In ages long past, I was a long-time subscriber to Humble Choice, getting a slew of renowned AAA games and hidden indie gems every month for just $11.99. But it got too pricey for me after a while, especially for games I didn’t really play. And now, it’s getting more expensive.
Starting in July, Humble is upping the price of its Humble Choice from $11.99 to $14.99 per month ($129 to $154 per year). I stopped subscribing a long time ago because I just couldn’t justify the expense, so this price increase doesn’t exactly scream “deal-worthy” to me.
But that's just me, let’s break down what you’re getting for those $15 per month, and how it compares to alternative subscriptions like Game Pass.
Humble Bundle: A good deed over a digital lease
Let’s play the high ground for a second. Where is your money going when you pay for things like Game Pass ($12 for PC, $20 for Ultimate)? To some greedy shareholders.
But where is your money going when you pay for Humble Choice? Well… also some greedy shareholders, but — BUT, 5% of all profits go directly to a featured charity of the month.
This month’s charity is The Trevor Project, which is the leading organization working to protect LGBTQ+ people from the dystopian world that we live in.
Okay, now let’s talk about ownership for a second. Ignoring that digital content is just licensing and we don’t actually own anything, you get to “own” the games you get with Humble Choice. Meanwhile, the games on Game Pass will eventually disappear from the catalog.
In terms of quantity, Game Pass gives you access to hundreds of games, whereas Humble Choice gives you only a select number of games (June featured 8 games plus a 1-month subscription to Boot.dev and IGN Plus). And you also get access to “The Vault,” which features over 50 DRM-free indie games you can download.
Being DRM-free is the closest you’ll ever get to owning something digitally. But I’ll be honest, I’m not too impressed by the games in the June Humble Choice.
Is Humble Choice still worth it?
Taking a look at June's Humble Bundle offerings, we can expect to score the following games for its current $11.99 asking price ahead of a fresh curation in July:
- Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
- Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered
- Nobody Wants to Die
- Tchia
- Sker Ritual
- Biped
- Havendock
- Dungeons of Hinterberg
At least two of those titles are decades old, and most of them I haven’t even heard of, except for Dungeons of Hinterberg, which is easily the most exciting game on the list… Although it is available on Game Pass.
However, to be fair, it's a strong selection in terms of overall reception — all of the games on this list score 84% to 94% recommended on Steam.
Considering that you’re saving over $200 on those games — which offer a combined 188 hours of gaming according to metric tracker HowLongToBeat, and you also get a discount on games in the Humble store (including up to 20% on new game releases), I think Humble Choice is worth it for some folks.
But I still don’t think it’s for me. Humble could grab my attention if there were bigger games on that list, or at least more iconic indie games. To be fair, we’ve seen some great pulls in the past, like Life is Strange: True Colors and Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical, but I’m not paying Humble Choice for months just to get games I want.
Perhaps the upcoming price hike can help Humble make that kind of quality curation consistent in the future. It'd certainly help the subscription live up to its new price tag, at least.
If you like experimenting with the games you play and trying new things, even if they look old or weird, I highly recommend Humble Choice. Otherwise, you may be better served by Game Pass.
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