January 2022 Humble Bundle
Mafia: Definitive Edition
Iron Harvest
Project Winter
Rebel Cops
Rustler (Grand Theft Horse)
The Henry Stickmin Collection
Farmer's Dynasty
Between the Stars
Retrowave
Midnight Protocol
Ooooh... the next Humble Bundle drop is in, and it is the first for the year and the first to be running under the new subscription system where you don't have to pick and choose games that you keep or not. Anyway... none of that affects me, as I have a legacy subscription that allows me the best of all possible variations of the subscriptions (hopefully, grandfathered in for the rest of eternity!).
However, if you don't already have it... this particular Humble Bundle is a pretty good one to enter with, with two pretty decent games headlining the package! So, without further ado... let's have a look at the January 2022 Humble Bundle drop!
Leading the drop is the pretty damn awesome Mafia: Definitive Edition. Now, this game is starting to get a bit old, and I had played the original version a long time ago. It is one of the GTA type games and it is set in the American Prohibition era (so, old fashioned cars)... but I find that the Mafia games have a MUCH better and tighter story. However, I know that others think of it as the poe-faced cousin to GTA and Saints Row... but if you are after a really decent story and perhaps the chance to shed a tear or two... well, this is the much better option! After all these years, I'm keen to finish the Mafia games... but have still yet to be hooked by GTA or Saints Row. This one is going to the store... only because I'm not going to play it through again! But it is a definite recommendation if you haven't played it before!
Iron Harvest is a pretty cool game that I recently bought on sale (note to self... again... don't buy games, they will eventually drop on the Humble Bundle!). Iron Harvest is a game that has similar mechanics to Company of Heroes, but it is set in an alternate WW1 setting.... think WW1 with Mechs! How is that awesome? Anyway, the storytelling is pretty decent... and the mechanics are pretty familiar if you have played the CoH games. Solid! However, I already own it... so, it will be going to the game store!
Oh man... I do like the concept of these Multiplayer "traitor" games.. however, I really dislike the concept of playing them with strangers online. Project Winter is this type of game... but with a survival setting twist. I really like the concept... but I think I would prefer to play it with close family and friends. I might keep this copy... maybe my girls would be interested when they get older?
Rebel Cops takes the tactical component from This is the Police 2 and spins it out into a sort of management/tactics game. I have been sort of curious about it... but not enough to actually purchase it. I was a bit up in the air about the original This is the Police, and haven't tried the sequel yet. XCOM, but as a police SWAT team? I'm happy that it is in the Humble Bundle so that I can try it without actually paying too much... I'm keeping it! This is what the Humble Bundle is all about, trying games that you are sort of curious about, but not curious enough to spend money directly upon!
Rustler... well, this appears to be a tongue in cheek version of the ORIGINAL top down GTA... GTA with horses. I think I'm in... just cause it is a hilarious concept and there is a touch of nostalgia involved!
Henry Stickin appears to be a bit of a physics based puzzler... it has great reviews, and appears to have been made by two people who were also involved in Among Us! So, clearly people with an eye for good game mechanics... I'm very curious about these sorts of games, they are great casual type games that aren't just churn out Skinner-box schlock that people normally feed their kids. I'm pretty certain that my girls would be interested in this one!
Farmer's Dynasty, The Sims meets farm management... in some ways this is really quite appealing on some levels. But I'm not really sure that it would grab me over a long time... on the other hand, I'm a sucker for these sorts of management games, and living out a farming dynasty simulator could be sort of weirdly engaging? I'll have to think about this one.
An Early Access game, Between the Stars looks to be a really highly updated version of Rebel Galaxy and FTL. It looks great, and the early access reviews are really promising! Again, Humble Bundle is perfect for picking up these Early Access games... you aren't directly stumping up for the risk... and if it doesn't go well, well... no real loss! But if it ends up being awesome, well... that is the jackpot! I'm definitely keeping his one, I think it is really my type of game!
Retrowave is another Early Access game... sort of harking back to the days of the original endless roadrunner games on coin-operated arcades. Unfortunately, I'm not really that nostalgic for that sort of game... I never really liked them in the 80s... and I'm not going to like them now either! Pass... and straight to the store.
Midnight Protocol is a very strange RPG hacking game. Unique sort of schematic art style, and apparently story driven. I'm really intrigued by these left of centre gaming ideas that indie developers can come up with... I'm going to give this one a chance, and try it out!
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...
