Botanicula's Humbly Bundled Already: Amanita Collection
Well this here is interesting. The latest Humble Bundle, the Humble Botanicula Debut, has just launched. It's dedicated to Amanita Design, they responsible for Machinarium, Samorost, and Botanicula. All three of which are in the bundle. So yes, the brand new Botanicula, literally released this very minute, is in the bundle, meaning you don't need to pay the $10 for it, but rather whatever you want. It's a bold move, and it'll be fascinating to see how it affects regular sales on Steam, GOG.com, etc. But it's very good news for you, as it means you can get the wonderful back catalogue from Amanita, along with a copy of Czech film Kooky if you pay over the average, and the extremely lovely Windosill by Vectorpark.
Clearly that might be a little grimace-inducing for anyone who pre-ordered Botanicula from elsewhere at full price. But that's the free market, and heck, your relatively small amount of money is going to the developer who makes these amazing games. So, you know, that's easily gotten over.
The bundle contains Samorost 2 (Samorost 1 is free on the Amanita site), a gorgeous experimental adventure, where your exploration and interaction with the world helps one little man find his way. Then there's the incredible Machinarium, the robotic adventure that won just about every heart in 2009. (Oh good grief, how can that be three years ago already?)
Give over the average and you'll also get a copy of Kooky - the stunning-looking Czech film for which Amanita's Jakub Dvorský created the puppets and props - and a copy of Windosill, the really lovely peculiarity from Vectorpark.
As ever all is available on Windows, Mac and Linux, and this time the charity choice is the World Land Trust, in recognition of Amanita's emphasis on the natural world in their games. And pay over $5 for the lot and you'll get Steam keys too.
Seriously, $5 for this collection of joyful games (and whatever inevitable surprise additions appear) is astonishing. You'd be insane to pass on this. Here's the slightly disturbing video promoting it:
