Although solid state drives have steadily increased in capacity, so too have the size of game installs. Today's triple-A titles commonly occupy upwards of 20GB with many approaching or exceeding 60GB, especially after accounting for downloadable content. Ironically, it's often these large releases that benefit the most from the improved load times.

2012 was an important year for Valve. The company introduced Big Picture Mode - a Steam interface for the living room holy trinity of big TVs, joypads, and couches - it was also the year Gabe Newell's behemoth revealed the development of a video game console. A year later, Steam Machines were unveiled as "a powerful new category of living room hardware."

While Steam gets a lot of hype for discounted prices, you don’t actually have to spend any money to enjoy some of the best games the service has to offer. Over the years, Steam has accumulated a number of great games that are free-to-play, and I’m here to tell you which ones you should check out.

Of the 100 billion games on Steam, one for every star in the sky, which are the absolute cream of the crop? Which have users rated the highest? To borrow a cliche from The Bad Internet, the answer may surprise you.