Amplitude Studios' decision to create their newest 4X (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate) game have proven that the developers aren't afraid to challenge the status quo established by Sid Meier's Civilization. The latter may have stood the test of time with the cultural and historical diversities that they've implemented, however Amplitude's newest project, Humankind could potentially spoil the unique selling point of the Civilization series.
This isn't the first time that Amplitude Studios ventured into the genre as they were also involved in the development of both Endless Space and Endless Legend. Both of these games were centered on fiction as the former had incorporated the elements featured in a science fiction setting while the latter reveal a fantasy-based setting. Another similarity from these games is the positive feedback from both the community as well as critics, meaning that Firaxis Games, the developers of the Civilization franchise will have to keep an eye on their up-and-coming competition.
Given the potential the game offers, fans of the genre are eagerly awaiting for its release to determine if it truly lives up to the hype as a potential game changer in the scene.
Here are things you need to know about the game prior to its release.
MORE THAN JUST A CIVILIZATION CLONE
One of the biggest issues that fans have with the release of the game's trailer is the similarities with the Civilization series. Both feature early nomadic exploration to contemporary city building gameplay, both showcase influential historical civilizations like the Greeks, Babylons, etc., and both have hexagonal areas that players move and build around.
Though the trailers of Humankind reveal a strong resemblance to the Civilization series, there are some key differences between the two games. In Civilization, the player chooses a faction or civilization that he will play until the very end. Each of the civilizations have distinguished features and the player is forced to play to the civilization's strengths. The opposite happens in Humankind, as the player has freedom to choose his own identity in establishing his dream society. He will decide on which of the features of societies will he choose and he could expand upon that as the ages go by.
Given the amount of freedom in terms of decision making in Humankind allows the player to have a city with European-esque architectural designs mixed with Oriental-themed buildings as seen in the trailer.
Another key difference is the game's victory conditions as Civilization offers a variety of options to win a match. It could be through the arms race, through diplomacy, or through sciences and culture. Humankind on the other hand only relies on “fame,” where the player is tasked to accomplish specific objectives to win games.
OTHERS
For those of you who would like to personally give the game a try, a 7-day demo is available on Google Stadia.
https://twitter.com/GoogleStadia/status/1318612950836420609
Amplitude Studios admitted that creating that historical and cultural 4X game has always been part of their vision, however this wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the support coming from Sega. Sega will serve as the game's publisher, a role that they have been prominently known for given the success of Creative Assembly's Total War franchise and Sports Interactive's Football Manager series.
The game is scheduled to be release on April 2021 for Microsoft Windows, MacOS, and Google Stadia.
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