Project Planet: Earth vs Humanity

Want to destroy Humanity but not sure where to start? Have a less than benevolent wannabe despot inside of you? Keen to use your media empire as a tool to influence public opinion? Project Planet: Earth vs Humanity may well be for you then.

Project Planet is an asynchronous 5 vs 1 serious party game where you can cooperate with or against friends to either eradicate Humanity or band together with up to four others to help save Humanity from various cataclysmic disasters that Earth throws at you.

Impossible dilemmas with strong real-life parallels, and branching narratives create countless ways to survive disasters like virus outbreaks, solar flares and asteroid impacts. Players represent five global role players: World Leaders, Industry, Scientists, the Media, or the Public. Or you can take control of the disasters and play as Planet Earth and destroy Humanity altogether! Will you save your fellow humans, or destroy them?

Project Planet places players in a thought-provoking scenario where Earth, the planet itself, aims to eradicate Humanity to protect its future. On the other side, Humanity must unite to prevent their extinction, and at the same time, amass power and influence in an effort to be declared the winner at the end of the game round.

A World in Peril:

Project Planet presents a high-stakes narrative where Earth seeks to eliminate Humanity to safeguard itself from further harm. Conversely, the survival of Humanity depends on collective effort to avoid this grim outcome. The game revolves around five unique roles, each with the shared objective of preventing the population from plummeting to zero. However, cooperation isn't guaranteed, as players will also vie for power, leading to an intense struggle for supremacy.

Diverse Roles:

The heart of Project Planet lies in its diverse roles, each offering a unique playstyle. For instance, World Leaders can exert influence through laws and orders, while the Media can manipulate public opinion through news broadcasts.

Choices with Consequences:

Throughout Project Planet players will face a series of challenging decisions. Each choice comes with its consequences, which may have far-reaching effects later on. The impact of these decisions is multiplied based on a player's power. Should one player dominate the game, alliances may be formed to level the playing field.

Special Abilities:

The game also introduces special abilities that add strategic depth to the gameplay. The Cooperative ability allows players to team up with one another, while the Hostile ability permits them to hinder opponents' progress. It's essential for Humanity players to form alliances and closely monitor each other's actions.

Earth's Sole Objective:

For the player taking on the role of Earth the objective is simple and straightforward: to save yourself you must eliminate Humanity. Choose a disaster to send Humanity and watch how they react.  

If at any point during the four stages of each disaster you play through the global population reaches zero, Earth emerges victorious. Selecting the right disaster to align with one's strategy is crucial. Some disasters may be more challenging for Humanity but offer more force and options to Earth.

Crises and Incidents:

The game introduces powerful crises that, when triggered, compel Humanity to collectively match Earth's stake or face catastrophic consequences. Additionally, each disaster has four different stages during which Earth can trigger two incidents — smaller events that disrupt the planet's ecosystems and pollution levels, accelerating the population decline.

The Final Showdown:

After surviving numerous challenges, the game culminates with a results screen that displays an overview of all the score changes, as well as the impact of ecosystems and pollution on the population. If Humanity manages to endure until the game's end, the disaster is defeated, and the Humanity player with the highest power emerges victorious.

Project Planet offers a unique and thought-provoking gaming experience, where players take on distinct roles in a high-stakes battle between humanity and Earth. The game's dynamic gameplay, challenging decisions, and strategic depth promise hours of engaging entertainment.

Play Solo, in Co-Op, or Party

While there is an option to play against AI, or to have AI players make up the numbers, Project Planet shines best when it's played with a group of up to six players. It's all about social interaction, strategy, and making tough decisions that will shape the destiny of humanity.

Getting into the action with Project Planet is a breeze. Whether you're gathered on the couch with friends or playing remotely through an online stream or screenshare, you can have up to five friends join in for free. No need for extra controllers or apps – all you need is one copy of the game. Your friends can use any web-enabled device to join the game and play along. The browser becomes your controller, making it easy to jump right into the action.

In my short time with the game, I've only managed to play a couple of rounds against AI opponents using the demo key provided to me by the developers, Fifth Harbour Studios. Project Planet - Earth vs Humanity is the studios' debut title.

The current version that I played allowed for the Planet Earth role to choose a disaster from Influenza Virus, Locust Plague, or Hurricane. Three more disaster scenarios - Asteroid Impact, Solar Flare, and Volcanic Eruption - are currently marked as "Coming Soon!"

I found the gameplay to be a little confusing at first, with not enough clear explanation about each of the games' stages and the decision steps that each player would need to make. But that may just be me not paying enough attention to things. The online portal that players use to enter their decisions on does include a fairly comprehensive How to Play tutorial video that is recommended watching for anyone before their first game. The user interface also has a good number of info icons that provide more information about the tool of feature. Even so, prepare to play a couple of practice rounds with your mates before everyone becomes comfortable with the mechanics.

Once you get the hang of things though, and the order of play and the impact of your decision making starts to become apparent, the game does open up to a lot of potential. I can image that as a couch-based local party game or in an online session led by a streamer, Project Planet could generate a lot of conversation, laughs, and much friendly rivalry.

As it stands at the moment, I'm giving Project Planet - Earth vs Humanity a slightly shaky 6.5 Earthquakes on the Reddometer. With a complete game and some real players to play with that number may well increase.

Project Planet is set to for a full release launch on 25 September, exclusively on PC via Steam. A demo of the game is also currently available through the games' Steam Store Page so that you can see if it's for you or not.