August 2019 Humble Monthly Overview: Oh, the Places You'll Go

Along with all of the good that Humble Bundle already brings to the table, they additionally offer players the chance to snatch up a medley of video games for a whopping $12 the first Friday of every month by becoming a subscriber. Varying from popular titles to indie games you’ve probably never heard of, Humble Monthly generates a diverse curated bundle to help establish the most paramount game libraries. In addition, every subscriber automatically receives 10% off titles in the Humble Store. You can’t beat the facts, folks—that’s one heck of a deal.

This month's Humble Monthly games are all about the setting, the exploration, the worlds that you will find yourself immersed in. Whether in a realistic recreation of medieval Bohemia, a weird island to explore entirely by flippers, a huge battlefield in the Vietnam War, or in the merciless wastes of Mars, the player will have a plethora of different locations, each with their own mysteries and secrets to uncover.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqW2Xxyb00w

Kingdom Come: Deliverance

There are many medieval-fantasy games out there but, for some reason, very few games that are set in a historically accurate version of the middle ages (aside from some grand strategy titles). Kingdom Come: Deliverance comes to close this gap, offering the players the experience of living, fighting and surviving in the exciting times of 15th century Bohemia.

Henry, the main character, is the son of a blacksmith that dreams of the life outside the small town he grew in. When his home is invaded by foreign attackers and his parents are slain, he’s forced to flee. He will unwillingly find himself in the middle of a net of conspiracies and diplomatic challenges, despite being only a poor average guy.

The characters and the story are interesting and likable with their own flaws and quirks, including Henry himself. There was a great deal of research in recreating both the political situation and the landscape of the Bohemia of 1403 and it shows. The combat might feel a bit clunky at times, but fighting is not the only way to play. There are many ways players can face any given situations, including diplomacy and subtlety.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CH40xHkung

Yay or Nay?

Kingdom Come: Deliverance is not perfect from a technical standpoint. Despite that, Warhorse Studios managed to create one of the most lively and interesting worlds I’ve seen in a long time in an RPG.

Check out our review of Kingdom Come: Deliverance here.

Surviving Mars

The Red Planet is finally at humanity’s grasp, and it’s the player’s task to prepare the descent of the first martian colonies. This is the simple premise of Surviving Mars, a sci-fi city builder with just a little bit of survival sprinkled on.

In Surviving Mars, the player is given the responsibility to create and manage the first human colony on Mars. With just a bunch of drones and some money given by the mission sponsor, the player will have to create the basic infrastructure to support life on the red, barren wastelands. This means gathering materials, constructing solar panels and wind turbines for electricity, building fuel refinery for the rockets, water extractors, and so on. Once there’s a functioning infrastructure in place, the player will build the first dome, and the first colonies will arrive.

From that point, the colony needs to be maintained and expanded with new technologies and research to be kept happy, all while defending both people and infrastructure from the hazards of the planet, where dust storms are only the tip of the iceberg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFrMC0muU-s

Yay or Nay?

Surviving Mars is an engaging city builder where the player is constantly challenged. Seeing your small colony grow into multiple interconnected domes is a rewarding experience.

Check out our review of Surviving Mars here.

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam

We have another game in this month’s bonanza that makes realism one of its cornerstones. Rising Storm 2: Vietnam recreates the visceral and violent setting of the battles during the Vietnam conflict with great regard for team play and realistic gun firing.

Up to 64 players will join the game in one of the available factions and will take the role of one of the classes within that faction, each with their own starting equipment and gadgets. The combat is hardcore and realistic, as a single bullet to the wrong point will have any player hit the ground in a nanosecond.

The guns feel very different and behave realistically. Adding these elements to the huge maps of chaos makes for quite the appealing gaming experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqyeNcNKxXs

Yay or Nay?

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam is not for the faint of heart because of its difficult-to-master gameplay that forces players to calculate every move. For this same reason, though, it’s definitely a unique experience and a must-play for online FPS lovers.

Yoku’s Island Express

Some games take a lot of liberty in combining genres, attempting to create something unique. Often the developers can’t mix the two in a way that creates something worth remembering. In the case of Yoku’s Island Express, instead, the developers hit the nail right on the head, and they did it combining two genres that I would have never thought would mix well in a million years: Metroidvania and pinball.

Yoku’s Island Express is a charming game where the player controls a dung beetle, which is the new mailman of an island of sentient animals. The player will have to move around the map, unlocking more and more of it with new skills. The main gameplay revolves around the possibility for the player to control the flippers spread in the world and use them to send around our little bug at high speed, collecting fruits and exploring new zones. It's a unique concept and it's executed beautifully.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqzpKIplOog

Yay or Nay?

Yoku’s Island Express is simple, charming, and just a lot of fun. The level design makes a great deal of justice to the simple yet refined gameplay.

Check out our review of Yoku’s Island Express here.

The Adventure Pals

A colorful and cartoony world to explore is the first thing that hits the player about The Adventure Pals. Everything is goofy and vibrant and a jolly good time.

The Adventure Pals is the story of a kid and his backpack giraffe, with the mission to stop a mad man that kidnaps people to turn them into hot dogs. The premise is silly enough to work, and it’s accompanied by engaging, yet simple, gameplay of platforming and action, with enough collectibles to keep people interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke1n3h-P5EE

Yay or Nay?

The Adventure Pals is the kind of game you play to cheer yourself up during bleak periods. While definitely not a “hardcore” title, it’s good-spirited and enjoyable.

Check out our review of The Adventure Pals here.

Almost There

This one is definitely more a game for dedicated players. Almost There follows the Super Meat Boy school of “quick platformers with tons of traps to be completed as fast as possible." While it does not shine as the game it takes inspiration from, it’s definitely a challenge, and it plays well.

The art style is minimalist, with details changing between levels, but still remains simple yet amusing. The precision needed for some of the jumps and the platforming will have even some of the most persistent players grind their teeth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cASMwY1PNyI

Yay or Nay?

Almost There is a game for players who want a challenge. The gameplay is elementary but the levels are brutal.

Swords & Soldiers 2: Shawarmageddon

This is the second game this month that mixes together two genres that usually don’t share the same space and do it well: RTS and side-scrolling action. In Swords & Soldiers 2: Shawarmageddon, the player controls a mobile headquarter thing (a huge boat on treads for the Vikings, a giant lizard with a building on its back for the Demons, and so on) that starts every level at the far left and has to reach the far right with some secondary objectives in between.

To do so, the player will spend resources to spawn units with different skills and capabilities which, when spawned, will travel from the headquarter towards the right side of the screen, fighting everything they encounter and removing obstacles.

It sounds simple enough, but there are some intricacies. Between limited resources, diverging paths, and skills to activate to enable precise strategies, the game offers a good deal of variety.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw3GT5JlEGs

Yay or Nay?

Despite never playing the original one, I found Swords & Soldiers 2: Shawarmageddon to be an appealing mix of two different genres, with enticing gameplay and a great art style.

Don’t Give Up

The market is full of indie games that talk about mental illness. Many of those games are pretty gloom, sad, or downright depressing. Don’t Give Up wants to tackle the theme from a comedic standpoint, with its main character literally fighting his inner demons.

Don’t Give Up plays like an old-timey RPG with a combat system that relies on timing and positioning. The world is colorful and filled with interesting characters which make exploring it a joy by itself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icCs5-JmBEg

Yay or Nay?

Another interesting Humble Original this month. Don’t Give Up will probably not break any records, but its writing and its world are funny and witty, making it a delight to play.

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Another month, another bundle of great games. This month's titles range from the colorful to the challenging to the extremely silly. Between Kingdom Come: Deliverance, The Adventure Pals, Surviving Mars, and the others, you will visit a range of wildly different worlds, and each and every one of them will be a great experience.

Disclosure: Humble Bundle works with TechRaptor for affiliate partnership, and TechRaptor earns a small commission off purchases made from links in this article.