Humble Choice November 2020: Pick’n’Mix Rundown

Darksiders III is the first “big” title of the month – and arguably of a few months. A well-made action-adventure game, it drops you into a new chapter of the Darksiders story – expect angels, demons and lots of hacking-and-slashing, along with exploring vast ruins on a war-torn planet.

Darksiders III is quite often available on hefty discounts, but from a starting point of £45, it’s only once been available below £10. So there’s value to be had here for fans of the genre or series. It must be noted that this is also on Game Pass on Xbox, if you’re a subscriber/Xbox player too.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a funny kinda game. It’s a story-driven action game that takes in the Japanese underworld, with plenty of grit and violence. It’s also unapologetically a video game, full of weirdly wonderful campy charm. A strange balance to strike, and won’t be to everyone’s taste. But picking this up gives you access to one of the best games in the series – although quite deep into the story chronologically.

The other “big” game in this month, this usually only comes down to half price (just above a tenner) – but it only released last year, so there’s a chance it’ll be cheaper on sale soon. Worth getting now as a jumping-off point for the series if you can spare the pick. Yakuza Kiwami 2 – and the first game too – are both in Xbox Game Pass for PC, so if you’re subscribed, you can save yourself a Choice.

Imperator: Rome can very much be summarised by the above screenshot. Another of Paradox Interactive’s grand strategy titles (Crusader Kings, Stellaris etc), you’ll either love the granular, in-depth micromanagement or you’ll hate it. For Paradox fans, it’s another strong title. But the learning curve is daunting for newbies to the genre and developer.

Your interest in this as a pick will probably already be decided – and it’s worth checking whether you’ve had this through a Steam giveaway last year if you’re hot on your deals. Otherwise, you’d be looking at £10-15 for this on sale. Once again, this is also in Game Pass for PC if you have that subscription.

This one sort of surprised me. I went in expecting not to enjoy this rogue-like sci-fi strategy game, but I ended up getting really drawn into it. It’s kinda like if FTL met Battlestar Galactica, with some hex-based strategy to frame it all around. It’s worth checking out for sci-fi and strategy fans alike – a reasonable learning curve and an interesting story to boot.

Another one rarely under a tenner – but this one isn’t in Game Pass! I found it to be a solid pick, and I’d recommend it – but given it only released last year, I’d expect to see it at a lower price on sale in 2021. Worth a wishlist if you can’t spare a Choice, at least. There’s also a demo, so you can try before you buy/pick!

Darksburg is a strange game – kind of like Left 4 Dead meets Diablo. It’s fun playing with other players, but also a bit shallow and won’t keep you revisiting it more than a few times. If you’ve got a few friends on Humble who all like the sounds of this, maybe grab it – but this is definitely not as fun solo.

It’s expensive to get the full joy from Darksburg – even at the cheapest, you’d be looking at £9 per copy of the game, and everyone would need to have it to play as there’s no local co-op. Whether it’s worth that or not depends on how regularly you think you’d play with your friends – it’s hard to recommend otherwise.

Oh-so-bleak point-and-click. Bleak in an amusing way at least – but more than once I just had to laugh at the black humour laced through this otherwise cutesy game. The art style and story are decent, the subject matter isn’t always for the faint of heart though. Some triggering content too (suicide/abuse). If you are able to manage this, it’s an entertaining game!

A little bit on the expensive side for point-and-click, this has just about dipped under a tenner on sale (including at time of writing via Humble – £8.50). As usual, this is a relatively recent release so I’d expect to see it lower in 2021. Worth wishlisting if you can’t spare the Choice.

A unique, trippy take on point-and-click – you have to shake/nod your head in response to the questions from the denizens of your new “home”. Cool characters and puzzles, a neat art style… and a bucket of weirdness in a good way. Pretty short, but worth a play.

Being short, it’s easier to recommend as a Choice than paying additional money for it. It’s been on sale at a fiver before though – so wishlisting and waiting means you’ll probably find it in impulse-buy territory in the next year or so.

Top-down survival horror. Jumpscare-free, but tense and horrifying all the same. Had me on edge the whole time I played – even without the usual shocks. Don’t let the graphics lull you into a false sense of security. This is extremely strong on the creep factor.

Darkwood can be found for less than a fiver pretty regularly on sale, including at the time of writing (on GOG). So if you’re curious – and there’s something else you want this month – skip this and get it in a sale. That said, it’s really good horror and only £12 normally anyway – it’s worth the full price.

Tsioque (pronounced Chock – it needs spelling out!) is a hand-animated point-and-click. It has the charm of cartoon animation, and some nice, laid-back puzzling. Uncomplicated, straightforward, and worth looking at for puzzlers and clickers alike.

This has been available a little longer than some of the games this month (2018 release) and still hasn’t dipped under a fiver on sale – although it’s been close at £5.50. As a relatively short game, it’s probably just about worth that – but it’s also worth being picked here if you’ve got a spare Choice.

Those who are familiar with repair sims (PC Building Sim, Car Mechanic Sim) should understand what this game is. It’s surprisingly intricate, and each rover takes a fair amount of understanding, diagnosing and work to repair. Makes sense – they’re complex machines. A deep spin on the genre and worth a pick for fans.

Rover Mechanic Simulator is also relatively inexpensive anyway. It’s less than a tenner full-price, and despite being released this month, it’s also already been on sale for £6. Expect it to dip below a fiver in the coming year – and there’s even a demo to try before you buy and/or Choose!

Gravity-bending platformer, Youropa is compelling. With a customizable character and some clever puzzling, it surprises in it’s simplicity, use of physics and plain fun. Worth picking up for puzzle-platforming fans.

It’s worth a pick, but it’s also recently been on sale for £3.20 on both Humble and Steam. I’d assume you can find it at this price again, so maybe worth a wishlist and waiting for the drop to return.

So if you’ve played a lot of mobile games, you might be familiar with some of the ads-that-aren’t-real-games. Well. Imagine they were real – because that’s kinda what Townsmen is. Cutesy town management, with a bit of a campaign to go through. It holds your hand maybe a bit too much, but it’s great for a casual game or two.

Townsmen not having been on sale below a fiver is puzzling. I’m not totally sure I could recommend it until it goes below that price. Up to you whether you want this as a choice – I think if you play enough games to be subbed to Humble, you’ll likely find this a bit lightweight.

The extra game for the month is Torii. It’s a pretty, atmospheric game – but I have absolutely no idea what was going on. It’s “abstract” and opens with a quote from David Lynch, which says a lot. You can pick up a demo of this from itch.io for free though (linked in the picture), so if you’re not sure about activating your picks, you can look there first.