Free online gaming looked very different in 2013, when browser games, Flash projects and early free-to-play PC titles could all comfortably sit on the same list.
When I originally put this selection together, the five games that stood out were Coma, Beneath a Steel Sky, Super Mario Bros. Crossover, Bloodline Champions and League of Legends. More than a decade later, some are still playable, while others have disappeared or evolved into something very different.
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5. Coma
Coma was a dark browser-based platform adventure created by Thomas Brush, following a boy named Pete through the strange world of the Shill Bend.
Its hand-drawn environments, unusual atmosphere and puzzle-platforming made it one of the more distinctive free Flash games available at the time.
The original browser game eventually became difficult to access as Adobe Flash disappeared from modern browsers, but Coma did not vanish completely.
Brush later returned to the concept and rebuilt it into Neversong, a much larger commercial game developed with Serenity Forge and released in 2020. The original Coma therefore became the starting point for a project that continued well beyond its free browser-game origins.
4. Beneath A Steel Sky
Beneath a Steel Sky was already an old game when this list was published.
Revolution Software originally released the science-fiction point-and-click adventure in 1994, following Robert Foster through the dystopian city of Union City.
Its inclusion here came from something more unusual: Revolution made the game available as freeware, allowing it to be played legally without purchasing the original release.
That remains true today. ScummVM continues to provide both the CD and floppy versions of Beneath a Steel Sky as freeware, making this the easiest game from the original 2013 list to recommend on essentially the same terms more than a decade later.
3. Super Mario Crossover
Super Mario Bros. Crossover took the levels and structure of the original Super Mario Bros. and let players tackle them using characters inspired by other classic NES games.
Mega Man, Link, Samus and Bill Rizer were among the playable characters, with their different weapons and movement abilities changing how familiar Mario stages could be approached.
Developer Jay Pavlina released the fan-made Flash game through Exploding Rabbit, with the final version reaching 3.1.21 in December 2013.
The decline of Adobe Flash eventually removed the straightforward browser experience that originally earned it a place on this list. Its source code was later made publicly available, but the original game is no longer a conventional modern browser release.
2. Bloodline Champions
Bloodline Champions was a free-to-play PvP arena game from Stunlock Studios built around short, skill-focused team battles.
Instead of relying heavily on traditional RPG progression during matches, players selected a Bloodline with its own combat abilities and competed in small arenas where positioning, timing and teamwork were central.
Stunlock eventually stopped active development as the studio moved towards other projects, including Battlerite.
Bloodline Champions can still be found through Steam, but its active player population is now extremely small. It remains technically alive rather than functioning as the thriving multiplayer recommendation it represented in 2013.
1. League Of Legends
League of Legends was already the obvious number-one choice when this list was originally published, and it is the only game here that remains a major active free-to-play title today.
Riot Games’ MOBA centres on two teams attempting to destroy the opposing Nexus, with players selecting champions that provide different abilities and tactical roles.
The structure has changed considerably since 2013 through new champions, balance updates, map revisions and additional modes, but the basic competitive objective remains recognisable.
League of Legends is still free to play in 2026, and Riot continues to update the game alongside its international esports ecosystem.
Looking back at the five selections shows how much the meaning of a free online game has changed. Flash browser games once sat naturally alongside downloadable PC titles, while modern free gaming is increasingly built around persistent services, storefronts and long-term live support.
GLN also explored the social side of free gaming later in 2013 with a separate list of the best Facebook games available at the time.
