If you've played Civ, especially a modern one, you can immediately play Humankind.

The only problem is having played it now, I'm not sure I actually want that anymore.īy far the closest parallel to Humankind is the reigning historical 4X itself, Civilization. In many ways that makes it the 4X game I've always wanted, the one that's systems work in a broadly similar manner to the way they do here in the real world, that's history is aligned, systemically, with actual humankind's. It plays like a group of very intelligent people have sat down in a room together and really thought about doing things in the most true-to-life way possible. Watch on YouTube You can listen to a few more of our Humankind thoughts here in our special, first-ever reviewscast!Įverything else aside, Humankind plays like the most considered, most philosophical, most historically authentic (if not accurate, obviously) game of its kind. Regardless of the outcome, I love it for that. Amplitude has wanted to make a game like this since the day it was founded, I'm told, and a desire to do things right, whatever right may be, is front and centre. The point is in Humankind, the new, Civilization-style historical grand strategy from Endless Legend and Space developer Amplitude, capital-I ideology is handled smartly in a kind of consequential, sliding scale system, and the considered little-I ideology of the developer is regularly felt. Say 'ideology' too much and you start sounding like Slavoj Žižek stuck on a loop, so I'll move on. Availability: Out now on PC, Mac, and Stadia.

And it's also in the layer behind that, ideology as in the ideology of the developer, the thought process, the reasoning, the thing that informs all that, which they may not even be aware of - why they went for an authoritarianism dial in the first place and why it works the way it does. It's there in the specific, overt kind of way, as in: turning the 'authoritarianism' dial up or down on your empire's ideology screen. Ideology's always been a part of grand, 4X strategy games. Amplitude's big play for the historical grand strategy crown is ambitious and considered, but it's missing a little magic.

Humankind civilizations