HumbleChoice May 2024

The first Tuesdays of the month are rapidly becoming my favorite days.
Sure, HumbleChoice games are rarely great, but they often are /good
enough/, and there's enough variety to make it worth it. And 8 games
for $12 USD... it feels like such a bargain! How can I not be gleeful
at the opportunity to clutter up my video-game library when the price
is so cheap?!

So, what has Humble got for us this month?


* Yakuza: Like A Dragon
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1235140/Yakuza_Like_a_Dragon/
   I've such mixed feelings about the Yakuza games. On the one
   hand, their gameplay mechanics aren't too exciting to me, and
   their odd mix of styles falls into a genre I've classified
   as "Japanese weird" that rarely leaves me satisfied. On the
   other hand... there's something quite appealing about the
   detailed worlds, the well-designed mechanics, and the
   strangely compelling storylines. I'm not sure I actually
   /like/ the Yakuza games... but they're also games I don't
   want to miss a chance at playing either.

* Hi-Fi Rush
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1817230/HiFi_RUSH/
   A very stylish action/adventure/beat-em-up. Its twist:
   your attacks are more effective if you smack the bad-guys
   to the beat of the soundtrack. I'd love this game more if
   I had any natural rhythm. Sadly, I'm musically disinclined
   so these mechanics are always more chore than fun for me.

* Steel Rising
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1283400/Steelrising/
   In essence: Dark Souls in revolutionary France with a
   bit of steampunk thrown in. Beautiful map design; somewhat
   shoddy gameplay mechanics and pacing. Still, there's
   something oddly appealing about this one. I think I need to
   give it a chance.

* Loddlenaut
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1644940/Loddlenaut/
   Take the role of an astronaut cleaning up a polluted planet.
   Sort of an odd cross between "Viscera Cleanup Detail" and
   "No Man's Sky". Honestly, a bit too cutesy in its visual
   for my liking, and I can't say its gameplay looks all
   that exciting. Not a bad game, I don't think, but not
   necessarily something I would enjoy.

* King of the Castle
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1839880/King_Of_The_Castle/
   A 'party game' where you try to politic yourself to
   the throne. It's sort of like a simplistic version of
   "Victoriana" except you play against other people instead
   of AI. Supposedly only one person needs to buy the game and
   others can play free through a browser app. There doesn't
   seem to be a lot to see or do in the game, though, and I'm
   pretty sure I won't be able to find enough people interested
   in the game to make it worth it for me.

* Bravery and Greed
https://store.steampowered.com/app/943370/Bravery_and_Greed/
   A colorful, vaguely retro-styled brawler that has you
   going through a dungeon looking for loot. Its visual style
   is appealing, and it has a robust combat system to boot, but
   that's counterbalanced by it's 'rogue-like' mechanics,
   which implies a lot of repetition. It looks interesting
   to me, sure, but it's not a must-play.

* Amanda the Adventurer
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2166060/Amanda_the_Adventurer/
   A first-person horror game. I think it's a knock-off of games
   like "Poppy Playtime"; the antagonist is a cutesy kid-
   friendly mascot turned villainous. In and of itself, not a
   bad concept, just a bit overdone. It's not entirely clear
   what the gameplay itself is either; survival horror?
   Adventure-style logic games? Well, maybe it's worth a look,
   but I'm not expecting much.

* Mediterranea Inferno
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2103680/Mediterranea_Inferno/
   A visual-novel style game, with a focus on young-adults to
   boot. I've no opinion on the game itself, but the subject matter
   and genre are so out of my area of interest that I'm just
   going to ignore this one without even bothering to learn
   any more about it.



A very mixed bag this month. "Yakuza" and "Steelrising" are both
welcome additions to my library; "Hi-fi Rush", "Bravery and Greed" and
"Amanda the Adventurer" all deserve at least a look. But "Loddlenaut",
"King of the Castle" and (especially) "Mediterranea Inferno" are all
pretty much wasted, as far as I'm concerned.

Well, that's the way it is with HumbleChoice sometimes, and the Yakuza
game alone makes it worth the cost of entry. And spending a mere $12
USD to see The Number go up by 8 is always a pleasure. First Tuesday
of the Month, you're still a welcome day 'round here!