From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
The Number is demanding more games! Fortunately, HumbleChoice is here
to feed this greedy spirit. We get eight new games this time. Are they
worth the price?
* Persona 5 Royal
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1687950/Persona_5_Royal/
I can't get too excited about this one. The "Persona"
series is a long and popular franchise, but neither its
setting nor its gameplay have ever really appealed to me.
I've no idea how it compares to any of the other games
in the franchise, and no real desire to find out. The
reviews are all positive though, so at least the fans
seem to like it.
* Banishers: Ghost of New Eden
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1493640/Banishers_Ghosts_of_New_Eden/
This game is more my style... which isn't to say it's
actually a _good_ game. It's just more suited to my
particular tastes. On the one hand, it's got ghosts and
combat; on the other hand, it's developed by Don't Nod
(of "Life Is Strange" and other similar adventures fame)
and its gameplay is --according to some reviews-- fairly
weak. But I think it at least deserves a chance.
* My Time at Sandrock
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1084600/My_Time_at_Sandrock/
I've mixed feelings regarding this one. On the one hand,
the game is basically a cross of one of those cozy farming
sims with lots of survival-style crafting, neither of which
genres are really my thing. On the other hand, building
up an entire village does sort of intrigue me (and there
is some combat to spice things up). I don't think I'd
like this one... but it's another game I want to at
least _try_.
* Let's School!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1937500/Lets_School/
A building-management game a la "Theme Hospital" or
"Prison Architect", except a bit more serious and (as
is probably obvious) focused on creating a school. I go
hot and cold on this genre, but it helps if the thing
I'm building is something I find interesting, and managing
a school doesn't really qualify there. Reviews indicate
its competent, but doesn't really stand out in the genre
and is a bit lacking in variety. I can't write this one
off, but it's not a game that I'm in anyway excited about.
* Lil Gator Game
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1586800/Lil_Gator_Game/
The marketing text describes this as "an adorable
adventure" and that's almost enough to make me stop
reading. It's essentially a third-person adventure /
platformer with a cutesy animal mascot, and that's just
not the sort of game I go for. Fans of the genre seem
excited by this one... but I'm not included in that
group.
* Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2238040/Tiny_Terrys_Turbo_Trip/
Another cutesy game; this time you're a vaguely-humanoid
blob and you run, glide and drive across the open world
map on a quest to upgrade your car until its fast enough
to blast into space. Again, it's just not the sort of game
I'm interested in playing.
* Wildmender
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1599330/Wildmender/
"A desert garden survival game". <sigh> Do I even have to
express my feelings here or are the last four entries
enough for you to guess how I feel about this one?
* WarPips
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1291010/Warpips/
At last, some violence! On the one hand, this RTS /
tower-defense game is giving me the explosions and murder
I long for. On the other hand, its retro-style cutesy
visuals are a turn-off. It looks more like an experiment
than a full-fledged game too. I don't want to disregard
it entirely, but... no, I can't get excited about this
one either.
I can't say I'm that thrilled with this month's HumbleChoice
offerings, although that's really more due to their selection than
commentary on the quality of the games. It is just that Humble managed
to pick 8 games that at best only marginally look interesting to me,
and for a lot of them I just don't want to even bother with the games
at all.
In part, I think the problem isn't as much the games as it is the fact
they upped the price recently; had HumbleChoice still been at the $12
USD mark, I'd have been less reluctant. At that price, even the single
game that looked sort of good to me --"Banishers: Ghost of New Eden"--
would have been worth it. But it's harder for me to justify that
purchase when paying just a few dollars more. I gotta think about it a
bit more.
Are any of these games worth it to you? Or would you just give a pass
to the whole bundle this month?
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