Kicking off today’s State of Play broadcast by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) was Humanity, the next title to be published by Tetris Effect studio Enhance Games. Being developed by tha Ltd, Humanity’s short video showcased a rather stark looking visual style for an experience designed for both virtual reality (VR) and non-VR gameplay.
A concept created by tha Ltd’s founder Yugo Nakamura just over three years ago, Humanity looks to have gameplay elements reminiscent of classic puzzler Lemmings. The time there are massive crowds of people all walking, climbing, jumping and falling as they wander around. These groups can even fight, shooting at one another as if protecting a location.
The video doesn’t detail any specific gameplay elements, only alluding to some, with further details to be released in the new year. Enhance Games joined the project in early 2018 to take on publishing duties, as well as contribute to level design and general gameplay consulting.
“From the first early demo I saw, I couldn’t get Humanity out of my head,” says Enhance Founder and CEO Tetsuya Mizuguchi in a statement. “The whole look and feel of it—manipulating these teeming masses of people—was mesmerizing, especially in VR. I knew right away it could be something special, which is why I couldn’t be more excited to help a visionary like Yugo-san realize its full potential.”
“I’ve long admired the work of Mizuguchi-san and his team; it feels like the perfect fit to be working with the people who made games like Rez and Tetris Effect,” says tha Founder and Creative Director Yugo Nakamura. “Everyone at tha is working hard to make Humanity something that likewise engages all your senses—a fun, challenging game, but also something more meaningful than that. Rest assured we have lots more to show and talk about…”
Humanity is coming to PlayStation 4 with optional PlayStation VR support sometime in 2020. When Enhance Games release further details on this interesting looking experience, VRFocus will let you know. Also shown during the State of Play broadcast was Digital Lode’s stealth experience Espire 1: VR Operative, given a September 2019 launch date.