Published Feb 6, 2026, 9:50 AM EST
Nicholas Becher is a gaming journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience playing video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. Most-played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond.
Steam is easily the most popular digital gaming storefront out there, and it's no surprise given how often they are giving players promotions with free games or incredible discounts. This week, players have the opportunity to download a new game for a limited time, and the game is definitely... unique, to say the least.
If gamers act fast, they can download and keep this 2025 survival and action-adventure game for free on Steam from now until February 8. It's an indie-developed FPS from IVDev called Arabian Gulf, and pits players against "relentless enemies" and the desert elements to survive as long as possible.
Steam Gamers Have 48 Hours for This Freebie
Arabian Gulf is an... interesting 2025 survival action-adventure FPS that's set in a vast desert where players take on the elements and fight off swarms of enemies in a Golden Eye-style FPS with very pared down UI and simple gameplay mechanics. The game is currently available to download and keep for free for the next 48 hours, though it won't cost you all that much if you end up missing this limited-time offer.
The game features a Persian Gulf-inspired map and three distinct levels, with a strong premise and gameplay that you might expect from a $2 game on Steam. While it's not exactly a GTA 6 killer, fans of indie games looking for a quick FPS to 100% in a few hours will want to check out Arabian Gulf.
This One Might Be Free For A Reason, TBH
That said, Arabian Gulf doesn't have a ton of positive feedback on Steam, to put it lightly, and that might be a result of the game's bare-bones design and seemingly random placement of assets across the map. Complaints about Arabian Gulf extend from combat mechanics to graphics to performance and bug problems and beyond.
Death Himself, for example, says Arabian Gulf's combat is completely unbalanced, too short, and borderline unplayable:
You cannot win a melee fight, so don't try. Once you find a gun, you are basically invincible. No directions given, but it's not exactly hard to figure out: run towards enemies until you find gold. Beat the game in 17 minutes, spent about 5 of those minutes waiting for my screen to unfreeze.
Steam user vollp highlights the game's fundamental design flaws, pointing out the rudimentary gameplay, saying "you have to run to a golden trophy you can reach within 20 seconds. thats the game," and that "theres dozens of enemies that do insane amount of damage you can't heal from and will kill you if you engage in combat, which means you start from lvl 1 again."
However, ByIO calls it the "best game ever," though I sense a hint of sarcasm in the comment. If you want to see if Arabian Gulf is as disappointing as user reviews suggest, you can play it now for free on Steam if you download it before February 8.
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