Action Games Bundle

Genre: Compilation

Players: 1

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Review:

Action Games Bundle, released in 2024, is a Compilation containing three very different games, each of which I suppose you could possibly describe as Action games, to varying degrees of accuracy.

I have separately reviewed these games. Here is what I thought of all of the games in this collection:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Score
Deflector	Action / Roguelike	1	B
tl;dr Deflector is an Action Roguelike where players take the role of a test subject created to combat an organic virus. The gameplay here is solid, and this game’s use of elements of Bullet Hell Shmups, as well as its central deflection mechanic, help to set it apart from other games in the genre. That’s good, because Deflector can’t compete with the likes of Hades in terms of that game’s fluid and satisfying combat and wonderful story and characters. However, Deflector manages to be unique enough to be worth trying out despite this, especially if you’re a fan of this style of game.
Syndrome	First-Person Horror	1	C-
tl;dr Syndrome is a First-Person Horror game where players awaken with amnesia on a spaceship plagued by some sort of disaster. This game has some genuinely good elements, like the sound design, but overall Syndrome is clearly inferior to multiple other games it shares similarities with, most notably Alien: Isolation. Play those games instead.
Warhammer 40,000: Dakka Squadron	Combat Flight Simulator	1	C-
tl;dr Dakka Squadron is a Combat Flight Simulator that has you fighting battles as an orc in an armed aircraft. The gameplay here is mostly decent, and even has a few unique features, but this game just falls flat on its face on Nintendo Switch due to some absolutely severe performance issues. Fans of this franchise or this genre may want to check this game out on PC, but skip the Nintendo Switch version.

In short, these are three very different games, and Deflector is the clear star of this package. To their credit, the other two games do give this package a lot of variety, even if both have some major issues.

With this being the case, the question of value becomes pretty important, otherwise you might as well just get Deflector and not bother with the other two games. However, the answer to the question of value really depends on when you ask. If we’re talking about standard pricing, buying the games separately will cost $68 compared to this bundle’s $60 price tag, which is better but it’s not a huge savings. However, once you look at sale prices, where all three games drop to $2 on a regular basis, then this bundle is a no-brainer, as it also drops to $2 on a regular basis. So if you’re getting the games on sale, buying this bundle is like getting the other two games for free.

How do you grade something like that? Adding over $35 to the price of Deflector to get two mediocre games is a pretty bad deal, but adding nothing to the $2 sale price to get two extra games, mediocre or not, is a pretty safe “sure, why not” situation. In the end, I’ll split the difference, leaning a bit in favor of this being a good deal since, if you’re looking for the absolute best price on any of the included games, this bundle on sale is the way to go.

tl;dr – Action Games Bundle is a Compilation containing Deflector, Syndrome, and Warhammer 40,000: Dakka Squadron, three very different games. Of the trio, only Deflector is particularly good, but this bundle may still be worth getting anyway – when it goes on sale, it regularly drops to the rock-bottom $2 price tag, meaning if you’re getting Deflector, this bundle gives you the other two games at no added cost. However, this is still a pretty uneven package.

Grade: C+

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