Who doesn’t want to rule the world? It’s a power fantasy of many. Especially when the world is in the mess it finds itself in just now. Well, you are in luck as French Amplitude Studios have just ported Humankind – their fresh take on the turn-based strategy 4X genre – to consoles.
Humankind was a bit of a sleeper hit on the PC a few years back. And if you are a fan of the likes of the Civilization series, then you’ll feel right at home with Humankind. Your goal is simple, lead your people across six major eras of human civilization, starting out during the nomadic age as a tribe.
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You’ll shape the directions of how your chosen civilisation will expand over the eras, from developing everything from cities to your military might. This is a key feature as it’s partly how you grow your empire, as you’ll build new cites and settlements or take them by force.
Dear Leader
The game is set on a virtual planet, which is randomly generated at the start of a new game; meaning that no two matches will technically be the same in terms of the land you’ll be aiming to grab.
This is a very complex game that has a lot of moving parts that do take a bit of time to learn. There are a number of different ways to claim victory beyond just blasting the next door neighbours to dust.
For example, there are a number of currencies, resources and technologies – all of which open up a number of options of play and that’s all before you have to manage your empire.
This is a really big part of the game as you can focus on building development and growth, as you’ll unlock Fame points, which is the most important element to winning the game. The winner is the one who has the most Fame and not the one who just rushed to the end point.
This may also sound like a slow burner and you would be right. Games can last hours and even days, as you move and grow and that’s before you get into the multiplayer side.
Civilization Evolution
Odds are if you’re a fan of the Civilization series you’ll quickly find your feet, but also appreciate its take on some of the core systems. Like at the start of each new era you can select a different civilization type based on historical societies, this selection grants you both bonuses, as well as penalties to how you can develop the civilization over the new era.
Being a port of a PC game you may think keyboard and mouse is essential and you wouldn’t be wrong. There are a lot of inputs. God love it, the controller tries and it is perfectly serviceable, but it’s not the most intuitive.
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Some buttons have odd mapping. To access menus and even troops taking a bit of menu diving to get to where you want to be. Though, in time, you’ll learn the unique controls.
Also worth flagging is the tutorial system which is very vast and deep and delivered through videos that will teach you the core mechanics, but not really how to best use the UI to get there.
Arts and Culture
Visually, Humankind is very busy. The game is full of menus, stats and numbers on the playing level. Info is stacked as you change planes to see the bigger picture that you need to keep an eye on at all times.
It’s all clear and crisp, though can be a bit text heavy. The audio is of a high standard; from voice acting to the soundtrack that evolves with the era.
Humankind is a truly rare beast on the console and if it’s a journey you want to embark on; from the Stone Age to the Space Age, you’ll need time and be in the right frame of mind to truly get the most from the game.
If you are a 4X fan, there is enough here that feels the same as the all-conquering Civ series, but also enough difference to justify its existence. And this balance will see the right kind of gamer paint endless tiles in their colours while leading their people to a brighter tomorrow.