Humble Sierra Bundle is a mix of old and new games, pay what you want

There’s a new Humble bundle full of a hodgepodge of Sierra games some dating back to the 1980s, and some from as recent as 2015, It’s hard to keep track of exactly what Sierra is now, having been through all sorts of incarnations under various different corporation ownership. This is actually the third bundle Humble have run under the Sierra banner, and somewhat feels like they’re digging around to see what games of theirs haven’t been discounted in a bundle yet, but in this assortment of adventure games, RPGs and strategy games, there’s a little of something for everyone.

Originally founded way back in 1979, they made their name developing early graphical adventure games for the Apple II, and went on to publish titles like King's Quest, Police Quest, Space Quest, and a bunch of other games that don’t have “Quest” in the title.

In the mid-90s, they were acquired by CUC International, during which time they published influential titles like the original Half-Life and it’s expansions, Homeworld, and Ground Control.

More boardroom musical chairs resulted in Sierra becoming under the ownership of Vivendi Universal Games in the 2000s, during which time they expanded into all sorts of different types of games, working on properties like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon and World in Conflict.

Vivendi Universal Games ultimately merged with Activision Blizzard, and then the Sierra brand was merged into Activision Blizzard and wasn’t used again until Activision Blizzard revived it in 2014 for a brief run of releases like a reboot of King's Quest, a Geometry Wars sequel, and indie title Velocity 2X.

It’s been quiet for Sierra since then, where they’ve not put out any new releases since 2015. The brand is still owned by Activision Blizzard, and even if they’re not using it for any new games, they are reminding us of the existence of all those games Sierra published over the years with this new bundle, which includes games from throughout Sierra’s history, and has a little something for everyone.

In the one dollar tier, there’s:

• Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned
• Police Quest Collection
• TimeShift
• Velocity 2X

Pay more than the average price to get:

• Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
• Caesar IV
• Phantasmagoria 2: A Puzzle of Flesh
• Quest for Glory
• Shiftlings
• The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery

And in the twelve dollar tier, there’s:

• Caesar 3
• Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father
• Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved
• King's Quest Collection
• King's Quest - Season Pass
• Phantasmagoria
• Space Quest Collection

For my money, it’s worth at least going for the middle tier, with classic RPG Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura being worth a look. It’s a fantasy RPG in the vein of Baldur’s Gate or Planescape: Torment but set in a world that blends magic and technology, as it’s undergoing an industrial revolution. You can mix and match between spells and guns, and it’s got a wide variety of approaches you can take whilst navigating its non-linear story.

Geometry Wars 3 is also worth a look. It’s not my favorite in the series, I preferred the simplicity of Retro Evolved 2, but it still looks and plays brilliantly. It’s a mostly straightforward twin-stick shooter, with gorgeous neon-soaked aesthetics, and a pounding soundtrack that suitably matches the intense pace of the shooting action.

Maybe this would be a good chance for me to revisit some of the original King’s Quest series. I dabbled with a couple of them as a kid, but could never really get very far. I did have fun telling the man to walk into the ocean repeatedly until he drowned, but I’m not actually sure if that’s the main point of these games or not.

Who knows if we’ll ever see the name of Sierra resurrected again, maybe under current owners Activision Blizzard, or maybe some backroom shady deals could result in the brand changing hands again in the future. The company, the people and the brand may no longer be operating, but the legacy is still living on in these old games.

These games all register on Steam, and you’ve got until May 19 to buy them at this discount.