Hey! Hey, hey, hey! You know what day it is today? First Tuesday of
the month, that's what day! Are you excited? I'm excited! Can you tell
that I'm excited? 'Cause I'm excited! Today's another chance to get 8
new games! How can't I be excited? Let's go see what games we get!!!!!

This month, you get:

* Risk of Rain 2
https://store.steampowered.com/app/632360/Risk_of_Rain_2
I've not heard of this game before. Actually, you could
say that of pretty much every game this month. Doesn't
mean they're bad; just unknown. Oooh! Mystery! Anyway,
"Risk of Rain" seems to be a unlikely mix of "Elden Ring"
and "No Man's Sky"; git-gud melee combat combined with
soothing visuals and exploring/surviving an alien world.
I'm not really a fan of roguelikes, but this one seems
polished, so maybe I'll give it a try.

* Knights of Honor II: Sovereign
https://store.steampowered.com/app/736820/Knights_of_Honor_II_Sovereign/
A 'grand strategy' game seemingly in the mold of "Crusader
Kings" with perhaps a touch more focus on combat and
conquest. It's arguably not as polished as the Paradox
games* but it still looks fun. Surveys say strategy is
on a decline; let's prove them wrong ;-)

* Lego 2K Drive Awesome Edition
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1451810/LEGO_2K_Drive/
We need more 'awesome edition' games. 'Complete'
and 'Gold' and 'Game of the Year' are so boring! Anyway,
this is a racer with the usual Lego twist; mix-n-match
pieces to make your car, then hit the track. Conceptually
cool, and generally well executed, it's let down
mostly by the heavy monetizations (somewhat minimized
by the awesome edition) and the 3rd-party account
requirement. So overall a mixed bag; I WANT to play
this game, but I may avoid it just because I don't
want to have to sign up to another service just to
get the game running.

* Warhammer 40,000: Battle Sector
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1295500/Warhammer_40000_Battlesector/
Yet another Warhammer game. Gee, didn't we just have
a thread about how many Warhammer games there are? Anyway,
this one is tactical turn-based strategy; guide your
little space marines around and shoot heretics, mutants
and aliens. You know, the usual. A solid campaign and
looks-like-fun combat; too bad it's got the usual Games
Workshop MTX where you have to buy a half-dozen DLC to
complete the package.

* Miasma Chronicles
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1649010/Miasma_Chronicles/
The game description says, "From the makers of 'Mutant
Year Zero'", which isn't the selling point they seem to
think it is. Still, even if the execution of MYZ wasn't
so great, it did have some interesting art and concepts.
"Miasma" seems to be the same, but hopefully its gameplay
(top-down RPG with turn-based combat) is better done.
Anyway, it /looks/ interesting. I need to give it a try.

* Stray Gods: The Role-Playing Musical
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1920780/Stray_Gods_The_Roleplaying_Musical/
With a name like that... I mean, I've no idea if its any
good but I /gotta/ try it! Although calling it a role-
playing game seems inaccurate; it seems more akin to
a Telltale-style adventure game (albeit with a lot poorer
production values). I guess your enjoyment for a game
like this depends a lot on how much you like showtunes.
But I'm willing to give it a shot!

* A Guidebook to Babel
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1467920/A_Guidebook_of_Babel/
An Indie point-n-click adventure game. I can't really
tell much more what the game is really like; apparently
'the butterfly effect' is a core conceit of the game (so
maybe it involves time travel?) and I'm not much a fan
of the visuals. But I'm happy to give an interesting
adventure game a chance to shine.

* Empyrion: Galactic Survival
https://store.steampowered.com/app/383120/Empyrion__Galactic_Survival/
An Indie sandbox survival game; this one too seems to owe
a lot to "No Man's Sky", except its biggest change seems
that to be that it uses more realistic-looking visuals.
Apparently the core game is quite solid (if a bit early-
access), but all the development has gone into paid DLC,
so there's a dearth of content and story unless you shell
out. So why play this game over "No Man's Sky", which
-almost ten years on- is still releasing free expansions?
I've no idea.

Is this a good selection this month? I can't tell! A lot of the games
LOOK interesting, but are they actually as interesting and fun as I
hope? Most of the issues seem to be publisher-related rather than
faults with the games themselves. Still, both "Miasma Chronicles" and
"Knights of Honor II" look very appealing to me; "WH40K Battlesector"
and "Stray Gods" might be fun, and even "Risk of Rain" and "A
Guidebook to Bable" seem worthy of a chance. (I'd love to say the same
about "Lego 2K Drive" but that 3rd party account requirement? No
thanks).

But this eclectic mix is one of the reasons I quite like HumbleChoice;
you never know what you're going to get, and it introduces you to a
lot of new titles you might otherwise overlook. This month is a
perfect example of this. I think the $12 entry fee is worth the price.
Maybe you agree, maybe you don't -and maybe it's just the three cans
of Red Bull in my system- but I'm excited about this month's
selection. I'm going for it!

--------------------------
* side note: Crusader Kings 2 is free-to-play now. This isn't a new
thing, I don't think, and has nothing to do with HumbleBundle. I just
wanted to point it out in case you were unaware. If you've wanted to
give Crusaders King a try, you can nab it gratis at:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/203770/Crusader_Kings_II/

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 21:52 this Tuesday (GMT):
>
> Hey! Hey, hey, hey! You know what day it is today? First Tuesday of
> the month, that's what day! Are you excited? I'm excited! Can you tell
> that I'm excited? 'Cause I'm excited! Today's another chance to get 8
> new games! How can't I be excited? Let's go see what games we get!!!!!
>
> This month, you get:
>
> * Risk of Rain 2
> https://store.steampowered.com/app/632360/Risk_of_Rain_2
> I've not heard of this game before. Actually, you could
> say that of pretty much every game this month. Doesn't
> mean they're bad; just unknown. Oooh! Mystery! Anyway,
> "Risk of Rain" seems to be a unlikely mix of "Elden Ring"
> and "No Man's Sky"; git-gud melee combat combined with
> soothing visuals and exploring/surviving an alien world.
> I'm not really a fan of roguelikes, but this one seems
> polished, so maybe I'll give it a try.

"Risk" of rain? It's been raining all week! :D

(but rly, I need to start avoiding rougelikes I don't like them all that
much lol)

> * Knights of Honor II: Sovereign
> https://store.steampowered.com/app/736820/Knights_of_Honor_II_Sovereign/
> A 'grand strategy' game seemingly in the mold of "Crusader
> Kings" with perhaps a touch more focus on combat and
> conquest. It's arguably not as polished as the Paradox
> games* but it still looks fun. Surveys say strategy is
> on a decline; let's prove them wrong ;-)

Yeah! (even if i dont personally like strat games!)

> * Lego 2K Drive Awesome Edition
> https://store.steampowered.com/app/1451810/LEGO_2K_Drive/
> We need more 'awesome edition' games. 'Complete'
> and 'Gold' and 'Game of the Year' are so boring! Anyway,
> this is a racer with the usual Lego twist; mix-n-match
> pieces to make your car, then hit the track. Conceptually
> cool, and generally well executed, it's let down
> mostly by the heavy monetizations (somewhat minimized
> by the awesome edition) and the 3rd-party account
> requirement. So overall a mixed bag; I WANT to play
> this game, but I may avoid it just because I don't
> want to have to sign up to another service just to
> get the game running.

OOF, third party services kill my interest..

> * Warhammer 40,000: Battle Sector
> https://store.steampowered.com/app/1295500/Warhammer_40000_Battlesector/
> Yet another Warhammer game. Gee, didn't we just have
> a thread about how many Warhammer games there are? Anyway,
> this one is tactical turn-based strategy; guide your
> little space marines around and shoot heretics, mutants
> and aliens. You know, the usual. A solid campaign and
> looks-like-fun combat; too bad it's got the usual Games
> Workshop MTX where you have to buy a half-dozen DLC to
> complete the package.

Well, hopefully the DLC isn't too much money...

> * Miasma Chronicles
> https://store.steampowered.com/app/1649010/Miasma_Chronicles/
> The game description says, "From the makers of 'Mutant
> Year Zero'", which isn't the selling point they seem to
> think it is. Still, even if the execution of MYZ wasn't
> so great, it did have some interesting art and concepts.
> "Miasma" seems to be the same, but hopefully its gameplay
> (top-down RPG with turn-based combat) is better done.
> Anyway, it /looks/ interesting. I need to give it a try.

Doesn't seem my kinda game but the environments look beautiful.

> * Stray Gods: The Role-Playing Musical
> https://store.steampowered.com/app/1920780/Stray_Gods_The_Roleplaying_Musical/
> With a name like that... I mean, I've no idea if its any
> good but I /gotta/ try it! Although calling it a role-
> playing game seems inaccurate; it seems more akin to
> a Telltale-style adventure game (albeit with a lot poorer
> production values). I guess your enjoyment for a game
> like this depends a lot on how much you like showtunes.
> But I'm willing to give it a shot!

I love cheesy musical numbers! Unfortunately, it's not on Linux :(

> * A Guidebook to Babel
> https://store.steampowered.com/app/1467920/A_Guidebook_of_Babel/
> An Indie point-n-click adventure game. I can't really
> tell much more what the game is really like; apparently
> 'the butterfly effect' is a core conceit of the game (so
> maybe it involves time travel?) and I'm not much a fan
> of the visuals. But I'm happy to give an interesting
> adventure game a chance to shine.

I love the visuals! Unfortunately, not on Linux again :(

> * Empyrion: Galactic Survival
> https://store.steampowered.com/app/383120/Empyrion__Galactic_Survival/
> An Indie sandbox survival game; this one too seems to owe
> a lot to "No Man's Sky", except its biggest change seems
> that to be that it uses more realistic-looking visuals.
> Apparently the core game is quite solid (if a bit early-
> access), but all the development has gone into paid DLC,
> so there's a dearth of content and story unless you shell
> out. So why play this game over "No Man's Sky", which
> -almost ten years on- is still releasing free expansions?
> I've no idea.

I kinda suffer in sandbox games, so pass..IDK why I keep trying to play
em lol.

> Is this a good selection this month? I can't tell! A lot of the games
> LOOK interesting, but are they actually as interesting and fun as I
> hope? Most of the issues seem to be publisher-related rather than
> faults with the games themselves. Still, both "Miasma Chronicles" and
> "Knights of Honor II" look very appealing to me; "WH40K Battlesector"
> and "Stray Gods" might be fun, and even "Risk of Rain" and "A
> Guidebook to Bable" seem worthy of a chance. (I'd love to say the same
> about "Lego 2K Drive" but that 3rd party account requirement? No
> thanks).
>
> But this eclectic mix is one of the reasons I quite like HumbleChoice;
> you never know what you're going to get, and it introduces you to a
> lot of new titles you might otherwise overlook. This month is a
> perfect example of this. I think the $12 entry fee is worth the price.
> Maybe you agree, maybe you don't -and maybe it's just the three cans
> of Red Bull in my system- but I'm excited about this month's
> selection. I'm going for it!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------
> * side note: Crusader Kings 2 is free-to-play now. This isn't a new
> thing, I don't think, and has nothing to do with HumbleBundle. I just
> wanted to point it out in case you were unaware. If you've wanted to
> give Crusaders King a try, you can nab it gratis at:
> https://store.steampowered.com/app/203770/Crusader_Kings_II/

Not my kinda game.

Thanks Spalls!
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

On 6/4/2024 2:52 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>
> Hey! Hey, hey, hey! You know what day it is today? First Tuesday of
> the month, that's what day! Are you excited? I'm excited! Can you tell
> that I'm excited? 'Cause I'm excited! Today's another chance to get 8
> new games! How can't I be excited? Let's go see what games we get!!!!!
>
> This month, you get:
>
> * Risk of Rain 2
> https://store.steampowered.com/app/632360/Risk_of_Rain_2
> I've not heard of this game before. Actually, you could
> say that of pretty much every game this month. Doesn't
> mean they're bad; just unknown. Oooh! Mystery! Anyway,
> "Risk of Rain" seems to be a unlikely mix of "Elden Ring"
> and "No Man's Sky"; git-gud melee combat combined with
> soothing visuals and exploring/surviving an alien world.
> I'm not really a fan of roguelikes, but this one seems
> polished, so maybe I'll give it a try.

From November 2020, my "What have you played this month?" for it.

Unlike the original Risk of Rain which is a Rogue-Like Platformer and
at least in the top 3 of Indy games I've played in this millennium,
RoR2 is a Rogue Like looter shooter, and at best just o.k. It looks
like all the enemies in RoR has been made 3d and a lot of lore added
to the game. However it's still a bit of a platformer and even
getting to some areas can be difficult or impossible if your character
doesn't have some ability to go up, or found items to do so. You
don't have to get to those areas though. It is timed to get harder as
time goes on so you need to be quick, but killing enemies and
advancement is slow, and there's no in game map (may be in an item
that can be found later?) or radar (there's an item that can point out
collectables but you have to be lucky enough to find it first, and I
found it almost worse than nothing because there's a number of things
that you may not want to or are unable to get due to being unable to
carry more than 1 of that type.) The graphics look very simplistic,
but it kind of works for that, with a somewhat psychedelic alien
look. The music is amazing with a psychedelic electronic feel, but I
think it's recycled from RoR. It has an online multiplayer play, but
I wasn't able to find any games to play in, so it appears dead already
which is a bad sign for something so new, there were a few but they
were either to only exchange items (which I'm not even sure what the
point is in a Rogue-Like) or very advanced into the game. It
definitely isn't anywhere up to Immortal Redneck if you want a
Rogue-Like Looter Shooter and I'd recommend that first if you haven't
played it. If you liked IR, then you might like RoR2, but possibly
not.

--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
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