February 2019 Humble Monthly Overview: Brawl it out

Published: February 19, 2019 2:00 PM /

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humble monthly february 2019 early unlock

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.

Another month, another bounty of videogames from the fine guys back at Humble Bundle. February’s loot has been teased with the stellar Yakuza 0 and The Division and the full package includes great indie games like Rock of Ages 2 and Full Metal Furies. Without further ado, let’s have a gander to this month’s games.

Sniper Elite 3

Life is made of little joys. The warmth of the sun in your face, outdoor activities, shooting Nazis in the nuts—those sort of things. Sniper Elite 3 will allow you to experience all of that in a single package. The war effort takes our favorite sharpshooter to Africa, where he will have to throw a wrench to the Axis’ plans for the continent.

Despite not being as good as its more recent incarnation, Sniper Elite 3 still succeeds in giving the player a fair challenge with enjoyable mechanics and the emphasis on tactics instead of a guns blazing approach. The player is constantly reminded by the gameplay itself that the way of the sniper is one of patience. Find a good spot, create your opportunity and, can’t stress this enough, always have an escape route ready. It's very important to use the environment to your advantage and use traps to cover your back—mastering these mechanics will grant you victory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYZ-5zUztBE

Yay or Nay?

To put it bluntly, the X-ray animations where you can see your bullet going through an enemy’s head in slow motion will never be not funny. Sniper Elite 3 is definitely worth a play for anyone interested in stealth shooters.

Rock of Ages 2: Bigger and Boulder

The first Rock of Ages was an unexpected surprise in the indie game scene. The concept was interesting, the humor on point, and the gameplay just delightful. For those who didn’t have the chance to play it, the game is about rolling a giant boulder down a hill against the enemy’s castle until one of the two contenders manage to tear down the door and squish the opposing historical (or mythological) figure under the weight of their rock. Of course, you will need more than one hit to destroy the castle’s door, so after every hit, the players will have to purchase and build the defenses to reduce the enemy’s boulder momentum.

Rock of Ages 2 is basically that but better. We now control Atlas fighting against figures like Joan of Arc and King Richard the Lionheart. Between each fight, players have the chance to unlock new defenses and more boulders with different strengths and weaknesses, and even customize them. All fights are accompanied by the game’s trademark humorous cutscenes that, in this game like the previous one, are weird and funny and amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Pr5AsHHag

Yay or Nay?

If you played and liked the first Rock of Ages, this is a no brainer. If you never played the original, this is a great chance to experience one of the most unique indie series in recent memory.

Yakuza 0

Yakuza 0 is undoubtedly the gem of this month. This semi-open world action series has been keeping players glued to their screens for years. Yakuza 0 is a prequel of the series that explores the early days of Kazuma Kiryu in the Dojima family. Kiryu finds himself in a tough spot when a job goes awry and he has to clear his name. Part of the game is spent controlling Goro Majima which gives fans of the saga a deeper look to this recurring character.

While the main gameplay revolves around fighting (and it’s pretty damn good at that), we all know what the Yakuza series excels at: the secondary activities. The roads of Kamurocho are overflowing with stuff to do and interesting characters. Players will find themselves in karaoke bars singing their heads off or in a dance battle at the disco. Maybe you will help a group of shy musicians pass as tough guys or you will have an old westerner teach you how to fight. Despite the quite limited area of the map, Yakuza 0 offers new ways to have fun at every possible corner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo0mDCtPT_4

Yay or Nay?

By all intents and purposes, Yakuza 0 is an outstanding game. Given its nature of a prequel, it’s the perfect starting point if you never played any Yakuza games. If you’re a veteran of the saga, you can’t miss this opportunity to explore its characters in deeper detail.

Tom Clancy’s: The Division + Survival DLC

With The Division 2 just around the corner, we can assume the addition of the first game to this month’s Humble Monthly is no coincidence. What better occasion for Ubisoft to have the most people as possible try the original title?

The Division is set in Manhattan in the middle of a crisis. Because of a deadly virus, the city is in havoc with criminals doing their willing and survivors struggling to not get caught in the crossfire. Players control an agent of The Division, a secret unit of operatives that get activated only in desperate times to restore order.

The Division is an action looter shooter in third person with RPG elements. Players explore the vast open world that is the isle of Manhattan completing missions and events in order to level up and get better gear while fighting the group of criminals that emerged from the chaos. The criticism against the game is mostly known at this point. There’s little enemy variety and most of the fights are of resistance rather than of skill because of the bullet spongy nature of the foes. Despite that, there’s enjoyment to be found in the exploration, the combat, and the hoarding of weapons and gear.

The game comes with a bonus bounty: The second DLC for the game, Survival. The DLC is accessible for players that reached level 30. In this mode, your agent finds itself in a desperate situation after a helicopter crash in an unfamiliar zone. With no gear, no supplies and in a hostile environment, you will have to, as the title suggests, survive and find a way out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_NjwtVYlM4

Yay or Nay?

While the game had many criticisms around it at launch, The Division still has a strong player base. If you like looter shooters, this is a great opportunity to see if the gameplay clicks with you in case you’re on the fence on getting the second one.

Full Metal Furies

Full Metal Furies is a 2D action game that features an all-female cast and puts a strong emphasis in team play. The four heroines of the game are battling against the literal end of the world, bringing destruction to the armies of the Titans with their skills. Each of the four characters has a specific competence (brawler, engineer, sniper, and tank) and brings different powers to the table.

It’s easy to guess that the game is at its strongest when played coop (either couch or online). The heroine’s skills can combo and interact with each other nicely. For example, a tank might knock up an enemy for the sniper to shoot in the air, guaranteeing a crit. The game is also playable solo, with a single player taking control of two characters and switching between them with the press of a button.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wUFjPdDo6Q

Yay or Nay?

Full Metal Furies is a ton of fun with friends and fairly enjoyable solo. The combat is well made and each character is unique enough to encourage experimentation, especially when gathering new gear that modifies how some skills function.

Aaero

This one is for music lovers. Aaero is a rhythm/shooter game with a twist. Instead of pressing buttons at the right time, the player has to move the thumbstick to match the pattern on the outside of the game area so the spaceship hits it as much as possible. While flying around and collecting points, enemies will try to kill our little spaceship so, of course, our spaceship will have to shoot them back.

The best part of this game is, predictably enough, the kick-ass music that it sports. While the gameplay offers a fair challenge, what really sets the game is the electronic music that accompanies it. The greatest motivation for the player to do good is not the scoreboard but the unwillingness to break the flow of the rhythm by messing up a movement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXdNsm3p5gU

Yay or Nay?

Aaero is fairly unique as far as rhythm games go, and also pretty challenging. If you’re a fan of electronic or techno music you can’t skip this one.

Bleed 2

We have another great game with a female lead. Bleed 2 is a pretty charming and enjoyable arcade action game that requires quite a bit of skill to master. Our heroine Wryn finds herself again in the middle of the action, with a whole new lot of enemies to fight and giant bosses to take down.

While the base mechanics of Bleed 2 are straightforward enough, it’s quite hard to pull them off perfectly. The UI constantly tracks the player’s performance attaching a vote to their skill and getting hit even once will lower the vote quite a bit. You will have to dodge every single shot and reflect all the bullets as possible to obtain an S score. In my case, I was lucky to get more than a C even in the earliest levels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJAYoDBWy6M

Yay or Nay?

Bleed 2 is action-packed and great to play, with great pixel art and a nice soundtrack. While pretty hard to master, it is quite easy to pick up and play.

Super Daryl Deluxe

This is a weird one. I can only describe Super Daryl Deluxe as an example of surrealism in videogames. The main character of the game, Daryl, is the new kid in a high school that, turns out, is also the fulcrum of some multidimensional shenanigans. Our hero will have to explore classrooms that are pretty close to their subject (like a science classroom with floating formulas and a talking giant vegetable being). All this in an effort to become the most popular kid in school by helping set up a textbook smuggling ring.

Super Daryl Deluxe plays as a side scroller Metroidvania with RPG elements. Daryl is able to learn and level up a good amount of fighting skills to help him during his journey. There are enough possibilities and combinations to make the gameplay pretty interesting. The peculiar art style and animation, combined with the surreal scenery and setting, make for quite the interesting experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afRtvVN1PrQ

Yay or Nay?

It is hard to give Super Daryl Deluxe a definite judgment. The game is so surreal to make it interesting enough to give it a run. Also one of the students of the school is an actual bear in a t-shirt, which is a big plus in my book.

Rapture Rejects

Battle Royales are the hot new thing right now and everyone wants a piece of that cake. What I didn’t expect was the creators of Cyanide and Happiness to jump on the bandwagon as well. Rapture Rejects is a 2D action Battle Royale in isometric perspective in the style of the popular webcomic. The nice thing about this game is that the authors bothered giving the players some backstory on how they are dropped on an island to kill each other.

God calls for the end of the world and the Rapture happens. The almighty then sends among the remaining people on the earth a single gold ticket that will allow the owner to access heaven. So, of course, a battle ensues among the remaining humans to get the ticket. The rejects will have to fight for whatever they can find, with all the weapons fitting the C&H humor. We’re talking stuff like nailguns, compost rifles, or spork sniper rifles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K05V4fIPmI

Yay or Nay?

While the concept itself is interesting and the game is definitely not just a low effort attempt to enter the BR craze, Rapture Rejects sits at 84 peak players in the last 30 days, which is not great for a BR. It's worth mentioning that the game is currently still in Early Access, so it might see better numbers later.

After Hours

With every Humble Monthly comes a Humble Original. These are exclusive games that are only available with this subscription and are specifically made for y’all. This month’s Humble Original is After Hours, which is a short movie-like game with some limited interaction that gives the player a look into the life of Lilith, a girl suffering borderline personality disorder as a result of being molested as a child.

The game does not offer a great deal gameplay wise. We witness Lilith struggling with her day while, once in a while, being able to choose the next action. Gameplay is not the main point of this title, though. After Hours should be experienced more like an FMV than a videogame. The player immerses themselves for a moment in the life of another human being who experiences existence in a very different way. It gives something to reflect on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi22-EwVWsc

Yay or Nay?

I personally don’t know much about mental illness, but it’s been interesting being exposed to a media that makes a point of showing the world the struggle of some people that most might be unaware of.

There's a lot of brawling in this month's Humble Monthly. Between Yakuza 0, Full Metal Furies, Bleed 2 and Super Daryl Deluxe there's more than enough to scratch your action itch. If you prefer stealth there's something for you as well with Sniper Elite 3 or if you're just looking for a mindless shooter, look no further than The Division. Something for all palates with some extra attention for some old school brawling action.

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

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Luigi Savinelli profile picture
| Former Staff Writer

Gamer since I can remember and now writer for your enjoyment. Can't say more. Those games will not play themselves