Humble Monthly Review: July 2018

Intro

Welcome back to the Humble Monthly Review. Regrettable, due to school obligations I was unable to make a review of the June bundle. I was only able to play some of the games that month, a handful of which I played for more than an hour. Just to give a quick impression of what I played: Styx is great fun but I wish it would tone down on the pop culture references, Yooka-Laylee is a worthy successor to Banjo-Kazooie, Bear With Me needs to decide if it wants to be an atmospheric thriller or a Lucasarts clone, The Pillar of Earth is way better than its art style would suggest and Acceleration of SUGURI 2 somehow managed to feel too sluggish and fast paced at the same time. I sadly missed Cooked, Served Delicious and Subserial Network and I’m not sure when I’ll ever play them. I also played several hours of Destiny 2 but every time I wanted to write something about it I got all ranty about the state of the AAA gaming industry. To sum up my feelings: I can’t believe this game had a budget of half a billion dollars.

July returns us to the standard format of three games as the Early Reveal. I’ve heard of **Portal Knight* and I confess it never intrigued me, maybe it’ll prove me wrong. Blackwake looks kind of interesting, hopefully it’ll be more than a Sea of Thieves clone. Hearts of Iron IV looked a bit overwhelming until I saw it was made by Paradox. If anyone can make a complex 4X game simple to learn, it’s them. Titans Quest? as in that game from forever ago? I think this wins an award for oldest game in a Humble Monthly Bundle. Forts and Interstellar are base builders, which I’m sure will both be a treat. ’m calling it for Shiness and Serial Cleaner. One will be amazing and one will be underwhelming. Stumblehill is about a penguin climbing a mountain? Alright, that sounds amazing, I’m game.

Rules

Description: Using my own words, I will describe the story and gameplay

Opinion: I will offer my own feelings on what works and what needs improvement.

The One Hour Rule: I will play each game for a minimum of one hour. Afterwards I will decide if I wish to continue playing.

Who would Like This Game: My personal opinion on who would or would not find this game enjoyable

Nitpicks: Small issues that, while not deal breakers, are annoying and I wanted to bring up.

Additionally, there will be a sixth category for Humble Original Games.

After taking everything else into consideration I will decide if I would I purchase the full version if or when it is released.

Portal Knights

Description: Portal Knights is a voxel based action adventure game. Taking place after a villain broke the world into floating land masses, you play a Portal Knight who travels from island to island via portals to defeat the being that caused the calamity. Portal Knight contains base building, crafting and procedurally generated levels.

Opinion: Portal Knights definitely feels like it took a lot out of Minecrafts book in terms of level design. The world is made up almost entirely of cubed blocks that break apart when struck and float gentilly above the ground until you pick them up. These blocks can used either for base building or for components for crafting items like tools, weapons and armor. Portal Knight does use Minecraft as a template but it moves beyond being a simple copy by placing a large emphasis on story and combat. The story is simple: You have to find magical shards to complete portals to travel to new islands to defeat the big bad who caused the world to break apart. Along the way you meet various NPC’s who help fill in the lore of the world, trade with you, give quests or join you for reasons which aren’t always apparent. I like this approach as it helps make the world feel alive while also giving me a reason to explore. Combat is also a bit more refined as there is a larger variety of enemies with different attack patterns that can be avoided through dodge rolling. I say a “bit” more refined because it feels really sluggish and awkward. I played the fighter and it was just slashing and dodging until I eventually killed the enemy. I also disliked how the game switched me back to third person view whenever I got into a fight, which is really disorienting. I also didn’t like the art style. There is this weird disconnect with the blocky style of the world and the round, cartoonish look of the NPCs and monsters. It makes the game look cheaper than it actually is.

The One Hour Rule: Portal Knights isn’t bad but the combat feels really underwhelming and grindy. When I got to the one hour mark I asked myself if I really want to stick it out to the end, and after some thought I decided I didn't. Portal Knight does not pass The One Hour Rule.

Who would Like This Game: If you have a kid that loves Minecraft but wishes for more of an adventure, they’d love this. I’m not sure how many adults would enjoy Portal Knight but it could be worth a try.

Nitpicks: Does the world have to be so vertical? I feel like I need to bind the jump key to the left mouse button.

Blackwake

Description: Blackwake is an online multiplayer naval battle simulator. You play a pirate or a member of the British Royal Navy as you fight against your opponents side to complete various goals to achieve victory. Blackwake is an Early Access title and contains cooperative based gameplay.

Opinion: Blackwake is one of those fun, niche team oriented multiplayer games that pop up on Steam from time to time. You play a sailor and must help fulfill tasks aboard a ship to lead your side to victory. Tasks vary depending on what is needed at the time. Sometimes you’ll be focusing on loading and firing cannons to sink enemy ships. Other times when your ship gets struck by enemy fire you may need to stop to repair the hull or pump out water taken on to keep from sinking. Sometimes when you or an enemy ship gets close you get the opportunity to take up arms and fight the enemy is traditional-sh first person combat. I say “traditional-sh” because Blackwake likes to keep combat historically accurate. Firearms are inaccurate and effectively useless at a distance and reloading takes incredibly long, especially if you’re sporting a Blunderbuss. Melee combat does exist with the option to parry but I found the best strategy was to fire off my musket, switch to my pistol then run in swinging my sword wildly with the hopes that I hit an enemy. A problem I found with this game is that with all the customization it’s almost impossible to tell enemy units from friendly, which is a problem because team damage is usually on. I also found that a match is usually won by how good of a captain you got. Sometimes I’d sign onto a ship with a captain that was constantly on voice chat giving orders and directing fire while other times the captain was silent, leaving the whole crew in anarchy. Blackwake is most certainly an Early Access title. While the developers have prioritized content and optimization the graphics are severely lacking with many of the animations buggy or poorly made.

The One Hour Rule: I’m a sucker for games like these and this managed to scratch the itch that Guns of Icarus left me with after most of its player base died off. Blackwake passes The One Hour Rule.

Who would Like This Game: If you like cooperative multiplayer games and don’t mind a project still rough around the edges, you’ll like this. If you want a more tight first person experience, you may be disappointed.

Nitpicks: I wish this game had a Quick Play option. Deciding on a server can be rough and I’d rather just hit a button than look for the server with the most people.

Forts

Description: Forts is a 2D real time strategy game. Taking place during a near future resource war, you play a commander of the Eagle Empire as you fight against two other major superpowers for the last remaining oil reserves. Forts gameplay consist of physics base building and has Steam Workshop support.

Opinion: Forts feels like a weird hybrid between Worms, World of Goo and Command & Conquer. All units are cute, heavily armed sprites, base building materials bounces around like its made out of firm jello and the plot offers a bleak look into a near future dominated by eternal war. Gameplay consists mostly of building your bases out of metal and wood and placing stationary units like mortars, machine guns and snipers along the surfaces. Units are used mostly to damage the enemy base enough to cause it to collapse but can also be used to destroy enemy units or even for defense. Units each have their own strengths and weaknesses. Machine Gunners are inaccurate but automatically shoot enemy mortars out of the air while snipers are slow to fire can ricochet off armor to hit harder to reach enemies. Over time you gain the ability to research new unit types and upgrades to make current units more powerful. Gameplay requires a lot of multitasking as most actions have to be done manually. I only played the first few theaters but I eventually got the swing of things and was able to keep my base protected while sticking it to the enemy factions.

The One Hour Rule: I can’t see myself playing this in the long term but it’s a fun distraction and something I could play to pass the time. Forts passes The One Hour Rule.

Who would Like This Game: If you like base building games and real time strategy elements, you’ll like Forts.

Nitpicks: At risk of sounding like I just want to play Worms again, I can’t help but feel like this game could have been improved with turn based mechanics.

Titan Quest: Anniversary Edition

Description: Titan Quest: Anniversary Edition is an isometric action RPG. Taking place during ancient greece, the Titans have escaped their prisons and the Gods have sent a cry for a hero to stop their destruction. Titan Quest contains hack-and-slash gameplay and was made by Brian Sullivan, the co-creator of Ages of Empires.

Opinion: Titan Quest was a game that flew under my radar when it was released because I was too busy playing Diablo 2 and if I’m being perfectly honest, these games share a lot in common. Like Diablo, Titan Quest is about a random hero rescuing a land assailed by various monsters while attempting to stop a larger, evil group of villains from destroying the world. The skill system is a bit different where you have to invest points in leveling up the skill mastery in addition to the individual skills. I can’t say I like this system as I prefer working my way through the skill tree by increasing the individual skills but the system is balanced enough that I don’t feel like I’m throwing away points by investing in the tree itself. I was also surprised to see that this game has skill respecing, which makes me feel easier since if I screw up too much I can just spend gold to move things around. The 3D graphics feel like a nostalgic trip. Even with the HD face lift the graphics are definitely showing their age but I the style and atmosphere makeup for any shortcomings. Titan Quest, like many isometric action RPGs, has an over abundance of world building it likes to shove into dialogue and any other way it gets the chance. You can skip the majority of it which I really appreciated since, as a player, I could control the amount of lore available to me.

The One Hour Rule: Titan Quest is grindy but fun and makes up for its shortcomings with great presentation and a well thought out skill system. Titan Quest: Anniversary Edition passes The One Hour Rule.

Who would Like This Game: Titan Quest is an old game and shows its age with its graphics and gameplay. Whether you like it depends on how you feel about playing an older game.

Nitpicks: I always love the old school action RPGs but one thing I really appreciate from newer games is removing the need for scavenging for health potions.

Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom

Description: Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom is an action RPG. Taking place in a fantasy world, you play a group of travels from different backgrounds that have come together to save the reminisce of a fragmented world. Shiness contains exploration, fighting game style combat and an anime inspired art style.

Opinion: Shiness is definitely a high fantasy adventure game reminiscent of older RPG’s. The game starts off with the various characters landing on an island and eventually joining together over a common goal. The characters and world are fleshed out and despite flinging terminology around right away I never feel bogged down. I admit, I’m not particularly in love with the anthropomorphic character designs and I groaned when I found out the main characters name is Chado (pronounced “shadow”) but the rest of the visuals make up for it. Combat uses a type of action-RPG mechanic similar a 3D fighting game. When you get accosted by a random wandering enemy (or group of enemies) the area gets closed off and you have to fight them one-on-one using a mix of dodging, blocking, hitting and elemental magic. As you play you also can unlock combo abilities that can deliver extra damage, which I found kept the battles from getting old. During the battle, you or your enemies can swap out for companions. I found this setup to be fluid and worked really well to offer a mix of balance and skill. I also like how enemies react differently to your presence before combat. Some will run up and attack at first sight while others will leave you alone unless you touch them. Leveling and stat customization is also really fun as you can design your character around certain abilities like spell casting or more combat focus. You can also customize what your companions are doing in a fight by adding in triggers to heal you or harm an enemy when certain events occur, like if you drop below a certain health.

The One Hour Rule: This game really nails the sense of an epic journey and got me hooked fairly quickly. Shiness passes The One Hour Rule.

Who would Like This Game: Shiness is a cute game with a decent scope that manages to pull off a lot of what it set out to accomplish. If you’re looking for a fun action-RPG with a focus on adventure, you’ll like this.

Nitpicks: When characters are in a cutscene they speak english but when in the over world they use a made up language. This game really needs to make up its mind.

Interplanetary: Enhanced Edition

Description: Interplanetary is a turn based strategy game. Taking place in the middle of an inter-solar system arms race, you’re tasked with destroying your enemies cities before they destroy yours. Interplanetary uses gravity based targeting and base construction.

Opinion: I get the feeling that whoever made this game must have wanted to play a 4X title without the hassle of running a civilization. Gameplay is pretty simple, you construct weapons like railguns or missile launchers used to fire at enemy planets with the intentions of leaving their cities in ruin. Along the way you also construct facilities like satellite arrays to gather intel on your enemies or defense grids to protect your cities and military structures. You also have to build power plants and mining facilities to fund your war effort as keeping your bases safe and firing missiles eats up resources quickly. Your enemy is doing the same and I found that within a few turns my planet was regularly assailed by a rain of railgun fire which kept me on my toes. As you play you research new technologies that allow you to build or upgrade structures. I found many of the new structures were helpful but some of the upgrades felt a bit useless. An example is one upgrade that increases damage from a missile by 30% but also decreased accuracy by 30%. I think the most fun I had was in targeting enemy planets. Every celestial body spins on their own axis and orbits their star as different rates so the position of your enemy changes every round. Your weapons are restricted to the side of the planet their built on so you have to use the gravitational pull of other planets or stars to trick-shot your attacks to hit your target. It’s incredibly satisfying to fire a missile off in the opposite direction and watch it fly around the solar system, bank off a nearby moon and hit a city.

The One Hour Rule: Interplanetary is surprisingly fun and I could imagine playing this either casually alone or with friends. Interplanetary Enhanced Edition passes The One Hour Rule.

Who would Like This Game: If you want a strategy game with semi-realistic physics and a simple premise, you’ll like this. If you wanted more complexity in your gameplay, you may be disappointed.

Nitpicks: The manual aiming is fun but really finnicking sometimes. My hands can be a little twitchy and at times I was frustrated by how moving the mouse of fraction of a millimeter would alter a missiles path significantly.

Serial Cleaner

Description: Serial Cleaner is a top down cleaning game. You play The Cleaner, a mysterious man who’s tasked with sneaking onto murder scenes to clean up evidence of any crime. Serial Cleaner contains stealth elements and uses real world information to affect levels.

Opinion: Serial Cleaner is a neat little idea that I’m surprised hasn’t been done before. You play a janitor for the mafia during the 1970’s with a fixation for collecting mementos from crime scenes. Each mission starts with a call explaining the situation, followed by you driving to the crime scene where you sneak in and remove bodies and swipe evidence with additional objectives, like cleaning up blood or finding secret collectables, added in later levels. You also have to evade police, which becomes more difficult as you work as they notice when bodies or evidence goes missing and will alter their search pattern to investigate. You can distract police with sounds or duck into contextual hiding spots but if you’re spotted you have to avoid them stay out of their sight for a short time until they give up. If you are caught you have to start the level over, but I never found this too big of a penalty as most levels are fairly short. Serial Cleaner is a serviceable game but feels unsubstantial. Most levels I just watched police officers and memorized the routines, swoop in to snatch a body then hide for awhile until I memorized any changes to their patterns. Rinse, repeat. The graphics and music are nice but don’t do an altogether great job of expressing the time period. I was expecting to hear more disco or hard rock or see more 70’s pop culture references but instead create a world that could have been tweaked to fall into any post 1950’s time period. I also have no idea how using my IP address changes the environment because it stayed the same regardless of what the weather was like

The One Hour Rule: I didn’t hate it but I couldn’t find much of a reason to keep playing. Serial Cleaner fails The One Hour Rule.

Who would Like This Game: If you liked Party Hard but want something with less pointless busy work, you’ll like this. Be warned, however, that Serial Cleaner doesn’t fully take advantage of its concept.

Nitpicks: Picking up evidence uses the A button but picking up bodies uses the X button. Why don’t they just share the same button?

Stumblehill

Description: Stumblehill is a 2D platformer. You play a Penguin who begins a journey to the top of a mountain. Stumblehill features hand drawn graphics, physics based platformer and a penguin.

Opinion: As I’ve mentioned numerous times in the past, Humble Original Games fall into one of three categories: Brilliant, A great concept with poor execution and Borderline unplayable. Stumblehill most certainly falls into the second category. The game has a cute hand drawn ascetic with upbeat music that helps encapsulate the sense of a cheerful adventure. Stumblehill’s failure for me can be summed up in the name. There are hills and you stumble a lot. Your penguin is physics based so jumping or falling down will cause him to spin around and usually end up on his back. Which is totally adorable at first but quickly gets annoying. Standing up is just a push of a button but you can’t use it to adjust your angle, which is a bit silly because I feel like there could be a lot of potential in that mechanic to allow for more parkour style jumping. In the end, Stumblehill isn’t so much of a game as a proof of concept for a gameplay mechanic but that gameplay mechanic just ends up being a nuisance.

Would I buy the full release: I really wanted to give this game my full attention but about twenty minutes in my penguin ended upside down against a wall and I couldn’t right him. In its current state, I can’t see myself ever paying for this.

Who would Like This Game: Stumblehill is not without its charm but unless you like obnoxiously hard platformers, you’ll quickly grow bored of this.

Nitpicks: How come a game about a penguin didn’t get a Linux release? There is some serious missed potential here!

Final Thoughts

I’m glad to finally get back into the swing of things. Blackwake was better than I expected. Forts and Interplanetary were both fun distractions. Serial Cleaner and Portal Knights were a bit of a let down, which is a shame because they both had decent ideas. I don’t know what I expected from Stumblehill but it certainly wasn’t that. Titan Quest and Shiness are definitely my winners for this Bundle. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to play much of Hearts of Iron. I had some computer problems and I only could play about 15 minutes, which isn’t nearly enough time. I decided to skip it entirely.

Next months early reveals are Conan Exiles, The Escapist 2 and a Hat in Time. I’m not terribly invested in Conan but The Escapist 2 and Hat in Time do intrigue me.

Submitted July 18, 2018 at 07:20PM by BW_Bird https://ift.tt/2uL0O14