Winter is here: the cold, the snow, the 5 p.m. darkness, the subtle but unmistakable funk of sweat-soaked boots piled in the front hall. But it's also time for end-of-year sales, and the GOG Winter Sale (opens in new tab) kicks off with a giveaway of the mouse-based RPG Ghost of a Tale (opens in new tab).

Ghost of a Tale tells the story of Tilo, a medieval mouse who explores the secrets and dangers of the Dwindling Heights Keep; Tilo is not much of a warrior, literally a mouse, and instead relies on stealth and speed to get around. The game was plagued by many technical problems at launch, but post-launch updates promised to make it "the way it should be (opens in new tab)" from the start, with an overall rating of 4.6/5 on GOG and an overall score of 75 on Metacritic (opens in new tab).

Also, it's free. Literally, all you have to do is go to GOG.com and click the "Add to Library" button.

You don't necessarily have to complete the process, but if you are tempted to spend the money, this is because, as mentioned, it is on sale. So, as I like to do when this happens, here are a few games I've enjoyed before or would be tempted to put money into:

There are also "Deals of the Day," which are basically 48-hour flash sales. The first three daily sales are Chernobylte (open in new tab), GOG Strategy Bundle (open in new tab), and GOG Kinky Bundle (open in new tab). Everyone is interested.

As always, you might want to do a little shopping before committing: honestly, I don't think you'll find anything much better than FEAR Platinum (opens in new tab) for $50, but this is the season of seasonal sales, so you'll want to shop the best You'll want to take a little time off to do the best you can.

GOG's winter sale runs through January 2, and while the Ghost of a Tale giveaway is fairly short, ending December 15 at 9 a.m. ET, there are five more giveaways available.