If you're on a budget but want to go on a virtual adventure, don't fret! As it turns out, there are plenty of great options for free-to-play adventure games, and we'd like to recommend some. Let's take a look at the best free adventure games you can play this year.

Many great adventure games that don't cost anything are casual experiences that don't require a lot of quick reaction time. "Mary's Room," for example, will have you exploring your friend's bedroom to try to figure out what happened to her. Another great free casual adventure game is A Book of Beasts and Buddies, an interactive animal story full of quirky animals that you can make friends with. Looking for something more substantial? If you own Portal 2, the mod you have is the so-called Portal Story: Mel, which is a great expansion of Valve's first two games. The gameplay is different from previous games, with puzzles based more on logic than execution.

This list includes traditional free text adventure games, as well as more new styles of adventure games for open-world exploration. Remember, many games are short, but what are your expectations? After all, they're free.