With the glitz and glamour of E3, it can be easy to forget about some of the great independent games that have pushed the boundaries of game design.
But that would be a mistake.
There is only a week left for the latest Humble Bundle, and this one should be called, “The badass games that you should all own if you don’t already, because they’re pretty freaking awesome.” I’m not sure that subtitle really rolls off the tongue, but damn, there are some pretty awesome games in this bundle.
The list of games reads like a critic’s choice list or something: Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Psychonauts, LIMBO, Superbrothers: Sword and Sorcery, and Bastion (but you have to pay more than the average to get the last one—around $8 at the time of this writing). Any one of these games could probably be its own bundle, as each one is pretty badass (full disclosure: I haven’t played Superbrothers yet, but I have heard nothing but glowing praise).
The beautiful thing(s) about the Humble Bundles? Well, besides giving money to charity, paying what you want, and soundtracks, you get multiplatform play and no DRM. If you want to give a bunch of money to charity, do it up. If you want to give the money to the developers, go right ahead. You get to decide.
Without getting too political here, the EFF (one of the two charities; the other one being Child’s Play) keeps an eye out on the digital world for you, making sure that the internet remains as free and open as possible. Seriously, I can’t say this enough: this is a helluva deal.
So yeah, watch all of the great new trailers coming out of E3, basking in the glow of hyper-beautiful CGI and rendered scenes, but support some of the games that serve as the intellectual and creative backbone of the industry.
(Update) Within minutes of posting this article, three more games were added to the bundle: Braid, Super Meat Boy, and Lone Survivor (but only if you beat the average price). Even more of a no-brainer than it was a few minutes ago…
