7 Billion Humans (Nintendo Switch) Review

Yours truly won't spend much of his to time, and in essence spend yours, with explaining the gameplay in detail. Those who haven't played Human Resource Machine can simply read a review of it, and it will be like reading something that was written about 7 Billion Humans - those who have, expect the same kind of deal as before. A sort description would go something like this: each stage usually requires the handling of data (in the form of moveable items), which must be handled in various ways to "output" a specific result.

Once again, everything in 7 Billions Humans will be done with the use of a sort of light programming language, with each command being a simple "tag" that one can drag and drop (either via the touch screen, or the Joy-Con motion detector) in the command line on the right of the screen. So, if you need to pick up a data cube in front of a character and then drop it when said character reaches a hole, you'll have to create a series of commands that make him/her step towards the data, and, of course, pick it up, and then a typical IF/THEN loop that checks whether there's a hole at the next step.

It may sound complicated, but the way Tomorrow Corporation has handled this intriguing concept makes it very accessible, even for those who don't know a darn thing about programming. The big difference this time around, is simply the fact that, rather than having one worker taking 'Input' data, and then working with them to reach the required 'Output,' 7 Billion Humans enters the world of multithreading, by including multiple workers in each stage, who must be guided to do whatever they have to as a group.

...And this is the only that separates it from Human Resource Machine. In a way, this small difference is a big one. Some will find the puzzles in here harder, but, in reality, they just follow a different logic. The problem? Due to the multithreading aspect, there are many levels that feel more like chores rather than actual puzzles - in other words, puzzles are still enjoyable to work on, but maybe not as enjoyable as before. This, of course, is mostly something that has to do with personal taste, as there's a great number of people who found Human Resource Machine to be chore-ish as well. There's a deeper issue at hand, however...

The main flaw is the fact that it feels as if the developer took Human Resource Machine, changed the title, slapped a price a tag, and released it. Does this mean that this is a bad game? No, but it's certainly a move that not every consumer will be able to easily digest the fact that they are paying something that is basically a clone, especially when that something is the work of an indie production. Heck, even EA adds something new to its creations!