From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
Oops. I'm a bit late with this month's HumbleChoice. But can you blame
me? It probably doesn't surprise anybody to learn that I'm just not as
excited about these monthly bundles as I used to be. Still, I'm not
ready to give up on the subscription just yet...
Alright, let's see what we have in store for us this month:
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* Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3061810/Like_a_Dragon_Pirate_Yakuza_in_Hawaii/
I never really could get that much into the Yakuza games.
The first few were interesting, especially for their hyper-
detailed (if limited in size) Tokyo neighborhoods, and there
was some charm to their characters and storylines... but
that was always balanced by the 'Japanese weird' mixtures
of gameplay and 'wacky' character and plot-beats. Later
games doubled down on the weird, and --while I won't say
they became worse games-- lost my interest. "Pirate Yakuza
in Hawaii" is, I'm sure, a fine title... but it's just too
offbeat for me.
* Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2751000/Prince_of_Persia_The_Lost_Crown/
"The Lost Crown" looks like a throwback to the original DOS-
era "Prince of Persia" games... and that's because it is. It's
a classic side-scrolling platformer/adventure, albeit with
better QOL and much nicer graphics. It's highly regarded and
the only reason I haven't played it yet --even though it's
already in my library-- is that it's an Ubisoft game and that
whole company makes me feel a bit icky.
* Psychonauts 2
https://store.steampowered.com/app/607080/Psychonauts_2/
Sequel to the beloved cult-classic of PC gaming, and --from
all reports-- almost as good as its original. It's creative
and artistic and...well, not original (what with it being a
sequel and all) but different enough from most other AAA games
that it almost feels original in comparison. But on the other
hand... the original was one of those games I 'appreciated'
more than I actually 'enjoyed', and the 3D platformer style
of gameplay featured in this franchise has never been my
favorite genre. It's one of those games I tell myself I
/should/ play but never get around to actually doing just
that.
* Deep Rock Galactic Survivor
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2321470/Deep_Rock_Galactic_Survivor/
DRGS describes itself as a "single player survivor-like
auto-shooter", and includes tags such as "roguelike"
(and "roguelite" too, to satisfy everyone) and "bullet heaven".
I guess its pretty enough, and the reviews are fairly positive...
but this doesn't look like the sort of game that I'd find
interesting for very long.
* Cataclismo
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1422440/Cataclismo/
Build up your castle and then fight off waves of enemies.
It's got shades of tower defense mixed in with a touch of
"Dungeon Keeper" and I guess if I devoted myself to this game
I could easily fall in love with... except I just don't really
see that happening. Especially with all the reviews indicating
this is a buggy game. I think I'll pass on this one.
* Dungeon & Degenerate Gamblers
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2400510/Dungeons__Degenerate_Gamblers/
It's a poker game. Oh sure, it's not all poker, and it has
a D&D-ish theme to it... but still, its poker. Fun if you
like playing card games on a computer but not really for
me.
* Asgard's Fall: Viking Survivors
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2780710/Asgards_Fall__Viking_Survivors/
From what I can tell, it's Vampire Survivors with a Norse theme;
a bullet-hell shooter with faux-retro visuals. Some people adore
these sort of games; I'm not one of them. And honestly, if I were
to play one, I'd probably just go with the better original game
than this knock-off.
* Toy Shire
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2361460/Toy_Shire/
A tower-defense game with "Army Men" stylings... and based
on the user reviews on Steam, not a very well made one at that.
I mean, sure the visuals look neat but I'd rather some gameplay
to back that up. Meh.
#
I'm not really on the fence with this one; I'm not interested in these
games. Or rather, the games I /am/ interested in I already own, and
the rest just don't seem worth the price. So yet another month where
I'm going to skip these titles (don't tell The Number; I think this is
the fifth month I'm depriving her of new games).
Still, if you don't own any of these (and enjoy the genres), "Lost
Crown" and "Psychonauts" are must-haves, the "Yakuza" game is good (if
not to my particular liking) and some of the rest are good filler.
It's not a bad bundle this month... just not worth it to me.
Well, there's always NEXT month.
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