A dreamy puzzle game with a unique concept | Full Review - HUMANITY

300139

HUMANITY is a third-person puzzle game available for PC and PlayStation where you assume the role of a dog guiding crowds of humans to their destination.

🟩Pros

+Unique puzzle concept featuring huge crowds of humans

+Mesmerizing visuals and therapeutic soundtrack

+Challenging and diverse selection of levels

🟥Cons

-The third person control feels unnecessary from a puzzle game standpoint

The story is intentionally vague, with the player only knowing that they control a dog and must guide the humans "to the light." These humans are somehow amassing in hordes in this limbo-looking blocky world defying any explanation, walking in a straight path. There is no clear explanation, but the premise looks like a purgatory where you must guide humans to their eventual afterlife.

The game features low-poly graphics enhanced by an impressive lighting system, creating an otherworldly atmosphere with a perfect blend of heavenly aesthetics and high-tech weirdness. The visuals make little sense outside of the puzzles and overall objective. Despite the large number of humans on screen, the low-poly style allows for smooth rendering. The soundtrack is as equally as otherworldly, mesmerizing and therapeutic, which is perfect for the purgatory themed puzzle solving nature of the game.

In HUMANITY, you control a dog from a third-person perspective, reminiscent of the control scheme found in the cat-themed game "Stray." You navigate the levels by jumping around, riding crowds, and issuing instructions to the humans, one tile at a time. You cannot die, and there are no penalties for falling; you simply respawn at the top.

While the third-person gameplay adds an additional layer to the puzzle-solving element as you have to control a character on top of solving a level-wide puzzle, Some players may find it bothersome or unnecessary, and instead prefer a direct point-and-click puzzle game without having to control any characters, as it can sometimes get in the way of the puzzle solving action.

Without your guidance, the humans will fall into the chasms below and respawn at the starting point without consequences. As the shepherd dog, your role is to herd these human hordes through various challenging navigational puzzles and obstacles by providing instructions such as where and when to turn, how high and how long to jump, and many more commands and instructions that you can issue.

Throughout the levels, there are other interactive elements such as weight-triggered switches to activate devices or deactivate obstacles, movable blocks for the humans to push, and golden humans that can be awakened by the actions of regular humans. Successfully guiding these golden humans to the light rewards you with gold, granting extra abilities like fast-forwarding or pausing during puzzles. However, if these golden humans fall, they will not respawn, requiring a restart if you want to obtain the rewards, making their guidance crucial and consequential.

As far as restarting goes, the game is ultimately forgiving when it comes to do-overs. One of the abilities that you can unlock is the ability to keep issued commands to tiles so you don’t have to redo most of them again. However take note that this isn’t always the best option, as sometimes complete restarts are better.

The heart of HUMANITY lies in its superbly designed puzzles, which range from intriguing brain-teasers to challenging navigational obstacles. Each level presents a unique set of challenges, commands, and mechanics in play, ensuring that players are consistently engaged and their problem-solving skills are put to the test level after level.

In the story mode levels, players are tested in a lot of aspects, with each level typically focusing on one or two specific skills such as planning, reflexes, physics anticipation, spatial awareness, logical thinking, and memorization.

The satisfaction of successfully guiding the humans through the complexities of the levels is immensely rewarding, and the game's forgiving nature in terms of restarts allows players to experiment and find the best strategies. The bonus optional element of guiding golden humans, known as "goldys", adds an additional layer of difficulty, challenging players' problem-solving skills, as these goldys are often positioned in out-of-the-way locations.

The puzzles themselves are overall superbly challenging and can take you anywhere from a few minutes to an hour of problem solving and troubleshooting, depending on your skill level.

There are around 90 story mode challenges to complete, as well as the highly intuitive level editor to basically give endless replayability to players.

Conclusion:

HUMANITY is an enigmatic puzzle game that captivates players with its unique concept, mesmerizing visuals, therapeutic soundtrack, and challenging gameplay. However, some players may consider the price of $30 to be a bit on the higher side. Still, the price and the sometimes frustrating third-person perspective are easily overshadowed by its overall strengths.