Wynk Games: Free access to paid games, for real

Who doesn't like free stuff? From a soda to an upgrade to executive class on flights, we're always looking forward to such stuff. As for gamers, we look for free games which make it worth our while.

Now, Airtel has come up with the Wynk Games app, which essentially lets one play paid games for free, if you're an Airtel customer. For the rest, the subscription is available at a promotional price of Rs 29 a month, the regular price being Rs 99 a month. Unfortunately, it's still limited to Android users. A caveat: Since the Wynk Games app is still in beta stage, one needs to download it from www.wynk.in and then set one's mobile device to allow installation of applications from unknown sources.
 
Once that's done and you've installed the app, the familiar Wynk interface comes up - only this time its games instead of music or movies. There are three tabs - trending, latest and categories, besides a search option. While the app gives access to over 2,000 games, don't expect to find Minecraft as a free game. There are, of course, old favourites such as Riptide GP, Cut the Rope, Real Steel, Colin McRae Rally, Serious Sam and Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded, besides games from Indian developers. But remember, you need to download and install the game through the Wynk Games app, after which the shortcut appears on the phone. But since these games aren't linked to your Google account, one needs to install the app and then download the games again if one switches phones.

Speaking of downloads, the file sizes on this app are much smaller than the paid version of the game from the Google Play Store. For example, Real Steel, which I bought off the app store, takes up more than 300MB on my phone; the same app, when downloaded through Wynk Games, takes up around 45MB.

In the week or so I have used the app and played the games, I faced no issues - there were no distracting ads, nor were in-app purchases required. The catalogue, though, was limited and might not satisfy hardcore gamers. But it's early days still. I hope (in the near future) to access Minecraft for free on Wynk Games, which I can then play on my iPad!