Humankind’s intricate combination of cultures leads to strategic depth

By Jason Rodriguez, ContributorHumankind is a 4X strategy game from Amplitude Studios and Sega. This genre usually focuses on its core tenets of explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate, usually with one chosen civilization or faction. Humankind, however, takes it one step further by allowing you to come up with unique combinations of cultures throughout the ages, which sometimes lead to amazing outcomes.

The premise is rather simple on paper: From the Ancient Era onwards, you can choose from several cultures, each with its own unique traits, units, and bonuses. As you advance to the next era, you can stick to the same culture (for even bigger bonuses) or pick a different one.

One of my favorite options in Humankind are the Harappans. This is due to their innate food bonuses from rivers, alongside their Harappan Runner scout. These allowed me to grow the populations of my cities steadily while also making use of the Runners to eliminate weaker counterparts.

From there, I made use of the Huns in the Classical Era which can spawn even more Hunnic Horde units as the outpost population steadily grows. Alternatively, there’s the “Harappan to Khmer” route. The Khmer are industrial powerhouses thanks to their emblematic quarter, the Baray, which also grants extra food and even extra industry for every adjacent river. However, given that we can only pick the Khmer during the Medieval Era, there’s usually a “flex” option during the Classical Era, such as the Mayans or the Garamantes.

You can also try a slew of alternatives as you lay the foundations of your empire in Humankind. For instance, the Egyptian culture in the Ancient Era (note that the Egyptians also have a Contemporary Era variant) are nigh unbeatable in industry/production thanks to their Gland Planners trait and Pyramid emblematic quarter. Conversely, the Nubians have their Golden Dreams and Meroe Pyramid unique perks that grant additional money.

Whether your production is on the rise or your coffers are filled with riches early in the game, you can still follow a different path later on. Examples include the aforementioned Mayans (industry), Greeks (science), Achaemenid Persians (influence and stability), or Aksumites (even more money).

Beyond that point, you’ve got options such as the English (food), Franks (influence), Swahili (stability), Joseon (science), and Venetians (money and influence from trade routes). Your selections also determine how certain unique units can be upgraded. For example, the aforementioned Hunnic Hordes spawned from your outposts can change into Mongol Hordes that come from Ordu. Later, these cavalry units can be turned into Winged Hussars if you choose the Poles.

All in all, Humankind gives you a plethora of options to make each playthrough feel refreshing. You could opt for a more streamlined path that focuses on a particular facet or growth, or you could come up with unorthodox combinations to come up with the best strategy.

Humankind is available now on the Epic Games Store. There’s also the Humankind Heritage Collection, which includes the Cultures of Latin America, Cultures of Africa, and Notre Dame Pack DLCs, as well as the Digital Deluxe Upgrade. Lastly, there’s the Together We Rule expansion, which introduces the Congress of Humankind, along with more cultures and a stronger focus on diplomacy.