The Humans

Game review

Released in 1992 for DOS, The Humans stands as a notable entry in the puzzle genre, hailed upon its debut as a commendable successor to the popular game Lemmings. Despite its ambitions, as voiced by the distribution company, to surpass the fame of the Lemmings series, The Humans carved out its own niche as a highly engaging and challenging puzzle game, even if it didn't achieve its lofty goal of outshining its predecessor in terms of popularity.

The goal of the game varies per level but usually revolves around bringing at least one of the player-controlled humans to the designated end area marked by a colored tile. Doing this requires players taking advantage of the tribe's ability to build a human ladder and use tools such as spears, torches, wheels, ropes and a witch doctor in later levels.

The Humans is a puzzle game similar to Lemmings whose objective is to manipulate the given number of humans, taking advantage of abilities and tools to achieve the level's goal, usually consisting of finding a certain tool, killing a certain number of dinosaurs or bringing at least one human to the end point, marked by a conspicuous colored tile. Each level is independent of the next, each with its own tools, goal, and set number of humans allowed per level. The only things that carry from level to level are the total number of humans in the player's tribe and the player's total score.

The player controls one human at a time, and may switch between any human at any time. In order to complete a level, it is often necessary to use certain tools or abilities, such as stacking to reach a high ledge. For instance, the spear, a tool obtained in the first level of the game, may be thrown across gaps to other humans, used to jump chasms, thrown to kill dinosaurs or other enemies, or brandished to hold off dinosaurs temporarily. Certain levels also feature NPCs like the pterodactylus that can be ridden in order to reach otherwise unreachable platforms, that cannot be controlled, but can be used to the player's advantage.

In retrospect, The Humans may not have eclipsed Lemmings in terms of fame, yet it remains a beloved and respected title within the puzzle genre for its original concept, challenging gameplay, and the whimsical portrayal of early human life.