Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 299 sampled Steam reviews (243 positive / 56 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Combat12% mention it
- Visuals & art7% mention it
- Difficulty & balance7% mention it
- Story & writing5% mention it
- Controls & UI4% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Combat18% mention it
- Bugs & crashes18% mention it
- Controls & UI13% mention it
- Visuals & art11% mention it
- Difficulty & balance11% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
50%
34 reviews
5-15h
83%
48 reviews
15-40h
69%
54 reviews
40-100h
87%
63 reviews
100h+
94%
100 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 79 | 46 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 69% | 66 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 69 | 45 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 83% | 77 | 115 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Aug 26, 2026) · 94 reviews sampled · 115 total reviews in window · weighted 57 up / 11.4 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (75)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“Authenticity is definitely at the forefront of what makes Humankind such a compelling experience. Just the thought of mixing cultures and adopting the buildings and ideologies of eras gone by is an anthropologist’s dream. It stumbles in connecting you with each culture, however, as it all blends together into a blur that resembles its world map. It’s a Civilization game for those who have played enough Civilization games and offers you something new to play around with.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“The clever interpretation of the immortal concept and the strong strategic elements made Humankind the epochal game.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“If you ignore some minor bugs and issues, you’ve finally got yourself a decent competitor in the 4X genre. Humankind has gorgeous music, colorful graphics, and fun and challenging gameplay that will keep you wanting to play "just one more turn".”
read full review ↗ - 80
“While reviewing Humankind, I could only think about playing the game once again. Amplitude Studios' work proved to be an extremely engrossing strategy game that offers tons of fun despite some minor setbacks. Civilization finally has a worthy opponent.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Humankind is an incredibly addictive historical strategy title that will only get better with time.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Humankind is ambitious in size, scale, and scope, allowing you to try out multiple combinations of cultures as you progress through various eras. However, it's also hampered by limitations in certain mechanics and systems that don't mesh well with the overall gameplay.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Humankind may not be perfect and several improvements could be made, but it brings a breath of fresh air to the genre while arguably one of the most accessible strategy games out there.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Humankind may seem like an imitation of Civilization at first glance, but Amplitude Studio, which has a good track record of turn-by-turn strategy games, has tried a lot to create a work that suits its own tastes in this genre.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Although not all of its features are as fleshed out as they could be, Humankind does hit several sweet spots, both in terms of combat and management, having enough going on to push you to click that next turn button. While it probably won’t be a “Civ killer”, not that it necessarily aims to be one –, it’s clearly a game that historical 4X strategy fans looking for a different spin on the subgenre’s formula should definitely consider trying out at some point.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Right now, Himankind is a good incentive for Firaxis to make the next Civilization even better than the previous ones.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“The fame score system is a bit disappointing, but Humankind has enough immersion to revive his passion for 4X games.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Creating your own civilization in Humankind will draw you in for hundreds, maybe even thousands of hours. The syndrome of one more turn enters here as rarely, encouraging endless fun!”
read full review ↗
Gamepressure
3DNews
PLAY Zine
GRYOnline.pl
Gaming on PC
PC Invasion
Geeks & Com
Zoomg
GameWatcher
Enternity.gr
INVEN
PPE.pl…and 63 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Cassandra UpdateAug 26, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- [1.30.4814] "War in the Pacific" AI HotfixMay 12, 2026
- War in the Pacific Scenario and AI PatchApr 29, 2026
- "Freyja" Religion Balancing Hotfix - Version 1.29.4742Nov 27, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Freyja Hotfix - Version 1.29.4732Oct 27, 2025
- Freyja Hotfix #1Oct 14, 2025
- Freyja Update - Religion RebalanceOct 8, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- [1.0.28.4665] "Dante Update" Version NotesMay 27, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Dante Update Out NowMay 27, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Dante Update Beta Available NowMay 16, 2025
- Achilles Update - Hotfix (v1.0.28.4623)Feb 20, 2025
- Achilles UpdateFeb 13, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Beta - Achilles UpdateJan 23, 2025
- Enheduanna UpdateNov 28, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- [1.0.26.4449] "George Sand Update Patch 1" Version NotesJan 25, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- George Sand Update Out NowJan 15, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- [1.0.26.4437] "George Sand Update" - Version NotesJan 15, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- George Sand BetaDec 13, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- [1.0.25.4263] "Anne Bonny Update Patch 2" Version NotesOct 5, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- [1.0.25.4236] "Anne Bonny Update Patch 1" Version NotesSep 14, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Release of Cultures of Oceania and Bonny UpdateSep 11, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- [1.24.4218] "Anne Bonny Update" Version NotesSep 11, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Cultures of Oceania DLC and Bonny Update BetaAug 29, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- [1.0.22.3840] "Vauban Update Patch 1" Version NotesMay 16, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Para Bellum Wonder Pack and Vauban UpdateApr 26, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Next Update Preview: Vauban BetaApr 12, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- [1.0.21.3740] "Shackleton update" Hotfix 1Feb 2, 2023
- [1.0.21.3727] "Shackleton update" Version NotesJan 19, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- [1.0.20.3629] "Metternich Update Hotfix 3" Version NotesDec 15, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- [1.0.17.3494] "Metternich Update" Version NotesNov 9, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Battuta Update Out NowJul 28, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- [1.0.13.2719] "Ibn Battuta Update" Version NotesJul 28, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Quality of Life in the Ibn Battuta UpdateJul 6, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Empire Names in the Ibn Battuta UpdateJun 29, 2022
- [1.0.12.2616] Bolivar Hotfix 2 Version NotesJun 28, 2022
- [1.0.12.2608] Bolivar Hotfix 1 Version NotesJun 23, 2022
…and 13 earlier patch announcements.