{"id":242714,"date":"2025-10-04T02:07:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T02:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/article.php?article_id=2152100"},"modified":"2025-10-04T02:07:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T02:07:34","slug":"humankind-has-that-special-something","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/","title":{"rendered":"Humankind has that special something"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/humankind-has-that-special-something.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s something kind of special about playing a new 4X game, especially a historical one. These games are about playing through history &#8211; all of history &#8211; which means that as much as they&#8217;re about expanding, exploiting and the rest, they&#8217;re really about discovery. This is the game: discovering your way through time, via The Wheel, or Irrigation, or Thermonuclear Weapons or whatever, until you reach the end of history and that game ends. And you do this over and over again, until you can fly your little towns through the neolithic age, a couple wars and a dalliance or two with Authoritarianism right the way to the future without really thinking about it.<\/p>\n<p>The thinking about it, obviously, is the joy of any good 4X though, and that too is the special pleasure of a new one. I don&#8217;t know the way from Masonry to Telecommunications anymore, I have to discover it &#8211; re-discover it, really. Like digging up an old Roman path.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, this is what I&#8217;ve been thinking about while playing Humankind for a lovely dozen or so hours, and for a time after it. Humankind is a game full of systems and empty space. The things to think about, deeply and lengthily, and the time to do the thinking. It&#8217;s wonderfully moreish, and importantly now quite fully-formed. It&#8217;s been roughly a year <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/articles\/2020-06-18-humankind-might-solve-the-historical-4xs-biggest-problem-culture\">since I last previewed Humankind<\/a>, and it&#8217;s been delayed by a good year or so in that time too, but the game now feels close to the real thing.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/articles\/2021-06-01-humankind-has-that-special-something\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/articles\/2021-06-01-humankind-has-that-special-something\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There&#8217;s something kind of special about playing a new 4X game, especially a historical one. These games are about playing through history &#8211; all of history &#8211; which means that as much as they&#8217;re about expanding, exploiting and the rest, they&#8217;re really about discovery. This is the game: discovering your way through time, via The Wheel, or Irrigation, or Thermonuclear Weapons or whatever, until you reach the end of history and that game ends. And you do this over and over again, until you can fly your little towns through the neolithic age, a couple wars and a dalliance or two with Authoritarianism right the way to the future without really thinking about it. The thinking about it, obviously, is the joy of any good&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"excerpt-more\"><a class=\"blog-excerpt button\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":242715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[230],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-242714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eurogamer"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Humankind has that special something | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There&#039;s something kind of special about playing a new 4X game, especially a historical one. These games are about playing through history - all of history\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Humankind has that special something | Arcader News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There&#039;s something kind of special about playing a new 4X game, especially a historical one. These games are about playing through history - all of history\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-04T02:07:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/humankind-has-that-special-something.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"168\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/humankind-has-that-special-something\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/humankind-has-that-special-something\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\"},\"headline\":\"Humankind has that special something\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-04T02:07:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/humankind-has-that-special-something\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":271,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/humankind-has-that-special-something\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/humankind-has-that-special-something.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Eurogamer\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/humankind-has-that-special-something\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/humankind-has-that-special-something\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/humankind-has-that-special-something\\\/\",\"name\":\"Humankind has that special something | Arcader News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/humankind-has-that-special-something\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/humankind-has-that-special-something\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/humankind-has-that-special-something.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-04T02:07:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\"},\"description\":\"There's something kind of special about playing a new 4X game, especially a historical one. These games are about playing through history - all of history\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/humankind-has-that-special-something\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/humankind-has-that-special-something\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/humankind-has-that-special-something\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/humankind-has-that-special-something.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/humankind-has-that-special-something.jpg\",\"width\":300,\"height\":168,\"caption\":\"Humankind has that special something\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/humankind-has-that-special-something\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Humankind has that special something\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"description\":\"Free Arcade News from the Best Online Sources\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\",\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Arcade News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cricketgames.tv\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/author\\\/arcade-news\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Humankind has that special something | Arcader News","description":"There's something kind of special about playing a new 4X game, especially a historical one. These games are about playing through history - all of history","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Humankind has that special something | Arcader News","og_description":"There's something kind of special about playing a new 4X game, especially a historical one. These games are about playing through history - all of history","og_url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/","og_site_name":"Arcade News","article_published_time":"2025-10-04T02:07:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":300,"height":168,"url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/humankind-has-that-special-something.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Arcade News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Arcade News","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/"},"author":{"name":"Arcade News","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839"},"headline":"Humankind has that special something","datePublished":"2025-10-04T02:07:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/"},"wordCount":271,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/humankind-has-that-special-something.jpg","articleSection":["Eurogamer"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/","name":"Humankind has that special something | Arcader News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/humankind-has-that-special-something.jpg","datePublished":"2025-10-04T02:07:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839"},"description":"There's something kind of special about playing a new 4X game, especially a historical one. These games are about playing through history - all of history","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/humankind-has-that-special-something.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/humankind-has-that-special-something.jpg","width":300,"height":168,"caption":"Humankind has that special something"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/humankind-has-that-special-something\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Humankind has that special something"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/","name":"Arcade News","description":"Free Arcade News from the Best Online Sources","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839","name":"Arcade News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Arcade News"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/cricketgames.tv"],"url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/author\/arcade-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242714"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1345745,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242714\/revisions\/1345745"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}