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Hello, I’m Kinglink and Welcome to the Humble Monthly Bundle Early Unlock Preview of December 2019. The Last Humble Monthly Bundle of the year and maybe ever? Well, who knows.

Just a heads up, this is the new preview format, I’ll just talk quickly about each game, the idea is I should have only played one hour of each game, though this month that’s only true of one of them. If you are interested in the Humble Monthly Bundle or want to hear my review of these games, consider subscribing. Now let’s talk about the games.

This month we have three titles. Yakuza Kiwami, Soul Calibur VI, and My Time at Portia. I’ll just go ahead and say three great games. I already have reviews of Yakuza Kiwami and Soul Calibur, but let me give you pseudo previews here. I’ll link the reviews at the end.

Yakuza Kiwami is from one of my favorite series, if not my absolute favorite. Each game is a meaty 50 hours or more with a sandbox model, allowing the player to explore a decent-sized city neighborhood along with a great story. If you have played Yakuza 0 which was in the Humble Monthly Bundle for February 2019 then you probably know enough to make a decision and I bet you already picked this up.

If not, this is the first game in the storyline, though Yakuza 0 was a prequel and worth playing first, but not required. I think Yakuza Kiwami is honestly a little weaker than Yakuza 0, the bosses especially, but it is a fun, long and interesting game, with a fantastic story that really should be experienced. It also should be required playing before playing Yakuza Kiwami 2 which I’ve also reviewed, and that game is unbelievable.

If you haven’t played this series, and I do mean it when I say it’s my favorite series right now, it’s worth playing. The world is open so exploration is rewarded quite regularly, and the combat is exceptionally well done in a brawling style. There’s so much to do and so many sidequests. These games are 50 hours apiece but I really would not call any part of that time grinding. Overall though, this is a perfect headliner, this is the big title in my book.

I haven’t even talked about Goro, but…. Just check this game out.

Soul Calibur VI… As a preview I’m not going into the major problems here, but as a first look Soul Calibur is a fun game. Though I will caution and say it’s not a very deep game. For 12 bucks if you’re a fighting fan, it’s perfectly fine and worth checking out, but Fighting games are better than ever, and Soul Calibur VI doesn’t feel like it has kept up.

The story is particularly bad in Soul Calibur VI. If you like single-player content, this is weaker than Tekken 7, which is a fantastic game, but also on the light end for single-player content. Soul Calibur VI is somehow weaker than that.

On the other hand, there’s an adventure mode where the player explores a map with a created character, but it’s repetition rather than a truly interesting game. The fighting itself is solid but there’s nothing else besides a fighting engine and even there, there are a few quirks.

If you like fighting games, check this out, I’ll go into far more detail when we recap the early unlocks, but you can check out my video if you’re interested in just this game. I will say again, 12 bucks, isn’t bad for it.

And finally, we come to My Time at Portia. That’s how the dev’s pronounce it, though the game does sometimes say Portia. Honestly, this was the one game I haven’t played yet, and… I probably should have. About six months ago, Humble put out Staxel and it played like a 3d version of Stardew Valley but was weaker in almost every way. Not recommended

My Time at Portia is a 3d version of Stardew Valley… and… It’s probably slightly weaker than Stardew in every way… but it’s only SLIGHTLY weaker. The biggest issue I have right now with My Time at Portia is the interface is frustrating and a bit weak. I don’t think it was designed for a controller, but outside of the interface it’s far better on the controller. It’s got some issues. At the same time… well, there’s a lot here that’s very solid.

From just about 90 minutes of playtime, there are more characters than Stardew, at least 40. When they all gather there’s actually a crowd, but maybe more. More of a storyline so far, that’s probably going to end eventually but the task in front of me now is going to take some time. A great style to the game, and well… let me jump forward in my gameplay video.

This dungeon is strange but it’s amazing too. This is the adventure section of the game… but check it out, I’m able to dig in the wall, this reminds of my first game company, Volition, who made Red Faction way back in the day, and had Geomod technology where you can dig into the ground, this game also has similar tech and… that’s just cool to me, especially for a smaller game.

I’m excited to play more of My Time at Portia. It’s supposed to be meaty, like 60ish hours. There are so many people and each character has their own friendship systems with each so if you are a completionist, you’ll have a lot of time here. I haven’t even fully explored the town next to me yet, and there’s so much more to find out. I’m looking forward to diving back in.

So that’s the three games this month. Now is this the last Humble Monthly Bundle, the fact is I don’t know for sure, but I am getting the feeling this could be it. Humble Choice is supposed to be released in 2019, I don’t see how it releases in 2019 if next month is a Humble Monthly Bundle. That being said, look at this bundle as it’s own, but I will say this one seems pretty great. One of my favorite series, a decent admittedly weak but still fun fighter, and a really solid Harvest Moon/Stardew Valley game.

If you can’t find 12 dollars worth of content I don’t know what to tell you but if you’re still unsure, I’ll swing back before the month is out to give you a full scoop on all three games, including My Time at Portia.

If you’re interested, consider subscribing, and if you want to get started on those reviews, well let me pop up my Yakuza Kiwami, and Soul Calibur VI’s reviews.

Until Next Time I’m Kinglink, thanks for watching.