•Amplitude Studios has released its first substantial in-game footage of Humankind 2, the long-awaited sequel to its history-spanning strategy game. The nearly seven-minute video showcases maps and menus rather than a bare reveal trailer, offering a closer look at how the sequel intends to reshape its signature culture-building mechanics.
According to the report, the footage suggests a greater emphasis on reshaping and adapting your chosen cultures to meet the challenges of each era, with less reliance on preset archetypal bonuses. This marks a shift from the original game’s approach to cultural progression.
The sequel features more than 70 cultures spread across six eras. As in the original Humankind, players can take a single civilisation all the way through the game. However, the sequel introduces biomes that bring environmental dangers and opportunities which must be navigated.
Central to this is a new Adaptations system, allowing players to pick specialised traits and skills to better match a biome’s characteristics. Living in a parched desert can be made more comfortable with developments in water gathering, heat protection, and specialist building materials. In more bountiful regions, adaptations can give specialisations to settlements—for example, giving one city hunting skills while another becomes home to expert foragers—providing the civilisation as a whole with a balanced food supply.
The culture progression system has also been redesigned so that every culture gets its own upgrade tree, with traits, customs and bonuses persisting across eras. The cultures and progression options offered depend on choices made in exploration, diplomacy, and the Adaptations system, meaning players probably won’t be able to build an invincible “omniculture.”
Choosing to evolve a civilisation across eras will make it a unique melting pot of all your progression upgrade picks so far. Cultural evolution is optional in Humankind 2, however, giving players the chance to drag a single, unalloyed culture through the ages instead.
These changes should interest Humankind players like RPS reviewer Nate Crowley, who mostly appreciated the original but found certain civilisations too static and limited in their bonuses at era switches. Making cultures more malleable during each era is a matter of survival, though it also sounds like there’s more scope to cover for preexisting weaknesses or expand into new strengths.
No release date has been confirmed beyond “2027.” Players interested in playing early versions can join the Humankind 2 Insiders Program.
baby’s-eve-view reveal trailer
Humankind 2
Humankind
mostly appreciated the original
Humankind 2 Insiders Program
1 comment