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From: Kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
Subject: Re: Humble Choice for August 2024
Date: Wed, 7 Aug 2024 12:55:53 +0200
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On 8/6/2024 9:51 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> 
> Last month I said that the first-Tuesday-of-the-month was rapidly
> becoming my favorite day of the month, and the HumbleChoice's July
> selection made me all the more certain of that statement. But will
> August live up to that assumption? Let's see what they have for us
> this time!
> 
> 
>          * SIFU
>   	   https://store.steampowered.com/app/2138710/Sifu/
>            The one with the Kung-Fu fighting. Unleash your inner
>            Bruce Lee in this stylish brawler. It's an extremely
>            well-made, if somewhat limited in scope, and the only
>            downside is that I'm not that much of a fan of
>            brawling games. But I'm willing to give this one a
>            chance; it just looks too cool to miss out on.

I was briefly interested, but it seems... very limited.

> 
> 
> 	* High On Life
> 	   https://store.steampowered.com/app/1583230/High_On_Life/
> 	  The one with the talking gun. Coarse and sophomoric,
> 	  its style belies its solid gameplay, but damn you'd
> 	  better be able to stomach the stupid jokes and visuals.
> 	  It's not half as funny as it thinks it is (well, unless
> 	  you play it while high, in which case you'll probably
> 	  have a blast). But the shootie-shoot-shoot bits are
> 	  well done.
> 

yeah, I saw some good reviews of that one before. This might be 
something I'd at least try once.

> 
> 	* Gotham Knights
> 	   https://store.steampowered.com/app/1496790/Gotham_Knights/
> 	  The one where you DON'T play as Batman. Despite the
> 	  obvious resources poured into the project, it's a
> 	  very mid-tier game and, despite all the hopes of Warner
> 	  Brothers, in no way a suitable follow-up to the awesome
> 	  Arkham games. Performance issues (and Denuvo) make me
> 	  want this game even less.

I could have sworn I had Gotham Knights already on Epic, but I guess I 
just got confused. Every time I looked at it I was like...naaaah

> 
> 
> 	* Blacktail
> 	   https://store.steampowered.com/app/1532690/BLACKTAIL/
> 	  The one with Baba Yaga. A bit clunky but very pretty
> 	  first-person shooter made with a lot of style and
> 	  focus on narrative. But it has a distinct lack of
> 	  polish that quickly overwhelms the initial euphoria.
> 	  It's one of those games you really want to enjoy more
> 	  than you actually do. It's not out-and-out bad, but it
> 	  has a lot of rough edges.
> 
Survival game I think. I don't actually like those that much. Some of 
them might be good, most of them are boring. Still, I might try it.

> 
> 	* Astral Ascent
> 	   https://store.steampowered.com/app/1280930/Astral_Ascent/
> 	  The one with the retro graphics. No, not that one;
> 	  one of the thousands of others. A fairly humdrum if
> 	  competently made side-view action/platformer. It's fine;
> 	  it just doesn't stand-out.
> 
> 
> 	* Diluvian Ultra
> 	   https://store.steampowered.com/app/1306970/Diluvian_Ultra/
> 	  The one with the title that makes it sound more
> 	  impressive than it really is. It's a retro-themed
>   	  boomer-shooter, and a fairly generic one at that. Very
> 	  rough around the edges, with the unsatisfying weapons
> 	  especially pulling down the rest of the game. Really,
> 	  it's the sort of game only for die-hard fans of the
> 	  boomer-shooter genre who have to play every possible
> 	  iteration of those games. It's got very little for
> 	  anyone outside that circle.

Gah. Fuck is that ugly. And that's just the trailer.

> 	* Universe For Sale
> 
> https://store.steampowered.com/app/1627840/Universe_For_Sale/
> 	  The one that is a visual novel. It has an interest setting
> 	  but, really, it's little more than an interactive comic
> 	  book. I'm not saying those games don't have any value, but
> 	  I've no interest in them. Just give me a book already.
> 

This looks like one of those slow-paced adventures that I really want to 
try but then never get the energy up for. It might be a great game, but 
I will install this and then uninstall it unplayed after a few months 
because I never am in a mood for it.

> 
> 
> 	* This Means Warp
> 	   https://store.steampowered.com/app/1269300/This_Means_Warp/
> 	  The one that is an FTL clone. Except it has a procedurally
> 	  generated universe that you can explore and isn't as good.
> 	  Just play FTL.

While it might be a FTL clone it has one thing that sets it apart from 
that: it's a cooperative game with a style closer to Overcooked. So this 
might be good for couch-coop? From the trailer it seems somewhat clunky, 
but I will try out if that is something I could play with my kids.

> 
> 
> 
> I'll admit it; these choices are challenging my 'favorite-day-
> of-the-month' theory. It hasn't overturned it entirely, though;
> although not generally my style, "Sifu" is too good to not grab, and
> "High on Life" and "Blacktail" are worth grabbing even if they aren't
> /great/ games. As I've said, one of the things I /like/ about
> HumbleChoice is how it exposes me to games I normally wouldn't
> purchase because I'd rather put my money to games more suited to my
> tastes. These curated selections make me expand my horizons, and
> that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's definitely worth the pittance
> I spend each month.
> 
> So while August's games aren't making me leap with joy, neither are
> they making me abandon my favorite-day theory. I just hope next month
> it'll be a bit more favoriter, if you know what I mean.
> 
> 
>