On National Black Cat Day, a game about a black cat who is also a grizzled 1950s detective is free on GOG

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The Blacksad: Under the Skin giveaway is actually part of GOG's Halloween Sale, but the timing is too good to overlook.

Black: Under the Skin screenshot
(Image credit: Microids)

With Halloween soon to be upon us, GOG is holding a Halloween sale, with discounts on more than 3,000 games. And as it often does, it's also giving one away. This time around it's Blacksad: Under the Skin, the tale of a private detective named John Blacksad who's investigating a dark corruption scandal at the heart of 1950s New York City.

The twist in the tale is that John Blacksad is a cat—a bipedal cat in a trenchcoat, yes, but a cat nonetheless—which makes the giveaway even more appropriate because today is also National Black Cat Day in the UK. And yes, that's a real thing, aimed at promoting the wellbeing of black cats, which to this day are the subject of myth and superstition, and of course are also strongly connected with the dark autumn ritual we know as Halloween.

There's no explicit connection on GOG between National Black Cat Day and the Blacksad giveaway so it might be just a fun bit of coincidental timing, but either way it's a decent game, and it's free, which is a big plus. You've got until October 30 to snag it.

GOG's Halloween sale, which is the cause for the giveaway, runs a bit longer—until November 1—and there are some good deals to be had. Some of my favorite thematically appropriate pumpkin patch picks include:

Bizarrely, Clive Barker's Undying is not on sale, but it's pretty cheap at regular price and it's also not on Steam, so I'm going to throw it out there anyway. It fizzles out a good bit at the end, but the first half of the game is an absolute banger.

So, to recap: National Black Cat Day is October 27, Blacksad is free until October 30, Halloween is on October 31, and GOG's Halloween Sale runs until November 1. And for those who didn't know, October 29 is also National Cat Day in the US—not just black cats, but any cats.

And finally, here's a picture of my cat. She's all white but trust me, her heart is black as the midnight sun.

(Image credit: Future)
Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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