I’m Kinglink and it’s time for the Humble Choice April 2022 Review. 

This year is kind of racing past. but we’re here with the fourth bundle and for the third time, I will say that I think Humble delivered. It’s not a perfect bundle but there’s quite a bit here. Once again we only have eight titles. 

As always I check out each game for an hour and now I’m ready to tell you what I think and who is going to enjoy them. I will mention one thing. The Naruto game in this list is not available for the Asian Pacific market. Instead, you get a game called Space Accident. I won’t be reviewing but I’ll discuss that more later. That is a pretty major change, and I wanted to call it out, so if you’re not sure, check the list of games before buying the bundle. 

I’m sure you’ll notice some other changes with the video.  Let me know what you think.

With all of that out of the way let’s talk about what there is in the bundle. Starting with

Ghostrunner. Mirror’s Edge with a fresh cyber ninja-style gameplay 

I’m sure I’m not doing Ghostrunner justice here. Ghostrunner is a fast-paced game where you fly around a level, run across walls, and slaughter enemies all while avoiding their attacks and trying to do it with style and skill. I’m not sure that an hour is enough time to truly master this game, and that’s understandable. 

The one thing I can say is Ghostrunner has an amazing ability to make you feel like a ninja as you fly through a level and just nail each move such as running on a wall, and then a few seconds later make you feel like an utter failure when you miss what you consider a simple jump. This is something that happened more than a few times, but I never felt fully discouraged by this but rather felt a desire to improve my abilities and continue working on my skills to become better with the mechanics here. 

Pick this up if you like Mirror’s Edge or just want to feel like an absolute badass. This is a challenging game that has a high skill level and while it is designed to be speedrun, this is also really solid for normal players. I’m going to return to work on my skills here.

Destroy All Humans! A spoof of 1950s alien movies done rather well. 

I liked Destroy All Humans back when it came out in 2005. Disclosure, It was the first game I got at a discount while working at THQ Volition, but it also has stuck with me. There’s a great motif and the humor in this game works for me. It has a lot of clever writing. It doesn’t hurt that the main actor does a great Jack Nickelson impersonation the whole game, or that your orders are issued by the same voice actor as Invader Zim, and it makes it so enjoyable. 

The gameplay is great, but it pushes the b-movie style. You will zap enemies with electricity guns, use telekinesis and even get in your flying saucer and decimate entire areas. It’s fun and varied and has a great open-world feel to the entire experience. 

Pick this up if you’re a fan of the 1950s. The references here might be out of the reach for a lot of people, but it plays with the tropes and had me laughing quite a bit. Like I said I did play this game back in 2006 so there’s a hearty nostalgia here, but the game also looks great and feels like it’s gotten a complete makeover. I’m looking forward to the remake of the sequel now that I’ve seen how well this was handled. 

Monster Sanctuary. Metroidvania Pokemon. 

I love Nintendo franchises, but they do tend to be a bit stale at times, so I’m always looking forward to fresh takes on the core ideas. Monster Sanctuary takes the idea of Monster farming and adds a solid Metroidvania to it, which creates a rather interesting game. Players start with one of four characters, but from there will explore the world collecting monsters, and defeating enemies. 

The first hour is pretty easy to get through but there’s also a strong feeling of grinding and farming inherently to the idea here, as well as reports from people I trust, that the game does eventually get decently challenging. There are great skill systems, interesting monster designs, and a lot of features here that keep the idea fresh. 

Pick this up if you like either Metroidvania for their exploration or Pokemon. I’m a little shocked this hasn’t gotten more attention but I’m thrilled to have experienced it now. I also really like the change where you have three playable characters, rather than just one monster at a time, because it adds a new layer to the tactics. 

Killsquad. A Moba with more RPG elements. 

Killsquad brings Moba style gameplay to a PVE style game. Players take on short contracts which last about ten minutes. Each contract has players fighting through hordes of monsters with different tasks and a final boss on each level. The levels feel more scripted than the usual style of these games, with a focus on a progression with the players earning loot and leveling up. 

There are five characters in this game, and I took the melee tank for my hour. While most characters are geared towards range attack, I found the tank to be pretty strong and interesting to control. The action was intense, and the only part I struggled with was when I got distracted from a primary goal, but I also had a great time throughout. 

Pick this up if you like MOBAs, yes this does have elements of an Action RPG and an inventory system, but this game is unapologetically a MOBA, and it works for it. I enjoyed my time, though I will mention that some people do find this game to get more repetitive as time goes on, but in my first hour, I was engaged, and normally I’m not a huge fan of MOBAs. 

Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos. A blatant Zelda Roguelite.

Once again we have a fresh take on a Nintendo franchise. The Legend of Zelda Link to the Past is a classic title, and Rogue Heroes takes inspiration from it, perhaps too much. I’m a little shocked this was released on the Nintendo Switch instead of getting a Cease and Desist letter with how much it’s taken from the Zelda formula and style. But if Nintendo is ok with it, great. 

Rogue Heroes takes that Zelda formula and increases the challenge to the point where it’s almost impossible to beat the game in a single run, but that’s the point of a rogue-lite, repetition. Here you’ll build a village, buy upgrades, and unlock different abilities. It’s also not just a dungeon.  While the four dungeons are set up as the core of the games, there’s a large overworld, a story with different quests, and a town that will be built up as part of your upgrades. 

Pick this up if you’re a fan of Zelda and rogue-lites. I’m torn on this, rogue-lites have a tendency to be brutally hard at some points and there are hints this game will go that route, but fans say it’s pretty reasonable in the difficulty. Also, it has online and couch co-op so if you have someone you want to check this game out with, that’s supposed to be worth trying. 

Suzerain. A visual novel mixed with a country simulator. 

Suzerain takes a bit to start. The first half-hour has you playing the backstory of your character in a visual novel style while making choices to define your character. Do you stand against tyranny or avoid conflict? Do you want to become a lawyer, economist, or history professor? Each of these helps define your character.

Then one day you become president and the real game begins. You’re in charge of a vast country and now need to bring the country out of the current recession, fulfill promises made to the populace, and navigate the waters of the presidency. This is done through a lot of visual novel style discussions complete with the player asking questions, and choosing different answers depending on the situation. These answers should likely change the course of the country or the game, but I didn’t have enough time to see this. There are nine different endings and even more sub endings so it’s very likely what you do will matter throughout the game. 

Pick this up if you like the idea of a visual novel that’s focused on running a country, rather than trying to date random waifus. It’s a unique take and the writing is well done, but it’s also a lot of writing. It is an interesting concept though and I’m curious as to how far it will take the story. 

Chicken Police. What the heck is this? 

Chicken Police is a noir detective story, with references to Philip Marlowe early on it’s clear that the creators love the format, and do imitate it almost flawlessly. The writing is on point, there’s a great deal of mystery coming from multiple angles and there’s even a game where you interrogate people. It’s an intriguing game. 

Oh right, it also has the strangest character models of all time. Every character has a human body, including this woman, and yet the head of an animal and both parts have a ridiculous amount of detail. Oh and oddly good lip syncing.  Why is there cleavage? Serious question. Why? Outside of a few puns about the genre or the characters’ names, the game is played pretty straight and the writing does a great job with it. 

Pick this up if you like a Detective story…. Or if you are a furry. I like this game, and in the first hour, I’m hooked. I want to know more, there are multiple different threads the game is teasing me with, and I am curious where the story will take the player. But I’m also really curious about the characters because every character is equally odd and unique. It’s an art style that I doubt I will ever forget. 

Naruto To Boruto: Shinobi Striker. A multiplayer-focused Naruto game. 

Naruto To Boruto is an interesting game. It allows players to create their own characters in the Naruto universe and talk to famous characters like Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. Then players can train with them to learn their special ninjitsu. You’ll customize characters and then take them into PVP battles and that’s the main game here. 

There is a PVE mode but apparently, it’s not as in-depth with missions there taking under 5 minutes, and having a limited length. Getting into a PVP match took a long time, but I also was a bit impatient. The player base on PC is in the 500 range which isn’t very healthy but I think we’ve all seen far worse. Oh and some microtransactions ultimately make this game feel money-hungry along with over 4 different seasons worth of DLC. This is also a game that goes on sale for under 5 bucks routinely yet lists itself at 50 dollars. 

Pick this up if you’re a Naruto fan. If you like these characters, this universe, or even always wanted to be a ninja in this world, you’ll probably have a good time. It can be even better if you have a group to hopefully get into battles faster. However, the PVP wasn’t amazing, and while I liked the PVE. It only has about 70 short missions which aren’t all unlocked at once, I question how long until I would be forced to play PVP. And yeah, don’t forget about those microtransactions that do appear to have some pay to win elements or at least a heavy grind. That’s never a good sign. 

And that’s the eight titles, but what’s that? Do you want more? Well ok, I know I said I might check out Flynn: Son of Crimson, but I have previously and I still might, but I haven’t checked out this game before. Let’s take a listen. 

The Wild At Heart. An Indie Pikmin

The Wild At Heart starts with a kid named Wake running away from home. He takes a few supplies he has stashed around the house and a special vacuum cleaner and from there embarks on a journey into the woods. He gets lost and meets a strange Pikmin. Oh, wait I’m sorry, they are called Spritelings. But come on, we know where they’re going with this. 

The thing is while it takes a lot of influence from Pikmin, it’s also a more narrative-driven game, with a focus on puzzles rather than time management. The story here is interesting with unique characters, and the gameplay is solid so far, but it’s the characters that have me interested in returning to see more. 

Pick this up if you like Pikmin and want to see indie studios take on this. The nice thing is this is in the Humble Game Collection and technically on Game Pass, so if you want to check it out you can pick it up at any time. I am looking forward to playing more of this title and seeing what else it will do with the premise. 

And that’s the games for this month. You know The Wild at Heart was the third time I referred to Nintendo, and while it’s not officially part of the bundle I’m quite pleased with both Monster Sanctuary and Rogue Heroes. I love seeing companies take fresh and interesting takes on Nintendo properties rather than just attempt to make clones. 

I wasn’t sure about the bundle at first, especially with Destroy All Humans and my nostalgia goggles, but as I played through more and more of these titles I found myself enjoying each game more than the last, though I did start with the lowest-ranked title this month which might be why, no spoilers yet. 

Now Naruto To Boruto isn’t available in the Asian Pacific region and I’m quite disappointed with that. Why Humble? Why replace a fifty-dollar title with Space Accident that sells for 5 bucks. Last month this was done with Man of Medan which goes for 30 bucks and instead replaced it with Warsim which goes for 8. While Space Accident looks better than Warsim, that’s a huge value difference and shouldn’t happen. If you can’t get a game for all regions, find something else or at least give something of an equal value. 

With all that said, let’s get to the rankings. A through F with no E, because that’s how American schools teach the alphabet. 

We will skip F because again I don’t think anything deserves that rank this month.

Starting with the D Tier though, we have our weakest game. That’s Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Strikers. I’m sure people will enjoy this title, but it’s a PVP-based game that feels like it’s lacking modes. The microtransactions don’t help and the lacking PVE is disappointing. Still, it’s not dead, which kept it out of F. 

And Moving up to the C tier, we have Suzerain. This is a game where it might be great, but it’s so hard to judge these games without multiple full playthroughs to see how much your choices matter. There’s a lot of writing here too, and that’s great for a visual novel, but it’s really hard for me to recommend this one. Perfect C tier material. 

The other game we have in the C tier is Killsquad. I enjoyed my time but the next day I considered if I would be returning and the answer is probably not. It’s not a bad game but it doesn’t have a strong hook. I’d probably just play a normal Action RPG with an inventory system than play this. 

And this is how the tiers look after C. Not a bad list and there are still five games to go so let’s take a look at the B tier. We’ll start with Monster Sanctuary. I like the style here, and the hour I played was great. It’s also a lengthy game, and there are a hundred monsters to collect so it’ll keep you busy. 

Next up in B Tier is Chicken Police. I am so curious about this game, the characters and writing are good enough to entice me to play even though I’m a little disturbed by the characters. Like I said this game has stuck with me and I’ve thought far more about it than I expected. Good job to this team for a strange concept.

The top of B tier… Rogue Heroes. It’s a rogue-lite, it’s Zelda. Come on, of course, this game was going to be for me. I’m going to have to find time to play more of this, as it also has a bit of a collectible idea going on, town-building, and the upgrade prices seem reasonable so players should be able to get decently far in the game without too much trouble. 

And that’s the standing after the B Tier, Which only leaves the headliners this month. So which one is taking the top spot? 

The first game in the A tier is Destroy all Humans. Like I said, maybe it’s my nostalgia or the fact I love the 1950 style, but I love this game. I kept laughing at the jokes, the characters are great, the writing still delivers, and the concept is fun. It might not be for everyone but this is one I dig, daddio. 

And that leaves the only game left. Ghostrunner. I love the feeling of this game. The concept of a cyborg ninja isn’t new, but the First Person perspective here, and the style and swordplay add a lot to the world. The story is ok, but it’s the gameplay that makes me want to return, even if I’m not that good at the title. It’s also easily my favorite game of the month, and the one you absolutely should be checking out the bundle for. 

And that’s what I have for this month. I’m enjoying the smaller bundles, but I do think the quality of the choices has improved. What do you guys think? Has Humble been hitting it out of the park or was this a skip for you and why? Let me know in the comments. 

That’s what I have for this month. So normally I ask people to subscribe. Instead, this month I want to thank all my current subscribers. Seriously, you guys are amazing and the people who come to check out my videos every month are the reason why I continue to do this. So thank you so much for your support, it means the world to me. If you haven’t subscribed, well you can do so now and still receive the same adulation. And for everyone, feel free to like, comment, and share as the mood hits you. That’s how Youtube knows you like this content and want more. 

I’ll be popping up a few videos like always, if you want to check out more, that’s a good way to do so. 

See you next time.