Humble's new bundle has seven action RPGs for $10

Humble Bundle just launched the Critical Hits ARPG bundle, offering seven action role-playing games for $10. Action RPG is by far my favorite genre. This is an amazing deal on some fine ARPGs, especially considering the massive discount from their standard retail prices. Buying all of these games at full price would cost over $200.

Three games for five dollars

The entry tier costs $5 and includes three distinct games. The biggest name here is Greedfall. Developed by the French studio Spiders, it is a colonial-era fantasy RPG with a heavy emphasis on diplomacy and faction management. You play as a diplomat arriving on a newly discovered island filled with magic and monsters. It normally retails for $35. The combat is a bit clunky, but the world-building and branching dialogue trees make up for it. Spiders has a reputation for making ambitious mid-tier RPGs, and this is widely considered their best work.

You also get Soulstice: Deluxe Edition. This one leans much closer to character action games like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, but it keeps enough RPG progression and skill tree management to fit the bundle. You control two sisters simultaneously in combat. One handles physical attacks, and the other manages magical barriers. The deluxe edition usually costs $50 on its own and includes a digital soundtrack and artbook.

Rounding out the first tier is Eldest Souls. This is a pixel art boss rush game with a heavy focus on dodging and stamina management. It strips away the exploration of a typical soulslike and just gives you a series of increasingly difficult boss fights. Every victory grants new talents and abilities to customize your build. It normally sells for $20.

The full ten dollar roster

Paying $10 unlocks the remaining four games. The Last Hero of Nostalgaia is a satirical take on the soulslike genre. You play as a stick figure trying to save a video game world that is actively degrading into lower resolutions. It usually costs $25. It works, which is the nicest thing I can say about its combat, but the humor and constant references to gaming tropes carry the experience.

Blacktail takes a completely different approach. It is a first-person archery game where you play as a teenage version of Baba Yaga, the famous witch from Slavic folklore. The game focuses heavily on morality choices. You can choose to become a protector of the woods or a nightmare to the local villages. It has extensive crafting systems and normally goes for $30.

Hellpoint is a sci-fi soulslike set on a derelict space station orbiting a massive black hole. The station's position relative to the black hole actually changes enemy spawns, boss difficulty, and secret door availability in real time. It is a neat mechanic for a game that usually costs $35. The developers at Cradle Games also included a robust split-screen co-op mode, which is rare for the genre.

Finally, the bundle includes Blade of Darkness. This is a remastered version of a 2001 PC game that was doing stamina-based, tactical melee combat long before Demon's Souls existed. It normally costs $15. The controls definitely show their age, but it is a fascinating piece of action RPG history. You can clearly see the DNA of modern challenging action games in its design.

A 95 percent discount

The combined suggested retail price for all seven games is roughly $210. That makes this a 95 percent discount off MSRP, and a portion of the proceeds goes to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation charity.

Source: humblebundleinc.sjv.io