You can play games on the PC without being entrapped to spend money on casino-like Freemium games. There are plenty of options for downloading free, non-parasitic video games. Most of the free games offered won’t incinerate your computer. Heads up: most of these require you to download a client software, like Steam.
itch.io
The itch.io client offers a large range of free games from demos to small 8-bit games and more. You can even download a goose that wanders around your screen. Independent coders and writers developed these games as passion projects. Itch.io also hosts Game Jams, if you’re interested in collaborating on a new game with an expansive community.
Epic Games
In 2018 and 2019, kids spent a fortune on Fortnite skins with their parents’ credit cards. This helped Epic Games transition from rich to filthy rich. As a result, the software developers aimed their guns at Steam—Valve’s monopoly on digital video game distribution—with their new Epic Games client. To entice you to actually spend money, they’re offering free games every week. Some of these are beefy triple-AAA titles such as Assassins Creed or graphics intensive simulators like Farming Simulator, but most free offerings are fun little indie games that can take up a bunch of time.
Internet Archive: Classic PC Games
Relive those memories of the Oregon Trail on the Internet Archive’s (archive.org) Classic PC Games page. Once again, you can ford rivers with your family, all of whom are snakebit with bubble guts and broken bones. In addition to Oregon Trail, you can play MS-DOS games, ZUMA Deluxe, and early RPGs. Fair warning for parents: this site contains a bunch of cringy, early sex games. The best part of this site is that all games are browser-based. No need to download a client.