Steam Gamers Are Being Warned Not To Play New Free 8/10 RPG

Published Sep 16, 2026, 7:00 PM EDT

Tom Wilson is a Gaming Features Writer at Screen Rant. Over the past five years, Tom has worked as the Editor-in-Chief at The Game Crater, as a Staff Writer for GamingIntel, a List Writer at TheGamer, and, of course, as a Senior Writer at ScreenRant. Tom has experience writing reviews, guides, news, and features, and has been responsible for teams of writers, training them and editing their work.

Tom graduated with a Masters in Multimedia Journalism, and has since gone on to build up his portfolio of games journalism work.

It is no small secret that Steam is awash with an abundance of free games ranging from AAA-esque gacha experiences to hobby projects and indies with innovative ideas. As a result, one can very easily collect an entire library of genuinely great games on Steam without paying a single cent, and likely not have enough time to complete them all before one inevitably passes. It's an incredible value proposition, and one that we shouldn't overlook.

Indeed, it's often beneficial to spotlight the very best free games on Steam, if only so that those averse to or unable to break the bank have the opportunity to play some truly meaningful video games and have a great time. However, every once in a while, it is also important to warn players against trying some of the free titles available on Steam. While the vast majority are great and absolutely worth playing, there are a handful that are best avoided, including a brand-new RPG that appears to have rave reviews.

You would be forgiven for seeing a new free-to-play RPG with positive reviews and assuming the very best. After all, while some terrible, AI-generated video games tend to slip through the cracks and deceive players with fake screenshots and misrepresentative trailers, they'll always get revealed for being the terrible games they truly are through Steam's user-generated reviews. It's hard, nowadays, to trick players into playing something that is truly unlike what the store page implies it is, which has created this false sense of security. As it happens, while it is hard, it isn't impossible.

Adventurers Guild looks fairly unassuming at first glance, its trailer showcasing a very Palworld-looking protagonist catching fish, fighting bosses, exploring dungeons, and surfing across the very Genshin Impact-esque world. While many would assume a game like that would come with microtransactions, it could still be worth a shot, especially if the game's over-embellished Steam store page description is to be trusted. After all, Adventurers Guild promises a pretty tantalizing mix of boss fights and creature taming all wrapped up in a sprawling MMORPG open world. Its description reads:

"Now, as Niro stirs anew, you—an adventurer of the Howling Dragon Tribe—must rise, lead your tribe and sacred beasts to safeguard the continent's fate."

However, would you be surprised to learn that the game whose reviews purport it to be one of the best free games on Steam is actually lying to you? Probably not. Indeed, as evidenced by the plethora of recent Steam reviews, the game's store page screenshots and trailer do not represent the final product. Indeed, they couldn't be further from the truth. Where the trailer shows off a vast open world to explore, Adventurers Guild's gameplay is actually more akin to a pay-to-win mobile idle game.

It isn't exactly clear what's going on here, especially given that the game already has several positive reviews which users have alleged are paid for and fake. It isn't uncommon for mobile games to misrepresent their gameplay in trailers, but Steam takes a firmer stance and is unlikely to let this slide for long. Regardless, Adventurers Guild isn't worth playing: its dull, uninspired gameplay is masked by far more appealing screenshots, and the developer's penchant for lying is more than enough reason to skip it on Steam.