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NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 04 Sep 2024 14:46:23 +0000
From: Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
Subject: Humble Choice September 2024
Date: Wed, 04 Sep 2024 10:46:24 -0400
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[I posted this yesterday, but it looks as if it never got through.
Let's try again. Apologies if it duplicates]

It's the start of a new month, which means it's time for a flood of
new games from HumbleChoice. Still not free, but usually worth the
cost of entry. We'll see if the trend continues!



* Marvels Guardians of the Galaxy
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1088850/Marvels_Guardians_of_the_Galaxy/
     You can probably guess what this game is all about by 
     its title alone; an action/RPG based on the popular 
     movie franchise. Generally well regarded, with the 
     biggest complaint being that, ultimately, it doesn't 
     break any new ground narratively or mechanically. 
     It's fine.


* Stranded: Alien Dawn
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1324130/Stranded_Alien_Dawn/
     Another of the myriad open-world, first-person 
     survival games. This time you're plonked down on 
     an alien planet, but other than that it isn't much 
     different from "Raft" or "Rimworld" or "Ark" or 
     any of the others. It's not bad, but it lacks 
     originality. If you've never played any of its 
     competitors, you might as well play this one; 
     otherwise, "Stranded" offers nothing new.

* Coral Island
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1158160/Coral_Island/
     Essentially "Harvest Moon" or "Animal Crossing", 
     except this time set on a tropical island. Really, 
     that's pretty much all there is to say about it. If 
     you like these sort of cozy games, you'll likely 
     enjoy this one too. Otherwise, its hard to recommend 
     over its competitors.

* Spongebob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1282150/SpongeBob_SquarePants_The_Cosmic_Shake/
     It's Spongebob; I don't care enough to give it a 
     description. If you -or your kids- like the character, 
     here is another video game featuring him. 


* Lost Eidolons
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1580520/Lost_Eidolons/?curator_clanid=44473362
     A turn-based strategy/RPG, akin to the old "Fire Emblem" 
     games on Nintendo. Unpolished, limited in scope, and 
     with a rough difficulty curve, it's a type of game that 
     is an acquired taste. Not really to my liking.


* Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1755830/Astrea_SixSided_Oracles/
     The game's description says, "Astrea is a DICE-deck-
     building roguelike" and that's about where I tuned out. 
     I'm sorry; this might be the greatest game in the world, 
     but deck-building mechanics just piss me off. Nope.


* Infraspace
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1511460/InfraSpace/
     Hey! This game was actually on my wishlist! I mean, I 
     knew I was never going to actually BUY it until it 
     dropped down to the <$5USD price-point, but it was 
     something I wanted! Anyway, it's another in a long 
     line of 'factory-building' style games, where the 
     real puzzle is managing the routing of resources 
     (and finished goods). Honestly, the whole genre is 
     a bit too fiddly for me to really enjoy it --I prefer 
     the more hands-off approach in games like "Cities 
     Skylines"-- but I like giving games like Infraspace 
     a try, even if I know I'm not going to stick with 
     them very long. Thanks Humble! 


* You Suck At Parking
https://store.steampowered.com/app/837880/You_Suck_at_Parking__Complete_Edition/
     A racing game with the hook that stopping in a very 
     particular spot (your parking space) is as important 
     as getting there first. I'd probably enjoy this one 
     more if it wasn't a top-down racer, MicroMachines-
     style. I never could get the hang of those. 



So, I'll be honest: this month's selection is leaving me a bit
unsatisfied. But that's not because the games aren't good; it's just
that so many of them aren't the sort of game I'd want to play. Still,
just getting "Infraspace" on Steam is worth the price of admission for
me, and there are a few others I'll want to at least take a look at.
Not a great month, but not a total wipe either.  And anyway, it's not
like I don't have a huge backlog of games already ;-)

But hopefully next month's HumbleChoice selections will be a bit more
to my liking. I guess we'll find out in thirty* days!














--------------
* technically, 28 days. This message is to pre-empt any pedants who'd
feel it necessary to correct me. ;-)