HUMANKIND

There is a popular saying which states that history is written by the victors. This couldn’t be more true in historical turn based strategy games. No one cares about how to rise to the top and claim the world as your own, what matters is that you do. However, it is down to games of this nature to give the player a multitude of ways to make this grandiose plan a reality. Well, HUMANKIND is another game of this ilk that aims to set player play around in a historical sandbox and play god in the best way possible.

This game models itself after other games of this nature such as the Civilisation Series, Age of Empires, X-Com, Comand and Conquer and the Tropico series. HUMANKIND aims to offer a more fresh and modern take on the turn based strategy genre. However, does this game succeed, or is it just another one to add to the pile. We find out in our review of HUMANKIND.

It’s KIND of Good

Let’s look at some of the key features that this game has to offer that sets it aside from the market leader CIV. Firstly, this game allows you to mix cultures throughout the game rather than simply control an Asian, Egyptian, English or American population. Instead, you get a choice through each historical period, allowing you to mix your population and finish up with a diverse spectrum of cultures and traditions. Basically, what this does is open up varied playstyles throughout the experience rather than one rigid playstyle that you must abide by.

Then unlike CIV, HUMANKIND emphasizes conquering territories. In this game, if you are to take over a city, you can set up an outpost, claim an entire region and then extract the resources from this larger area. While in CIV, a player will have to meticulously take city after city, edging closer to their goal. This approach offers a much more fast paced back and forth between rival entities and means that even when the chips are down, one well planned strike can turn the tide. However, while this fast pace does work in this respect, as a whole it is the downfall of this title. CIV works as a series due to it’s sandbox qualities and its meticulous detail. While HUMANKIND has the former, the pace means that you are rushing to keep up with rivals, blitzing through historical eras in mere minutes and not getting the full strategic experience that makes these games great.

The Verdict

Overall, you can see what this game is going for. It’s trying to take CIV’s format and make it into a much more reactive and fast paced game, like Command and Conquer. However, this isn’t what fans of this series want.

Pros:

• Fast pace makes capturing territories fun
• The freedom to choose multiple cultures is a nice touch
• Looks brilliant
• UI is smooth and accessible

Cons:

• Rushes through gameplay, meaning players can not meticulously strategize.
• End game content is boring