Humble Choice September 2020: Pick’n’Mix Rundown

Cutesy resource/management sim. It’s a bit like an extremely simplified Factorio, or (as a friend dubbed it), a slightly more gamified clicker game. Grab resources from the environment, craft new bits in your buildings, then use that for more buildings, more crafting… The loop continues.

Only £15 normally, Forager dips below £10 fairly frequently (every two or three months), although the value really depends on your capacity for the resource grind. It’s currently on Game Pass for PC too, and has been in a Humble Monthly before. So plenty of ways to play if you want to save a pick here.

Golf With Your Friends is silly fun for playing – you guessed it – with your friends. The virtual minigolf takes place over a bunch of different courses, throwing in teleporters, jetpacks and more! As a standalone golf title, the silly physics can get a bit much as they’re kind of inconsistent. But for a laugh with a mate online, it’s golden.

Your value from this one will depend on how much multiplayer you play. It’s recently released from Early Access and has just taken a bit of a price jump along with that. It’s unlikely you’ll see this back below a fiver for a while, but if you and a friend can grab it, there are hours of fun to be had cheaply here.

Left 4 Dead or COD Zombies, but Egypt and less horror, more action. Kinda just about sums it up I think. Fairly short, but enjoyable shooter with a bit of comedy injected by the commentator as you blast through. Better played with friends, but serviceable solo.

Often found under a tenner – down from £40 – sales might be the way to go, purely in that the game is so short. Hard to recommend at full price, but perfectly fine as a pick – particularly with friends.

Baseball fighting game is an… Interesting mix. The objective is to hit the baseball at the other players, with madcap jumping around to do so. It’s a fun twist on fighting games, and the cel-shading-esque graphics are fun and colourful. Worth a look for fighters.

Even nearly two years after release, the lowest discount has been 30% off. So this might be better getting as a Choice rather than on sale, if you’re interested.

So robots have invaded Sweden. Are you with me so far? Good. Get your friends and saddle up for a beautifully realised – if basic – shooter-adventure, fighting the aforementioned robots. Playable solo, but better with friends, there’s a theme for this month. Generation Zero is a little light on content though, so it’s a bit make-your-own-fun… While avoiding robots.

Being a bit light on content, it would definitely be better to avoid the full price of £21.50. I’m not completely sure it’s worth the £9 sale price that’s been seen recently either. Pick up as a space Choice, or wait for an outrageous sale.

The 2D sequel to Yooka-Laylee – itself the spiritual successor to Banjo-Tooie – is arguably an even better game. Embracing a 2.5D perspective, it pits you against the games’ final challenge as soon as you start out, and you can try again at any time. As you progress through the levels, the final challege will get easier as you build up your shield for it. It’s a great twist, and it’s a solid platformer to boot.

This has once been given away as part of the Epic Games Store freebies, and has a demo you can try out on Steam. If you’ve missed it – and the demo makes you want to buy – it can be found for £10 on sale, down from £25. Or pick it up here if you really want it!

Noir-ish mystery thriller with some cool ideas and great voice acting. There’s a lot of exploring to be done, with a real-time time limit to complete your investigation that adds to the pressure. There’s a really interesting story to be uncovered here, but the game suffers quite a lot under the weight of bugs – even months after release.

The biggest discounts on this have been 40% off – bringing the game to £12. I think Christmas sales might see it at a bigger discount. But given the mixed experience you might have with bugs, I feel like it’s advisable only as a spare Choice, rather than an outright purchase, unless it gets down to impulse-buy territory (around a fiver).

Catherine has been around for years. Nearly a decade, in fact. This risque puzzle game covers romance, infidelity, and a questionable attitude towards central characters. The mix of animation is cool and anime lovers might find some extra enjoyment from this. However, it has been around for years and is starting to feel a bit dated.

You can quite often grab Catherine for around £7 on sale for PC. However, if you’ve got a console of any description, it’s worth looking at getting it there – you might be able to get it second-hand much cheaper, or on their storefronts. It’s also previously been in a Humble Bundle, if you are a regular.

A visual novel set in the Vampire: The Masquerade mythos. Visual novels live and die by their subject matter and writing – the subject matter is definitely for fans of the genre, and the writing passes muster. While there’s a lot of choices to be made – and hunger to be balanced – it mostly guides you along with a set storyline.

Having been live for less than a year, serious price cuts haven’t been seen yet. Going from the £16 RRP to £10 isn’t the biggest saving. However, with a new Bloodlines game on the horizon, I’d expect to see some bigger cuts in the near future. Wishlist and wait, unless you’re a huge fan of the series.

Publisher Wales Interactive – based in Bridgend – has become well-known for their FMV games – and this is one of their better examples. It’s an enjoyable story told with branching story, fully filmed with real actors, that offers a fair deal of replayability with multiple endings and storylines.

A decent game, but often on sale for a fiver. It would be a good Choice, but it might be better value wishlisting and waiting. Equally – even better value – is picking up one of the FMV bundles on sale that collect a few of these types of game together for maximum bang-for-buck.

Evoland is a funny little adventure game that “evolves” as you play, unlocking new graphics, sound effects and gameplay style as you go along. It’s a bit like a history game, focussing quite heavily on Zelda and Final Fantasy. This bundle takes in Evoland 1 and 2 in one collection.

Evoland has been around for a while, as has the sequel. As such, they’re often available very cheaply – around £3-4 on sale. If you’re limited in picks, grab this collection in a sale. Evoland – in particular – has been in Humble Bundles a few times too, so check your keys!

Less a game and more a creative platform, Fun with Ragdolls really relies on user-created levels/content because there really isn’t any provided by the game. As anyone else who plays these sorts of games regularly knows, this can be hit-and-miss. But if creation tools are your jam, take a look at this as a Choice.

The £11.39 asking price is a bit much, for me. The £5/6 sale price is a bit more palatable, but it really depends on your mileage from creative games. Honestly, it’s overall hard to recommend unless you have a spare Choice and find ragdoll physics – and not much else – fun.

The extras for the month are a sneak peek at Cartos, and the full game of ALT254 (pictured/linked).

ALT254 sees you playing as a pixel. Minimalist graphics and minimalist gameplay, it’s a bit of an exploration game, exploring the world – and how to even play the game. It seems like a cute concept, and it’s just released on Steam for £7.20. I wouldn’t recommend taking your picks for the month to nab this for free – but it’s a new game, at least.

Carto is a chill little puzzle game. I really love the art style, and it’s looks like a good time in store for puzzle gamers in October when it releases.