Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey

Third-person survival adventure tracing early hominids across prehistoric Africa

Panache Digital Games · Published by Private Division · Released Aug 27, 2020

Reviews: Mostly Positive; 79% of 12K
Recent reviews: Very Positive; 80% of 76 in 30 days
Playing now: 115; peak 24h 156
Steam Deck: Playable
Last update: Unknown; no patch notes found

What is Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey?

A third-person, single-player open-world survival game set in Neogene Africa from 10 million to 2 million years ago. You control members of an early hominid clan, explore jungles and savannas, manage food, water, and sleep, craft tools, evade predators, and pass learned abilities through generations as the clan evolves.

For you if...

+you enjoy solving unfamiliar systems through experimentation
+you have patience for slow, generational progression
+you prefer exploration over explicit direction

Not for you if...

−you need cooperative or competitive multiplayer modes
−you want evolution to reach modern humans and technology

What players say

79% of 12,030 reviews are positive · 80% of 76 in the last 30 days

Players praise the prehistoric setting, open-world exploration, and discoveries that make evolution feel rewarding. Their most common complaints are sparse guidance, clunky controls, and a repetitive, tedious progression loop that often sends them to outside guides.

Screenshots and trailer

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey system requirements

As published by the developer.

Minimum

OS: Windows 7 Sp1 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD Phenom II X6 1100T
Graphics: GeForce GTX 760 (4GB) or Radeon HD 7950 (3GB)
Memory: 8 GB RAM

PC version details

DRM, required accounts, controller support and Steam features.

DRM: None declared on Steam
Controller: Full controller support
Platforms: Windows
Achievements: 13
Steam features: Cloud saves, Family Sharing

Steam Deck: Playable

Some text entry requires manually opening the on-screen keyboard
All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
Shows Steam Deck controller icons
In-game text is legible on Steam Deck
Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck
External controllers are not supported for the primary player

Multiplayer and co-op

Single-player

Languages

Text only: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese - Portugal, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese.