Humankind Image
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 55 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 157 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • 10
  • 9
  • 8
  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
  • 0
  • Summary: HUMANKIND is a Historical Strategy game where YOU will re-write the entire narrative of humankind – a convergence of culture, history, and values that allows you to create a civilization that is as unique as you are. HOW FAR WILL YOU PUSH HUMANKIND?

Trailer

Play Sound
Please enter your birth date to watch this video:
You are not allowed to view this material at this time.
Together We Rule - Launch Trailer | HUMANKIND 1st Expansion
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 42 out of 55
  2. Negative: 0 out of 55
  1. Aug 22, 2021
    100
    Humankind may not have invented hot water, but it is sufficiently different from Civilization. And that results in a rock-solid game, not least because of its scale. In the game, you lead your people through the different eras of our civilization. At six different times you are presented with ten cultures that you can take over from then on. In addition, the characteristics of your previous choices are preserved, resulting in a unique melting pot of influences from a million (!) possible combinations. Each game is different, and you will spend many hours exploring only a fraction of the possibilities. That replayability alone makes Humankind more than worth its money.
  2. Aug 16, 2021
    90
    Humankind is a Civilization for those who want to try something different in the 4X genre, without giving up a certain vision.
  3. Aug 16, 2021
    85
    Humankind is a solid strategy game, which doesn’t change the underlying formula of building and management games. The visuals are pretty and the systems deep enough to sink some time into it. Where it shines is the possibilities to design your own culture, society and religion - with all the implications this has for diplomacy, trade and war. Genre fans should have a look at this interpretation, but if you don’t like these kind of games, there won’t be anything for you here regardless.
  4. Aug 16, 2021
    80
    Quotation forthcoming.
  5. Aug 26, 2021
    78
    Humankind is layered and a breath of fresh air for 4X lovers, but the annoying UI is the real enemy here.
  6. Aug 16, 2021
    75
    Humankind is ambitious in size, scale, and scope, allowing you to try out multiple combinations of cultures as you progress through various eras. However, it's also hampered by limitations in certain mechanics and systems that don't mesh well with the overall gameplay.
  7. Aug 25, 2021
    60
    From the faint outlines of religion to the background hum of influence, from the awkward city-building to the cumbersome tactical combat, all wrapped up in a cultural system that struggles to imprint a strong identity on your empire, Humankind strains under the weight of too many complex systems that too often find themselves colliding rather than coalescing. By turns disjointed and confounding, Humankind is nonetheless fascinating, at least to this experienced 4X strategy player, even if I couldn't say I truly enjoyed it.

See all 60 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 62
  2. Negative: 25 out of 62
  1. Dec 24, 2020
    10
    The game is awesome! Even now, in the dev version, gameplay awesome! Yes, there is still a lot of work to be done, but the way is correct.The game is awesome! Even now, in the dev version, gameplay awesome! Yes, there is still a lot of work to be done, but the way is correct. The game is absolutely waiting for success at the time of release. Cyberpunk will envy )))! Expand
  2. Sep 30, 2021
    10
    The best 4X game that I have played so far (I started playing Civ1 on a Macintosh probably around 1993 and have played every CivilizationThe best 4X game that I have played so far (I started playing Civ1 on a Macintosh probably around 1993 and have played every Civilization title since then). Anyway, talking about Humankind: The music is awesome, the artwork is so nice. The game has a very unique and awesome look and feel.

    Combat and military conquest is among the best. But also peaceful expansion is possible focusing on wonders, and empire growth. Sieges work in a way that are much distinct from Civilization and combat in general is very refreshing. It's a good mix between 1upt and stack of doom. I also like the way trade and diplomacy works.

    The only problem with the game is that it isn't as balanced when it was released. Snowballing is a problem, however, the early game provides a lot of challenges and is very fun to play. Especially, the addition of the neolithic era is a great addition to this genre that otherwise always starts with putting the first city down exactly where the map generation algorithms have put you. The end game can be interesting I suppose if you don't give up on a bad early start and try to recover even from lost wars.

    There are some things absent, that are very much present in Civ such as the form of government (monarchy, feudalism), but it is i replaced with a set of civic choices and a 4-dimensional ideology system that provides various bonuses. I like this system very much as it is more gradual and the choices are clear. The stability system is nice in theory, but practically requires more balance in upcoming patches. Still, it does give you a challenge.

    The way cities grow through districts is much more enjoyable and also the fortifications are much more omnipresent than e.g. in the civilization series where this is just a number next to the city name.

    The culture per era is much more interesting than choosing one culture in the very beginning and keeping it. The different traits (scientific, economic, artistic, expansionist, militaristic, agrarian and builder) provide interesting choices. However, overall, there's probably a bit too much bonus applied. In any case, the replay-ability is awesome with so many different combinations. It's not just some 20 civilizations, but 1.000.000 combinations of cultures per era.

    Also, the AI is able to provide a challenge (at least in the first game half). It does make mistakes, but so do I. One can have allies for a whole game and one can have strong opponents. Some cultures/players are really tough and hard to compete against.

    Overall, this is a total win for the genre and for all players.
    Expand
  3. Aug 21, 2021
    9
    Quite an enjoyable game. While it's still in its early phases, the UI is quite nice and easy to read. Civ players will have no issue gettingQuite an enjoyable game. While it's still in its early phases, the UI is quite nice and easy to read. Civ players will have no issue getting into this game. The AI could use some increased difficulty and more competent aggression. Would like to see more complex winning conditions without a forced turn limit victory. Overall quite fun and absolutely beautiful. Uses a good and comforting combination of the best of civ 5 with some elements of civ 6. Definitely a successful competitor to Firaxis with a little bit more work and updates. Expand
  4. Aug 26, 2021
    5
    I don't like the execution of this one. I've been a fan of all of Amplitude Studios games from endless dungeons to endless space 2 + DLC's.I don't like the execution of this one. I've been a fan of all of Amplitude Studios games from endless dungeons to endless space 2 + DLC's. But this one just misses the mark. It feels random at time. I can't really build the civilization I want to build. To survive I always have to kill my neighbor's in a defensive war. Battles aren't even that stimulating. AI is just a meat grinder, all you need is to be ahead in tech.

    The end games always falls apart. Alliance for 100 rounds the AI thinks it's fun to attack.
    It doesn't seem to matter what I do, the AI just want to go to war.

    I won't refund the game, but I won't play it anymore.
    With all the beauty of the game and care taken in making it, I don't find it fun.
    Expand
  5. Oct 6, 2021
    4
    Bugged, unbalanced, boring, overrated.
    Wait for patches and dlc before purchasing.
  6. Sep 3, 2021
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. With bugs like my save files of 14 hours just gone like that I cannot recommend this game at this time if they don't at least fix basic problems like that.

    The game itself works smoothly and I like a lot of the mechanics. The war and unit management is a joy to play and the beginning of the game is different and enjoyable, also the pop up scenarios was great (but became less interesting as the game went on however) and the star system too gave this game a unique feel to it.

    However everything else seems a bit bleak and not impactful enough like the faith, diplomatics, civics, some stuff didn't matter at all. It all feels mushed together and does not change that much through the eras. I don't feel like I have a clear goal or strategy, just achievement hunting towards another star.

    I am torn of the idea with the whole changing cultures through the eras, its cool, but you don't feel that connected to the civs you choose. To me it just felt like I more chose the civilization cause of its perks when I needed certain boosts like food/work/gold/science. This made the certain civ less important to me, which put a bad taste in my mouth as you want to feel at least a little connected when you choose to play with a civilization

    Game: 5/10 (Pretty ok game)
    Overall with the major bugs 3/10
    Expand
  7. Aug 23, 2021
    0
    Impossible to change the language and the game delete my everytime, it's very annoying

See all 62 User Reviews

Related Articles

  1. 2020 Games Preview: 40 Notable Releases Including Cyberpunk 2077, The Last of Us Part II, and More

    2020 Games Preview: 40 Notable Releases Including Cyberpunk 2077, The Last of Us Part II, and More Image
    Published: January 22, 2020
    Get details on the most anticipated games headed to PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC in 2020. We also look at the year's most intriguing indie games.