I’ve Played a Fair Amount of Civ
And I wouldn’t necessarily call it fun. What it is is incredibly engaging, but as enjoyable as that can be, sometimes you long for something a but quirkier. While it may be fun to see Gandhi take the nuclear option (which, due to an overflow in the original game which was later implemented as a feature, occurs more commonly than anyone would have expected from the famous pacifist).
As the trailer above shows, Humankind could be that game. The trailer follows Lucy Adams, a young girl as she imagines how the world would have evolved under her rule – imposing vegetarianism, inventing rock music in the 15th century, and abolishing currency, violent, and the use of selfie sticks in museums, thus creating a lasting peace.
The game hints at the ability to alter history in a way that, while possible in some cases in the Civilization games, was harder to pull off. It also shows some of the possible policy options which aren’t available in Civilization, leading to the possibility that you’ll have more control over the citizens and the laws in place, whereas in Civilization, for the most part, you could only choose to implement a form of government, such as monarchy, fascism, or digital democracy.
There are a few key differences between the two titles, apart from those mentioned. Whereas Civilization had you lead a certain group for the game’s entirety, Humankind sees you leading different groups in different eras, each with their own unique perks. This leads to a million of different possible routes through the game. Humankind also has a battle system based on tactical RPG’s, compared to Civ’s more basic overworld fights. However, whereas Civ lets you achieve multiple different forms of victory, letting you focus specifically on expanding your religion or making it to space first, Humankind condenses all of the win conditions into fame, with the most successful player winning. While the new approach may turn off die-hard Civ fans, it may endear itself to newcomers to the genre.
Civ or Humankind? Let us know in the comments, on Twitter, or on Facebook.
