Humble Monthly Bundle - June 2019 - Review and Discussion Thread . Full Unlock 6/7/19

It's that time again, the next Humble Monthly Bundle is about to arrive! For those unaware of Humble Monthly Bundles, please see my more in-depth introduction here during my first thread from April 2017 - https://hardforum.com/threads/humble-monthly-april-review-and-discussion-thread.1929347 - I'll just get right into it again!

For those interested, here are all my back Humble Monthly overviews..

May - https://hardforum.com/threads/humble-monthly-bundle-may-review-and-discussion-thread.1931795/
June - (Missed writing one)
July - https://hardforum.com/threads/humble-monthly-bundle-july-2017-review-and-discussion-thread.1939318/
August - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...st-2017-review-and-discussion-thread.1941294/
September - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...er-2017-review-and-discussion-thread.1943055/
October - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...er-2017-review-and-discussion-thread.1945470/
November - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...er-2017-review-and-discussion-thread.1947730/
December - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...er-2017-review-and-discussion-thread.1949477/
Jan2018 - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...ry-2018-review-and-discussion-thread.1951895/
Feb2018 - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...ry-2018-review-and-discussion-thread.1953943/
March 2018 - https://hardforum.com/threads/humble-monthly-bundle-march-2018-review-and-discussion-thread.1956171/
April 2018 - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...-release-date-4-6-18.1957941/#post-1043572129
May 2018 - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...iscussion-thread-release-date-5-4-18.1959906/
June 2018 - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...iscussion-thread-release-date-6-1-18.1961480/
July 2018 - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...iscussion-thread-release-date-7-6-18.1963715/
August 2018 - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...iscussion-thread-release-date-8-3-18.1965425/
September 2018 - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...iscussion-thread-release-date-9-7-18.1966820/
October 2018 - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...scussion-thread-release-date-10-5-18.1969171/
November 2018 - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...scussion-thread-full-unlock-11-02-18.1970520/
December 2018 - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...iscussion-thread-full-unlock-12-6-18.1974264/
January 2019 - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...scussion-thread-full-unlock-01-04-19.1975165/
February 2019 - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...d-full-unlock-2-1-19.1976661/#post-1044065542
March 2019 - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...-discussion-thread-full-unlock-3-1-19.1977810
April 2019 - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...discussion-thread-full-unlock-4-5-19.1979767/
May 2019 - https://hardforum.com/threads/humbl...discussion-thread-full-unlock-5-3-19.1980924/

June Early Unlocks

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Standard Edition - ($60, Windows, Blizzard/Activision Launcher key ) - This month starts with the latest entry to the perennial FPS series, Call of Duty. Black Ops 4 iterates on well established Call of Duty formula since the "Modern Warfare" era, with much of the gameplay focused in online play. Unlike some of the earlier Call of Duty titles, BLOPS4 lacks a single player campaign mode and more than that, increasingly feels like 3 separate games (or modes) smashed together.

First is just called "Multiplayer", which is the traditional "CoD online match" style gameplay. Set on varying maps of differing terrain, players engage in close range, shooter combat. Depending on the map and game mode the objective may be as simple as wiping out the other team or gaining a higher score during a timed mode, or it could be something such as a "conquest" style zone-control mode where capturing various points means decreasing enemy "tickets" pushing towards a win. CoDs namesake hectic, high energy "modern warfare" combat is here, though the game is far less tactical and "realistic" these days, with "future era" items/weapons such as portable insta cover shields, a seismic weapon, and grappling hooks present as well, while slide-dashing and dual-wielding even heavy weapons possible. The "kill streak" system remains, allowing players who get little achievements such as multikills and continued kills without dying to accrue points until they can summon massively powerful call ins like an AI helper squad, predator drone airstrikes, and helicopter gunships! Players can customize their avatar and loadout and there are many unlockables, levels (including Prestige) and customizations, as well as core weapons and equipment. For some people, Multiplayer mode is the reason they buy a Call of Duty game.

Next is "Zombies", a co-op story mode inspired by games like "Left 4 Dead 2" and "Zombie Army Trilogy". Players take on characters unrelated to the other modes' near future military setting, and instead follow a team of time-traveling researchers on the trail of their comrade who vanished investigating occult events. Hordes of the living dead arise and set pieces such as boss fights are also prevalent. While this mode shares many of the guns from the other modes, it also offers occult, magical inspired weapons and items specific to Zombies, which can offer powerful abilities. There is a degree of progression and customization in this mode as well. There are 3 Zombies campaign stages present in the "base" version of the experience, with additional ones available via DLC. Players looking for story and co-op gameplay will definitely favor Zombies!

Finally, we have "Blackout", which follows the most recent shooter trend in that it is a Battle Royale style game in the style of "Fortnite", "Apex Legends", or perhaps its closest analog of the popular title group "Player Unknown's Battlegrounds". Overall the objective is to simply be the last one standing. There are 3 ways to play either Solo (ie free for all, everyone is an enemy. I hear this mode is/has been removed?), Duo (Teams of 2) and Squad (Teams of 4). Players are dropped onto an open world map and have to procure all their weapons and equipment on site, which is strewn around the map in various locations. What makes Blackout's closest analog "PUBG" is the presence of vehicles, from quads, to boats, to trucks, helicopters and more, many of which allow cooperative teamwork with a player piloting the vehicle while others act as gunners using either their equipped or mounted weapons. Like all modern Battle Royale games, there is a contracting "field" that constricts the viable play area over time, with players caught in the "storm/contamination etc" taking repeat damage until they get beyond it; this serves to concentrate players and conflict as the game progresses so the entire map doesn't come down to one player/team camping in the far reaches of the map and never moving. Customization and progression continues here as well, with many things shared across other modes as well. Battle Royale is all the rage, so no surprise CoD includes its take on it.

Monetization is a big issue when it comes to BLOPS4 and one oft-discussed among players. It should be mentioned that originally Humble only negotiated the "Battle Edition" of the game, which lacked the Zombies mode and some other features, but managed to upgrade to "Standard Edition". Strangely, beyond the key to claim the Standard Edition, there is a separate "Additional Content" key ; I am unsure what this provides as of yet. Given the Battle.Net launcher store no longer shows a "standard edition" for purchase, only a "Spectre Rising" edition to replace it at the same price level, I am guessing that the additional content could be Spectre Rising bonus items? If so, that's a nice touch. There have been many editions of the game per usual for the series, with the Digital Deluxe edition being the top of the (current) PC ladder. Atop Spectre Rising content, it includes other items pivotal to the game's monetization - the Black Ops Pass, and CoD Points; both of which can be acquired a la carte. The Black Ops Pass ($50 !!!!) a la carte, is their version of "season pass + battle pass" rolled into one. It offers more of everything - "Classified" Zombies mode, 4 Zombies experiences, 12 Multiplayer maps, and 4 exclusive characters for Blackout. Call of Duty Points on the other hand are essentially microtransaction currency, used to buy both functional and cosmetic account unlocks. It should be mentioned that "Supply Drops" are essentially loot boxes too, so that factor is present as well atop direct purchase. I see many players frustrated with these aspects of monetization and how they affect the game, as well as the overall ethos.

Its clear that Humble Monthly used a lot of resources this month to capture the notoriously money-grubbing Activision's prime series title, even later in its lifespan. I rather do wish they had included the Digital Deluxe or an option for a discounted upgrade to it, but for fans of modern CoD titles without the game, this month will be a treat.

June Humble Monthly Titles

911 Operator ($15, Win/Mac) + Special Resources DLC ($4) - Prepare to man the lines for emergency services in this unique simulation title! 911 Operator places players in the role of a 911 dispatcher, receiving calls from the public. These can range from neighborhood complaints, to prank calls, to medical emergencies, fires, crimes in progress, and even terrorist actions! Fully voiced, players must then decide the proper course of action, dispatching public safety resources like police cars/helicopters/armored vans, firefighting trucks, ambulances and much more to resolve the incident. All of the incidents and resources available are plotted on a stylized map, illustrating their location and status. Addressing incidents properly and using resources responsibly will ensure your progress is graded well, which adds to the allocation of money players can use to expand their services with upgraded equipment, new vehicles and more, allowing them to better achieve outcomes with a wider range of tools.

It should be mentioned that one really neat feature of 911 Operator is that the game doesn't just have realistic calls and technique descriptions, but allows play on real, up to date city maps on cities around the world! Tapping into the excellent OpenStreetMap project API, the game can download and prepare a realistic map for your play session, maybe even allowing you to answer calls in your own neighborhood! There are two core game modes, the first of which being the story based Career mode. Career offers set-piece events and play across 6 major cities like a San Francisco earthquake and Washington DC under terrorist bombing, offering a story that progresses along the way. Free Play mode offers random generated events and can be set in any city you choose, allowing you to keep answering calls and strike out on your own once Career mode is done.

911 Operator offers Mac support and at one time Linux as well, but sadly the developers were stymied by a bug in their version of Unity so the game no longer officially supports Linux. I'm told the Linux client is still there for those who seek it out unofficially but it is a very, very old version lacking major features and DLC. I expect play via Proton may be the best bet for the time being. Speaking of DLC, the game offers several content focused DLC packages. The free "First Response" package adds a little more of everything with new vehicles, equipment, calls, events and more as a thank you to the community for its support - be sure to add it! The "Special Resources" DLC ($4) was part of the Collector's Edition on Kickstarter and offers 8 new vehicles, 6 equipment types, and 15 new reports - all of which are included in this Humble Monthly! Additional Expansions style DLC "Every Life Matters" ($6) adds the Reinforcement function, 4 special events , 2 new cities for Career expansion, 12 conversations, 18 reports, 2 equipment items and 2 vehicles. There is also the "Search and Rescue" expansion ($8) adding Search mechanic, 2 special events, 2 more cities for Career, 12 calls, 24 incidents, 4 equipment, 3 vehicles! Overall, moderately priced (and even more so on sale) for a lot of new content. The developers are already hard at work on a variety of other sims including a sequel (112 Operator) , 911 Operator provides an interesting entry in the sim genre this month!



Red Faction Guerilla Re-Mars-terd Edition ($20, Windows) - Destruction on Mars this month! The Red Faction series thrived in the 2000s by focusing on destructible environments and physics long before it became commonplace. Red Faction Guerilla Re-Mars-terd Edition offers, as the name suggests a modernized version of the series' 3rd and one of its most well regarded entries. Originally released on Xbox 360, PS3 and Windows, the new version updates the graphics significantly with new textures, shadows, and various enhanced effects all scalable up to 4K.

While the game offers a variety of multiplayer play modes (ie team deathmatch, capture the flag etc) making use of the destructible environments, the core of the gameplay is the single player campaign. Players find themselves on Mars under the bootheel of the oppressive Earth Defense Force. Where once the EDF had been helpful against the despotic Ultor Corporation that ran the mining empire on Mars, they eventually grew to be as oppressive causing the Red Faction revolutionary corps, made up of the downtrodden workers/miners/residents of Mars, to reform! As suggested by the title, players wage a guerilla war against the EDF which is surprisingly fleshed out and uniquely designed for the time. Set up as an open world FPS, players can choose how they wish to wage their insurgency, taking on missions in the order they wish, getting involved in territory control or generally blowing up enemy assets "Just Cause" style in order to weaken their position. Attacking enemy strongholds can switch the balance/control of an area, meaning Red Faction will have more assets in the area and improved unlock. By contrast when traveling to or within enemy areas their patrols will be ready to engage with greater resistance and more hardware.

Improved by the remastering, Mars has varied environments between the desolate expanses of red desert and austere mining facilities, down to terraformed Earth-llike environments and capital cities with both workers' slums and shining luxury developments. The destructible elements made the game series one of the first to really put physics on display at this level. Instead of being a handful of destructible areas, its pretty much everywhere. Blow a hole in a wall to create a door, or blast through a door with a shaped charge, take down a stairwell and in its collapse all the enemies upon it, drive a vehicle right through a building! The game gives you a toolbox of explosives and other items/weapons/vehicles meant so you can forge your own path and encounter as you wish. The Guerilla name isn't just for show, asymmetric warfare will be necessary and setting up ambushes or destroying enemy equipment, vehicles, or blockades before they can use them are just a few viable tactics. As the story progresses and you fight towards freedom , you'll unlock control of more areas and additional assets and upgrades too. Red Faction Guerilla Re-Mars-tered Edition provides a modern upgrade on on one of the stand-out, physics-using FPS of its era - Workers of Mars Unite!



Duskers ($20, Win/Mac/Linux) - Cyberpunk space hackers rejoice! A single player title, Duskers takes place in a world where the player awakens to find themselves drifting in a spacecraft, ancient systems limping along in a galaxy filled with derelict ships. The player is a drone operator, capable of controlling various space drones through a lo-fi though well designed interface. The drones are your only real means of investigation, so players must decide what drifting hulls to search, both for resources to preserve your ship/drones and to discover clues as to what caused the cataclysm turning space into a graveyard.

The Drone UI shows a simple, 2D top down map of the vessel you're investigating and you give your drones simple commands by click or command line interface. You can use the droids' onboard features such as a camera or microphone to discover more about the environment, but even that is relatively limited. You may be able to interact with the derelict's ship systems to map things out, cut the power to an area, open an airlock etc... depending on what your drone discovers. These drifting hulls are often populated with violent creatures of some sort, so it is up to you to equip your drones for survival (which is more tactical than out right combat) and give them the commands that will help keep them alive, such as using a "lure" if you have one and then escaping to lock the enemy outside of where your drone seeks to explore. Loot what resources you can to keep your ship from running out of fuel and your drones in working order, while discovering logs with clues to the calamity. Continual adaptation will be necessary as enemies learn of your strategy and/or new challenges arrive. While drones can be repaired and whatnot if you have the resources, true death is in fact permadeath, with only the lore you've discovered remaining unlocked, ready when you give it another try!

Taking some of the best aspects of sci-fi procedural tactics titles like "FTL" and "Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander: Lightspeed Edition", mixed with the interface and mechanics of investigative hacker titles like "Hacknet" and (especially) "Event 0" and the tense, information deprived, claustrophobic atmosphere of sci-fi horror , makes Duskers a unique and well crafted space-faring adventure. Name a drone Bob for good luck!



Paratopic ($6, Win/Mac/Linux) - An unsettling indie adventure awaits! Paratopic is described as a horror-tinged narrative adventure, played in first person. Set in an unseemly, twisted parallel reality perpetually bathed in sickly green light and covered in haze, the player was caught smuggling VHS tapes and now has to deal with the ramifications. Despite your desire to find a rare bird and snap its picture, you have to assassinate someone. The graphical and auditory style are right out of the 90s,with the low-res elements thereof making it all the more unsettling and wrong-seeming. The game highlights several vignettes, eventually illustrating the relationship between the characters, as well as showing more of this world gone wrong - described in its blurb as a "fever dream".

Advertised as a shorter game by design, a "leisurely" playthrough takes almost an hour, plus a bit more if you want to inspect every element thoroughly. Despite its brevity, there seems to be considerable acclaim from players and professional reviwers alike, further illustrating that Paratopic is a title worth being experienced in all is delirious glory!



Pool Panic ($15, Windows) - Check out the wacky world of billiards! Given its publishing by Adult Swim games, Pool Panic's tagline of "the world's least realistic pool simulator" is very likely true, as Adult Swim Games is noteworthy for publishing off the wall yet well crafted titles. The game takes place in a world of living , anthropomorphic billiard balls. While most of them are just going about their day - relaxing at the beach, going on a boy scout jamboree in the woods, and even odder persuasions within this colorful world, the central figure is the mischievous cue ball intent on playing the game to its conclusion. That is to say, in every setting he must knock all the varying balls down the holes and discover where a crafty 8-ball is hiding in order to finish the round. The cue ball can simply summon a cue stick out of the ether which is then used to smash him in the direction of choice at breakneck speed!

There are over 100 levels to play in this way ranging from the merely whimsical, such as pool balls relaxing at the beach,minigames of mini golf and ski slalom, to all kinds of wacky situations involving knights an cardboard castles, cowboys and indians, haunted forests, and other even more obtuse locales, such as doing battle with a motorcycle gang of living pool balls! Besides the standard pool balls, there are many types of special NPCs that have defenses (such as a pool ball with multiple, Russian nesting doll style layers) and there are even boss battles such as a giant spider with pool balls at the end of each leg! Aside from the overworld levels and the special set piece locations, there is a mysterious central tower in the middle of the map, with varying floors unlocking as you progress through the game until you can find out what's at the top! Multiplayer, including competitive modes, is available for up to 4 players, but it is local mulltiplay only; using Steam Link streaming, Moonlight/Nvidia Game Stream, and/or Parsec can, with a little setup allow for play over the Internet using these services. Those up for some madcap, slightly unsettling billiards action this month will have much to experience in the quirky Pool Panic!



Macdows 95 ($??, Windows, Humble Original) - This month's original dips into the retro-OS genre to offer a little puzzler. The UI is a parody-filled composite of Mac and Windows tropes ad the name suggests, where users must make use of the varying programs and utilities in order to solve the puzzles before them, often physics related. This can be anything from playing a "snake" like game on the "spinning cube" in order to collect requirements, or using the "window shuffling" function in order to move an object from one location to another. A very visible example is using a video clip/gif of a dog licking in order to "clean off" blacked out areas of the screen. Besides this silly tasks there are hints of something more, where someone is trying to communicate with you in secret. This genre has made some incredibly well made and enjoyable retro-PC titles, so if Macdows 95 offers even a small slice of that quality, it may be worth checking out.



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So that's it!

Don't forget that aside from each month's games, you also are granted a global 10% discount (that even stacks with other discounts!) in the Humble Store , access to the Humble Trove of downloadable titles , and extras like discount coupon If you enjoyed any of this and wish to subscribe , feel free to use my Recruit-A-Friend link and discount/credit-sharing code to lock in the savings - https://www.humblebundle.com/monthly?refc=02L8o8 . There is also another coupon that can be used for 10% off everything on Humble Store for a month, but unlike the RAF it can only be used once per month - PM if you're interested in that (note: I do not think it stacks with Humble Monthly Discounts; its a new program version after all) Don't forget you can always "pause" your subscription for a month too before the unlock day, if you don't think you'll want what's upcoming. Enjoy!

Yeah it was a wasted month for me but that's what you get for buying a year long sub. I had zero interest in COD and unfortunately you can't even give away or gift the key to anyone else since it has to be redeemed via account linking to battlenet. Also to those that bought this month you should be aware there is an expiration date on the COD keys.

Next month is great though. I got it early. Hellblade Setsuna's Sacrifice and Moonlighter are great games. I have been pretty hooked on Moonlighter ATM.

LurkerLito said:

Yeah it was a wasted month for me but that's what you get for buying a year long sub. I had zero interest in COD and unfortunately you can't even give away or gift the key to anyone else since it has to be redeemed via account linking to battlenet. Also to those that bought this month you should be aware there is an expiration date on the COD keys.

Next month is great though. I got it early. Hellblade Setsuna's Sacrifice and Moonlighter are great games. I have been pretty hooked on Moonlighter ATM.

Click to expand...

If you weren't aware, you can pause the subscription and avoid the months the games have no interest to you.

WarriorX said:

If you weren't aware, you can pause the subscription and avoid the months the games have no interest to you.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I was vaguely aware there was a way to pause but I have never used it. I didn't consider it because I often get a few things in the hidden games for that month that I was somewhat interested in even if the headliner titles were something that didn't appeal to me or I owned already. This really is the first time I struck out with their monthly bundle. Not a bad run overall though. This is my second year long sub, but I have been subscribing to the monthly bundle for the past 3+ years now without a break.

Uh, looks to me like you can gift the COD game to others. I've done it before with Overwatch.

Ranulfo said:

Uh, looks to me like you can gift the COD game to others. I've done it before with Overwatch.

Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure you can, provided you don't redeem it to yourself first. There's a button next to "redeem to NAME_OF_BATTLENET_ACCT_HERE" to gift it I think.

However, I can see how it is confusing. THere isn't an "code" you can just redeem and give to someone else. Instead, you have to use Humble's Gifting feature.

If anyone end up with a gift able copy of bops4 send me a pm.

Ah I see. I finally read the redemption instructions. You have to first link your battlenet account to humble in order to get the gift link. I don't even know if my battlenet account is still around, I think the last time I logged into battlenet was for Diablo 2 .