Humble Bundle’s VR Sale: Every Game Covered
Humble Bundle, the charitable PC game storefront and bundle distributer have a VR sale, with a good number of games on sale until Friday. All of these games use Steam and are compatible with at least the HTC Vive. Not all are compatible with Oculus Rift natively, but as ever, there are ways to get the Rift to play Vive games, although it isn’t always the most elegant solution.
In terms of a selection, they’ve picked some pretty good games, that are worth your time and money. For the most part at least. You will have to hurry though. Sale ends on Friday at 6 PM GMT
In terms of covering each game, there won’t be comprehensive coverage. Simply the name, price, a little bit of a review and whether you should buy or not.
Prices do not include the 10% off you also receive for being a Humble Monthly member, so that could potentially make them even better value.
The Games on Offer
In the reverse of the order they are on the store:
VRZ Torment (50% off, £3.59)
Whilst it is for the most part a poorer man’s Arizona Sunshine, trying to have its zombie based combat and story for an even smaller fraction of the price. If you’re into shooters with very light puzzle elements this could be worth picking up for the price.
Should you Buy? At this price yes, less certain at full price.
Skyfront VR (Early Access, 40% off, £9.29)
It’s an early access game, so buyer beware, but it has a very interesting way around the usual nausea issues by being jetpack based with zero gravity. Looks gorgeous and has a lot of potential to be a standout for VR. Appears to be somewhere content limited right now, so bear that in mind.
Should You Buy? Might just be worth it on sale but know what you’re getting into
Alice VR (50% off, £3.49)
An adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s duology of surreal books, Alice VR takes the adventures of Alice and puts them in a bizarre Roger Dean-esque sci-fi world. It looks fantastic and the concept is excellent, although the implementation isn’t perfect, especially regarding locomotion.
Should you Buy? Well worth it for the price.
Sairento VR (Early Access, 15% off, £19.54)
Cyber Ninja simulator that builds on the model of Superhot and Superhot VR and delivers a frenetic, exciting, kinetic first person experience. It is early access so buyer beware, and might not have enough content right now, but potentially an amazing showcase for what VR can do for games.
Should You Buy? Not just yet unless you really like the idea of being a cyber ninja.
I Expect You To Die (20% Off, £15.19)
One of only a small group of VR party games, and could almost be described as “Job Simulator with a point”, I Expect You To Die is a game about being a secret agent. Unlike 007 however you have only telekinesis and your only wits to avoid being taken out by a variety of hilarious death traps and puzzles. Quite short but a lot of fun is crammed in the package. A must for escape room lovers.
Should You Buy? Yes
QuiVR (Early Access, 25% off, 11.24)
At first glance, this looks like any other tower defence game except with a bow. However there’s a lot of little tweaks and shifts, such as loot, different types of bows, drop-in/drop-out multiplayer and a lot of little touches that push it over the edge. Bear in mind this is early access, so content is an issue.
Should You Buy? If you like bows or tower defence yes, otherwise it’s hovering at just about the right price to try it anyway.
The Gallery Episode 1: Call of the Starseed (60% off, £5.99)
The Gallery Episode 2: Heart of the Emberstone (20% Off, 18.39)
Both parts of The Gallery are on sale and as they are fundamentally similar games they are being reviewed together. A series of atmospheric adventure games inspired by dark fantasy films of the 1980s. Amazingly polished and beautiful games, however both games are relatively short and gameplay light so it may come down to price.
Should You Buy? Yes to Episode One for the price. Maybe for 2 depending on your experience.
IronWolf VR (Early Access, 25% Off, £12.74)
A VR submarine simulator that provides a lot of depth (no pun intended) for a simulator and captures that isolation and vulnerability being underwater in a tin can entails. Best played in Co-Op, which may need some co-ordination with friends to truly pull off.
Should You Buy? Yes if you have friends who’ll buy it as well.
Eleven: Table Tennis VR (50% off, £7.24)
A VR system needs tennis or table tennis to show off the motion control features, and Eleven is probably the pick of the litter. Beautiful, immersive (at least until you lean on the table and fall over) and a nigh-perfect replication of table tennis gameplay.
Should You Buy? Absolutely
Raw Data (20% Off, £23.99)
One of the highlights of a wave of high concept games built from the ground up for VR, chances are you’ve already either got it or heard of it. Much like Robo Recall and a lot of VR games, it’s a tight, dynamic wave shooter with a story, a decent amount of content, load of replayability and a lot of fun.
Should You Buy? Yes
Cosmic Trip (50% Off, £7.24)
VR native RTS games are relatively few in number, and most of the ones that do exist essentially have you hovering over the action like a board game or like you’re a god. This puts you in the middle of the action, allowing you to command units around you and do all the unit and building management you’d expect in an RTS.
Should You Buy? For the Price? Definitely
Werewolves Within (6% off, £25.37)
An interesting concept for VR, Werewolves Within is the staple Town of Salem type of game. Essentially you are either a werewolf and kill other players or a good guy, and you need to bluff, deceive, lie or otherwise to avoid being caught for crimes. Needs a lot of players to be decent, and whilst a good looking game, it is far too expensive a game when Town of Salem (or a real life variant like Mafia) can be played much cheaper. User reviews suggest there are hardly any players, which is sadly unsurprising.
Should You Buy? No
Duck Season (25% off, £11.24)
Duck Hunt meets Five Nights at Freddies meets your nightmares, Duck Season is a delightful homage to the 1980s and those gaming creepy pastas you see with the messed up “hyper realistic” old school games. Not a long game by any stretch but a unique one; there’s few games with the exception of Pony Island that do anything close to this.
Should You Buy: If you’re looking for something really unique, yes.
Batman Arkham VR (40% off, £8.99)
Batman Arkham VR was one of the showcases for PSVR and is a really good looking game, using that gritty art style from the other Arkham games to great effect. More of a mystery game than the open world brawlers the series is known for, it does a lot of interesting stuff but beware of a very short runtime.
Should You Buy? Yes at this price.
Fruit Ninja VR (40% off, £6.59)
That common showcase seen in GAME and other video game shops across the world, Fruit Ninja VR is exactly what you’d expect. Slicing melons and other giant fruit in VR. It’s also just as fun as you’d expect, with the responsiveness and duel wielding sword slashing fun. Another great showcase for VR.
Should You Buy? Yes
GalGun VR (33% off, £15.40)
Oh boy, this one is quite awkward. The series of lightgun “Euphoria”-em-up games presumably has an appeal among the pervier anime set, and I guess unlike a lot of these sorts of games there is actual gameplay to speak of. For people who can deal with ecchi anime weirdness there’s a solid game here, but it’s absolutely not for anyone beyond it’s niche audience.
Should You Buy? The people who are probably into this game likely already own it.
To the Top (40% off, £10.79)
A virtual climbing wall, with a whole heap of strange, unique and bewildering levels to play. Vertigo sufferers need stay away because the height is utterly terrifying, but the game is amazingly tense, fun, well paced and utterly thrilling.
Should You Buy? In a heartbeat.
Eagle Flight (50% Off, £17.49)
Ubisoft’s first VR game, which tasks you as a bird protecting your territory in an abandoned Paris. It’s thrilling and exhilarating, although ludicrously expensive for the kind of experience it is. It’s slightly better at half price but I feel there are better VR flight games available for less.
Should You Buy? Not really.
Star Trek Bridge Crew (50% Off, £19.99)
Much like IronWolf VR, this has you as part of the crew. This time though it’s the slick bridge of the USS Enterprise, as you play whatever your favourite character/role on the bridge and go through a series of missions. It’s a pretty shallow experience, and like Eagle Flight isn’t worth the full price, but if you can get some friends together Bridge Crew is an absolute blast.
Should You Buy? If you have friends who’ll join you, certainly. They don’t even need VR headsets themselves!
SUPERHOT VR (33% Off, £12.72)
I fear sounding like a broken record about SUPERHOT and it’s VR follow up, but both games are utterly brilliant, becoming by virtue of their slow down mechanic as accessible or as challenging as you could want a game to be. Hilarious when you start out, balletic when you finish, it’s an absolute must for any VR headset owner.
Should You Buy? Right now.
Arizona Sunshine (40% Off, £17.99)
Probably the first “Big” VR game to come out, Arizona Sunshine is a great, polished zombie VR shooter. It still has the usual quirks you get with this genre so far, with limited locomotion, short length and the like, but it’s a game you really have to play, and the price reduction makes it very worth your while?
Should You Buy? Definitely at the price.
Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-Ality (30% Off, £16.09)
It’s a Rick and Morty game from the guys who did Job Simulator. You probably know what you’re getting yourself in to. It’s a whole load of interactable things. Your mileage will depend on how much you like games where you’re just tinkering with stuff and whether you’re into Rick and Morty. If the internet’s anything to go by, basically everyone fits into both camps.
Should You Buy? At that price? Sure.
Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope (50% Off, £14.99)
Serious Sam as a series started off as a grand scale wave shooter, so making it a VR game does fit, and while the VR versions of the original games had their own issues, The Last Hope is rather fantastic. It is another wave shooter, just one with a whole heap of carnage.
Should You Buy? A very Serious yes.
Gorn (Early Access, 25% Off, £11.24)
Gorn is Devolver Digital’s VR punching simulator, from the guys who made Broforce. It’s rather visceral and whilst using a cartoon style, amazingly immersive, with all manner of tales of people smashing their rooms whilst swinging a pair of morning stars around your head. Utter nonsense but the most enjoyable kind of nonsense.
Should You Buy? Totally
Fallout 4 VR (30% Off, £27.99)
Fallout 4 VR is the incredibly hyped VR version of Bethesda’s open world junk town building and tactical nuke shooting simulator. It’s a little bit more than the standard game in some ways and a little less in others. It’s by far the biggest and most ambitious VR game on the platform and for that reason alone it’s hard to not recommend, despite the discount still making the game pretty pricey.
Should You Buy? Despite still being an expensive game, it’s a must-own.
Doom VFR (33% Off, £13.99)
The other major Bethesda game in the sale is the heavily modified version of 2016’s amazing Doom revival. Unlike Fallout 4, where neither version is better or worse than the other, just different, Doom VFR definitely comes off as a lesser experience in terms of content, with fewer levels and and pretty much no story. What it lacks in content it makes up in sheer exhilaration. Despite blink controls the game has all the intensity of the original, and seeing the classic doom monsters up close is utterly breathtaking. A great showcase for what VR can do.
Should You Buy? Absolutely.
What do you think of the Humble Sale? Is there any games that should have been included? Any thoughts on the games on offer? Let us know your opinion!
