Key Takeaways:
- DeadPoly is Steam’s only Free Weekend game this week, available at no cost until October 26 at 10am PT / 1pm ET.
- Normally priced at $9.99, DeadPoly is an open-world zombie survival-crafting game with a distinctive low-poly art style.
- The game is developed entirely by a single person under the TFL Games banner.
- Features include third-person shooting, base building, farming, fishing, hunting, customisable firearms, drivable vehicles, and online co-op.
- DeadPoly holds Mostly Positive reviews on Steam with 78% positive from 4,114 English-language reviews.
- The game is still in Early Access and targeting a full release in 2027.
- Additional free content is available: Squad DLC (until October 25), Popcorn & Premieren content (until October 29), and three permanently free-to-play games.
Steam’s Free Weekend this week is keeping things tight — just one game on offer rather than the usual handful. But if open-world zombie survival with a lo-fi charm is your thing, it’s a solid pick. DeadPoly, a low-poly zombie survival-crafting game developed entirely by one person, is free to play on Steam right now through to October 26 at 10am PT / 1pm ET. No purchase required — just head to Steam, find it, and start playing.
What Is DeadPoly?
DeadPoly is exactly what it sounds like: a zombie survival game wrapped in a colourful, low-polygon visual style that gives it a distinct look compared to the gritty realism most games in the genre go for. Developed and maintained entirely by a solo developer under the TFL Games label, it’s been in Early Access since January 2022 with a full release targeted for 2027.
The core loop is familiar to anyone who’s spent time in the survival-crafting genre. You drop into an open world mid-zombie apocalypse, scavenge for resources, craft gear and weapons, build and fortify a base, and try to stay alive while managing hunger, thirst, and the relentless threat of the undead. What fills out the experience beyond that baseline includes farming, fishing, hunting, customisable firearms that you can modify and build out, and drivable vehicles for getting around the map.
Online co-op is fully supported, so if you have friends who want to jump in and survive the apocalypse together, that option is there. The drop-in nature of the co-op means you’re not locked into a fixed group either — you can explore with others as the session allows.
What Do Players Actually Think?
DeadPoly’s Steam reception is genuinely encouraging for what it is. The game holds a Mostly Positive rating overall, with 78% of its 4,114 English-language reviews giving it a thumbs up. Recent reception sits at Mostly Positive too, with 70% positive across the past 30 days — a sign the community hasn’t dropped off in satisfaction over time, which matters for an Early Access title that’s been around for a few years.
Players tend to highlight the satisfying open-world survival loop, the base-building depth, and the low-poly aesthetic as central to its appeal. The honest caveat is that as a solo developer project still in Early Access, some aspects of the game remain unfinished or less polished than a fully-staffed studio release would be. Updates can also take longer to ship precisely because there’s only one person making them. If you go in with realistic expectations for an indie Early Access game made by one developer, there’s a lot to enjoy — and at free-to-play this weekend, the barrier to finding out is zero.
The Full Steam Free Content Lineup This Week
DeadPoly is the headline, but there are a few other free offerings worth knowing about alongside it.
Free-to-Keep (limited time):
- Squad Weapon Skins Recon Team Pack DLC — Free to claim and keep permanently until October 25. If you play Squad, this is a no-brainer grab before the window closes.
- Popcorn & Premieren: Ausgehviertel — Free to claim and keep until October 29.
Permanently Free-to-Play (no time limit):
- Heavy Wake — A 2026 dark fantasy RPG that went permanently free-to-play.
- Shenaniguns — A 2026 co-op shooter now permanently free.
- Cartomancy Anthology — A 22-games-in-one collection that’s permanently free-to-play.
Steam may also add more titles to the Free Weekend line-up later in the weekend, so it’s worth checking back if none of the above catches your eye right now.
How to Claim DeadPoly During the Free Weekend
The Free Weekend promotion means DeadPoly is free to play — not free to keep permanently. You can play it at no cost until October 26 at 10am PT, after which it will revert to its standard $9.99 price. Your progress and saves don’t disappear at that point — if you enjoy it enough during the trial and purchase it later, everything carries over.
To access it, head to Steam and search for DeadPoly. You don’t need to go through a traditional checkout — just install and play. The game is also available on Epic Games Store for those who prefer that platform.
If survival games are your thing and you’ve been waiting for a low-stakes way to try one out, this weekend is a solid opportunity. Five days is plenty of time to get a genuine feel for DeadPoly’s loop — build a base, scavenge for gear, fight off the undead, and decide whether the solo-dev charm is for you.
For more on what’s happening across gaming this week, check out our coverage of Zenith: Nexus shutting down for good in December — another story about a game’s final chapter. And if you want something more upbeat, Football Manager 27 is going free for five full days starting October 29, which is worth keeping on your radar.
