Free on Steam: Pony Island Is Yours to Keep Until Monday

The Scroll in Brief

• What: a short puzzle game where you are trapped inside a cursed arcade machine. It is not a game about ponies.
• Deal: free to keep on Steam (normally $4.99). That beats its previous all-time low of $0.01.
• Deadline: Monday, October 12 at 1:00 PM ET.
• Reviews at time of posting: Very Positive on Steam (94% of 8,022), Metacritic 86.
• Gary’s call: claim it now. Best for fans of clever, strange indie games and anyone who liked Inscryption.

Meet Pony Island

Pony Island – Official Trailer (Daniel Mullins Games). Playing muted; tap the video for sound.

Free · Normally $4.99. Free to keep on Steam until Monday, October 12 at 1:00 PM ET.

Pony Island is an indie puzzle game from Daniel Mullins Games that launched on Steam on January 4, 2016. Steam’s own description: you’re in limbo, trapped in a malevolent and malfunctioning arcade machine devised by the devil himself.

Best for: players who like games that break the fourth wall, and anyone who wants a short, spooky puzzler.

What to Expect

Pony Island is built around one setup: you’re stuck inside a cursed arcade machine, and the machine is the puzzle. We’re keeping this spoiler-free, so check the trailer above to see the style for yourself.

It’s a single-player game with Steam achievements and trading cards, and it runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. Because it’s short, it’s a good pick when you want something finished in one sitting rather than another 60-hour commitment.

Reviews and Price History

• Critics at time of posting: Metacritic 86.
• Steam reviews at time of posting: Very Positive, 94% of 8,022 reviews (recent reviews: Very Positive, 89% of 65).
• Price history: the previous all-time low was $0.01 at Humble Store in January 2017, per GG.deals, so free beats it. Regular price is $4.99, and the cheapest official-store price GG.deals shows today is about $4.39 at Fanatical.

Who It’s For

• You’ll like it if: you enjoyed Inscryption, you like puzzle games with a twist, or you want a short game with a strong hook.
• Maybe skip it if: you want a long game, or you don’t like unsettling, devil-themed settings.
• How long to beat: about 2 hours 24 minutes for the main story and around 4 hours 42 minutes for a completionist run, per the HowLongToBeat times GG.deals shows.

Worth knowing: a sequel, Pony Island 2: Panda Circus, has a release date of April 27, 2027, according to Gematsu and GamesBeat. Claiming the original now means you can finish it first.

How to Claim It Before Monday

1. Open the Pony Island page on Steam and sign in to your Steam account.
2. Click Add to Account. The price shows as $0.00.
3. Do it before Monday, October 12, 2026 at 1:00 PM ET (10:00 AM PT, 17:00 UTC). After that it goes back to $4.99, but anything you claimed stays yours.

Gary’s Take

Claim it. It’s a well-loved game that costs nothing for four days, and it’s short enough that it won’t pile up in your backlog. Even if you never play it this month, a Very Positive game from the Inscryption developer is a good thing to have sitting in your library.

Keep digging: Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles, a past free game and more free games.

Sources

• Steam: Pony Island (free-to-keep offer, price, user reviews and Metacritic score, October 8, 2026)
• GG.deals: Pony Island price history
• Daniel Mullins Games on YouTube: Pony Island Official Trailer
• Gematsu: Pony Island 2: Panda Circus launches April 27, 2027