The Epic Games Store has officially announced The Jackbox Party Pack 4 and The Darkside Detective as its December 4 freebies. The former will mark the first entry in the popular series that the platform has given away in almost seven years, with Epic Games Store users having exactly one week to claim it.
Developed by Chicago-based Jackbox Games, The Jackbox Party Pack is an annual party game series that has been going strong since 2014. Its first installment was featured in a January 2019 Epic Games Store giveaway, but no subsequent entries were offered for free on the platform—which is about to change soon.
Epic Games Store Reveals New Free Game for November 27
The Epic Games Store officially announces the contents of its November 27 giveaway, while kicking off another week-long promo offering 2 freebies.
Epic Games Store Announces Its First The Jackbox Party Pack Giveaway in Nearly 7 Years
Epic’s digital storefront has now revealed The Jackbox Party Pack 4 as its free title for December 4. It will be given away alongside another 2017 release in the form of The Darkside Detective. The upcoming freebies were announced as soon as the Epic Games Store’s November 20 giveaway concluded on November 27. The Jackbox Party Pack 4 and The Darkside Detective will be claimable for seven days, ending at 8am PT / 11am ET / 5pm CET on December 11.
Epic Games Store Free Games Right Now
The Jackbox Party Pack 4 Explained
The Jackbox Party Pack 4 is one of the most beloved titles that Jackbox developed to date, as underlined by its “Overwhelmingly Positive” Steam user reviews, based on over 1,900 player impressions. It includes five fan-favorite Jackbox mini-games for between 2 and 16 players. Fibbage 3 is a bluffing-trivia hybrid that gives players a bizarre fact with a missing word or phrase. They must then submit a convincing fake answer in an attempt to trick others into picking it as truthful, while simultaneously trying to find the actual real fact from a list of options. Conversely, Survive the Internet is a satirical game of online misinterpretation, asking players to respond to harmless questions before those answers are given to others out of context, requiring them to twist them into something ridiculous, horrible, embarrassing, or a combination thereof.
All The Jackbox Party Pack 4 Mini-Games
- Fibbage 3 (2-8 players)
- Survive the Internet (3-8 players)
- Monster Seeking Monster (3-7 players)
- Bracketeering (3-16 players)
- Civic Doodle (3-8 players)
The Jackbox Party Pack 4 also features Monster Seeking Monster, a secret-identity dating game in which each player assumes the role of a hidden monster with a unique power that can influence the game’s social dynamics. The game unfolds over six nights, during which players exchange messages in an effort to charm, bribe, or deceive others into mutual dates. Points are awarded when two players choose each other, but monster abilities complicate the process by enabling actions such as redirecting messages. Rounding out the list of TJPP4‘s compelling group games are Bracketeering and Civic Dooble. The former is a prediction game centered on absurd prompts and shifting rules, while the latter is a collaborative competitive drawing game framed as a town beautification initiative.
The Darkside Detective Explained
The Epic Games Store’s other December 4 freebie, The Darkside Detective, offers something completely different. A point-and-click adventure with pixel art graphics, the game casts players as a detective investigating paranormal cases in a fictional town of Twin Lakes. It’s part Twin Peaks, part X-Files, and fully dedicated to humor. It also boasts a soundtrack by FTL and Subnautica: Below Zero composer Ben Prunty, as well as nearly 2,000 “Very Positive” user reviews on Steam.
