HumanitZ Review Summary

Fun and addictive zombie apocalypse gameplay with an extensive vehicle system, but plagued by bugs, poor optimization, and terrible camera controls.

Game is fun and addictive: Players consistently report that the game is highly enjoyable, engaging, and hard to put down. The core gameplay loop is fun and keeps players hooked for hours.

Better than Project Zomboid: Players frequently compare the game favorably to Project Zomboid, citing better combat, immersion, and aesthetics. It is seen as a more accessible and enjoyable alternative.

Excellent survival game: The game is regarded as a genuinely great survival game, well-balanced and superior to many others in the genre. It offers a fresh and entertaining survival experience.

Large world to explore: The game world is described as huge, well-populated, and rewarding to explore, with plenty of places to discover. Players enjoy the sense of exploration and freedom.

Engaging base building: Base building is a standout feature, allowing players to construct or fortify bases anywhere. It is described as engaging, simple, and satisfying.

Game is buggy and glitchy: Players report numerous bugs and glitches that cause frustration and make the game feel unpolished. These issues range from minor annoyances to game-breaking problems that ruin the experience.

Camera is terrible and frustrating: The camera is widely criticized as one of the worst aspects, with poor angles, obstruction by buildings, and causing motion sickness. These issues severely impact gameplay and visibility.

Poor optimization and performance: The game suffers from poor optimization, leading to stutters, instability, and unplayable performance even on normal PCs. Players emphasize the need for better optimization to improve the overall experience.

Zombie AI and behavior issues: Zombies exhibit problematic behaviors such as clipping through walls, seeing players through obstacles, and being difficult to target when crawling. These issues make combat feel unfair and frustrating.

Multiplayer lag and connection issues: Multiplayer servers are frequently laggy, with severe lag spikes and crashes, especially with more players. Connection problems and bugs in multiplayer further detract from the experience.

Extensive vehicle system: The game features a wide variety of drivable vehicles that can be customized with weapons, armor, and other upgrades. Vehicles require fuel, parts, and maintenance, and can be used to run over zombies and transport loot.

Zombie apocalypse setting: Set in an open-world zombie apocalypse, the game combines survival elements with base building and looting. It is often compared to Project Zomboid but in 3D and more action-oriented.

Core survival mechanics: The game is fundamentally a survival game with resource management, including food, water, and medical needs. It offers a sandbox survival experience with looting, shooting, and base building.

Adjustable difficulty settings: Players can adjust difficulty levels to make the game easier or harder, affecting resource scarcity and overall challenge. The game is easy to learn but hard to master, with a default difficulty that requires practice.

Base building core: Base building is a core mechanic, allowing players to construct and fortify bases. It is optional but integral to the survival experience.

Poor optimization causes stutters: Multiple reviews report stuttering, instability, and poor optimization even on normal PCs. These issues significantly impact gameplay experience.

FPS drops during weather: Rain, snow, and blizzards cause severe FPS drops, sometimes from 90-60 down to 15. The weather system is a major source of performance issues.

Frequent freezes and lag spikes: Players experience constant freezes, lag spikes lasting 5-6 seconds, and complete freezes. These interruptions make the game unplayable at times.

Crashes and fatal errors: Bugs cause lag, crashes, and fatal errors, with frequent random crashes. Stability issues are a common complaint.

Server lag on official servers: Official servers suffer from regular lag, rubber-banding, and stuttering. Multiplayer performance is notably poor.

Recommended for zombie survival fans: Multiple reviewers recommend the game to fans of open world zombie survival games, isometric games, and survival crafting. The game appeals to both casual and hardcore players of the genre.

Great value for price: The game is considered well worth its asking price, with a good price-to-fun ratio. Many reviewers emphasize that it is a great value, especially when on sale.

Not recommended in current state: Several reviewers advise against buying the game until future updates improve it, citing bugs, errors, and overall unfinished state. They recommend waiting for fixes before purchasing.

Good alternative to Project Zomboid: Reviewers who found Project Zomboid too tedious, complicated, or hardcore recommend this game as a more accessible, action-oriented alternative. It offers a similar experience with less simulation depth and difficulty.

Recommended for co-op play: The game is highly recommended for playing with friends or in co-op, as it enhances the experience. Reviewers suggest playing at least in a duo for more enjoyment.

Community fair range: $10.00 - $15.00.

Session length: 10.0h.

HumanitZ has a rough start with buggy tutorial and clunky controls, but after a few hours players adapt and find the survival gameplay addictive, especially in co-op.

Reported time to anchor: 2h.

Friction: Bugged tutorial quest tracking; Clunky controls and camera; Poor UI and interface; Multiplayer connection issues; Performance and optimization problems; Early resource scarcity.

Unlock drivers: Getting used to the camera; Using top-down view for melee.

Solo Survivalist: Solo, careful resource management, base building, exploration, and often permadeath or hardcore settings. Motivation: To survive and thrive alone in a zombie apocalypse, enjoying the challenge and immersion. Stance: buy.

Co-op Social Player: Co-op, PvE, building bases together, looting, and surviving as a team. Motivation: To share the survival experience with friends, enjoy cooperative gameplay, and have fun together. Stance: buy.

PvP Competitor: PvP, base building for defense, raiding, and engaging in player combat. Motivation: To compete against other players, raid bases, and dominate the server. Stance: sale.

Performance is widely reported as problematic across most hardware tiers, with stuttering, FPS drops, and crashes common; only the 12-15GB VRAM cohort shows a balanced mix of positive and negative reports.

Windows <8GB VRAM / <16GB RAM: negative. Users report poor optimization, VRAM saturation, crashes, and frequent FPS drops even on recommended settings.

Windows <8GB VRAM / 16-31GB RAM: mixed. Reports are split; some praise smooth performance while others experience severe stuttering, VRAM saturation, and FPS drops in cities.

Windows 12-15GB VRAM: mixed. Mixed feedback: some users report good optimization after updates, but many still face stutters, especially in cities and with vehicles.

Steam Deck: HumanitZ has severe issues on Steam Deck, including frequent crashes and freezes, poor controller support, unreadable UI text, and performance problems. Despite some positive aspects, the current state is not playable on the device without significant tinkering and even then it remains unstable.

Linux and Proton: The game is playable on Linux but with mixed performance and the need for Proton tweaks. Some distros have issues, and Linux server admins face significant update delays. Overall, it requires tinkering and has notable friction.

Monetization: The user reviews consistently describe the game as a one-time purchase with no in-game microtransactions, pay-to-win elements, or paid DLC weapon packs. Complaints about 'cash grab' refer to the base game's perceived value and unfinished state, not to predatory monetization practices. No evidence of real-money shops, gacha, loot boxes, or convenience purchases was found.

External guides: The primary complaint is the lack of in-game information for item values, quests, and mechanics, forcing players to rely on external wikis and guides. Additionally, technical issues like alt-tab crashes and GPU problems add to the dependency on external troubleshooting. The most critical barrier is the missing valuation data, which directly impacts inventory management.

Frequently compared to Project Zomboid: Many reviewers compare the game to Project Zomboid, often describing it as a simpler, more accessible, or 3D alternative. Some find it superior, while others note it lacks depth and polish compared to the original.

1.0 release feels premature: Several reviewers criticize the 1.0 release, stating it feels more like Early Access or beta due to bugs and rough edges. Some question why the game left Early Access so soon.

Game still in development: Reviewers note the game is still being actively developed and updated, with many unfinished aspects. While some see potential, others feel it is far from ready for a full release.

Compared to other survival games: The game is also compared to DayZ, State of Decay, 7 Days to Die, and The Walking Dead, with some saying it combines elements of these titles. Reviewers often mention it as a mix or middle ground.

Developers responsive to feedback: Reviewers appreciate that the developers are active, listen to community feedback, and regularly fix bugs. This is seen as a positive sign for the game's future.