IT’S ONLY HUMAN

There’s something weirdly mythical about the historical 4X and the dominance of one series, Civilization, for 30 years. Amplitude Studios has been working on a challenger for a decade, preparing to rewrite the myth. Humankind is the result: a behemoth that’s kept me on its hooks until sunrise a few times. But in trying to make its own Civ, Amplitude may have sacrificed too much of what made its games such compelling weirdos.

This is not to say that doesn’t have any bold ideas. It’s clear that isn’t the case as soon as you hop into a campaign. Normally you’d need to pick a civ, faction, or race of nerdy dragons first, and then plonk down a city, but not here. Before picking a site for your first settlement, or even picking a culture, you must first explore the world as a nomadic, neolithic tribe. During this phase, you saunter around gathering food and other resources, with wee breaks where