Beyond Mankind: The Awakening
- August 31, 2021
- Brytenwalda
- 3h median play time
High concept horrible execution.
Get on Steam"Beyond Mankind: The Awakening" is a sci-fi first-person shooter set in a sprawling open world. As a member of the Galactic Security Force, players must uncover a mysterious conspiracy while battling alien species and exploring distant planets. The game features deep RPG elements, including skill trees, weapon customization, and base-building.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game has an interesting story concept and world-building that shows potential.
- Some characters have good voice acting and the dialogue can be humorous and relatable.
- Despite its flaws, the game has a certain charm reminiscent of older RPGs, appealing to fans of that style.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs, janky controls, and a poorly designed inventory system that detracts from the experience.
- It is extremely short, with many players finishing the game in just a few hours, making it feel more like a demo than a full game.
- The graphics and overall presentation are outdated, resembling games from over a decade ago, which can be off-putting for players.
- story56 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The story is described as ambitious yet muddled, with an interesting concept that suffers from poor execution, including jarring cutscenes and a lack of narrative depth. Many reviewers noted its short length, typically around 3-5 hours, and expressed disappointment that it feels more like a prologue to a larger game that may never be released. While some appreciated the world-building and faction interplay, the overall coherence and engagement of the story left much to be desired, often feeling confusing and incomplete.
“The story is muddled but ambitious with an immersive amount of lore.”
“I enjoyed the story, although I see some other reviewers said they found it confusing; I did not have that trouble.”
“It is worth the price it is paid for and has an interesting story.”
“Nonsense cutscenes entirely lacking context, story depth as deep as a spit puddle on a hot day, with all the narrative coherence of a tweaker trying to explain the Fast & Furious saga.”
“The story is also pretty short and is clearly intended to be a prologue to a larger game, which may never happen, so that's a bit of a bummer.”
“I think the developers should have marketed the game as early access, as the storyline runs about 4 hours in length, and it's full of bugs throughout.”
- graphics42 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 24 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received largely negative feedback, with many reviewers describing them as outdated and reminiscent of poorly made custom maps from older titles like Half-Life. While some players appreciated the nostalgic aesthetic and found the visuals acceptable for the price point, others criticized the animations and overall design as unengaging and painful to experience. Overall, the graphics seem to detract significantly from the gameplay experience, overshadowing any potential strengths in storytelling or atmosphere.
“I loved the idea, the aesthetic even if a bit old school, but it's intended and well made (from what I've seen) so I don't really care.”
“Graphics are what you expect for £15, better even.”
“Like the return of pixel games, or horror games emulating the PS1 aesthetic, this game is a delightful return to a strange hybrid FPS/RPG era, and I'm loving every minute of it.”
“The gameplay is rough and outdated, and the graphics make it look like a bad custom map on Half-Life.”
“I love the idea that Mankind: The Awakening is trying to achieve and I really was hoping for this one, but the choice of graphics engine or design makes this rather unplayable.”
“Having to punch boxes into submission so they open up to a can of food or a beer is just weird, the gunplay in general is incredibly lacking, voice acting is awkward and stiff, graphics look a decade out of date... there's a lot not to like.”
- gameplay24 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay is criticized for being rough, outdated, and plagued by numerous bugs, with many players finding the mechanics janky and difficult to navigate. While some unique features like character creation and world-building are appreciated, the linear structure combined with unnecessary survival elements and a poor inventory system detracts from the overall experience. Despite a potentially engaging storyline, many players feel that the game fails to deliver a satisfying gameplay experience, leaving them frustrated and disappointed.
“There are parts of Beyond Mankind which are unique and made the experience interesting; such as the character creation, the world-building, and some of the survival mechanics.”
“RPG/survival elements and game mechanics are all quite good and interesting too.”
“The rest of the game may be the greatest storyline since Half-Life 2 and the best gameplay since the first Modern Warfare, but no one will ever make it past the introduction to find out.”
“The gameplay is rough and outdated, and the graphics make it look like a bad custom map on Half-Life.”
“This is a worthless shooter with an atrocious inventory system, a save system that is all kinds of broken, and a whole lot of bells and whistles in the form of gauges (i.e. hunger, thirst, loyalty, etc.) that don't amount to any meaningful impact on the gameplay.”
“It's got some major issues with railroading, a really bad inventory system, a minimal skill system that just doesn't work, and survival mechanics that are nothing but annoying.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Overall, the optimization of the game is reported to be solid, with users experiencing no significant performance issues or graphical glitches, even on mid-range hardware configurations. Performance remains stable and satisfactory across various setups.
“I've not encountered anything game-breaking or anything that impacts performance (running Ryzen 5 3600X, RTX 2060 Super, and 32 GB RAM).”
“Performance was fine.”
“No graphic/performance issues.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs that significantly impact gameplay. Overall, it appears that the game is currently in a problematic state, leading to frustration among players.
“I'm not ready to assign stars yet; this thing is a buggy mess.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Despite some criticism regarding the graphics, players appreciate the immersive atmosphere of the levels, indicating that it enhances their overall enjoyment of the game.
“The bad graphics don't really bother me; I actually enjoyed the atmosphere of the levels.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by well-voiced characters and relatable, funny dialogue options, contributing to an engaging and entertaining experience.
“The characters are well voice-acted, and the dialogue options are funny and relatable.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional impact of the game is significantly undermined by subpar voice acting, which often delivers lines in a lifeless manner, detracting from key moments intended to resonate with players.
