far Cry Games. I generally only play these indie arcade games for short periods, and have enjoyed the challenge each time I've played it. (I purchased the game via Steam when it was released just over three years ago. I'd score it an 8 out of 10 for challenging game play and superb graphics for a side scrolling shooter.

Useful Information not related to today's game giveaway:

There is another game on Steam with very positive reviews called Scorch that is a free to play indie horror game, which you can find HERE

Also, don't forget to check out the Epic game store HERE for the latest freebie called Horace; a huge platforming adventure which pushes the boundaries of the genre with a profound story of a small robot learning of life, the universe and Douglas Adams. Next weeks game that i will be available Thursday 23rd January is 'The Bridge', a logic puzzle game that forces the player to reevaluate their preconceptions of physics and perspective. It is Isaac Newton meets M.C. Escher combo where you manipulate gravity to redefine the ceiling as the floor while venturing through impossible architectures.

There are more free games over at Indie Gala HERE.

If you are looking for a decent and cheap game bundle well worth getting that contains a decent selection of triple A and indie arcade games, check out the latest Humble Choice bundle (formerly the monthly humble bundle) HERE; it includes 12 games of which you can choose 11 for the princely sum of only $12; total worth of those games at this time (none are on sale) is over $300. This months games include Middle-Earth: Shadows of War, Graveyard Keeper, Two Point Hospital, Dirt Rally 2.0 + 3 DLC, Street Fighter V, Bad. North: Jotun Edition, Trailmakers, Unrailed, Whisper of a Machine, Them's Fightin' Herds, Mages of Mystralia and Grip Combat Racing + 1 DLC plus a DRM free game and while subscribed you have free access to a trove of almost 100 DRM free games that would cost a small fortune to buy. It's definitely a brilliant bundle and one of the best combined offers ever {apart from the THQ and Codemasters Humble bundles from several years ago when the developer THQ's and Codemasters whole catalogue of then recent games was up for grabs for $5 each; (both bundles were worth over $400 each) just before THQ went into liquidation back in 2008}.

Finally, check out Delenns thread over in the Game Discussion forums for details of other free games and offers HERE