Today Humble Bundle has unveiled the Humble Caffeine Bundle, which includes some greatly loved titles such as Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, as well as a new social broadcasting platform known as Caffeine. As with all Humble Bundles, what you gain access to depends on what you pay. First we’ll break down the tiers, then give a quick description of each game, for those who may not be aware of them.
First, if you pay any amount whatsoever, you will gain access to Headlander, GoNNER BLüEBERRY EDiTION, Treadnauts, Caffeine, and, if you live in the UK, you will also receive the Caffeine Gamer Pack. Paying more than $1 will also allow you to gain 10% off the first month of Humble Monthly, if you desire to subscribe, as well as the Headlander soundtrack.
Paying more than the average of $6.33 (as of the time of this post) will allow you to gain the above and three more titles: This War of Mine, Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth, and Dear Esther: Landmark Edition. As you would need to pay at least $6.34, you would also meet the requirements to unlock This War of Mine’s soundtrack.
Finally, those who pay $12 or more will gain everything else, Tyranny, and Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun.
The first game, Headlander, is a Metroidvania style game which takes place in a futuristic setting. Humanity has decided to upload their consciousness’ to a cloud storage that encompasses the entire world, thus forgoing their bodies. In this storage, the sapient minds of humans are placed into robotic shells in order to carry out necessary tasks and engage in pleasures of the corporeal form. Unfortunately, Methuselah, an artificial intelligence, has taken control of the robots, trapping the humans within and enslaving them. You, the last human, are awoken from your cryogenic storage in order to take on Methuselah… but only your head has survived, and, to make things worse, you have amnesia.
Next up is GoNNER BLüEBERRY EDiTION. This is a procedurally-generated 2D platformer with roguelike elements. It follows IKK, who is altruistic and misunderstood, as he embarks on a journey to cheer up his only friend, Sally. In order to cheer up this landbound whale, he is hunting for the perfect trinket within the nearby deep and dark places.
Treadnauts is a multiplayer action game that places you in control of a tank attempting to take out your foes. You can gain a variety of power-ups, such as laser guns, camouflage, and more, as you seek to take down your opponents.
Caffeine, as noted, is a new social broadcasting platform.
This War of Mine places you in control of a group of civilians who are simply trying to survive in a besieged city. You will struggle with lack of food and medicine, as well as constant danger from both snipers and hostile scavengers. The decisions you make will be driven by your own conscience, such as attempting to protect everybody in the shelter or sacrificing some for the survival of others.
Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth_20170823185113
Next up is Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth, which is based on Ken’s bestseller of the same name. This title retells the story of a village known as Kingsbridge as you play as Jack, Aliena, and Philip in order to change the events of the book via exploration, your decisions, and the different dialogues. It is released in three “Books,” which contain seven chapters apiece, and this is the season pass, which will automatically add each as they are released.eleased in three ‘books’, containing 7 chapters each. This season pass includes access to all three books, which will be automatically added to your Steam library on the date of release.
Next up is Dear Esther: Landmark Edition, which places you within a remote and desolate island. This island is located in the Outer Hebrides, and, as you take a step forward, a voice begins to read the fragments of a letter, thrusting you into an original first-person title.
The first title of the third tier is Tyranny, a role-playing game in which you will make world-altering choices, make some memorable companions, and be offered a new perspective on morality itself. It places you in the role of the arbiter of law in a world that has been devastated by war and conquered by a despot. You will need to decide whether you will work inside the system or try to dismantle it, whether for Kyros’s glory, the world’s good, or simply your own ambition.
Finally we have Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun. This places you in 1615 in Japan, in which a new Shogun has successfully seized power and enforces nationwide peace. This Shogun has recruited five specialists to help battle conspiracy and rebellion, but, being masters of assassination, sabotage, and espionage, there’s no telling how far they are willing to go to uphold the peace…
Most of these titles have “Very Positive” averages on Steam, with the exceptions being Dear Esther: Landmark Edition’s “Mostly Positive” and Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun’s “Overwhelmingly Positive” averages.