Humankind Reviews
Move over Civilization, there's a new strategy sheriff in town, and it's called Humankind. Amplitude Studios knocked this out of the park.
Humankind may seem like an imitation of Civilization at first glance, but Amplitude Studio, which has a good track record of turn-by-turn strategy games, has tried a lot to create a work that suits its own tastes in this genre.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Alas, that's all the nitpicking I have for Humankind, and I have a ton more good things to say. (Did I also mention civics, culture, fantastic graphics, grievances, fantastic music, religion, forced surrender treaties, a more intuitive tech tree, war support, wonders, and districts expanding cities into a sprawling metropolis?) Humankind is nothing short of incredible. It has truly set a new bar for 4X games, and Firaxis is going to have its work cut out for it to make Civilization 7 visible beside the bright shining star that is Humankind.
The Humankind - Cultures of Latin America DLC doesn't seem to add much to drastically change the core gameplay of Humankind. Some of my favorite features were part of the free Bolivar update that every player receives, such as the ability to see how beneficial a facility is to your city upon completion; it's a nice data point that every strategy game should adopt. If you already own Humankind and want to add more cultures that boast some very strong early-game army units, the Cultures of Latin America DLC is a worthy pickup given its low price point of $8.99 USD.
HUMANKIND is a well-made civilisation game that happens to do the exact thing Civilization VI does, except for additional modes, Sean Bean's voice, and popularity.
While it probably won’t be a “Civ killer” – not that it necessarily aims to be one –, it’s clearly a game that historical 4X strategy fans looking for a different spin on the subgenre’s formula should definitely consider trying out at some point.
Like actual Humankind, the game, Humankind is an ambitious, large, complex and sometimes difficult to understand experience that gets better with time and only expands the possibilities of what comes next.
Humankind is layered and a breath of fresh air for 4X lovers, but the annoying UI is the real enemy here.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Humankind is an impressive showing of what Amplitude can do with historical turn-based strategy but is edged out by the series that clearly inspired it. The promise on the box of building a culturally diverse empire is not yet fulfilled, with successive playthroughs showing the moral choice and culture systems as being underdeveloped.
Of course Humankind feels home on PC, but the porting is decently crafted and, despite some flaws in the controls and in the UI, manages to offer to console players all the good (and the bad) it had when played using a mouse and a keyboard on your computer.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Humankind is immediately accessible to anybody familiar with the 4X genre, especially the Civilization series. It strays a little too close to Civilization at times, but its unique take on the advancement of culture and ideology prevents it from feeling like a copycat. The way your culture changes between eras means that no two games will ever be the same, no matter how much you try. It’s not quite as masterful as it could be and needs some fine-tuning in some areas, but it remains a solid addition to Amplitude’s library of strategy games.
While reviewing Humankind, I could only think about playing the game once again. Amplitude Studios’ work proved to be an extremely engrossing strategy game that offers tons of fun despite some minor setbacks. Civilization finally has a worthy opponent.
Review in Polish | Read full review
HUMANKIND is a true masterpiece and the best 4X of the decade. The game has brilliant gameplay mechanics and offers us an experience of great depth, with some incredible art style. May its reign be long.
Review in French | Read full review
The most direct challenger to Civilization yet is full of brilliant ideas which could yet change the genre, although bugs and underdeveloped features occasionally get in the way of the fun.
Humankind, in short, raises the quality standards of the 4X game, placing itself as the perfect "rival" of Civilization. This net of some gleanings that could be filed through future updates and safe expansions. If you're a lover of this genre, you can't really skip the date with Amplitude's work. The future, full support for mods and the world editor will help to enrich the title seamlessly.
Review in Italian | Read full review
By and large, though, Humankind is still an exciting evolution for the genre. Its dedication to historical authenticity sets it apart from its largest competitor, and the new systems like war support and shifting cultures feel like the very first steps leading to something that’s potentially greater. It’s not quite the ‘Civ-killer’ it wants to be just yet, but hey, give it a few more iterations and it just might be.
Humankind may not be the greatest strategy game of all time, but it certainly is a fantastic entry in the genre. Between the incredible feeling like I’m playing God over the entirety of humanity, and the ability to watch creation… my creation… evolve into the society I want them to be, I’m sure to be enjoying this for a while. If you’ve played an historical strategy game before, don’t make the mistake of thinking you know how this will play out. It may surprise you to see what it’s like when you start playing out your own plans for all of Humankind.
Humankind is a classic turn-based strategy game that invites comparisons to the Civilization series. Its unique spin of allowing players to combine multiple cultures does differentiate it from its rivals, but Humankind doesn’t quite offer enough to push the genre into uncharted territory.
The new features simulate an essential aspect of humanity and do help Humankind feel more complete, but seldom have the impact you'd hope for from the 4X game's first major expansion.
Sadly, Humankind isn't Amplitude Studios' magnum opus. Its interesting concept of civilization mix-matching is constantly let down by an uncompetitive AI and all sort of balancing issues.
Review in Italian | Read full review