August 2021 Humble Bundle Choice
This month's Humble Bundle drop initially looked a bit ho-hum. No giant AAA titles to lead the package, but on closer inspection, there were quite a few interesting games that would appeal to either me or my children. The sorts of games that you wouldn't really pick up as they would be swamped by the deluge of high profile games with much more marketing clout. However, if you are a gaming aficionado like me... these little gems are where the real quality in gaming lies. You get some interesting game mechanics, presentation, and story telling... the sort of risk taking that developers can take when they are trying to just fulfil their own vision and not meet the lowest common denominator standard of a bean-counter in a head office who probably never played a computer game in their lives!
So... rant over, let's take a quick look through the 12 titles that are on offer for August 2021. Of course, I have the benefit of a legacy classic subscription, so I get to pick all 12 games if I want. However, newer subscribers will have to choose a number that depends on their particular subscription tier.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is the game that headlines the August drop, and it reminds me of a female-led Castlevania or a fantasy Metroid. It is a game that does look like it would look better on a Steam Deck when it comes out. It is a side scrolling RPG, and there might have been a time when I would have tried it out, but this is a genre that hasn't really engaged me in the past... and I doubt that it would be any different with this game. So, I'm afraid that this game will go to the game store and be perhaps of more interest for someone else!
Last Oasis... a survival MMO that is still in Early Access. Well, I'm afraid the the MMO part already has me disinterested. I'm not keen and never have been interested in MMOs... although, I do hope that they will build out some sort of single player spinoff, as I do love the survival genre!
Superliminal is actually a game that has been on my wish list for quite some time... and I ALMOST bought it when it was on sale. Thankfully, I did double check what was on my Humble drop for this month, and so I stopped myself buying it just in time! It is a first-person puzzler... with a game mechanic that is based around solving puzzles by harnessing perspective. Sort of like a full 3D version of Monument Valley! Needless to say, I'm keeping this one for myself!
Out of Space seems like a pretty cool game to play together as a family. In some ways, it reminds me of Overcooked... if you include aliens that are messing up your spaceship and you trying to power it back on whilst trying to work as a ham-fisted "team". My kids love playing overcooked, so I think that they would like this one as well! I will just have to double check that the game supports split screen local multiplayer (I think it does...), and then to see if I have enough controllers... and then we could use a Steam Link to stream it to the TV.
We Need to Go Deeper. Well, I'm a little bit confused by this game. 2-4 multiplayer rogue-type game... with a beautiful art style and a setting that was inspired by Jules Verne. It looks like a nice game, and in some ways it reminds me a bit of Monty Python for some reason... but I'm not sure if I would definitely like it or not! However, that is the beauty of Humble Bundle drops... you get to try out these wacky games that you wouldn't have realised even existed!
Carto... oh my god! This is a beautiful looking game that just oozes charm. A sort of map based puzzler? This will be right up my kids alley... and I might even give it a go! Again, another game that looks like it would be more at home on a handheld instead of a gaming computer... but I'm no snob!
As Far as the Eye is yet another game that I ALMOST bought during the summer sale... and thankfully, I didn't as it has dropped this month! Another rogue-like that has a beautiful art style and story. I have wanted this since seeng a trailer for it... and I'm so happy that I now can play it... and maybe the kids as well.
Cepheus Protocol is and old-school looking game... a RTS that was inspired by Company of Heroes and World in Conflict? Well, I really enjoyed those games... especially Company of Heroes, so I am more than a little bit intrigued by this game. Oddly enough, it is another Early Access game, so I will let this sit in my collection until it is ripe and ready for playing!
Drake Hollow looks pretty cool... but there are so many ho-hum reviews of it on Steam. The concept sounds great, kids getting together to save vegetable people from some feral evil. There is survival, there is co-op there exploration, there is base-building.... and yet people find it grindy and empty? Could this be a case of small team being overrun by a too ambitious vision? I curious enough to keep this one just to see... and if they support local multiplayer, I would be even happier, but it doesn't look like at first glance.
Nowhere Prophet... I think I had this wishlisted from a long time ago but have long forgotten about it. It is a deck-building roguelike set in a wasted post-apocalyptic future... Mad Max with cards? I think I'm also keeping this, I do love these sorts of games... even if they don't really have a well defined end to them.
Blue Fire is a 3D platformer that gives me a sort of Zelda vibe (speaking of which, I have to finish Psychonauts!). Again, it has a very nice art style and I am a bit intrigued, even though I don't usually find these sorts of platforming games that much fun. Likely, this is going to be claimed and sit on my pile for a very very very long time.
ENCODYA is a point-and-click adventure... ah, the old school genre has really made a resurgence in this last decade! Anyway, a story about a girl and her giant robot? Count me and my girls in!
AUGUST 2021
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Last Oasis
Superliminal
Out of Space
We Need To Go Deeper
Carto
As Far As The Eye
Cepheus Protocol
Drake Hollow
Nowhere Prophet
Blue Fire
ENCODYA
Humble Bundle is an awesome subscription service, dropping up to 10 games each month of around 300 euros in price for the low low price of 12 USD. In addition you get access to the Humble Trove of downloadable games that accessible as long as you have a subscription and up to 20% discounts on the games being sold on the main store (in addition to any other discounts).
So, a super great deal... however, I have found that it is incredibly annoying to not have a historical listing of ALL the past Monthly drops in a place that is easy to find and accessible. I have to trawl through my old monthly purchases to look individually to see what has already dropped! There doesn't even seem to be a compilation of this information anywhere on the internet (not that I could find at least...).... so, I'm going to be releasing an updated historical list of Monthly Bundles each month (surprise...) when the Choice bundle drops.
Mostly, this is more for my own sanity... and I really hope that it is of some use to other people as well. When a sale goes up, I always am wondering if I already own the game (I don't tend to claim the purchases and keys immediately...) and if I'm going to be double buying the Steam key... or if the game goes on sale on Switch or a different platform, I don't want to be buying a second copy again!... or maybe someone will see this and see what a great deal
Humble Bundle really is! Plus, if you like e-books (comics and books) or audiobooks, there are often Pay-What-You-Want deals going on all the time!
So, without further ADO!... the historical listings, in reverse chronological order (newest first..) of the Humble Choice games... from when I first joined! This is being done manually... it is a pain in the arse, but Humble doesn't make it easy! Still, when it is done, each new month will be easier to do! Just got to remember to make a template...
I can also be found cross-posting at:
Hive
Steem
Publish0x
Splinterlands (aka the best blockchain game out there!)
Have you heard of Humble Bundle? It's a place to get some really great deals on Games, e-books and comic bundles. However, if you sign up for a Humble Bundle Subscription (12 USD per month) you get some really nice bonuses!
- A 100+ USD bundle of games delivered direct to you each month, redeemable on Steam, Uplay or direct download (depending on the game). This includes recent Triple A games!
- Access to the Humble Bundle "Trove", a list of 60 games (and growing...) which are free to play as long as you remain a subscriber!
- Additional Discounts on the Humble Bundle store, with the choice of supporting charities, Humble Bundle or developers in whatever percentage that you wish!
Humble Bundle Subscriptions, it's a no brainer for the dedicated gamer!
