This is free to play. Everything game relevant can be acquired free to play.

I can only recommend at least checking out Warframe. I know it might not be everyone's cup of tea but at least give it a shot. A hack and slash, corridor based looter shooter with grind for months. But not only the grind keeps people playing, the lore of the game puts the player in a different position everytime...

The Visual- and Soundeffects are amazing. Comparing it to the days when Warframe got released as an open beta in 2013, almost everything changed since then. I can only tell the changes since 2017, the year I started playing.

Now, 5 years later, I'm still on it. I took a break in 2019 but eventually came back again. I know that many people stop playing the game pretty early on, because they finish the introduction, maybe the first quest and then don't really know how to proceed from there. And yes, the new player experience in this game is 'horrible'.

Digital Extrems, the developers, are constantly updating the game with content updates, quest updates and even small QoL changes throughout the year. Even parts most people won't touch again are changing. With that, in 2020 the whole introduction part of the game got revisited and received an overhaul.

Even if you just want to hang out for a few hours in a new game you want to try, Warframe is a game your eye might catch and you will become one of the millions of Tennos playing. I can only recommend at least trying ;)

PS: The Warframe Wiki [warframe.fandom.com] is your best friend if you need help. Even veteran players sometimes have to rely on it :P