HumbleChoice October 2024

We've an early start to this month's HumbleChoice; the games come out
on the first Tuesday of the month and -whaddaya know!- the first day
of October 2024 just happens to be a Tuesday. I wonder how often that
happens! But even though I didn't have to wait long, I'm still
impatient to see what we got!



* Remnant II
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1282100/REMNANT_II/
   This one is essentially a "Left4Dead" clone, in that
   it's a co-op PVE experience. Although it's probably
   better to point towards stuff like "Vermintide"
   because it has classes and loot too. It's okay --
   the shooty-shoot-shoot bits are solid-- but there's
   not enough world-development for my taste, and I'm
   not really a big fan of class-based shooters. Just
   give me a single hero who starts with a pea-shooter
   and graduates upwards as he finds more powerful gear;
   that's about as complicated as I want my games. But
   if you're the sort who likes diving into the mechanics
   -who min/maxes his classes and likes finding the best
   combination of gear and allies- you'll probably enjoy
   this one.


* Persona 5 Strikers
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1382330/Persona_5_Strikers/
   It's a Persona game, so if you get a kick outta those,
   you'll probably like this one too. It lacks a lot of
   the social simulation and has a lot less options with
   its story, though, being more focused on the fighting.
   I never really got into the franchise those -my Weeb
   score is too low, I guess- so a lot of what others
   find fascinating about these games escapes me. But
   if you like Persona, you'll like this one too.


* Jusant
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1977170/Jusant/
   My first thought was: is this a love-child of Justisaur
   and Ant? No, it's a third-person climbing game; you
   start at the bottom of a giant tower and keep on going
   to the top, figuring out ways to get past the various
   obstacles on the way. There's some mild puzzling and
   crafting, but it's really not intended to be a super-
   challenging game; it's more about the zen of climbing.
   It's not very long, though.


* Dome Keeper
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1637320/Dome_Keeper/
   An odd mix of shooter and platformer. The shooty bits
   have you mining a turret on the surface of the planet
   and taking down waves of enemies; the platforming bits
   have you descending into mines looking for resources
   to repair and upgrade your turret. Neither aspect are
   particularly appealing to me, and the retro graphics
   don't help, but that doesn't mean it isn't a solid
   game. It's just not to my taste.


* Jack Move
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1099640/Jack_Move/
   Another game with retro-graphics. Have you picked up
   yet how absolutely unappealing I find old-school
   graphics? It's not that I can't like games that use
   them, but the rest of the game has to be really good
   to make me want to play it despite the old-school
   graphics. And, honestly, I don't think Jack Move is
   that sort of game. It's fine for what it is, I
   suppose --a JRPG-style game with a cyberpunk setting--
   but it doesn't really stand out in any way. It's a
   'why bother' sort of game; sure I might enjoy it, but
   there are so many other, better-looking games out
   there that I'd like just as much, so why should I
   play this one?


* Station to Station
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2272400/Station_to_Station/
   This one is sort of an odd cross between "Tikka to
   Ride", "Railroad Tycoon" and something akin to
   "Townscaper". It's mostly about creating a cute
   little diaoramic worlds criss-crossed with railroad
   tracks. It's got a cutesy/cozy vibe to it, but I think
   a focus on one style over the others would have made
   for a better experience.


* Remnant Records
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1916310/Remnant_Records/
   As far as I can tell, this game has nothing to do
   with "Remnant II" above except in the similarity of
   names and a vague resemblance thanks to the super-
   natural antagonists. But "Records" is more of a social
   adventure game, where you and up to three other players
   (the game can be played solo, but its really meant to
   be co-op) enter a house and try to figure out the
   necessary steps to exorcise its resident haunt. The
   core concept seems interesting, but the actual
   implementation doesn't look that exciting (it's
   reportedly quite buggy too)


* McPixel 3
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1338580/McPixel_3/
   <sigh> More pixel-graphics. I'm so, so tired of pixel
   graphics. Gameplay seems to be a mix of adventuring and
   arcade mini-games; the humor is basic and honestly I
   just don't see the appeal at all. Others might.



This month's selection is a trial for me. On the one hand, most of the
games just aren't the sort of thing I normally enjoy. On the other
hand, one of the things I _like_ about HumbleChoice is how it
introduces me to titles outside my usual genres. None of these games
are out-and-out /bad/; most I'd rate as significantly above average.
They just don't look like games I'd want to play. Usually at least one
game in the HumbleChoice selection that I'm happy to add to my library
--that I've been keeping my eye on waiting for it to drop down to a
reasonable price-- but there isn't even that much this time. So as
much as I like to expand my horizons, I'm really considering skipping
this month. It just doesn't seem worth the money this time. For me, at
least.