Another month of HumbleChoiciness. And an interesting month too; it's
not just the usual trash!

Specifically:
(links to Steam are for informational purpose only; get the games from
https://www.humblebundle.com/membership/

* Death Stranding Director's Cut
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1850570/DEATH_STRANDING_DIRECTORS_CUT/
You're all probably /heard/ about this game, even if you haven't
played it. Take one part Kojima, one part open-world survival, season
a bit with some walking sim and a touch of physics puzzler, and you
get "Death Stranding". Whatever else can be said for it, "Death
Stranding" is a unique game that may not appeal to everyone, but
definitely should be experienced at least once.

* Aliens: Fireteam Elite
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1549970/Aliens_Fireteam_Elite/
Here's another recipe: take one part "Left 4 Dead", one part "Aliens:
Colonial Marines", sift out the crap, and spice to taste with bits of
"Vermintide" and "Alien Breed". Look, it's a solid co-op shooter where
you get to blast acid-blooded xenomorphs; do you really need more
detail? It's perhaps not the best example of the genre, but makes good
use of its license and you can finally play out your fantasies of
being an elite team of space-marines fighting off the xenomorph threat
with a bunch of friends. 'Nuff said?

* Life Is Strange 2: Complete
https://store.steampowered.com/app/532210/Life_is_Strange_2/
A follow-up to the critically reviewed adventure series of 2015, this
game doesn't take much chances and doesn't alter the formula too much.
Which is great if you liked the originals; now you get more! But if
you (like me) didn't warm up to the first series, "LIS2" isn't going
to convert you. Still, that's more because I just couldn't get into
the angsty story and characters rather than any unhappiness with the
gameplay. This game is made for a specific audience and I just don't
happen to be in that demographic; it's a good game if you like this
sort of thing.

* Rollerdrome
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1294420/Rollerdrome/
C'mon, with a title like that you know what this game is all about.
Zip about on roller-skates in ultra-competitive racing arenas. Okay,
maybe the use of guns and giant robots might be a bit surprising. Is
it good? No idea, but it looks interesting.

* Life and Suffering of Sir Brante
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1272160/The_Life_and_Suffering_of_Sir_Brante/
This game is described as a narrative adventure/RPG. What does this
mean? I've no idea; I think it's sort of along the lines of a
choose-your-own adventure gamebook, except on a computer. The trailers
don't really give you an idea of what the gameplay is actually like,
which isn't a good sign. On the other hand, I like the art style.

* Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1140270/Monster_Prom_2_Monster_Camp/
A multiplayer dating sim. Um, okay. Definitely not the sort of game
I'd go out and get. But there it is. It's definitely a thing. Can't
deny that fact.

* Revita
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1175460/Revita/
A retro-graphic twin-stick shooter. Might be fun. Not really gonna go
outta my way to find out, though.

* Founder's Fortune
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1104330/Founders_Fortune/
A "colony-sim"; is that a new genre? It's descriptive. One part
"Rust", one part "SimCity", one part "Stardew Valley". It looks fairly
harmless but if you like building things in open-world survival games
this could be for you.

So, all in all, an okay haul. "Fireteam Elite" and "Rollerdome" look
fun; "Death Stranding" is worth looking at, and - even though it's not
really for me, I'm happy to add "Life is Strange 2" to the library.
The rest are the usual filler ("Revita might be interesting but the
rest? Ehn) which will only appeal to specific audiences. But it's
definitely worth the $12 entrance price. Good job, Humble; you've
given me hope that my 'subscription' is worth it for at least another
month.

On Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 10:41:24 AM UTC-7, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> Another month of HumbleChoiciness. And an interesting month too; it's
> not just the usual trash!
>
> Specifically:
> (links to Steam are for informational purpose only; get the games from
> https://www.humblebundle.com/membership/
>
> * Death Stranding Director's Cut
> https://store.steampowered.com/app/1850570/DEATH_STRANDING_DIRECTORS_CUT/
> You're all probably /heard/ about this game, even if you haven't
> played it. Take one part Kojima, one part open-world survival, season
> a bit with some walking sim and a touch of physics puzzler, and you
> get "Death Stranding". Whatever else can be said for it, "Death
> Stranding" is a unique game that may not appeal to everyone, but
> definitely should be experienced at least once.

I really should get back to that now that my computer is fully upgraded
from the last time I played. It's not that my computer wasn't up to it,
it was just that it wasn't up to much beyond minimum/medium settings
and it was visually impressive even at that and I wanted to see it in all
its glorly.

It's just it's basically "The Postman" The game, with a lot of Japanese
weirdness (like MGS:V) and more tech though. It was somewhat
interesting as far as I got, which was 18 hours, and from what I've
read that's basically just the tutorial area... which is somewhat
offputting.

> * Aliens: Fireteam Elite
> https://store.steampowered.com/app/1549970/Aliens_Fireteam_Elite/
> Here's another recipe: take one part "Left 4 Dead", one part "Aliens:
> Colonial Marines", sift out the crap, and spice to taste with bits of
> "Vermintide" and "Alien Breed". Look, it's a solid co-op shooter where
> you get to blast acid-blooded xenomorphs; do you really need more
> detail? It's perhaps not the best example of the genre, but makes good
> use of its license and you can finally play out your fantasies of
> being an elite team of space-marines fighting off the xenomorph threat
> with a bunch of friends. 'Nuff said?

Sounds good to me!

>
> * Life Is Strange 2: Complete
> https://store.steampowered.com/app/532210/Life_is_Strange_2/
> A follow-up to the critically reviewed adventure series of 2015, this
> game doesn't take much chances and doesn't alter the formula too much.
> Which is great if you liked the originals; now you get more! But if
> you (like me) didn't warm up to the first series, "LIS2" isn't going
> to convert you. Still, that's more because I just couldn't get into
> the angsty story and characters rather than any unhappiness with the
> gameplay. This game is made for a specific audience and I just don't
> happen to be in that demographic; it's a good game if you like this
> sort of thing.

I'm not sure, I never played the original. The first episode of 2 is free
on steam, so effectively a demo if anyone wants to try it first.

> * Revita
> https://store.steampowered.com/app/1175460/Revita/
> A retro-graphic twin-stick shooter. Might be fun. Not really gonna go
> outta my way to find out, though.

Eh, it's a platformer twin stick... looks more like a cartoon version of
Commando. While I liked Commando in the arcade, I can't remember
a single other instance of such that was enjoyable in the least.

- Justisaur