• Humble Choice October 2025

    From Spalls Hurgenson@spallshurgenson@gmail.com to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action on Tue Oct 7 14:40:46 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action


    Huzzah! Another opportunity to make The Number grow! Three cheers for
    Humble Choice! Well, three cheers assuming the games are any good,
    that is. Recently the offerings have been pretty mediocre. But maybe
    this month will be better? Let's find out.



    * Atomic Heart
    https://store.steampowered.com/app/668580/Atomic_Heart/
    So, this one is basically Bioshock crossed with Fallout
    crossed with STALKER; an odd mix. Despite that unusual
    combination, it's fairly generic in what it actually does;
    it lacks in originality. Also, its developers have some
    reputed ties to Russia (and have made an adamant refusal
    to speak against the Ukrainian invasion). Also, it uses
    Denuvo (and with a vicious five-install limit too!) So
    the game itself may be good-not-great, but there's a lot
    mess surrounding it that makes me sort of wary.



    * V Rising
    https://store.steampowered.com/app/1604030/V_Rising/
    The V stands for Vampire, in case you're wondering. It's
    a top-down action-RPG/survival game, so expect lots of
    gathering of supplies and crafting as you rebuild your castle.
    The base-building gets a lot of praise, but the rest of
    the gameplay is apparently pretty grindy. I'm not a big
    fan of vampire games either (at least, not unless I'm staking
    them in the heart! ;-)



    * System Shock (2023)
    https://store.steampowered.com/app/482400/System_Shock/
    The classic game remastered. It's... fine. Honestly, I
    found the 2015, 'Enhanced Edition' the better experience;
    sure, it hasn't the glitz and polish of the 2023 version,
    but the gameplay in both versions is still very old-school,
    and that feels very out of place when set against modern
    graphics. But in the end, it's "System Shock" and that's
    still a pretty good base to build upon.



    * Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town https://store.steampowered.com/app/1392960/STORY_OF_SEASONS_Pioneers_of_Olive_Town/
    Another of those cozy farm-town 'Animal Crossing' style games. I
    dislike the genre so I can't judge if this one is any better or worse
    than the rest, although the reviews are currently sitting at 'mixed'
    on Steam.



    * Cryptmaster
    https://store.steampowered.com/app/1885110/Cryptmaster/
    I'll admit the stylish monochrome graphics do have some
    appeal, but at heart it's a tile-based dungeon crawler
    and I'm just not a big fan of those. It apparently relies
    as much on puzzling as combat too, which may turn off
    some people who just want to hack-n-slash.



    * Shogun Showdown
    https://store.steampowered.com/app/2084000/Shogun_Showdown/
    This one's been a freebie included on other platforms.
    To quote myself from those announcements: "It has 'deck-
    building' elements. Oh, and it's rogue-like. Also, it has
    retro graphics. It's like a trifecta of things that make
    me want not to play your game."



    * Hotel Renovator
    https://store.steampowered.com/app/1214470/Hotel_Renovator/
    The title of this game tells you all you need to know
    about it. It's yet another 'workplace simulator'; this one
    has you taking over a hotel and trying to make it profitable.
    Like way to many of these games, its a janky and abandoned by
    its devs. If you think "House Flipper" or "Supermarket
    Simulator" are the height of gaming, you'll probably enjoy
    this too. As for myself, I'd pass.



    * Caravan Sandwitch https://store.steampowered.com/app/1582650/Caravan_SandWitch/
    A weird mix of walking-simulator and platforming. Buggy
    and lacking in variety, the reviews aren't very good. It has
    its heart in the right place and the visuals aren't bad, but
    it becomes a real slog as you progress. Meh.



    So do we celebrate this month or not? There are a few worthwhile
    games, but none without some downsides, and a bunch of the usual
    library-fodder that will probably appeal to nobody. I guess this
    month's selection is a bit better than last month, so maybe that's
    improvement?

    Me, mostly I just like seeing The Number goes up, but I'm not sure
    Humble Choice is worth the price anymore.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Spalls Hurgenson@spallshurgenson@gmail.com to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action on Wed Oct 8 10:05:33 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action


    You've been waiting for the Requisite Addendum (tm) to this month's
    Humble Choice announcement, haven't you? The one where I hand out
    spare keys for games I already own. Well, wait no longer, because it's
    here. And it's a good one, too.

    Blah blah key works once blah blah get it on Steam blah blah ROT13
    blah. Blah?


    * System Shock (2023)
    <ROT13>
    3LFYT-7V2MT-IR5HL
    </ROT13>


    On a vaguely-related side-note, the original "System Shock 2" is being
    delisted on Steam, so if you want to get it (instead of the 2025
    remaster), grab it now. It will still be sort of available, as it is
    (at least currently) bundled with the remaster, but the original is
    $10USD and the (arguably pointless) remaster is $30USD, so you'd be
    saving some money if you went with the original.


    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2