Enhance, better know for games like Tetric Effects and Rez Infinite, are back again with another puzzler in the form of Humanity. The game has you controlling an ethereal dog that is tasked to guide the human species through a series of increasing difficult puzzles and challenges.
Critics have praised the clever designs of the puzzles, comparing it to a 3D version of Lemmings, althought it seems to evolve into something much more imagnative later on in the game. If you are looking for a satisfying puzzle-platformer (and if nothing else has scratched the itch like Portal 2 did), it seems Humanity should definitely be on your list.
Genre: Puzzle-Platformer
Developers: THA Limited
Publisher: Enhance
Platforms: PC, Xbox, PlayStation (and free on PSN+ Game Catalog)
Scores: Opencritic: 86, Metacritic: 85
Humanity Review Roundup
Here are some reviews and first-look articles for Humanity from around the web.
IGN
Humanity is a beautiful, modern reimagining of Lemmings that blends many different genres into its clever puzzles, and its powerful level editor has dizzying potential.
IGN rating: 9/10
GameInformer
Humanity strikes a delicate balance between challenging me at every turn and allowing me to feel like the god its narrative props me up to be. Its puzzles come wrapped in a beautiful package, from its minimalist visuals to its excellent clicky electronic beats. And best of all, these elements work together to emphasize a simple but effective message about what it means to be human and why life’s most intricate puzzles are easiest to solve when we work together.
GameInformer rating: 8.5/10
TheSixthAxis
Humanity hits that sweet spot of being taxing enough to make you want to complete a level, but without having solutions be so obscure you’d need to Einstein to work them out. As someone who played Lemmings endlessly, it did take some time to not feel bad about sacrificing streams of humans to the void, but the puzzles in the game do require you to do that at time, and they thankfully don’t yell a cute “Oh no!” when they vanish off a cliff.
TheSixthAxis rating: 8/10
Metro GameCentral
In the end, perhaps there is a connection with Tears Of The Kingdom after all, in that Humanity goes to such lengths to exploit its features to the very fullest, creating endless unexpected puzzles and concepts that surprise and delight in equal fashion. Humanity’s fumbling narrative won’t tell you much about the human condition, but it does have an awful lot to say about fun, imaginative game design.
Metro GameCentral rating: 9/10
Shacknews
I haven’t felt as challenged or as impressed by a puzzle game like Humanity since Portal 2 and The Talos Principle. While Humanity does become less of a puzzler near the endgame, that’s a minor quibble in light of the risks it takes, its inventive range of content, its thought-provoking story, and its curiously peculiar presentation. (The dog is cute too.)
Shacknews rating: 9/10
PushSquare
Humanity is a wonderfully different puzzle game brimming with ideas. It takes a few simple building blocks and combines them to create some surprisingly complex levels and challenges, keeping you on your toes as it constantly throws in new concepts. While the story mode has some inconsistencies in terms of difficulty, it still manages to keep you hooked all the way.
PushSqaure rating: 9/10
PlayStation Lifestyle
Humanity’s presentation only augments the satisfying puzzle mechanics at its core. Leading around an array of humans through a series of shrewdly planned commands is open enough to lead to many different types of brain-teasers that consistently challenge players. A handful of these ways can be a little frustrating, especially near the end, but they’re outnumbered by the copious amount of stages that push players to think creatively as the most important Shiba Inu to ever live.
PlayStation Lifestyle rating: 8/10
