Frustrating and exciting. Journalists' Opinions on Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey (Topic)

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, an evolutionary game has been released. A promising concept about human evolution sounds cool and ambitious, but we had concerns that something would go wrong. Let's go. Namely, that the game throws from one extreme to another, but at the same time, it did not become something exciting. We have collected for you the impressions of Western journalists about Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, which best describe the situation in the game.

Awesome Concept, Poor Execution - Game Informer

The author of Game Informer confesses his love for the concept of this game, but in his opinion, it is made unusually boring and too complicated. This is one hundred percent the game that collapses under the weight of its own ambitions.

“To say that Ancestors has a 'slow start' is like saying that human evolution took 'a little time'. Without an understanding of what is safe to eat and drink, how to make basic tools, or an awareness of the dangers of the world, the early hours of playing these ape-like ancestors are full of setbacks. Poisonous mushrooms, broken bones and commonplace exhaustion create a series of conditional effects that blur the screen, slowing down the already slug speed of development. Constant attacks of animals strain, the fight with which after the hundredth death still remains unsuccessful.

And if you do not acquire skills that will be passed on to descendants and die, you will have to start over, going through this hell again. Of course, this is how you at least get to know the game, sometimes you have fun jumping on vines or trees, you get aesthetic pleasure finding beautiful landscapes, but this joy is fleeting, because after apathy from not knowing what to do, after 10 hours apathy comes from the realization that you you know what to do. For the endless definition of plant types, sex and procreation - only sounds cool. In fact, sharpening a stick 20 times in a row is a boring routine.

This makes the game disappointing, and it makes it even sadder because it has a lot of fresh ideas that we haven't seen in similar survival games before. ”

"Not sure if I'm qualified enough to evolve" - Polygon

In turn, Polygon sees these innovations, admires a similar alignment of things and the complexity of the game:

“There is no right way to play, which means there is no wrong way to play, which means I have to find motivation to continue and grow within my own ambitions, not within the gaming systems themselves ... The strongest motivation, which I found to try new things was boredom - and I speak in a positive context.

I start using my intellect to pick new places to explore and new subjects to interact with, and suddenly ... things happen.

And I can do a little more. And then even more. I can die, although death in Ancestors is not a tragic event; this is inevitable, and it will come sooner, the more I try to expand my understanding of the world around me. Then, in the next generation, my clan will understand a little more and can spread further. I do not want to survive for the sake of survival;

I want to learn, grow and adapt. I'm thrilled when I get a new ability, even if that ability is ridiculously simple compared to skills in most games. Oddly enough, the ability to transfer objects from one hand to another is a very big problem.

But even the complete death of my clan does not mean that I lost, but only that my evolutionary strategy was unsuccessful. I can always start over, knowing a little better what I need to do. ”

"Curiosity Can Kill You" - Gamespot

At Gamespot, the game was also treated more leniently, and praised for its unconventional approach to the development of your character and variety in locations. However, all this is nullified by the cruelty to the player.

“Every second in life is a minute in the game. Your in-game progress creates opportunities for further evolution of the clan, in order to then leap in time for months, decades or millennia. For example, if you or one of your fellow tribesmen get pregnant, having a baby will jump ahead 15 months. There are also more significant leaps in time, such as growing up as a child will allow you to accumulate energy to further improve your neurological network and unlock new abilities that will then allow you to move an entire generation forward by as much as 15 years.

Evolution can follow the transition to a generation, it moves you to a new, calculated place on the timeline, which depends on what improvements you have acquired. Adapting your metabolism to new plants, for example, doesn't give you much of the incentive to use stones as tools.

Initially, you can start a new line on a cliff in the jungle. However, you can then discover and unlock other starting points in the jungle, and even reach locations such as swamps or arid savannahs. Unlocking these new starting points provides the desired variety as each environment contains its own unique ecosystem of creatures and plants, as well as its own set of weather-based challenges. ”

Of the minuses, it can be noted that learning really requires endurance from you. As a journalist from Gamespot says, because of his arrogance, he lost entire clans, although there was a case that the game made the starting point a clearing near the lair of a tiger that killed everyone.

“The little satisfaction that the game brings is continually shattered by violent predators, although the threat is lessened if you've advanced far enough in the vast neurological network skill and perk tree. But currently investing in your clan's journey is too much effort and too little reward. ”

I'm Bored - PC Game

We can conclude that the game is really not for everyone. She knows how to surprise and give you pleasure from the gameplay, but it can only be obtained by assiduous players who have plenty of free time.

This leads to the game's scores varying around 5-6/10. This view is supported by PC Gamer's conclusion:

“Replaying Ancestors from the beginning is a big challenge, having to reopen every leaf and plant that I've grown tired of picking, sniffing and tasting, not to mention repeating all this endless flea hunting. I haven't finished playing yet, but I'm definitely tired of it. "

The Topic of Article: Frustrating and exciting. Journalists' Opinions on Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey.
Author: Jake Pinkman