Humble Bundles: D&D and Warhammer Videogames

I don’t flag up video game content all that often. When I do, it’s safe to say that I’m pretty excited about it! That’s definitely the case here, with Humble Bundle currently offering two bundles, each of which relates to an IP very close to my heart. Name, these are Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer Fantasy Battles. Of course, you will already have surmised this from the title.

I’ve played most of the games listed below, and they’ve brought me hours of joy. They’ve also brought me the occasional bout of frustration, but a bit of challenge from time to time is probably a good thing, eh?

RPG Legends: Baldur’s Gate & Beyond

There was, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when Black Isle Studios, Bioware, and Interplay were putting out D&D game after D&D game. They were, for the most part, absolute classics. They presented isometric, pre-rendered worlds that just popped with personality and atmosphere. Most titles were based on the Infinity Engine, first developed by Bioware for the original Baldur’s Gate. This bundle features those games very heavily. Well, they feature the more recently-released remastered (or ‘enhanced’) editions, but it’s all the same, really.

The first tier of this bundle costs less than a quid and gets you two of the best of these titles:

Planescape: Torment is a fan favourite. It’s been hugely successful and was lauded by players and critics alike. Combat was not at the forefront of the game, which is unusual for a D&D title, and the emphasis instead was on story, exploration, and character development. Travelling throughout the multiverse, and exploring the city of Sigil, it also rekindled interest in the Planescape campaign setting. I need to do a new playthrough…

Icewind Dale was the third of the D&D games from this generation that I played. The first two were the original two Baldur’s Gate games. Whilst some of my favourite parts of the Baldur’s Gate series were the urban areas (especially Amn), I love the frozen wastes and more rustic settlements in Icewind Dale. It was quite a contrast. The game is good and is a worthy entry in this series, though it’s perhaps not as strong as the Baldur’s Gate games or Planescape: Torment.

Interestingly, there’s been no Enhanced Edition remake of Icewind Dale II. Seemingly, this is due to nobody actually having the source code for the game. A fan project exists, however, to give Icewind Dale II the Enhanced Edition treatment it deserves.

At £8.32 you can upgrade from a bundle of two items to one with 8 items in it:

Let’s not kid ourselves here. Of the six items added to this tier, there are only three actual games here. Namely, these are Baldur’s Gate, Baldur’s Gate II and Neverwinter Nights. Siege of Dragonspear is an expansion to Baldur’s Gate rather than a full game, and the Faces of Good and Evil is just a pack of six new character portraits. It’s a nice thing to add, but I’m surprised there are only six portraits in there, y’know?

The Baldur’s Gate games are hugely successful titles, the first of which launched this series of games based on the Infinity Engine. It’s a sprawling story-based adventure that is both engaging and fun, and occasionally challenging. The game, like all of the Infinity Engine titles, is based on 2nd edition D&D, albeit a modified version of the rules. I actually prefer Baldur’s Gate II over the original. I prefer the locations, I feel that the art came along beautifully, and I just sank a huge number of hours into that game. One nice touch was the ability to transfer your character from the first game into the second to continue their story.

The other new item here is Neverwinter Nights. To me, this is Bioware’s masterpiece. They’ve never surpassed it. The Aurora Engine opened up storytelling in full, 3D environments. The city of Neverwinter was beautifully presented. The game was based on third edition D&D rules. Not only did I sink many, many hours into the game itself, but I also found myself playing around in the toolset, creating loads of maps. There was a lot of really great fanmade content, in addition to the really excellent expansion packs. This was truly a golden age!

Finally, if you up your pledge to a little under £17, you will unlock a final tier. What do you get for doubling the cost of your bundle? Well, just the one item, actually:

Pathfinder: Wrath of the RIghteous is an isometric RPG in the same vein as Baldur’s Gate and the other Infinity Engine titles. It’s a lot newer though, benefitting from more recent technology, design philosophy, and production values. The game seems fine, but it kind of sticks out in this bundle as not being a D&D title. It’s not from that same time. It just… doesn’t really belong.

The verdict? Well, I will be picking this up. These classics are ripe for a fresh playthrough, especially since I’ve not played many of the enhanced editions. I’ll likely just go ahead and get the middle tier, though. I’m here for the nostalgia and to revisit these classics. I don’t really need the Pathfinder game.

You can click here to visit the bundle page over at Humble Bundle.

Vermintide II Franchise Bundle

Right, so, Vermintide. When I first saw this game, I thought it looked terrible and that I was not going to enjoy it at all. I had zero intention of purchasing it. Then a friend gifted it to me because he wanted me to join in with some online games. I felt at that point that I couldn’t really refuse.

You can see where this is going, I’m sure…

I loved it. Like, totally fell in love.

I like Warhammer. I love the Skaven. I had a lot of fun with Left 4 Dead. This game is a combination of all three, and it just totally clicked with me. How foolish I was to not pick this up right away!

The first tier of this bundle will, for a mere 89p, get you the original Vermintide game and some DLC:

Obviously, Vermintide has been largely replaced by the sequel, Vermintide II. Yeah, that’s fine. This is still a good deal for less than a quid. You can delve into the original levels, and fight against the ruinous powers of Chaos, both in the form of the Skaven and the forces of Nurgle. We like Papa Nurgle on this site!

To get Vermintide II, you’ll need to step up to £8.91 for the second of the four tiers:

So, obviously, the biggest addition to this tier is the inclusion of Vermintide II. For those who played both Left 4 Dead games, this step between games seems pretty familiar. Ultimately, the sequel seems very similar to the original game, but there are new maps, new enemies, and everything is just that wee bit more… polished. The game just feels a bit better, though the changes are not huge.

You’re still taking on the role of one of the 5 characters (split further into subclasses) and wading/murdering your way through wave after wave of chaos followers, Skaven, Beastmen, and the occasional Chaos Spawn. It’s still exhilarating and atmospheric. There’s nothing like the audio cues when enemies are nearby and a previously-deserted cave is suddenly crawling with untold dozens of ratmen.

Everything else in this tier (in the bundle, really) is just DLC. But then, not all DLC is created equal, and there are some definite highlights here. The DLC in this tier is all for the original game, so it’s not really going to be as useful to you as some of the DLC you will find in a higher tier.

To be honest, I’m going to skip tier 3. It’s fine, but for the £3 difference between tiers 3 and 4, you may as well just go all-in and get everything. The main difference between the two levels is that tier 4 has the Engineer subclass for the dwarf, which I would definitely grab. There are also some cosmetic upgrades, which can be fun. Here’s the content that you will find in tier 4 for £16.05:

What are the best bits of DLC in here, then? Well, there are some real highlights. The biggest is Winds of Magic. This is the DLC that introduces Beastmen as a new type of enemy. They fit in really well, giving enemies a bit more range, and introducing the deadly minotaur as a new big guy. I also like how they can put down totems to buff themselves. Pro tip: smash the totems. There’s also a new progression system for empowering your weapons, new weapon types (shield and spear combo, yo!), and a new beastmen-focused adventure.

Shadows over Bogenhafen is also cool, giving new maps, and the Grail Knight and Engineer careers add more variety to your games by giving you access to a couple of new subclasses. I really like the Grail Knight. The Engineer is really fun, but I’ve a soft spot for Bretonnia, even if it sometimes looks like I don’t necessarily respect them.

The verdict here is that I’m not buying this bundle. That sound bad, until I make it clear that I’m not buying it because I already have it all, and more. I’m all-in on this game already. If I were you, though, and I hadn’t already grabbed everything, I’d be seriously considering this bundle. The game is fantastic and this is a pretty sizeable saving. Go check it out. Give me a shout if you fancy a game, too!

You can click here to visit the bundle page over at Humble Bundle.