HumanitZ might be one of those dime-a-dozen survival games set at the heart of a zombie apocalypse, but even though it’s part of a saturated market, I think it stands out. It’s what happens if you take Project Zomboid and fuse it with State of Decay, in my eyes. I’ve spent a fair few hours in the 1.0 version of the game, preparing this review, and I’ve been very impressed with what’s on offer.
It’s not a new game by any means, as it has been in early access since 2023, but it’s only today, February 6, that HumanitZ is entering a 1.0 state, emerging as a fully released game from Yodubzz Studio.
With that in mind, I’d recommend reading on to learn what I think about the game in this full HumanitZ 1.0 review.
HumanitZ 1.0 is the Definition of Freedom
The end of the world might seem like something terrifying and oppressive, but HumanitZ manages to take that concept and blow it out of the water. From the moment you enter the world, picking your spawn point based on how much of a challenge you want, you’re given total freedom.
Go where you want, do what you want, build whatever you desire, and kill zombies in whatever way you can muster. It’s a sandbox title through and through, but it does still have a neat story to explore. As an isometric (read: ‘top-down’) game, HumanitZ might put people off, perspectively speaking, but don’t let that angle ruin what might be a phenomenal gaming experience.
It’s similar to games like Project Zomboid (which I mentioned earlier) and How to Survive, and they’re perfectly fantastic games in their own right.
So, what’s the gist of HumanitZ 1.0?
Well, take a world, plunge it into the midst of a zombie outbreak, and give the player open-ended freedom to take survivors and push them through the apocalypse. It’s about survival, but it’s also looking beyond that and encouraging the player to thrive.
Through diverse environments, weather systems, and options, how you live out your apocalypse is entirely up to you. Do you want to foray into dense cities and get the best loot, or rely on a more rural adventure and live in the sticks, where you’ll get fewer zombies, but also way fewer opportunities to excel?
Do you want to zip around in cars and mow down zombies, or rely on hand-to-hand, stealthy combat mechanics to pick off the shamblers without risking your resources?
It starts pretty basic, but before long, you’re staring down the walls of a settlement you’ve fortified, stacked full of collected loot, and potentially standing alongside friends who have joined you on that journey, for HumanitZ can be played both solo and with others.
HumanitZ is Exactly What You Make It
I was blown away by the sheer depth of choice and consequence in HumanitZ. The opening sequences of the game hold your hand very nicely, but you can quickly go from harvesting plant fibers to cracking skulls in a matter of minutes. You’re given the lay of the land, then sent packing with your own tenacity guiding you across the massive map.
What I loved the most was the whole ‘imagine it and you can do it’ approach to the game. If you want to fish or hunt, then you can. If you want to grab a hammer and smash everything in a house for resources, then you’re free to do so. If you want to take a dilapidated house somewhere and reinforce it to use as a makeshift base, guess what? That’s possible.
And if you want to loot a police roadblock, secure a handgun and some ammunition, and go out in a blaze of glory against a horde of undead creeps… Well, then that’s your prerogative.
HumanitZ’s 1.0 push is truly impressive. You’re presented with the potential for PvE, PvP, unparalleled exploration opportunities, companions, survival mechanics, and a post-launch roadmap that shows the team at Yodubzz has plenty left in the tank.
It might look fairly rudimentary and won’t win any awards for visuals, but that’s not what this is about. There are zombie games out there that look better, but it’s the replayability, the depth, and the genuine entertainment that make you want to invest hours upon hours of effort into HumanitZ.
HumanitZ 1.0 Review: Verdict
HumanitZ is a unique game in a not-so-unique genre, which is something special. It has survived the test of early access and evolved into a blossoming 1.0 product that has impressed me, a die-hard fan of the post-apocalyptic space in gaming. It’s the kind of game that you can play for 100 hours and only just scratch the surface.
I can wholeheartedly recommend giving it a go, and it’s a fraction of the cost of an AAA game, which is always nice to know. However you play HumanitZ, you’re playing it right, but how long you survive and how far you go through your adventure is entirely up to you.
Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord server if you’ve had any success with HumanitZ 1.0
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out our review of The Midnight Walkers
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HumanitZ
Grant's adoration for gaming started on the Amstrad CPC in 1996. Now, he's a multi-platform expert gamer with a deep love for the industry, a passion for esports, and more…
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