Humble Choice December 2024 Review

[@Bekayvd]

Bombrush cyberpunk, inkulinati and venma have been on my wishlist for a while. Killer month in my book. Love it when they do these indie focused bundles.

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

Well, heck yeah then! Glad to hear this month worked out well for you. For me, Old World (obviously) and Moonstone Island were both games I had on my wishlist. So only two this month, but still happy with that. Sometimes I struggle to even have one thing from the wishlist in a bundle. All good though since it means I get a bunch of other decent games (usually).

[@NamelessSuper]

Thanks for the review! Totally agree. Looking forward to your review of the year.

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

No problem! Thanks for the support!

[@irnbru5496]

Bombrush Cyberfunk is a Spiritual successor to Jet Set Radio a game from the 2000's its drenched on nostalgia for me sad you didn't enjoy but maybe I have rose glasses on XD

[@TheOrian34]

Nah, I'm sure it's a great game, but if the genre doesn't mesh with you, quality won't matter sadly.

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

Heh...maybe, but like Orian said, it probably is a good game. And I heard the name get thrown around but I really don't know anything about Jet Set Radio. To be honest, every time I hear the name I just keep thinking about Jet Force Gemini on the N64 lol. Maybe I'll need to give it another go at some point. I have liked some of these kinds of games in the past like OlliOlli World (albeit that was 2D) and Descenders (which was kinda different from this but still...a similar vein).

[@Kinglink]

I knew none of these games (outside of Monster prom) , so I'm glad to hear you talking about it. But I'm surprised at Monster Prom being in weak, though I haven't played it (the first two are so good). It's a unique and fun game even better with other people. Thanks for covering this, this was one I really needed guidance on.

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

Yeah, when we got Monster Camp, I also put that one in Weak Recommendation as well. It's not really my kind of game to be honest. But it does just enough for me to get a chuckle so I don't write off as something I wouldn't want to play again. I had tried to play the original with my wife, but we didn't really click with it. The quick party nature of the game wasn't really what we were looking for at the time so after a couple games we were done. And I'm not really that interested enough to want to play it myself and see all the interactions.

[@Martinifang]

Great review. Looking forward to trying them all, but I started with old world and man.. I'm feeling that 1 more turn energy xD

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

Heh, nice! Hopefully I can get a chance to play a bit more of that over the holidays.

[@soulrver7]

Thanks for the review! I didn't know anything about most of these games (Old World being the exception) and am actually considering the bundle after hearing your thoughts.

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

No problem! I'm glad the review could help you out. Were there any games in particular that had you change your mind?

[@soulrver7]

@@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews At a quick glance the bundle looked like one to skip. But Inkulinati, Moonstone Island, The Invincible and even Crime Boss look good. Already had Old World on my wishlist, so it's hard to pass this one up!

[@PsychoEditor]

Hype for this bundle and hype for your thoughts

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

Thank you! Which games were you most looking forward to?

[@PsychoEditor]

​@@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews Monster road trip, bomb rush and venbra. And how with your vid inkling. I got a backlog but these are on my wishlist already~ excited for the winter sale!

[@TikiCollection]

I really appreciate having someone doing review of the monthly Humble "Choice" Bundles. It ensures the smaller games in the bundle are getting reviewed, which can be a problem. However, have you considered putting some additional play time into the games? We have almost the whole month to decide whether we want to skip or not. I'd think most of us have enough of a backlog from previous months we don't need to rush out and decide right away. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'd rather have reviews that are based on more playtime than reviews that come out at the beginning of the month. I'm understand there's a rush to get the video out ASAP to compete, but maybe you could release a follow-up video near the end of the month. Assuming you will want to be playing more of these games anyway, it could be a simple video just updating your opinions on the games you played more of and giving a final verdict for those of us on the fence on whether to skip the month or not.

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

Thank for the kind words! And I like the idea because it would be a great excuse for me to actually play the games that I want to from the bundle, but...I don't think that would be too feasible for me. I think if it was the only content I did being the initial Humble video and a potential latter video in the month then it might work...but between other things in my life and other content I make for the channel, I can't do that at the moment. Although, I remember a channel (3scapePod) used to do Humble Choice reviews and they were a pair of dudes working together. That allowed them to cover more playtime in each game but...I'm just one guy. It was always nice to hear their takes since they had more time to immerse themselves in the game mechanics, story, etc. Unfortunately, they stopped making those reviews ages ago now... Although, to be honest, I'm unsure that my opinions would change that drastically over just a few more hours of game time with each title. I choose an hour because I feel that usually that's enough time to know if you'd want to play further or not. It's not the best metric for all games but I think it works most of the time. Obviously more complex games (like a 4X) or really slow burn game (like a farming sim or survival title) don't really work well with that. So my opinions on those will always be a bit lackluster. Obviously, I understand you're looking for my opinion, but I think the only thing I would suggest is going to specific reviews others have made on the games you're interested in.

[@albaker2]

Just thought this months games were smaller games.no big title all stocking fillers but that's just me.great review as always

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

Lol that's a good way of putting it. Stocking fillers, I definitely can agree with that. I think that's what usually sells a bundle is the big title that holds it up with a supporting cast.

[@DeckHeadGaming]

Excellent video, as always! I walked away from this bundle with the exact same impression - perhaps not the best bundle with no true standout titles, but still decent as a whole.

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

Definitely! That's one of the things I like with reviewing these bundles. Forces me to actually play the games and I almost always walk away thinking, "Nice, I got a good batch of games." Or ones that I may have otherwise just written off if I merely looked at the bundle at a glance.

[@DeckHeadGaming]

@@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews Very true! Do you often go back to the games afterwards? For many of the games, I enjoy playing them for the review but only return afterwards for a select few.

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

@@DeckHeadGaming Heh, well...I sometimes do. Last year I was a lot better about it than this year. The goal is to try and play at least one of the games from the bundle past the review. Usually though, there's not enough time. Mainly because I'm playing other things but even still. The backlog problem is real haha

[@poeterritory]

Looks colorful, but doesn't comp[ell me. Thanks as always.

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

No problem! Glad it could help.

[@albaker2]

Thanks for the reply

[@Sen_MayerGaming]

Seems like a month with lots of good games, but no "big" name. I didn't know anything either about Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, but it seems relatively good! Overall not the best month this year for my own taste, but it's not without value for sure. Thanks for the review!

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

No problem! Yeah, I think the lack of a heavy hitter works against the bundle for a lot of people. But then again, there are a ton of people who do actually know about Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. It does have an Overwhelmingly Positive review score on Steam with over 10K reviews. So...pretty popular lol. Just one of these games that slipped through the cracks for me. Probably because it's not my kind of game I would guess.

[@kinomanssky]

When you have a Steam Backlog, easy skip…

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

Heh, I get that. But you're not doing it right if your backlog doesn't just keep getting bigger and bigger so that you couldn't feasibly finish it even if you spent every waking hour of the rest of your life playing games. Or...maybe that's me and I might have a problem...

[@kinomanssky]

@@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews agree! But it’s not that big. For me it’s a good way to feel better when some new games I « hype » release eventually not good.

[@albaker2]

Just seems rubbish compared to every other month but that's just me great video as always

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

Thanks! Glad it could help. Heh, for me, the worst month was July. There was a bunch of games I didn't really care for that month. Anyway, there's always next month!

[@Realunmaker]

This was a weird month. I had 6 of the 9 games on my wishlist so it was easily a month to pick up for me, but on the other hand only cyberush hyperfunk or something was the only one I was eager to try. And Rocky’s city is such a weird thing, it was bashed during its launch season but it seems it’s leagues above that now in terms of polish, even if the story and acting can’t be helped

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

Hey, if 6 out of the 9 games were on your wishlist then that sounds like a good month to me! I can understand that though. I have so many games on my wishlist and they've been there for years. I use my wishlist more for games that I want to remember so that I can eventually get them and maybe eventually play them. Rather than using the wishlist only for games that I really want to play the moment I pick them up. That's very few games honestly.

[@Realunmaker]

@@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews yeah, same, my wishlist is a mix of games I'm waiting a reduction in price, games I wanna remember exist just in case and games I eventually want to buy just... not now so while I make a great use of it, I can't say I use it as it was intended completely

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

@@Realunmaker Yup, I'd say that most of the time the real reason why things get knocked off my wishlist is because I go through it on a big "purge" during the summer and winter sales where I reevaluate every game on the list and decide if I really care about it anymore. As compared to actually buying something. That said...it doesn't work too well because I have over 300 things on my wishlist...

[@TheOrian34]

@@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews Yeah, I do the same, I think I have more wishlists than owned games... and that's saying a lot considering I have around 800 games... But hey, I already went through a whole quarter of it! 600 left.

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

@@TheOrian34 Holy cow and here I thought I was hardcore. That's a sizable wishlist. I hear ya though. Back just a few years ago, I could trim my wishlist to just under 100. I have no idea how I managed that anymore. I guess these days there are just so many games getting released. And there's enough really interesting and decent games coming out as well that they just stay on the wishlist almost indefinitely.

[@permeus2nd]

So I have heard of most of the games but I wasn’t blown away, monster prom I know because I follow jesse cox (well I used to but he has bearly posted on YT for the last few years) the invincible is something I saw a while ago on steam and it looks interesting but after seeing a LP of it I’m glad I didn’t ever get it as ied have been let down, Crime boss I remember been a bit rubbish from the reviews kinda like it spent all its money on its stars but wasted it by not doing great at the story and gameplay, lastly fallen Atlas was a game I was really interesting in but when it came out it got mid reviews I’m still interested but the reviews threw a wet blanket over it. The rest I haven’t heard of but I looked up a review for old world and it looks kinda ok a mix of several different games I am interested in or own (and unusually for me actually managed to play) so that’s cool and for only a tenner why not nothing this month bothers me to be in my Library even if I don’t get round to playing them.

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

I saw the same for Crime Boss which is exactly why I went in expecting the game to be trash. I mean...it wasn't amazing. But it wasn't a hot dumpster fire either (if you kindly ignore any bit of story). I think I do remember Atlas Fallen getting mid reviews as well. All I remember is seeing the announcement trailer for it and basically thinking, "Huh, no gameplay...well, if I see it again then I'll check it out and if not then oh well." Turns out all I needed to do was wait for it to come to Humble. I guess that's how it works with a lot of games though haha.

[@shaddapforever]

What sound comes out from only one speaker? What happened??? Great review as always and happy holidays!!!!! See you in January

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

Haha...just to be clear though you're joking, right? That actually happened to me with a video and I had to take it down and address the problem. Thanks for your consistent support though, man! Have a good rest of the year!

[@shaddapforever]

@@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews haha ... I should be careful with the jokes I make. My pc is already acting a bit weird as well.

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

@@shaddapforever Lol, yeah, my problem before was that I didn't even know it was only coming out of one speaker because my sound system is less than ideal. It's just some really crappy single USB speaker so I wasn't even aware until someone told me. That's why I was a bit worried. Luckily...all is good haha

[@Kinglink]

@@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews You should consider getting some headphones, even relatively cheap ones will be good and should help you catch issues like that. Had that happen myself, Heck, I recorded my audio as mono once, and that was NOT a good day. I remember having to decide if I wanted to rerecord it or just duplicate it to the second track.

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

@@Kinglink That's actually what I record with...just a headset. Which is why my mic quality can be questionable at times. I really need to upgrade that at some point but I've been saying that for years now. Funny enough though, that's exactly how I straightened out my issue. I just duplicated the track haha

[@themadmoderator8465]

skipp for me

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

Welp, there's always next month at least. Hopefully it will work out better then.

[@PsychoEditor]

Wild

[@TheOrian34]

Once again my comment isn't visible, remember to sort by newest.

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

Wow, so it's even stranger this month. I couldn't see your comment in YT Studio this time. I had to actually go to the video and sort by newest and then I saw the comment. I'm wondering if it's not going to show up at all eventually? Have you figured out why YT is not showing your comments for some reason? I don't get why this comment will show up, but the comment that literally engages the video and its content is being "hidden" from view.

[@TheOrian34]

@@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews Yeah I have no idea, I sent a feedback request to youtube, maybe they'll listen. My only guess is that it auto hides when comments are too big, like some kind of spam filter.

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

@@TheOrian34 Maybe...but those comments should show up in the YT Studio for me to filter myself. I don't get it. Well, hopefully it stops doing that.

[@albaker2]

Bad month poor games

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

Welp, there's always next month! What games do you usually play though? I felt the games this month were definitely an eclectic bunch so could appeal to a lot of people. But then again, I can see that as being the problem.

[@albaker2]

Not a good month games are cheap

[@StealthyshiroeanHumbleReviews]

What do you mean? That the games are inexpensive compared to other months? If so, then yeah, that might be the case. Although, in almost every (maybe every) instance with Humble Choice, you're not going to find these games at any more of a steal. Even with all of the games at their historic lows, it far exceeds the overall monthly cost of Humble Choice. But...that also means that the consumer would want every single game in the bundle. Usually, I'd say if there's at least 3 then it's pretty much always a steal compared to buying them a la carte.