Highly Rated Open-World Survival Game is Free to Play For a Limited Time

When it comes to open-world survival games, there are quite a few good options out there. From Early Access hits like Enshrouded to older favorites like Subnautica, the list is long. And for many gamers, the budget for new games is looking pretty slim these days. That means it can be tough to justify buying a game when you’re not sure if you’ll like it. That’s where limited-time free weekends come in, giving players a chance to literally try before they buy.

Starting May 14th, one of the biggest survival games from the last few years will be entirely free to play for four whole days. The game in question is vampire survival hit V Rising, which boasts a Very Positive rating on Steam. Released into 1.0 back in 2024, this game remains one of the most popular open-world survival titles out there. And it also happens to be one of the best vampire games around, too, making it a perfect fit for my fellow vampire enthusiasts. If you’ve been on the fence about V Rising, the free weekend is the perfect opportunity to try it out at no cost.

V Rising Fully Free on Steam for One Weekend, With Massive Discounts to Follow

If you’re not familiar, here’s a quick rundown of what to expect from V Rising. The game is a vampire survival RPG, where you awaken as a weakened vampire who’s been sleeping for centuries. To survive and regain your strength, you’ll need to hunt for blood and rebuild your castle. Of course, you’ll have vampiric powers at your disposal as you hunt, take on other supernatural creatures, and build up your base. The game is well-balanced for solo play, but also supports online co-op. And yes, it’s Steam Deck verified.

The free weekend for V Rising runs from May 14th at 1 PM ET to May 18th at 1 PM ET. That’s exactly four days to experience the entire game for $0. To play V Rising for free this weekend, simply head to the game’s Steam page. From there, you’ll see a banner at the top with a green “Play Game” button. Just click on “Play Game” to download V Rising to your Steam library for free during the trial period. Once the game installs, you’ll be able to play it just as you would any other title in your Steam library.

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Alas, to my fellow PS5 gamers, the free weekend for V Rising is a Steam-only experience. So while the game itself is available on the console, the free trial is only an option for players on PC at this time. If you want to try V Rising on PS5, you’ll need to either buy the game for full price ($39.99) or have a PlayStation Plus Extra subscription. If you are a PS Plus subscriber, the game is included at no additional price.

For those who do have Steam, V Rising will be free until May 18th. Once the free weekend ends, you will need to buy the full game to continue playing. But hopefully, four days’ worth of free trial will help you get a good sense of whether this is the right vampire survival game for you. And to celebrate the free weekend and the game’s next upcoming balance patch, V Rising will be 55% off through May 21st. So if you do like the game, you can get it for good for less than full price on Steam. The discount, like the free weekend, sadly does not carry over to the PS5 edition of V Rising.

Will you be checking out V Rising while it’s free to play? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!