Humble Monthly September 2019: Slay the Spire and Squad

The Humble Monthly early unlocks for September are, once again, two games that couldn’t be more different from each other. The only thing they have in common that I can see is that they both released in Early Access first. Slay the Spire first launched in Early Access back in late 2017, and it finally released in early 2019. Meanwhile, Squad is still going strong in Early Access since 2015. Last weekend, as we reported, Squad was free to try on Steam, and the developers showed off some cool mods. So if you’re a Humble Monthly subscriber you can now grab these games. Let’s dig in and see what you can expect.

Slay the Spire: The ultimate deckbuilder

Slay the Spire is developed by Mega Crit Games, mostly a duo of designers based in Seattle. It’s a roguelike card game inspired by the tabletop card game genre, also known as deckbuilding. The difference between this genre and traditional card games such as Magic: The Gathering is that you build your deck during the game rather than before a match. You get a few core cards to start with, then you explore the game world to buy or earn new cards. So the process of building your deck depends on some variables and quite a bit of RNG, as you don’t always get the same opportunities.

Slay the Spire is a rare case of a game that has managed to maintain an “Overwhelmingly Positive” score on Steam since its first months in Early Access, and it’s still going strong. While it can be a relatively easy game to learn, it’s incredibly hard to master. And it’s packed with replay value to keep you busy for hundreds of hours. You can play with three playable characters, or classes, but as we reported last month, a fourth playable character has been announced. It’s been over six months since its final release, but Mega Crit Games is still adding loads of new content and new features. Definitely a great game for a Humble Monthly.

Squad: Between arcade shooter and mil-sim

Squad seems like a great alternative to Arma if you prefer a middle term between shooters and full-on military simulation. It’s probably a bit more accessible in general, though that depends on how you feel about complex military simulation. It’s definitely not a game you can just play casually, as it focuses heavily on realism through communication and teamwork. The developers emphasize strong squad cohesion mechanics as well as larger-scale coordination, tactics, and planning. It sounds like a great game to play with friends if you’re all very serious about this kind of coordinated gameplay.

Humble Monthly August late unlocks

In case you missed it, the Humble Monthly late unlocks for August are also available, which includes five extra games. They are Rising Storm 2: Vietnam, Yoku’s Island Express, The Adventure Pals, Almost There, and Swords and Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon. Quite the eclectic selection of military shooter, hardcore platformers, cutesy adventures, and fantasy strategy.

You can never have too many games, so if you’re a Humble Monthly subscriber, don’t forget to grab your codes. And if you’re not, you can subscribe for only $12 on the official website.

Are there any games you particularly like in all these unlocks? Drop your comments below!