18
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Humble Choice - August 2024
August 2024's Humble Choice is now available with the following eight Steam games.
| Steam Page | Opencritic | Steam Recent/All | Operating Systems | Steam Deck | ProtonDB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sifu | 81 | 93/92 | Win | ✅ Verified | 🎖️ Platinum |
| High on Life | 70 | 85/89 | Win | ✅ Verified | 🎖️ Platinum |
| Gotham Knights | 68 | 67/68 | Win | 🟨 Playable | 🟨 Gold |
| BLACKTAIL | 79 | 86/84 | Win | ✅ Verified | 🟨 Gold |
| Astral Ascent | 86 | 93/93 | Win, Mac, Linux | ✅ Verified | ✅ Native |
| Diluvian Ultra | N/A | 80 | Win | ❓ Unknown | 🕙 Awaiting Reports |
| Universe for Sale | N/A | 95 | Win, Mac, Linux | ✅ Verified | ✅ Native |
| This Means Warp | N/A | 75 | Win | 🟨 Playable | 🎖️ Platinum |
Does anyone have experience with any of the games and, if so, would you recommend them? Is there anything in here that you're particularly excited to play?
I'm especially curious if anyone has playtime in This Means Warp.
If it is, in fact, a co-op FTL and is at least B- grade, it's an instabuy.
I really like Sifu. I've seen people label it as a rogue like, but while there's a some permanent upgrade to unlock it's really a beat them up, à la Street of Rage or Final Fight. Except of course it's a 3d game, and the overall theme of the game is Hong Kong martial arts flick and not 80s punk.
Mechanically you also have some slight Sekiro influence in that you are expected to grow as a player instead of relying purely on XP grinding (the unlockable give you more options, but it doesn't make the game easier).
I like the graphical mood of the game. It's stylized 3d that remind me of Arcane (well, both things are made by French people). The animation is top notch (they hired a actual kung fu well, master, to do the mocap), and the sound design is also very good (those metal pipe sound are brutal).
Lastly, it's a cinephile game. While the overall theme is kung fu movies, there's also direct citation of Old Boy, John Wick, and even The Matrix.
I'm so bad at Sekiro and games that require so much accurate timing. They remind me of rhythm games lol. I crack under pressure. I'll hit the first few notes, but once I miss one then it all goes to hell. The bits about having good animation and having movie influences interests me though. Is there an easy mode? Are these elements strong enough to carry the game in spite that I might suck at the game play?
It does have an easy mode. FWIW I get what they're saying with Sekiro, but I think a more direct comparison would be the fights in the Batman Arkham games or similar. You're mostly doing light/heavy attacks and blocks/dodges. The combat system's deeper than that with combos and such where if you get good at it you feel like you're in an old kung fu movie, but the basics are relatively simple.
I would say there's definitely a Sekiro influence do to the posture system (break it and you're then allowed to perform a death blow) and the gimmick with life and death.
That said you're right as most of the game have a bigger emphasis in crowd control whereas in Sekiro it's generally a bad thing if you have multiple enemies. But overall the environment in both Sekiro and Batman are huge, whereas here it's all in a corridor; I really do think that my comparison with Street of Rage is apt. Also, related: stealth. There's next to none in Sifu.
Gimmick with life and death: in effect you can respawn just like in Sekiro, but not just once. This is indicated by an "age" gauge (it somehow also make you more powerful, but I don't think I noticed the effect that much?).
The timing is not as demanding as in Sekiro but moreso than Batman. I feel that the boss attack strings are quite short (not as long as in Sekiro, but then I abandoned that game halfway through). You do feel pressured at the start, but then (at least for me) you do gradually see the patterns, reduce your aggression and know when to punish and when to flee.
Aesthetically for me it peaks on level 3 (there's 5 of them). It's a level that takes place in a museum and there's definitely some flex from the art department. But it's more vibes-based than cutscenes-based like you could find in your typical DMC or Bayonetta (you're not gonna ride).
It's also where I found my first difficulty wall. That said, I think it was intended: you are incentivized to go back to previous level and do better so that you can face current boss level at a younger age. You can also unlock some shortcuts by exploring the levels. Can't age if there's no people to make you older ! (there's a tradeoff where some of the run-wise unlock are based on score that you can't reach if you don't take down enough enemies)
Not my favorite list to choose from. I'm interested in Sifu and Gotham Knights even though it got a a rough release from critics. The loot system seems out of place, but I really like the Batman universe so I bet I'd enjoy it to some extent.
Not too sure if you're aware but you get all of the games on the list!
Oh lol That's a much better deal!!
I thought you got to pick one as part of the subscription haha.
If you've had a subscription for a while, be sure to go back and claim all the games you missed! It's been this way for at least a year and a bit, if I remember correctly.
I bought BLACKTAIL a day or two before seeing this so you're welcome everyone that wanted to try it lol. Slavic mythology is basically Carrow-bait, but I was also drawn to the palettes, environments, unique skill system, and colorful characters. It follows Baba Yaga as a young witch coming into her own, though I expect exploring the world will be the more fun part. From reviews, the folks that liked it seemed to have really enjoyed it.
Thank you for your sacrifice.
Somewhat similarly, BLACKTAIL was the most interesting looking game in the bunch to me. I was excited to get it!
Then, when I was activating my keys, I learned that I actually already owned it.
Great to have a Humble Choice that's finally worth getting for me, though it's amusingly got nothing I'm particularly excited to get. Sifu and Astral Ascent were both games I figured I'd pick up some day when they're cheap, and I wouldn't even buy Gotham Knights, but I've been sitting on a key from a previous charity bundle, which is useless unless I get a second key, because if I were to bother playing it, it would at least have to be together with my partner. Maybe its multiplayer won't get shut down before we try it.
So this bundle sweeps up all three of those nicely, and there are a couple other "sure whatever" tier games in there. Looks like I haven't taken a Choice bundle since early 2023--only three more months left now from a Black Friday 13-month deal so old I don't think it was even Choice yet.
This was a skip month for me. I already own Gotham Knights and High on Life. Diluvian Ultra was on my wishlist but I dropped it during the last sale. Sifu looks cool but I think I'd play it exactly twice and never again. I don't know anything about the other games.
The value probably still comes out in my benefit but I've started to get more picky. If there's nothing I want to play that I don't already own, it's a skip. I still recommend it for Gotham Knights though. That game is decent. Don't get discouraged by the early reliance on the batcycle for traversal; it gets better.
Wait, like Humble that just laid off their employees Humble? I thought they were shutting down?
Humble Games, the game publishing business, shut down. Humble Bundle, the game storefront, did not.