Humanity (2023) was directed by Yugo Nakamura and a team of developers from the Japanese design company, tha LTD. As a design expert with various projects across different media, this is Nakamura’s first video game entry expanding his design background supported by producer, Tetsuya Mizuguchi. Widley well-received by game critics and ordinary gamers alike, having played Humanity (2023) and achieved the platinum trophy on PS5 I would say that it is a very average game that has great elements but plenty of room for improvement if Nakamura turns his eye to video games again in the future.
Gameplay – 4/10
Humanity (2023) is a puzzle game that has many creative ways to explore this genre, not least by making the player play as a ghostly Shiba Inu to bark orders at humans. The gameplay begins to develop with different orders being issued to the gaggle of humans you are supposed to direct to a pre-determined end goal across increasingly more complex terrain, scenarios and environments. This eventually incorporates combat, following and stealth gameplay. Some scenarios can be interacted with in real-time whilst others must be planned and then made to run without your input to see if they work. Along the way the player must aim to collect a certain number of ‘Goldies’ (big gold humans) in order to unlock the final level in each sequence (group of the levels) for the story. For the first half of the game, I found the gameplay tired very quickly and became dull, tedious and monotonous. Usually a strong narrative design would be a great motivation to play on and overcome these challenges but this was not especially present in this game. When combat elements were introduced about half-way through , the game became more entertaining in its puzzles again. This was because it felt as though solving the puzzles was an active victory over a threatening enemy as opposed to clearing a level purely for the level’s sake and claiming a few goldies just because the humans want them. The nature of the puzzles also limits the game’s replay value because they have already been solved! Of course, ardent fans can always pursue challenges in the game’s level creator, but never appealed to me because it was more of the same gameplay I had already grown bored with.
Game Narrative – 3/10
If you were to ask me what the story of Humanity (2023) is, I would not be able to tell you. I found the attempt at narration by the game’s various ‘core’ characters to be convoluted and forgettable. I lost interest after the first few dialogue interactions. Having said that, I did pick up that the narrative did have some sort of grand arc about the journey and development of the eponymous ‘humanity’ that we guide throughout the game, from humble beginnings and learning through to war and wisdom. The game’s use of humans en masse does lend itself well to this ambitious narrative and you do feel as though you are developing in your understanding of the game alongside the humans as the gameplay evolves. However, this is greatly undermined by the lack of clarity and clear narrative direction by the little dialogue that is in the game. It is too ambiguous and disengaging to give it any memorable impact.
Art Direction – 6/10
The design and art direction of Humanity (2023) is iconic. It is testament to Nakamura and the development team’s strength in design that the game has such a unique feel. The art direction is simplistic in colour palette and makes great use of basic colours and lighting to portray increasingly more complex levels, particularly as combat elements become more prevalent in gameplay. I did however become increasingly aware of the imposing nature of negative space that permeated many of the levels which created a sense of isolation and loneliness. This may have even been Nakamura’s intention. However, I found this to limit the game’s atmosphere, especially as the story of the game alludes to the development of humanity (I think). It would have been bolder and more impactful for the art direction to have followed suit in ambition. I did enjoy unlocking different aesthetics for the human models, though I often found their quirkiness a distraction from the actual puzzle element of the game and felt it brought dissonance between the art direction and apparent serious narrative of the game.
Audio Design – 3/10
The audio design, much like the rest of the game, is very simplistic. It mainly consists of basic dog barking, some flares and cheers for accomplishing certain goals and basic combat audio. It is simple and complements Nakamura’s apparent desire for minimalism throughout much of the game. Unfortunately, the repeated noises, especially the dog howl used to command humans to ‘follow’, becomes old very quickly and also quite annoying. For me, the audio design is definitely an area Nakamura can work on to make future games more memorable, interactive and enjoyable.
Score and Music – 5/10
More simplicity from Nakamura. The score and music are very similar to the game’s audio design. The game’s music chooses to focus on simple, consistent sounds brought together to form the soundtrack for a group of levels, though you are able to change the music for a level to one your prefer once you have progressed enough in the game. On one hand, the music has a certain charm that suits the basic puzzles and minimal aesthetics. On the other hand, many of the songs are very similar and can easily blend into each other without many players noticing. This stands in contrast with some other songs that definitely stand out by being particularly energetic and entertaining, but the former definitely outnumber the latter. The music is unfortunately repetitive and I did find myself turning the music to ‘void’ in my playthrough as the most quiet song on the game’s soundtrack. Thankfully, the near-silence did not take much out of the experience of the game and it’s a nice option to have for gamers that do not very much care for the music in their games.
Game Design – 6/10
Game design for puzzle games is always an exciting opportunity to show off creativity in mechanics and level design. In this respect, Humanity (2023) achieves this goal with varied commands, gameplay mechanics, interactive environments and multi-level challenges which neatly explore obstacles in height and depth. This game design is entertaining to a point, but the task of getting humans from ‘A’ to ‘B’ by various means soon becomes repetitive. For those that love to repeat this mechanic, this game will score more highly in your consideration of game design. I, however, feel this approach limited the ability to accomplish more with the humans which could have further explored the unique concept of the game itself.
Technical Execution – 8/10
Playing through the entirety of the game, Humanity (2023) has excellent technical performance on PS5. A brilliant benefit of the game’s simplicity is that technical execution can be focused on to get as right as possible. The only issues I encountered were occasional difficulty with humans following the player, getting caught on corners and dying, and a lack of depth judgement when jumping, which sometimes led to my inconvenient falling off of the map. Other than these minor nuisances, I was quite impressed with the technical aspect of the game and its straightforward nature.
Character Design – 6/10
A Shiba Inu was a bold choice of playable character for this game and it definitely has unique and charming character design. The humans, though so prevalent in the game, are without personality or autonomy but this is deliberate as part of gameplay and game design. The coloured cores that act as bosses at various points in the game each have slightly different personalities, but these differences are so very limited that I could not explain exactly what they are beyond slight changes in script and colour changes. The cores are there to guide the player through the story and they are effective in this purpose, but hardly memorable. The game could definitely benefit by building upon its boldness in concept and character design by allowing their characters to have more autonomy and individuality to make the game more engaging.
Overall Fun – 4/10 Game Direction – 5/10
The overall fun and evaluation of game direction is a combination of the consideration of all the above points. Did I enjoy the game whilst I played it? Yes, it was ok. Is it especially memorable? Some design aspects are unique, but many parts of the game are not. Am I likely to play it again? No, not really. Humanity (2023) is an interesting puzzle game which explores gameplay and game design in a very unique way and Nakamura should be proud at having taken a risk in such an independent direction. The are, however, limits to the game’s features and these, combined together, may limit the overall fun for some playing the game, including myself. Plenty to experience and plenty to improve on, Humanity (2023) is a solidly average game that may bring fun and joy to hardcore puzzle game lovers looking for a different style and approach to the genre, but many will enjoy a puzzle or two before putting the game down and moving onto something else.
Overall Rating – 50/100
