Humankind – Spotlight
Humankind is probably one of the biggest Civilization rivals I have seen in years, and coming form the makes of the Endless series, expectations were obviously high. Unsurprisingly enough, Humankind is not just great, it stands toe to toe with it’s counterpart, offering deep gameplay systems, and some unique twists of it’s own.
Humankind starts you off in the early Neolithic era, and allows you to move slowly through the ages building your empire. The interesting part is that it doesn’t restrict you to any one civilization, instead letting you choose a cultural style as you progress through each era. This lets you diversify more, and take on a broader swathe of gameplay routes. This also adds to the feeling of adapting with the needs of the era, instead of being stuck in the ways of a previously chosen culture.
In many ways, the basic gameplay beats are similar to the Civ games. However, going to war adds some interesting considerations – the people’s opinion matters and their grievances will need to be takes into account, including the fact whether they are in favor of a war. Overall, if you’re a fan of these kinds of games, Humankind is just the shake up that the genre needed, and I highly recommend it.
Pros:
Changing civilizations keeps thing fresh
Great tutorials
Lots of gameplay systems
Cons:
A few minor QOL gripes
Score – 9/10
About:
HUMANKIND™ is a historical strategy game, where you’ll be re-writing the entire narrative of human history and combining cultures to create a civilization that’s as unique as you are.
Combine up to 60 historical cultures as you lead your people from the Ancient to the Modern Age. From humble origins as a Neolithic tribe, transition to the Ancient Era as the Babylonians, become the Classical era Mayans, the Medieval Umayyads, the Early Modern era British, and so on. Each culture will add its own special gameplay layer, leading to near-endless outcomes.
Face historical events, take impactful moral decisions, and make scientific breakthroughs. Discover the natural wonders of the world or build the most remarkable creations of humankind. Each game element is historically authentic. Combine them to build your own vision of the world.
The journey matters more than destination. Fame is a new and unifying victory condition. Every great deed you accomplish, every moral choice you make, every battle won will build your fame and leave a lasting impact on the world. The player with the most fame will win the game. Will you be the one to leave the deepest mark on the world?
Each battle in HUMANKIND™ plays out like a mini turn-based board game on top of the actual world map. Unstack your armies and command each of your units, including the emblematic units of your culture and their special abilities. Construct siege weapons to besiege and occupy cities. Fight in large battles spanning multiple turns, and don’t hesitate to bring in reinforcements!
In HUMANKIND™, you’ll be playing the leader of your society as an avatar that you create and customize! Your avatar will evolve visually over the course of the game as your civilization develops. You’ll also be able to level up your leader via a meta-progression system to unlock custom looks that you can showoff to strangers and friends alike in multiplayer matches up to 8 players.
