Humble’s 14 Days of Bundles: Day #2

Many were wondering how Humble Bundle would follow up the rather incredible deal they offered yesterday – over $150 worth of games (at regular Steam prices) for as little as $10 if you wanted all nine games. The answer comes with today’s new Daily Bundle, and that answer is quite simply: they won’t. Okay, that’s pretty harsh, but coming from the Deep Silver bundle of nine games to the new “Outer Space” bundle of just three potential games is a bit of a letdown. If you don’t own any of the games, it could still be worth the price, but if you like space games you probably already own at least one or two of these. Anyway, here’s the short list:

• X3: Terran Conflict (73%, 03/2009): Open-ended space exploration sim; normal Steam price is $15.99, but you can get it with any donation (I’m not sure if the usual $1 minimum for Steam is in effect, but it doesn’t appear so).
• Universe Sandbox (83%, 04/2011): Not a space exploration simulation but rather a space simulation – in that you can play around with the creation of worlds, solar systems, galaxies, etc. This is a game for science nerds and astronomers, and it can be a lot of fun. You need to beat the current average ($4.05 right now) to receive Universe Sandbox. The game normally goes for $9.99 on Steam, and you also get a DRM-free download option.
• Kinetic Void (N/A, 03/2013): This is a “work in progress” game where you receive early access, and it requires at least a $10 donation to qualify. You can custom build your own spaceships, the galaxy is randomly generated with each new game, and there are factions to interact with – or at least, there will be. Many of the promised features are not yet working, so you’re basically contributing to help fund the game at this point, and maybe play around with the building and ship editors. It’s normally $19.99 on Steam (and eventually will be $29.99 when complete), so you’re getting in early for one third the price.

The value of the first two games is fine, and if you like to support developers going for a $10 donation – either to Child’s Play or the American Red Cross, or the developers or Humble – is a nice way to help out. But for those that thought Humble would ramp up the quality/quantity of games with each new daily bundle, that’s clearly not the case here. I already have more games on hand than I’m every likely to play, let along complete, but if you have a desire to leave the gravity of Earth behind and escape into the far reaches of space, there are many hours of entertainment available in this bundle, at least for the next 20 or so hours.