Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Beyond Blue, available free until February 13, 2025, is an underwater narrative adventure that puts you in the role of a deep-sea explorer and scientist. The game was made in collaboration with BBC’s Blue Planet II team, offering an educational yet engaging experience as you discover the mysteries of our oceans. You’ll scan and catalog marine life, use advanced technology to track sea creatures and uncover a thoughtful story about ocean conservation and scientific discovery.
However, the real heavyweight of this week’s offerings is HUMANKIND, also free until February 13, 2025. This grand strategy game presents a fresh take on the 4X genre (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate) by allowing players to combine different historical cultures as their civilization evolves through the ages. Instead of picking one civilization and sticking with it, you can shift between cultures at key moments, creating unique combinations like beginning as the Ancient Egyptians and evolving into the Medieval Japanese.
The timing of HUMANKIND‘s free release is particularly interesting with Civilization 7’s announcement. This is an excellent opportunity for strategy fans waiting for the next Civilization entry to try a different approach to historical strategy gaming. HUMANKIND differentiates itself through:
- A unique combat system with tactical terrain-based battles
- A fame-based victory condition rather than traditional victory types
- The ability to mix and match historical cultures as you progress
- A more flexible city-building system that adapts to terrain
- An innovative approach to diplomacy and cultural influence
Whether you’re a seasoned strategy player or new to the genre, claiming HUMANKIND while it’s free is highly recommended, especially as it can serve as excellent practice for understanding complex strategy mechanics before Civilization 7’s release. The game typically requires a fairly powerful PC to run smoothly, but since it’s free, there’s no risk in adding it to your library to try later.
