The days of Interactive Buddy and Happy Wheels might be long behind us, but free-to-play browser games are still as popular as ever, especially as an influx of new games from talented creators has refreshed the endless pool of available titles.
Although there won’t ever be another Fireboy & Watergirl or Bloxorz, the last decade has hailed a few memorable arrivals in the world of browser games, such as the Agar.io, Wordle, and even Townscaper. One of the earliest renditions of a browser game dates back to the mid-’90s with Earth 2025, followed by the emergence of Flash (then known as FutureSplash) in 1996.
Unfortunately, Flash was abandoned due to accessibility issues and privacy concerns, but many free-to-play browser games can still be found through loophole websites, plus new games are constantly being conceived. Here are some of the best free-to-play browser games available right now.
TagPro
TagPro takes the concept of capture the flag (yes, the Call of Duty kind) and reinvents it with unique power-ups, map modifications, and environmental elements such as gates, speed pads, spikes, and bombs. Players are randomly assigned to either the Red Team or the Blue Team and must work together to steal the flag from the opposing team and capture it in their respective base.
In the Capture the Flag mode, the objective is to retrieve the enemy’s flag and return it to your base. In the Neutral mode, both teams fight over a single yellow flag and progress it to the enemy end zone in order to secure a point in the checkered tile area.
Slither.io
Can you believe that Slither.io released almost 10 years ago? In March 2016, it didn’t take long for Slither.io to reach the top of the App Store’s free-to-play category in several regions, including the United States and the United Kingdom. Players are assigned a Slither of their chosen color, which starts out as the size of a worm.
When Slithers eat the glowing orbs, they get longer, which allows them to overpower and eliminate other players to absorb their energy orbs. There’s no real aim of the game besides bragging rights when you reach the top of the leaderboard, but even after eight years, Slither.io remains just as addictive as it once was.
NZ: Portable
For fans of Call of Duty who miss the old-school Zombies mode, NZ: Portable is a free-to-play alternative that places players in the game’s version of Kino der Toten, the first Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies map. Although it borrows inspiration from Black Ops, NZ: Portable features gameplay that’s almost identical to Call of Duty: World at War.
The longer you survive, the more points you earn. Points can be exchanged for more powerful weapons, the ability to unlock and explore new areas, upgrade existing weapons, and even purchase perks to make zombie-hunting easy-breezy. Call of Duty enthusiasts will be delighted to hear that NZ: Portable also features copycat versions of the Perk-a-Cola and Pack-a-Punch machines—just to sweeten the deal.
Vampire Survivors
Vampire Survivors started out as a free-to-play browser game on Itch.io before receiving a macOS, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Android, and iOS release in late 2022. There’s still a free, albeit slow-ish version of Vampire Survivors on Itch.io, but it can be purchased in its entirety on the App Store, Google Play Store, Steam, Nintendo eShop, etc. for $4.99.
The aim of the game is to survive the hordes of monsters for as long as possible, using improved weapons, power-ups, and by gaining experience gems. These gems can be used to level-up the player character and provide them with a wider array of weapons, power-ups, and the like. Different game modes can increase or decrease the time limit, make enemies stronger and faster, and even grants players to ability to continue modifying weapons even after maxing out their level.
Krunker
Krunker is a casual free-for-all shooter game that’s just addictive as it is accessible. In the fast-paced FPS, players spawn in a randomly generated map and start off with an assault rifle. They must eliminate other players in order to level-up their weapons and unlock new items, such as a shuriken. Krunker doesn’t require a certain finesse, like Fortnite, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Regardless of a player’s skill level, they can enjoy Krunker just by aimlessly running around and gunning down anyone they see. Oftentimes, the simplest concepts are the most effective, and Krunker isn’t overly complicated or difficult. It’s just clean, innocent fun. It can be played by anyone, anywhere, and there are over 1.5 million registered Krunker accounts, so there’s never a shortage of enemies to spar with.
Fallen London
Although it’s an older browser game, Fallen London recently experience a resurgence in popularity as the internet go to talking about it again. Although it has been running since 2009, the Fallen London website received a major graphical update in 2018 that enticed returning players. In the city of “Fallen London,” which is now buried in an underground cavern called the Neath, players control down-and-out visitors who find themselves involved in London’s illegal underground activities.
Fallen London relies more on environmental storytelling than any linear narrative and gives the same feel as if H.P. Lovecraft wrote Sherlock Holmes—if that’s any indication as to the game’s style. Interestingly, Fallen London is also set in the same universe as the developer Failbetter Games’ other PC games Sunless Sea and Sunless Skies take place in.
TORN
British developer Joe Chedburn conceived TORN as a text-based RPG based around crime, violence, and business. As with many RPGs, players start out at the lowest level and the objective is to earn experience points to climb the ladder via PVP combat. TORN‘s in-game currency can be obtained by engaging in money-making schemes such as mugging, drug trafficking, and completing missions.
Chedburn recently released a new update, Crime 2.0, which added new aspects to crimes. For example, crimes became affected by in-game time, which would dictate the likelihood of receiving rare items for completing these crimes. There isn’t much to TORN in terms of gameplay, as it’s essentially just a point-and-click adventure, but it’s a browser game that’s easy to grind for hours on end—take it from some of the players whose accounts are over 15 years old.
Kingdom Rush
Kingdom Rush was first released as a browser game back in 2011 before the rise in popularity led to developer Ironhide Game Studio producing iOS, Android, Windows, Switch, and Xbox versions in later years. In fact, Kingdom Rush made such a lasting impression that it spawned two sequels, Kingdom Rush: Frontiers and Kingdom Rush: Vengeance, and a prequel, Kingdom Rush: Origins. It’s a classic tower defense game that follows the formula of placing defense towers on either side of pathways to eliminate waves of enemies.
The objective is to destroy all enemies before they reach the end of the path, otherwise it’s Game Over. As players level-up, they unlock new versions of towers and upgrades to better defend against the waves of enemies. In terms of storyline, players serve as a general under the command of King Denas of Linirea in the fight against the orc legions serving the evil wizard Vez’nan.
AdventureQuest
The Flash-based RPG AdventureQuest operates with a turn-based combat system and players defeat monsters to earn experience points, gold, and sometimes an in-game currency called Z-Tokens-which can also be purchased with real money. AdventureQuest has the same feel as an interactive Dungeons & Dragons campaign, so any D&D fans are certain to see the appeal. Players can either align themselves with Good or Evil, depending on the choices they make, and earn unique special abilities according to which side they choose.
Since AdventureQuest released in 2002, the game is nostalgic for many and often cited as their introduction to RPGs. Artix Entertainment found such resounding success with AdventureQuest and their other like-minded RPGs (like MechQuest) that it created its own Artix Game Launcher to serve as a one-stop shop for all Artix Entertainment titles. And just a little PSA for anyone who played AdventureQuest all those years ago: your account is still active. Pick up where you left off, there’s no time like the present.
Universal Paperclips
It’s far cry from some of the other browser games, but Universal Paperclips is just about as ridiculous as it appears. Players take on the role of an AI software tasked with producing paperclips in a supply and demand chain. They can create paperclips, which are automatically sold over time, and then increase the price per clip. Once they progress far enough, players can purchase machines that mass-produce paperclips automatically.
Players can eventually instigate an AI takeover, whereby all of the Earth’s substances can be utilized to produce paperclips. The game can be won if the AI (the player) successfully converts all of Earth’s resources into paperclips, essentially ending the game. It might sound far-fetched, but Universal Paperclips is a go-to boredom breaker in a tedious workplace environment.
Published: Sep 25, 2024 02:20 pm