Today Humble released their Humble Choice Bundle for February. That means it’s time for us to do the February Humble Choice breakdown and review.
The last few months Humble Choice bundles have been a little bit on the weaker side. Hopefully that means Humble is bringing us a strong choice bundle this month.
Let’s take a look at the games and get into it.
February Humble Choice Games
Borderlands 3 - 4.5/5
I have always been a huge fan of the Borderlands series, so much so that I started salivating when Borderlands 3 was announced.
Borderlands 3 is a great game with a lot of content however, I have always felt like it is a step down from Borderlands 2.
Yes, it has improved graphics and a larger world. Yes, gameplay is almost exactly the same. What has really changed was the humor, which used to be quirky. Now at times it is just annoying.
With a different development team, Borderlands 3 only managed to maintain 90% of what made Borderlands 2 so special.
If you’ve never played a Borderlands game, you should. It’s basically Diablo in a different world with guns. It is a load of fun, especially playing in co-op with friends.
Humble also included the Director’s cut DLC. The Director’s cut adds a new raid boss, and some side missions. It was one of the smaller DLC’s for Borderlands 3.
Including Borderlands 3 in the February Humble Choice Bundle was a nice touch. Let’s see how the rest of the bundle holds up.
Black Book - 4/5
Black Book is a highly story driven title based off of Russian Folklore. It manages almost evenly split it’s time between being a visual novel, and a turn based RPG with Deck Building based combat.
Throughout the entire game you will learn more about Russian folklore than you ever expected to learn in your life.
When not in dialog sequences, the majority of the rest of your time is spent in turn-based combat.
I’ve only been able to play Black Book for a very short time, but from what I’ve played so far, the concept is interesting and makes a much more story-driven game than most deck builders.
Per Aspera - 4.2 / 5
Per Aspera manages to be a planetary simulator, extreme resource management game, and a narrative experience all at exactly the same time.
Have too much Co2? Unlike on Earth, if you play your cards right in Per Aspera you will convert the Co2 to oxygen. Too much oxygen, and all sorts of chaos happens, like fires everywhere.
Per Aspera takes your standard city builder and adds a whole new element of strategy to it.
To survive you have to constantly plan what you are going to do next and make smart decisions.
Per Aspera is definitely not one of those calm city builders where you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the flow. Per Aspera will constantly put you on the edge of your seat and always has your brain moving to figure out what to do.
I highly recommend Per Aspera for anyone who likes city builders or even 4x games due to the amount of strategy involved. It is definitely not your average city builder.
Just Die Already - 3.5/5
Just Die Already was created by the same people who brought us Goat Simulator, and it’s just about as silly.
You play as a retiree who was just kicked out of your retirement home and you are trying to survive by any means necessary.
This game is as serious as it sounds. There are several funny moments in Just Die Already, and it is fun, but after the novelty wears off it starts to feel a little pointless.
It’s definitely worth playing, especially if you can get some friends together to play with you. It’s good for 5-6 hours before the fun and laughs turn to anguish.
One thing that helps save Just Die Already, anytime you find a friend that hasn’t played it. Even watching someone play it for the first time is entertaining, even after I’ve already grown sick of the game. Even better if they have a webcam on to see the looks on their faces.
Before We Leave - 3.8 / 5
Before we leave is a cute little low stress relaxing city builder. It kind of reminds me of Frostpunk without the dread, or near as much micromanagement.
Before you leave based on a city you are building attached to a Fall Out shelter. You are trying to reestablish housing and happiness of your peeps (that is what they are called, that wasn’t bad slang).
While the game totes non-violence, you do have some enemies to worry about. Your biggest threat? Space Whales. You didn’t read that wrong, I said Space Whales.
The game can be a little complex to get into if you decide to skip or not pay attention to the tutorial, so make sure to give it a good once over.
Before You Leave is a good addition to the Humble Bundle and gives a nice game to just sit, play, relax, and let time flow by.
Paradise Lost - 2.5 / 5
Paradise Lost has the lowest Metacritic score of any game ever put onto this blog. I can say, the reviews are right. I was not a fan of this game.
To be fair, I only got about an hour into Paradise Lost, but that was enough to know I wasn’t a fan.
Paradise Lost looks like it would be a great game, and it probably could have been. The story just doesn’t drive forward the way that it should. It is very lack luster.
The atmosphere is interesting, and in the very beginning gives you the impression the game will be interesting too, but it quickly becoming stagnant and dull.
A few may enjoy Paradise Lost, but I would not recommend it to anyone. The game almost feels like it’s still in early access, and there is a more completed to story to come. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and it is a fully released game.
Everhood - 4.6 / 5
Throw Undertale and Guitar Hero in a blender, and out comes Everhood. Everhood doesn’t have the most stunning graphics, doesn’t appear to be the most up to day, and yet, it is the highest rated game on this list.
Everhood bring a unique dynamic by making an adventure RPG and replacing standard RPG combat with Rhythm based combat. Adding the music, and changing the combat style really put this game into a lane of its own.
The battles and gameplay are constantly changing which keeps Everhood from ever feeling stagnant like some games do. As you progress the combat becomes more challenging but as the challenge increases, so does the level of fun.
The developers of Everhood tried something that doesn’t seem like it would work, and yet it works flawlessly.
The game itself is not very long, but it takes multiple playthroughs if you really want to understand the entire story.
Everhood is like Undertale. A small indie game with few developers that beats most of the AAA titles in regards to gameplay and fun.
Calico - 3.4 / 5.0
I spoke too soon. Calico is the worst rated game we’ve ever featured on this blog. Calico, however, is not as bad as the critics make it out to be. It by no means is a great game, but it’s also not horrible.
I will say, Calico is not really my style of game. That being said, I found it to be decent, just not my style.
Calico is a sim game in which you are tasked with opening up the towns cat cafe. Now, I hate cats, but I tried to be objective.
You collect cats, dogs, and other animals that can either live with your or stay at your cafe. You complete quests for the residents.
It’s kind of like Stardew Valley or Animal crossing, without the farming elements. You never run out of stuff to do, and the game is relaxing just to sit, play, and sift through. To be fair, I Stardew Valley is not my style of game either.
Those who like Stardew Valley will probably enjoy Calico. It’s not a game for everyone, but some will absolutely love it.
Where does that leave us with February Humble Choice
Humble’s February Humble Choice has a few great games, and a lot of mediocre titles. As far as Humble Choice Bundles go, taking all the games into account, this is probably the worst Humble Choice offering I’ve see0n in quite a while.
In the last few months, I’ve seen Humble release a Humble Choice bundle with virtually no triple AAA games, but all of the titles were highly rated and great games.
I’ve seen them release with one triple AAA title and a bunch of top-rated indie titles. W
Where February’s Humble Choice falls a little flat is there are less titles than prior months (since one of them is a DLC), and some of the titles are very poorly rated, which I very rarely see in Humble Choice bundles.
Overall, the February Humble Choice Bundle receives a 3.7 / 5
With The Low Humble Choice Score Would You Still Recommend Humble Choice
I think Humble Choice is great for anyone who enjoys playing lots of games and trying new games. For those who play one or two games, and never like to try new games, Humble Choice is probably not a good option for them.
Even this bundle with a lower ranking than most, is still worth the $12 I pay every month. Borderlands 3 alone costs more than that, so I still consider it a good value. $12 for 8 games a month, usually with one or two higher priced games, is well worth it for anyone who likes to try new games.
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