Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey

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Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey
Studio Panache Digital Games
Publisher Private division
Senior Developer Patrice Désilets
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 27th August 2019
platform Microsoft Windows , PlayStation 4 , Xbox One
Game engine Unreal Engine
genre Survival horror
Subject Evolution of man
Game mode Single player
control Mouse , keyboard , gamepad
medium Download
language multilingual
copy protection Epic Games Store
Age rating
USK approved from 16
PEGI recommended for ages 16+

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is a computer game released in 2019 for Microsoft Windows , Xbox One and PlayStation 4 .

action

The game is set 10 million years ago in the Neogene in Africa and accompanies a tribe of apes that are in the process of evolution into humans . As a baby monkey, you have to find your way in the jungle after your mother dies . The game has no clear storyline and instead the player should rely on his instincts and explore the open game world . The development is said to document 8 million years.

Gameplay

In the game, the player controls a monkey who, by exploring and experimenting with the environment and collecting achievements, unlocks new abilities that are important for human evolution and give the character more intelligence . These are stored in the DNA and can be passed on to future generations. Assistance and a map are largely dispensed with, so that the player is forced to try it out himself. If all the requirements for a time jump are met, the members of a tribe can transform into a new species that brings genetic advantages with it.

The needs for survival and the health of the character such as sleep and the consumption of food and water must also be complied with. If the character dies, the player continues to play with another monkey from the tribe. If the tribe is completely extinct, the player must start over. There are three age groups - baby, adult and old man - who have different needs.

Furthermore, the player has to enlarge the tribe and expand its territories . To do this, the player must also face or avoid hostile predators in the wilderness and overcome his primal fears . Primordial fears arise through attacks by predators or the exploration of new places, which are illustrated by acoustic and visual hallucinations and can be overcome by glowing balls of light. In extreme cases, they can turn into hysteria . The use of the senses ( sight , hearing , taste , sense of touch and smell ), the use of tools and their production through crafting and the collection of vegetable, animal and mineral resources is an important part of the game. The game figure can move quickly on trees and so better explore the world and avoid dangers. Neuronal energy or experience points are only collected if the player takes children with them on the exploration tours .

The game is played from a third-person perspective . Over time, the distribution of social tasks for the tribe will be activated.

Development and publication

Ancestors is Patrice Désilet's first game after Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood from 2010.

The game was developed by Panache Digital Games , a studio that was opened by Patrice Désilets in 2014 after he left Ubisoft . He had previously worked on Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood . He was bored with the prehistoric setting games and read books on paleoanthropology to better reflect the setting. He wanted to avoid inspiration from film and pop culture . He imagines the game as the first part of a trilogy that is to end when the character has reached a stage of the pre-human Lucy .

The game was announced by Désilets at Reboot Develop 2015 in Dubrovnik . The development studio initially decided to want to release the game episodically because it was small and lacked financial resources, but abandoned the idea when it received support from the game developer Private Division .

The first trailer was presented at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2015. The first material was to be played at the 2019. The game was released on August 27, 2019 for Microsoft Windows in the Epic Game Store . A year later it should also appear on Steam , the reason for this is an exclusive contract with Epic Games . The version for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One should appear in December 2019.

reception

Meta-ratings
Database Rating
Metacritic 69/100
reviews
publication Rating
Game Informer 55/100
Game revolution 80/100
GamesRadar 50/100
GameSpot 40/100
GameStar 73/100
IGN 70/100
PC Gamer US 58/100

The game received mixed ratings. On Metacritic , the game has a Metascore of 69 out of 100 points.

It is criticized that the game world hardly changes over time and that there are regular, constantly repeating game processes that are necessary to achieve progress in the game (grinding). The lack of manual storage, weaknesses in the graphics and too few options for crafting are also criticized.

On the other hand, the detailed design of the flora and fauna of the individual biomes and the activation options for new skills are praised . The weather effects, animations and the soundtrack are also praised. The basic concept is also seen as innovative, ambitious and creative. However, there is a lack of long-term motivation and varied play tasks in the implementation . The GameStar describes the game as a mixture of Uncharted and Rust due to the union of action adventure and survival horror . The slow game pace and gameplay is also not appealing to everyone.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is 40-50 hours long and has a game-ending failstate. In: VG247. April 12, 2019, accessed August 28, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey - All information, release, PC system requirements. Retrieved August 28, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Ancestors - New game from the Assassins Creed inventor set millions of years ago. April 20, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2019 .
  4. ↑ By Andreas Sturm: Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey: Experts compare their experiences with the game. August 12, 2019, accessed August 28, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey in the test. Retrieved August 28, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Elise Favis: Six Things To Know About Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey. Accessed August 28, 2019 .
  7. ↑ a b Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey in the test with evaluation. August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2019 .
  8. ↑ a b heise online: Ancestors - The Humankind Odyssey alluded to: Monkey struggle for survival. Retrieved August 28, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey: Monkey? The new game of the Assassin's Creed inventor polarizes. August 28, 2019, accessed on August 28, 2019 (German).
  10. ↑ Assassin's Creed creator's new game Ancestors gets a teaser trailer. In: VentureBeat. April 20, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2019 (American English).
  11. ^ Andy Kelly: Ancestors is a survival game set 10,000,000 years in the past. In: PC Gamer. June 4, 2019, Retrieved August 28, 2019 (American English).
  12. ↑ John Gaudiosi John Gaudiosi: 'Assassin's Creed' Creator Talks New Title and Adapting Video Game Movies. In: Variety. April 30, 2018, accessed August 28, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Michael McWhertor: Ancestors is a different breed of survival game, spanning millions of years. April 12, 2019, accessed August 28, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Tom Phillips: Surviving in the wild: Assassin's Creed maker Patrice Désilets on Ancestors, his first game in nearly a decade. In: Eurogamer. April 12, 2019, accessed on August 28, 2019 .
  15. ^ Mark Walton: Assassin's Creed creator reveals his new game: Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey. April 23, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2019 (American English).
  16. ↑ Tom Phillips: Our first look at Patrice Desilets' Ancestors. In: Eurogamer. April 20, 2017, accessed August 28, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Alice O'Connor: Take-Two launch 'indie' publishing label Private Division. In: Rock, Paper, Shotgun. December 15, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2019 (American English).
  18. ↑ Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey - The new game from the Assassin's Creed inventor. April 23, 2015, accessed August 28, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey - E3 trailer for the Assassin's Creed creator's latest work. June 19, 2015, accessed August 28, 2019 .
  20. ^ Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey - Gameplay Impressions from E3. Retrieved on August 28, 2019 (German).
  21. ↑ Epic Exclusive - Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey not on Steam. May 14, 2019, accessed August 28, 2019 .
  22. ↑ Ancestors, From Assassin's Creed Creator, Gets Release Date And Trailer. In: GameSpot. Retrieved August 28, 2019 (American English).
  23. ↑ Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey: Fight for Survival begins in late August on PC and in December on consoles - 4Players.de. Retrieved August 28, 2019 .
  24. ↑ a b Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey. Accessed August 28, 2019 .
  25. ↑ Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey - mixture of Uncharted and Rust - with monkeys. July 20, 2015, accessed August 28, 2019 .