There's rarely a better feeling in gaming than when you stare at a puzzle for what feels like eternity thinking, "this is literally impossible", to then suddenly having the solution click right in front of you, and you feel like a literal god. Fittingly, I think you do play a god in this game, a little ol' dog running around barking commands and leading souls into the afterlife (open to interpretation!).
It's a strange sci-fi-ish existential/spiritual plot overtop weird liminal architectural puzzles, full of platforming, movement via flow and direction, and even some surprising gameplay changes halfway through. I'll try not to spoil much, but once weapons get involved, I was really onboard. The puzzles, powerups, and terrain are constantly evolving and it's never stale, which is a huge plus for a puzzle game.
Humanity reminded me in several ways aesthetically of Tetris Effect and Rez, which makes sense since it's the same studio; it's very trippy, full of warpy ethereal music that ranges from peaceful and tranquil, to upbeat and frantic. But the gameplay itself reminded me in ways of a Frankenstein hodge podge of Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, Command & Conquer, and even the hacking minigame in Bioshock (or... for 90's kids, Pipe Dream on Windows 95).
Now, for purists, you can go big brain and collect all the Goldy's (bonus golden dudes you can get in every level) and beat every level yourself. HOWEVER, the devs included solution videos for every level if you're so inclined. I did use these a few times, sometimes only when I knew I was on the right track, and sooo close to figuring it out, but just kept getting stuck or failing at a certain point. The videos don't show you how to get all the Goldy's though, so you'll have to resort to good ol' YouTube if you wanna get all of them.
I was able to do a lot of this on my own, but yeah some trophies needed for the Platinum here require you to do six specific challenges on six different levels, and I looked at guides for all but one (which I got without even trying somehow). This game ain't easy! But like I said at the start, when you do figure it out, man do you ever feel smart.
This was a very pleasant surprise and an experience that just kept getting better and more interesting; seriously, there's some really awesome combat stuff here that was so cool to partake in. Check this one out!
It's a strange sci-fi-ish existential/spiritual plot overtop weird liminal architectural puzzles, full of platforming, movement via flow and direction, and even some surprising gameplay changes halfway through. I'll try not to spoil much, but once weapons get involved, I was really onboard. The puzzles, powerups, and terrain are constantly evolving and it's never stale, which is a huge plus for a puzzle game.
Humanity reminded me in several ways aesthetically of Tetris Effect and Rez, which makes sense since it's the same studio; it's very trippy, full of warpy ethereal music that ranges from peaceful and tranquil, to upbeat and frantic. But the gameplay itself reminded me in ways of a Frankenstein hodge podge of Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, Command & Conquer, and even the hacking minigame in Bioshock (or... for 90's kids, Pipe Dream on Windows 95).
Now, for purists, you can go big brain and collect all the Goldy's (bonus golden dudes you can get in every level) and beat every level yourself. HOWEVER, the devs included solution videos for every level if you're so inclined. I did use these a few times, sometimes only when I knew I was on the right track, and sooo close to figuring it out, but just kept getting stuck or failing at a certain point. The videos don't show you how to get all the Goldy's though, so you'll have to resort to good ol' YouTube if you wanna get all of them.
I was able to do a lot of this on my own, but yeah some trophies needed for the Platinum here require you to do six specific challenges on six different levels, and I looked at guides for all but one (which I got without even trying somehow). This game ain't easy! But like I said at the start, when you do figure it out, man do you ever feel smart.
This was a very pleasant surprise and an experience that just kept getting better and more interesting; seriously, there's some really awesome combat stuff here that was so cool to partake in. Check this one out!
Reviewed on May 24, 2023