“In this OpenDev scenario, you will have up to 150 turns to guide your civilization from the Neolithic Era to the end of the Early Modern Era,” Amplitude say. “This one features many improvements, a brand new map and a heavier focus on naval gameplay.” Since their last demo, Amplitude say they’re improved the interfaces for diplomacy and district placement. They’ve rebalanced the game’s pacing, economy, and cultures. They’ve also added new unit classes, including anti-cavalry. You can give it a go yourself on Steam and the Epic Games Store right now if you happen to have pre-ordered it. If not, you can watch three hours of Humankind livestreams on Twitch to unlock free access to the demo. Amplitude explain the particulars of that process over in their announcement post for the demo. Nate tried out an earlier version of the game last summer and was feeling cautiously optimistic about how it will stack up against the Civilization series. “I can say for sure we’ve definitely got a contender here,” he said in his Humankind preview. “I’m hesitant to say how strong a contender until I’ve seen more of the game, since I think Humankind’s brand of satisfaction is going to lean heavily on the way the outcomes of your decisions stack across thousands of simulated years. But the fact that I could see, even in the early game, how the calls I made might have ramifications for centuries to come, was a promising sign.” This OpenDev demo is currently live and will run until Monday, May 3rd. That should give you plenty of time to watch those three hours of Twitch and then get your hands dirty in four eras of history. Humankind will launch on August 17th on Steam, Stadia, and the Epic Games Store.
