It was criticized upon release, but now Humankind is a strong strategy game on Steam

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The strategy game Humankind failed many strategy fans when it was released in 2021: great graphics attracted many, but problems in the game concept quickly scared off genre fans. MeinMMO author Schuhmann has spent 150 hours in Humankind on Steam and says: This is a good, shorter alternative to Civilization VI.

What is Humankind?

  • Humankind is a classic turn-based strategy game like Civilization in the 4X niche: you lead part of humanity through the millennia, from the first settlements to the Mars colony.
  • The game was released in 2021 for Windows and came in 2023 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X. The game has now received expansions and regular updates, most recently a few weeks ago.
  • Humankind currently costs €50 – you’ll have to be patient here, in January it was available for €10 in a sale. Something like this will definitely happen again.

    • HUMANKIND – Official Launch Trailer

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    Humankind was decried as “great presentation, weak gameplay.”

    What was the problem with the release? Humankind had a difficult time with strategy players when it was released. It was quickly decried as a graphics blender: It looks great, but lacks depth and the gaming system.

    In particular, some systems surrounding declarations of war, demands and religion are still highly controversial today. Diplomacy in the game can play tricks on you if you are forced to change a religion by the “Congress of Humanity”, or if you lose a war diplomatically even though you feel like you are not fighting it.

    Added to this were strokes of genius like a 7-day exclusive beta for the doomed Google Stadia console and somehow a picture of the ill-fated game emerged:

  • On Metacric, Humankind only got 77 out of 100 points – its eternal rival Civilization VI, from 2016, has 88 out of 100 points.
  • On Steam, Humankind performs even worse: here only 66% of the reviews are positive, while for Civ VI it is 86%.

    • Here you can read the test for Humankind from our colleagues at GameStar.

    The settings make a big difference

    What makes Humankind so appealing? I’ve now spent 150 hours in Humankind on Steam and it was love at second sight. By the time it was released, I had already played the game on the XBox Game Pass for 30 days and hadn’t really warmed up to it.

    Humankind not only has great graphics, presentation and is generally easy to read, but also offers the player some quirks and challenges that do indeed take some getting used to. Expansion is particularly important at the beginning of the game and you can expand each city with new zones as you wish, but you always have to be careful not to overdo it:

  • If you build cities that are too big, stability decreases and you have a problem
  • If you found too many small cities, you would exceed the city cap and the important resource “influence” would disappear

    • The map size is also a problem, because with a “huge map” Humankind gets lost and stays pale for a long time.

    I only really warmed up to Humankind when I limited the map size to normal but started with 10 players. So in the first few years you have contact and war with opponents, can expand and have constant action.

    The appeal of change and the new

    This is the main difference from Civilization VI: What Humankind offers that Civ VI lacks: With each era you can choose a new race and use them to gain special abilities. Finding the ideal combination of race sequences to build the best special buildings in each era is Humankind’s special gag. Here players can give free rein to their preferences:

  • I’ll start with the nomadic people “Harapans”, who have particularly strong scouts to ambush enemies early and choose a bonus to food.
  • Then I switch to the Mayans to build up the industry, followed by the Aztecs, whose eternal “rum sacrifice” ensures gaining faith and much-needed stability
  • In the modern era, I switch to Joseon, which is basically Korea for a research boost, then move on to Italy to increase influence before completing the game as Japan (strong industry).

    • But everyone will certainly find a different combination of races for their own play style, whether it’s aggressive, cultural or economic.

    I can recommend Humankind as a “faster alternative” to Civilization 6 for anyone who has had their fill of the classic and who isn’t put off by the negative reviews.

    More about strategy games on MeinMMO: Steam: I’m obsessed with the perfect start in Civilization 6 and have been loading the same save game for 2 years

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