Review: Humanity is a vibrant, creative and downright weird puzzle game

videogameschronicle.com:

There was a time in the early noughties when PlayStation offered refuge for gaming’s outcasts. From the beat-driven charms of Papa the Rappa to the oozing oddities of LSD: Dream Emulator, Sony’s grey delight was equally comfortable hosting the bizarre alongside its blockbusters.

Now, thanks to skyrocketing development costs, the experimental era of PlayStation is largely a thing of the past. Doubling down on established IP to deliver polished, homogeneous experiences, modern PS exclusives rarely raise an eyebrow. Thank Christ for Humanity, then. From the minds that brought us Rez and Tetris Effect, Humanity delivers a little bit of that lost PS1-era magic, offering players a refreshingly vibrant, creative and downright weird slice of puzzle-led psychedelia.

Like all the most profound pieces of artistic expression, Humanity opens with you trapped inside the body of a Shiba Inu. Awakening in a pixelated purgatory, as this omnipotent pup, you must lead a legion of humans across a strange, shimmering land. Tasked with shepherding this faceless flock towards each stage’s exit, Humanity’s inventive and demanding puzzles see you search for increasingly devious solutions to steer your semi-sentiment stickmen to safety.

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Nothing in this land’s surreal surroundings ever feels truly right, with each limbo-like locale smeared in a disorientating, dreamlike haze. Objects and environments you traverse are half-finished and merely functional, with each new carefully-constructed conundrum recalling the surreal quality of Metal Gear Solid’s Tron-like VR training missions.

In this grid-based odyssey, your orders are issued via carefully placed action