Is it Really Worth it? Sci-Fi Exposure Bundle

Sci-Fi Exposure Bundle is one of the more expensive bundles at $25.00, featuring Marathon, newly released Xenonauts 2 and 6 more sci-fi themed games. Despite the high price, it was the best rated bundle last week, scoring 6.8 / 10.

Let's go game by game and check if the scoring formula has glitched.

Marathon

A multiplayer extraction shooter from Bungie, the creators of Halo and Destiny, set on the lost colony of Tau Ceti IV. You scavenge the maps for loot alone or with a crew, fight rival players and enemy forces in PvP and PvE battles, and have to reach extraction to keep what you find. You pick a Runner shell with its own abilities and build your loadout around moddable weapons.

My first hour wasn't very smooth, the game is bombarding you with text tutorials. The learning curve seems quite steep for me as I haven't played any extraction shooters before. The shooting was fun but I'm not fond of extraction gameplay loop. It looks like a game that needs a serious time investment and I'm not willing to do that.

My playtime: 1h • Will I keep playing? 👎

Achievement count	% owners completed	Median completion time
14	4%	155h

Xenonauts 2

A turn-based tactical strategy game set in 2009, with the Cold War still going, where you run a covert multinational organization fighting an alien invasion. You command your troops in turn-based ground battles, expand a network of bases around the globe, research technology to close the gap with the aliens and directly control your fighter wings.

If you love X-COM but find it too simple and easy, Xenonauts is the game for you. The downside is the presentation, which might not seem like a big deal in a turn-based strategy game, but in my opinion, it's one of the best parts of X-COM. The graphics and sound make killing aliens much more satisfying and make it easier to get attached to your soldiers and care about whether they make it out alive.

It made me want to continue my War of the Chosen campaing, but I don't think I'll keep playing Xenonauts.

My playtime: 1h • Will I keep playing? 👎

Achievement count	% owners completed	Median completion time
20	2%	66h

Crysis Remastered

The remastered version of the original Crysis, an action-packed first-person shooter with a sandbox world. What starts as a rescue mission turns into a war when alien invaders swarm the Lingshan island chain. The Nanosuit's speed, strength, armor and cloaking let you stalk patrols invisibly or boost your strength to wreck vehicles, with a modular arsenal for different play styles.

I remember the original release destroying my PC years ago, so this game has some nostalgic value for me. They even jokingly named the highest graphics settings “Can it run Crysis?”. Of the three games, I like the tropical island setting in this one the most. Shooting and using your suit powers are still fun, but some gameplay elements feel a bit outdated, such as stealth. Still, it's fun and different from the sequels, and I intend to finish it.

My playtime: 1h • Will I keep playing? 👍

Achievement count	% owners completed	Median completion time
40	27%	11h

Crysis 2 Remastered

The remastered single-player campaign of Crysis 2, set after the events of the first game, where aliens attack a New York in a world ravaged by climate disasters. You play a super-soldier in the upgraded Nanosuit 2.0 and switch between its Stealth, Armor and Power abilities, customizing your suit and weapons in real time.

Gameplay-wise, it's an improvement over the first game, with the addition of a suit upgrade system and improved stealth mechanics. The setting is a downgrade, though, with the urban environment of New York City being less appealing to me. Overall, this is my favorite Crysis game.

My playtime: 1h • Will I keep playing? 👍

Achievement count	% owners completed	Median completion time
35	28%	15h

Crysis 3 Remastered

The remastered single-player campaign of Crysis 3. You return as the super-soldier Prophet in a New York turned into an urban rainforest under a giant nanodome, using the Nanosuit and a Predator Bow that fires electric, explosive and carbon arrows. You hunt the alien Alpha Ceph and expose the truth behind the C.E.L.L. corporation across seven districts.

The setting of New York turned into a jungle is really cool. All the suit powers are back, and the addition of a bow is great, but not all the new features are as good. For example, there's an annoying hacking minigame. I've also noticed some poor writing and level design in the opening levels. Unlike the first two games, I never played this one when it first came out, so I intend to finish it this time.

My playtime: 1h • Will I keep playing? 👍

Achievement count	% owners completed	Median completion time
37	16%	16h

Robocop: Rogue City - Collection

A first-person shooter where you become RoboCop, part man, part machine, all cop, delivering justice in Old Detroit. The Collection includes two games, Rogue City and the standalone Unfinished Business, plus 4 DLC packs.

Surprisingly, this turned out to be my favorite game in the bundle. If you've watched the movies, you'll appreciate how well the game captures their atmosphere and humor. The shooting mechanics are unlike those of most other games: you're slow but resilient. Instead of melee attacks, you can grab and throw enemies, killing them instantly. You don't have grenades, but you can pick up and throw explosive barrels, motorcycles, and other objects. The game features plenty of gore and there's even a weapon upgrade that increases it.

Combat is only one part of the game. You also investigate crime scenes, decide whether to uphold the law or increase public trust through the morality system, and explore the world to find extra experience and upgrades. The included standalone expansion, Unfinished Business, is much more action-oriented. They even removed Psychology, the skill used in conversations.

My playtime: 8h • Will I keep playing? 👍

RoboCop: Rogue City

Achievement count	% owners completed	Median completion time
27	28%	17h

Unfinished Business

Achievement count	% owners completed	Median completion time
25	52%	10h

Ghostrunner

A hardcore first-person slasher with lightning-fast action, set in a grim cyberpunk megastructure. You climb Dharma Tower, humanity's last shelter after a world-ending cataclysm, to take revenge on the tyrannical Keymaster. You are always outnumbered, but with a monomolecular katana and superhuman reflexes you slice through enemies and dodge bullets.

Oh yeah, this game is hard! One hit and you're dead. Luckily, the sections you have to complete without making a mistake are usually pretty short, so it's not impossible to make progress, even if you don't have great reflexes like me. The game is very stylish, and it's incredibly satisfying to finally complete a section after dying so many times. However, the sequel adds a lot of improvements, so I don't think I'll be coming back to this one.

My playtime: 1h • Will I keep playing? 👎

Achievement count	% owners completed	Median completion time
45	8%	17h

Ghostrunner 2

The sequel to Ghostrunner, set one year after the fall of the Keymaster. Jack is back to take on a violent AI cult outside Dharma Tower, with katana combat, new skills, non-linear levels with motorbike sections, more interactive boss fights, new modes and a synthwave soundtrack.

Feels like a much more polished game than the first one. The developers made more of an effort to make the world feel real rather than just a collection of levels. They weren't entirely successful, but it definitely helped. Also, in the first hour, I experienced much more gameplay variety than in the first game.

Very early on, there's a boss fight where, like always, one hit means death. I died 39 times but eventually managed to beat it. I'm not sure if that's normal or if I just suck, but I'll keep playing it occasionally when I'm in the mood for some pain.

My playtime: 1h • Will I keep playing? 👍

Achievement count	% owners completed	Median completion time
34	9%	21h

Verdict

If I wasn't doing this review, I'd go with tier 2 at $15 instead of tier 3. I paid $10 more for Marathon and Xenonauts 2 - two games I don't intend to keep playing. Additionally, the bundle was scored based on individual value of Crysis games but they are also available bundled for much cheaper (year low of $14.75 vs $31.43).

If we compare the $25 with the total value of games I liked: Robocop, Crysis Trilogy, Ghostrunner 2 - we get to around $29 so I still don't feel to bad about my purchase. Still, I'll rate it based on Tier 2 which I consider the best, $29 of games for $15 is around 1.9x value which will make my score very close but lower than the formula score.

My Score: 6.6 / 10

See the full Sci-Fi Exposure Bundle breakdown

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