I felt it would be a crime if I didn't share this awesome deal for one of my favorite games ever. I've been a subscriber to Humble Bundle's monthly curation of games for four years now. And so far this month's bundle is hands-down one of the top three best deals ever offered IMO.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition retails for $59.99 and hasn't been a year yet since its release, but you can get it and other games for only $11.99.
What is Humble Bundle Choice Membership?
Humble Bundle Choice is a membership program that grants subscribers a collection of awesome games (mostly for PC) for a fraction of their cost. They currently offer it for $11.99 monthly or $129 for an entire year. Each month, Humble Bundle Choice curates around ten games from various genres. Here are some of the bundles that were previously featured:
The 8 of 12 games offered last Feb 2021. My top pick here is Valkyria Chronicles 4.
And these are 8 of 12 games from May 2021. Metro Exodus is the best of the bunch.
An earlier version of the subscription was called Humble Bundle Monthly. The subscription price is the same, but unlike Choice where you know what you'd be getting for the current month, Humble Bundle Monthly is in blind box format. The games are only revealed at the end of the sale period. You won't see what games you're paying for except for a game or two that serves as a teaser.
I started my Humble Bundle subscription last February 2017. It was Humble Monthly then, so it only revealed one game while the rest were left a mystery. But that one teased game was XCOM 2! With the XCOM strategy game alone, I'm already 100% sold and it didn't really matter what the other mystery games were.
But as we all have various tastes in games, it's not unusual to get games that are kinda 'meh' to you. I know we can't have XCOM-tier all the time, so I'd always have a mini-crisis every month, asking myself if I should skip a month or gamble for blind box games that I may or may not like. I disliked that I kept hoarding games that I wouldn't make time to play.
So I'm glad they eventually scrapped the 'mystery games' gimmick. Gamers can either see the blind box scheme as a fun gacha system or an exploitative loot box with mostly poor rewards. I'm more satisfied with the Choice format where gamers are informed of what's in store for them.
And oh boy, am I thrilled about what's in store for this month's Choice bundle.
Mass Effect is this Month's Premier Choice
All gamers know what Mass Effect is, right? If you were unaware of the game, then you have missed out on one of the best RPGs of this generation. It's not just me saying it. The game had consistently ranked high in the top tens list of gaming sites and publications.
It's also one of the best space fantasy/science fiction stories ever made. I was born several years late to ride the fanaticism of Star Wars and Star Trek, so I didn't get people's fascination with space stuff then. Only with Mass Effect have I opened my eyes to the wonders of what lies beyond Earth.
The main Mass Effect game is a trilogy centered around your human playable character named Commander Shepard. The game is part RPG, action, shooter, and a full-on space adventure. Mass Effect is solid on all those fronts. But for fans like me, if asked which is the most memorable part of the game, I'd wager most would answer it's the companions you meet in the game. On all the three games, there's never a shortage of colorful casts of humans and non-humans. The characters feel alive with a rich history, distinct personalities, and agenda. The relationships you build feel genuine and organic, especially having spent perhaps 150+ hours with these characters across the three games.
If you want a more in-depth review check out IGN's reviews for Mass Effect 1, Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3.
Is Mass Effect's Legendary Edition Worth it?
If you haven't played the game before, then now's the best time to play it. The Mass Effect main trilogy was remastered in 2021 and released as the Legendary Edition. It contains the three primary games and all its DLCs.
Check out the official site's video and image comparison for the original and remastered content here. Fans can also have a bit of fun by customizing their personal Mass Effect art using this creator. I only discovered the custom art creator today and with it, I found the image that I'll be using as my laptop's new wallpaper.
If you have played all three games before, then you may still want to get your hands on the Legendary Edition. I've already bought and played the games individually, and I even bought the third installment twice so I could play its multiplayer feature with my sibling. But I'm still tempted to get the Legendary Edition to play the complete collection of all DLCs and to finally, complete the first Mass Effect game.
I wasn't able to finish the first game because I had a difficult time dealing with the clunky UI and controls. And there was this section in the game where you'd need to drive a space rover called Mako, which was a huge pain. The next two installments were leaps better in this aspect. The Legendary Edition fixes all those problematic elements in the first part, so I am looking forward to re-exploring the first game in the trilogy minus all those game issues.
But Wait, There's More
There are other games from the Humble Bundle Choice pack aside from Mass Effect: Legendary Edition.
I keep talking about Mass Effect because frankly, that's my sole motivation for getting this month's bundle. But the other games in the batch are pretty amazing too, in their own right. I'm particularly looking forward to trying out the strategy game, Desperados III, and the horror adventure, Man of Medan.
Presented above is the list of games available for this month's bundle and below is the original sale price of each game. The total cost of all eight games is $184.42, and you could get it for only $11.99. That's 93% less than the original cost.
| Game | Original Price | Genre |
|---|---|---|
| Mass Effect Legendary | $59.99 | Action, RPG |
| Desperados III | $19.99 | Strategy |
| Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl | $19.99 | Action |
| Man Of Medan | $19.99 | Horror, Adventure |
| Red Solstice 2: Survivors | $29.99 | RPG, Strategy |
| Nebuchadnezzar | $19.99 | Indie, Strategy, Simulation |
| Police Stories | $7.49 | Action, Indie, Strategy, Simulation |
| Evan's Remains | $6.99 | Indie, Adventure |
| Total Price | $184.42 |
But Before You Get the Choice Bundle
- Humble Bundle Choice games are mostly for PC and are redeemable via Steam. It's very rare to have offers for consoles and non-Steam games. Mass Effect is one of the rare ones where you need the Origin platform instead of Steam. So make sure you have the proper gaming equipment and app to redeem the games.
- You will be charged monthly or annually depending on your subscription choice. If you're not that interested in the succeeding month's games selection, you can skip it by pausing your subscription for the month. You won't have to pay for anything for the months that the subscription was paused. Full disclosure: I pause my monthly subscription a lot more times than I purchase bundles.
- If you have paused your Choice subscription last month, the subscription will be automatically re-activated once the next month starts. You can let it fulfill the order for the month if you like the games, or you can pause it again.
- Lastly, be smart about your picks. If you don't have plenty of funds or time to play games like me, temper your resolve and skip some offers. I used to be more lenient in my choices and I ended up with almost a hundred games that are waiting indefinitely in my backlog. I'm more choosy now and pay for bundles with games that I really like.
If you have decided to subscribe for Humble Bundle Choice, I would be grateful if you'd use my referral link. I may be grateful enough to give away one of my unredeemed games for successfully referred subscribers :)
Want more cheap games? Check out Humble Bundle.
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Attributions:
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Humble Bundle assets are owned by Humble Bundle. Mass Effect promotional images are owned by EA. Images are composite work from premium and free assets Designed by Freepik. Gif created with Canva.