As I speculated earlier, Humble Indie Bundle V has added more games to the overall package to sweeten the deal. A total of three new games have been added; Jasper Byrne’s 2D horror game Lone Survivor, Team Meat‘s extremely difficulty platformer Super Meat Boy, and Number None’s possibly-pretentious Braid. While the games are free for those that already purchase the bundle, those who have not gotten their hands on the deal will have to pay above the average price to get the games, which currently rests at $8.08 USD at the time of posting. Once again, I will give my quick impressions on the new additions that I have played; Super Meat Boy and Braid.
Super Meat Boy is a ridiculously difficult game. Not only are the hazards placed in such a way to produce as much frustration as possible, but also added into the mix are enemies and bosses that only increase the difficulty. It’s a hard game for the that love hard games and it does not lower itself to anything less. While aesthetic design is something that may turn off people, it’s much more tame than what I have seen other artists do. The game also avoids the pit of being unnecessarily cruel as most other platform hell games are; obstacles are clearly defined, ignoring a few completely black stages. It’s a game that is at least worth trying if you have any skill or expertise with the platforming genre.
Braid is an interesting title, mostly because of a pseudo-purposeful disconnect that exists. The game is actually a platformer with an interesting twist; time is manipulated in various ways throughout the entire game, whether it be by being able to reverse time or control time with the positioning of the main character. However, throughout the game there is also tons of text that tries to explain this story about how the main character was a jerk to the princess that said main character is trying to now save. The problem with these two aspects is that they are separated between a brick wall until the very last level of the game, which itself could stand on its own and thus could fit into either aspect rather well. It can easily be called pretentious, a fact that is not helped by how the creator, Jonathon Blow, acts discussing anything about the games industry that does not involve his own game. Either way, the game is a clever puzzle-platformer.
Humble Indie Bundle is planned to end on June 15th and includes Sword & Sorcery EP, Limbo, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and Psychonauts for any price of at least $0.01 USD. Those who pay above the average will also get the games Bastion, Lone Survivor, Braid, and Super Meat Boy.
