Humanity Preview: Creative Puzzle-Solving With an Adorable Dog

ign.com:

I was curious what Humanity would feel like to play, with such an "out there" premise – "the player wakes up one day as a Shiba Inu puppy made of light, who must guide crowds of people into a strange pillar of light," but going hands-on I'm happy to report it presents a delightfully puzzling diversion, bringing both classic puzzle elements and new ideas to bear in fresh and fun ways. I was drawn in instantly and had a blast reaching 100% in each new level I played during my preview.

Much like some of my favorite puzzle games, like Echochrome, Hitman GO, Catherine, & Monument Valley, to name a few,Humanity takes a single idea and cleverly iterates on it. That idea? Direct a steady stream of humans from their starting point all the way to the goal.

Humanity asked me to run and jump across stages cleverly constructed of blocks, swim through floating cubes of water, and use commands like 'Turn,' 'Jump,' 'Float,' 'Hit,' and others to guide the humans to the pillars of light at the end of each level. Various hazards like pits, moving obstacles (which will push the humans in various directions), and more were added at a fantastic pace as I proceeded, and each new gameplay wrinkle had me carefully examining each map, rotating and inspecting it to find a way forward.

Stand on blocks and use commands to redirect and steer crowds of people towards the goal.

Although I found it fairly easy to get to the goal in most stages over my three hours with Humanity, engaging with bonus objectives was where it truly got its hooks in me. There is no punishment for letting the infinite stream of humans fall off ledges to their doom. In fact, there’s even a story justification for why it's OK; that the souls of these humans return to the white gates