It's the first Tuesday of the month, and that means there's another
bunch of games available through Humble Choice.
https://www.humblebundle.com/membership They're not free, but they are
cheap, and sometimes you can get quite a good bargain on some good
games. Is that the case this month?

For July 2022, there are the following games:

* Trudograd
This is a turn-based, top-down role-playing game set in a
post-apocalyptic world, essentially a modern take on classics like the
original "Fallout". It's a direct sequel to the previously released
ATOM RPG, and as such even the developers suggest you play that game
first. Its got nice visuals, an interesting setting, an - being made
in Ukraine - that intriguingly dour and pessimistic world view that
helped make games like STALKER and Metro so engaging. Reviews indicate
its fairly linear, however. Still, it looks interesting enough that I
may give it a try.

* Lawn Mowing Simulator
This is another workplace-simulator; in this one, you take on the role
of the local lawn care specialist. Push (or ride) a mower across long
grass and make it nice and short. Do a good job and earn the money to
upgrade your gear and hire employees and new gear. Obviously a very
niche game, but one I'm curiously engaged by. There's nothing like a
nicely mown garden.

* Necromunda: Hired Gun
This game is a bit more appealing to me, even though everything
suggests its actually a worse game. A first-person FPS set in the
"Necromunda" spin-off setting of Warhammer 40K, it is - based on
reviews - a rather glitchy, unpolished game with bullet-sponge enemies
and a reliance on grinding levels to progress. But it's not really the
gameplay that interests me as much as the setting, and apparently it
captures the vibe of the tabletop game's setting fairly well. It is
one for me to look at but not fall in love with, I suppose.

* Deep Rock Galactic
This is a co-op FPS; sort of a "Fortnite" except with dwarves and set
in outer space. The art style is interesting and there's a focus on
player-vs-environment (as opposed to player-vs-player), which I like;
it also apparently is under continued development so new features are
being added. It has procedurally generated levels and destructible
terrain you can - fittingly, as a dwarf - drill through. Yet for some
reason, it doesn't grab me. Maybe it's just all the added levels of
complexity - the classes, the crafting, all the upgrades - when what I
really enjoy is a simpler experience. Or the usual nonsense like
dancing emotes and cosmetics that I find a distraction to core
gameplay. It's got good reviews though, so even if its not a game for
me, it may very well be something for you. Meh.

* Legion TD2
A multiplayer tower defense game. Wow, are they still making those? I
thought tower-defense went out of style five years ago. Its got
generally favorable reviews, so I guess its good at what it does, but
I've little interest in the thing. Meh.

* Legend of Keepers
This is a poor man's clone of the venerable "Dungeon Keeper" with
rogue-like and card-building mechanics; take on the role of a
dungeon's defender and fight off hordes of baddies. Reviews indicate
it is a fairly shallow game that does little to keep your attention
after the first few matches. Meh.

* Banners of Ruin
A deck-building battler; gather various cards that represent a variety
of furry critters and battle them against monsters. Earn more cards.
Repeat. I guess its okay, if you like that thing, but I've no love for
card-based mechanics. Meh.

* Yes, Your Grace
Think "Papers Please" with slightly better visuals and you take on the
role of the king instead of a lowly customs official. Petitions
approach you and you need to make choices that may affect the future
of your kingdom. For what it is, it's a fine game but "Yes Your Grace"
is not particular innovative and lacks the subversive commentary of
"Papers Please", leaving the overall experience a bit weak and
shallow. Meh.

So that's it: two "hey cool!" games, one "I wanna at least see what it
is about", and five games that merit a "meh". Not the greatest
selection but not completely without value. The quality of the
HumbleChoice selections is diminishing though, and if this continues I
may reconsider my subscription. But for now, I'll stick with it.

On 05/07/2022 20:29, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

> * Trudograd
> This is a turn-based, top-down role-playing game set in a
> post-apocalyptic world, essentially a modern take on classics like the
> original "Fallout". It's a direct sequel to the previously released
> ATOM RPG, and as such even the developers suggest you play that game
> first. Its got nice visuals, an interesting setting, an - being made
> in Ukraine - that intriguingly dour and pessimistic world view that
> helped make games like STALKER and Metro so engaging. Reviews indicate
> its fairly linear, however. Still, it looks interesting enough that I
> may give it a try.
>

I've started the first game Atom I think three times but then never got
that far into it. It's not that I don't like it but really that I got
distracted but something else and by the time I get back to it I've
completely forgotten what I was doing and end up starting again.

The reviews are generally positive and something you see a lot is if you
liked Fallout 2 then you're like this.

On Thu, 7 Jul 2022 10:10:03 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:
>On 05/07/2022 20:29, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

>> * Trudograd

>The reviews are generally positive and something you see a lot is if you
>liked Fallout 2 then you're like this.

Which seems to match the reviews for its sequel: a bit hard to get
into, but well worth the effort.

Additional:

The July 2022 Humble Choice games also includes - as part of its
"Humble Trove" collection - "The Chinatown Detective Agency", which is
a traditional point-n-click adventure set in the near future in
Singapore. It's got very good reviews and despite its retro-visuals,
is something even I find attractive.

So adjust the monthly score to 3 "Ooooh!", 1 "Hmmmm?", and 5 "Meh."
This makes this month's package much more attractive to me, especially
given its price.

On Thursday, July 7, 2022 at 2:10:08 AM UTC-7, JAB wrote:
> On 05/07/2022 20:29, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>
> > * Trudograd
> > This is a turn-based, top-down role-playing game set in a
> > post-apocalyptic world, essentially a modern take on classics like the
> > original "Fallout". It's a direct sequel to the previously released
> > ATOM RPG, and as such even the developers suggest you play that game
> > first. Its got nice visuals, an interesting setting, an - being made
> > in Ukraine - that intriguingly dour and pessimistic world view that
> > helped make games like STALKER and Metro so engaging. Reviews indicate
> > its fairly linear, however. Still, it looks interesting enough that I
> > may give it a try.
> >
> I've started the first game Atom I think three times but then never got
> that far into it. It's not that I don't like it but really that I got
> distracted but something else and by the time I get back to it I've
> completely forgotten what I was doing and end up starting again.
>

I had tried this too, and yeah it looked like it might actually be good,
just getting into isometric games is pretty hard anymore. I only gave it
one try so far.

> The reviews are generally positive and something you see a lot is if you
> liked Fallout 2 then you're like this.

- Justisaur

On Wed, 13 Jul 2022 07:20:19 -0700 (PDT), Justisaur
<justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:
>On Thursday, July 7, 2022 at 2:10:08 AM UTC-7, JAB wrote:
>> On 05/07/2022 20:29, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

>> > * Trudograd
>I had tried this too, and yeah it looked like it might actually be good,
>just getting into isometric games is pretty hard anymore.

Oh, I'm glad I'm not the only one.

I used to /adore/ top-down games. First-person in my role-playing
games? No thank you!

(I think this was partially a result of my tabletop experiences -
top-down more closely matched the experience of shoving tiny
miniatures across the board - and partly because first-person CRPGs
tended to be more action-based and less sophisticated than their
top-down counterparts. But regardless of the why, I definitely had a
preference)

But with the advent of games like "Ultima Underworld" my opinion
started to shift, and by the mid-2000s - with the release of games
like "Fallout 3" and "Gothic" - I had pretty much reversed my take.
First-person view gave me a better feeling of immersion, a more
immediate "you are there" experience than hovering god-like over tiny
men moving across the screen.

(It helped that first-person view often allowed a wider range of
actions... and pretty much killed party-based adventures. Its hard to
lead a party in first-person view, so most developers didn't even try.
I mourned the loss of the party for a while, but eventually came to
love not having to deal with all the extra busywork).

I haven't given up on top-down games* but it's always an added
struggle; a feature I have to work against to pull enjoyment from the
game. In many cases, I just avoid the game entirely, even though I'm
sure I'd otherwise quite enjoy the experience.

--------------------
*technically, many aren't accurately 'isometric' anymore, especially
when they use 3D models where the camera can be moved