humanity | Tried - A light in the dark

Humanity, for centuries, has been in constant search of a light to follow. It doesn't matter where it comes from, what energy it transmits and how it extends into the Cosmos, consequently becoming the foothold necessary to resist the bad weather and the brutality of the world. Society wants us to be perfect, similar, it doesn't admit differences or even ideas that go against the unbridled consumerism typical of a world that runs, doesn't stop, doesn't reflect and doesn't want to take a long breath and start over.

Walk on different but not as unusual paths as someone would think, and think as Tetris taught someone has unfortunately forgotten, embracing far too many simple solutions. I know for sure, however, that light is found in the darkest corners, even when everything appears dark and impossible to sustain in times of real difficulty. Putting those pieces back in place is as complex as embarking on a journey on a mountain hoping not to fall and slip repeatedly due to a little-traveled path, but it is the most elegant solution that insinuates itself overbearingly into the psyche of anyone looking for a new foothold .

This is how Humanity , developed by tha ltd. , managed to win me over during the presentation of the very recent State of Play, which certainly didn't surprise many but still showed some interesting productions that seem to have all the potential to leave you speechless. Humanity was shown for the first time in the distant 2019 at a presentation dedicated to the PlayStation ecosystem which had Death Stranding as its flagship video game, the acclaimed work of Japanese game designer Hideo Kojima.

Unlike that event now, and disappeared for almost the entire Covid period, Humanity has returned to being talked about with a long dedicated trailer and a launch window scheduled for May, although its definitive date has not yet been shown. It was enough for me to start the download to understand what was in front of me, and in the meantime I was reading in passing some information about it, ready to live an experience out of the ordinary and, at the same time, a journey that would really lead me beyond the light and the his wonderful annoyances. Routines can change, as can society. And it can change how you love someone, improve your approach to life, and generally even live life without feeling like a victim. It can happen, just follow the light, which in this case is a dog.

A dog, humanity and life's obstacles: what could go wrong?

Nothing, actually , even if very little is known about the plot and not everything is clear yet. In that sense, I prefer to focus on what it actually offers in terms of sensations. Playing the role of a dog and guiding humanity is certainly a curious element to explore, because this character consequently represents the only hope for man and his evolution. While I only tried eleven of the sections available in the demo, I encountered various powerful yet intelligent underlying messages in the puzzle-solving process about evolution, surrender, and our species' fear of the unknown. What does it mean to create a context and fill it with interesting reflections capable of involving and moving? For sure, it means trying to change the world and approach it in a different way.

A dog, according to literature, is a guide that accompanies the unconscious towards awareness. Its importance is therefore fundamental for anyone who loves to dream and go beyond their possibilities, thus going beyond the aspirations that everyone - or almost everyone - perceives throughout their existence. The purpose of the team, in fact, is to make the player grasp these elements through a classic yet challenging and intelligent way, putting him on the same level as an animal faithful to man so that he can expand a vision that is not only partial but fundamental, supported by pillars that give life and concreteness to the human brain, which is thus forced to change its approach, to improve and to understand who it is.



HUMANITY DEMO VERSION_20230228145007 Humanity, unlike of many puzzle video games, therefore offers a context that speaks of the obstacles to overcome and face, inevitably relying on primary and secondary emotions, and thus giving substance to man, who finds himself together with other members of his species to retrace a marked line from someone. Following her, he never knows what could happen but he is still aware, despite the difficulties, that it will be a journey to be experienced to understand himself and his weaknesses. When I interfaced with the demo, I admit it, I had no idea what I would have faced and what it would have actually proposed: the sensations I initially felt were mixed and I was afraid it was yet another video game that he intended to put on paper important and sensitive issues.

Instead, it was a continuous surprise: I overcame obstacles that I thought were insurmountable, reaching peaks and leveraging dreams and desires that sometimes, in the real world, appear remote and difficult for anyone who does not understand what is around anyone who suffers and is forced to hide it. There are paths that sometimes not everyone knows where they could lead, nor are there real constants that man can turn to. There is only so much silence, which can be broken by memory and by those who are willing to offer the world a chance to improve itself. Without the Universe there are no Galaxies, and without the planets there would be no place to host life. Man, since his creation, is only a speck in the Cosmos. Humanity makes it understood right away, proposing enormous spaces in which to guide humanity through life's difficulties.

Humanity is a game of ingenuity and intelligence

Once the first level has been quickly introduces the main mechanics, you are immediately greeted by a strange magic that permeates the air and fills it with novelty. For someone it could be just another challenge to overcome, but for those who know this type of video game very well, based on puzzle solving, it translates into another way: it is the desire to find a solution. Humanity, in this sense, is a video game with an unobstructed view in which different types of movements are selected, making infinite groups of people jump and making them feathers, taking inspiration from the laws of physics.



HUMANITY DEMO VERSION_20230228143611 The work, in fact, captures some typical characteristics of the scientific subject, resulting not only in a puzzle video game, but is based on its main rules and formulas, very useful for reaching an established and apparently impossible goal. Unlike many other works, Humanity focuses all its energies on the approach to the challenge, giving the player the possibility to change paths, thus preventing groups of human beings from falling into darkness. Despite being an extremely classic play structure, it still managed to entertain me in the first few sequences that I experienced in close contact with difficulties that I thought were complex even for me.

Instead, it was pleasant to solve the puzzles, find different ways and after interfacing with other missions, to then continue on the path and doing everything to find new experiments. Even if it is only a small but still well-composed proposal of scenes and moments to understand, it manages in any case to give greater clarity on what the experience could offer in its entirety. I enjoyed avoiding obstacles, making human beings jump from one bank to another and I found it pleasant to see them reach the band of light that allows them to continue on their difficult path of life, lost but at the same time focused on finding themselves among the difficulties, accepting to be weak, to make mistakes and to understand how to be able to renew oneself.

Solving a sequence allows, in addition to overcoming it and thus continuing the experience, also to enjoy an excellent scenography, with the people who flock together, try to reach a new goal and try everything to show their happiness in a world worth absorbing. I have often been enchanted to enjoy the landscape and assimilate it, trying to understand how I could have changed the fate of human beings and the solutions I could have taken. I tried to retrace some of the levels just to understand how to approach different methods, and it was a surprise to see that it is possible to change the type of resolution based on your position. Although the solution is still the same, I appreciate that the methods can change, thus giving the player the possibility to experiment with new methods.



HUMANITY DEMO VERSION_20230228140935 The demo, which lasted about a hour and a half, he knew how to put me in trouble. When I speak of reasoning and resolution, I am essentially referring to the approach chosen and the methods that can be chosen during operations. It seems easy but it is not at all, because Humanity pushes to go far beyond the classic concept of puzzle video game and inevitably expands its vision, focusing it on sensations, perceptions, emotions and what can be complex during a journey. Often, and I admit it, I had to reload a sequence because I didn't immediately understand how to overcome an obstacle. Once discovered, it was not so complex to advance and get to know new ways.

Humanity pushes us to discover ourselves and overcome our limits, and it does so with naturalness and composure, managing to conceptually define each of its particularities. This is already encouraging in itself, because the levels I encountered were many and all different. I imagine there will be several and many of them will be complex to deal with. This could be great news for anyone who loves this type of video game. Humanity, however, is best not to underestimate it completely: it knows how to blow up the brain.

What to expect from the future?

Humanity is undeniably one of the most interesting independent video games of 2023. The good Furthermore, the news is that it will not only be offered for PlayStation VR and PlayStation VR 2, but will also be available for those who do not own the new Sony viewer via a PC version. Even if it was delayed, rarely appearing in the last four years, Humanity seems to be preparing itself admirably to enter today's market, placing itself precisely where many independent productions know how to tell their story better than many noble proposals. In this regard, it is better not to underestimate such a proposal, because it could represent much more than the classic puzzle game you are used to.

It is now less and less until May, and the only way you have to try the demo is to access Steam and PlayStation Store and download it, thus enjoying the first eleven sections. Do not approach them without first having adequately understood the tutorial in all its forms: the risk of finding yourself faced with an insurmountable enigma is probably the worst of the existing sensations. Sometimes it will be difficult to be able to solve everything in time, but perhaps the best lesson is this: life is to be taken calmly and then see how it goes. Not everything is already written and established .