Beat the Humans

Missed Opportunity

Promising tactical RPG that just didn’t deliver...

About This Game

Storyline

Beat the Humans flips the usual narrative of intergalactic war, putting players in control of an alien species fighting back against human invaders. The premise is intriguing, but unfortunately, there’s no in-game story to support it. The lack of lore, cutscenes, or mission context makes the experience feel hollow. A more developed narrative would go a long way in making battles feel meaningful rather than just a series of disconnected skirmishes.

Gameplay Mechanics

The player starts by looking at a large planet surrounded by small moons/asteroids, which serve as levels to choose from based on difficulty. While there is an indicator of difficulty, it doesn't always translate accurately.

Once a moon/asteroid is chosen, the player's goal is to eliminate all humans and rescue as many aliens as possible. Each level rewards money and reputation. These resources can be used to buy weapons or recruit aliens. When an alien is killed, it is gone for good. Recruits can be equipped with either melee or ranged weapons, but ranged attacks can also hit the player. The equipment system is not intuitive. It is also important to note that the player can only equip aliens before going into a level, without previous information of how the level is going to look like (terrain and enemy wise).

Each alien can move once and take one action per turn: attack, defend, or use a special ability (melee or ranged). There is no clear indication of unit’s turn order, which is a must in this kind of game. After each level, the player can return to the main moon to recruit aliens or buy weapons.

The game follows a predictable structure: after three victories, you face a boss level. These bosses can be overwhelmingly difficult, and if your squad isn’t properly prepared, either due to bad luck with procedural generation or a poor selection of recruits or weapons, failure may be inevitable, forcing a complete restart and loss of all progress. There’s no option to retreat, making certain encounters feel unfairly punishing. As losing a unit also means permanent loss, this leads to a very frustrating experience.

At its core, Beat the Humans offers a solid tactical foundation. The movement system is smooth, and the turn-based combat follows an intuitive structure. The animations are excellent, with detailed movements that make the battlefield feel alive.

That said, the game still has a long way to go in terms of depth and polish:

Training Mode Doesn't Work - The game throws players in without properly explaining deeper mechanics. While moving and attacking are straightforward, key details, such as turn order, special abilities, and equipping items are left unexplained.
Procedural Generation Issues - Some levels generate in ways that make hostages impossible to rescue or put your recruits in unwinnable situations from the start.
Combat Balancing Problems - Melee combat feels powerful, but ranged weapons struggle due to limited damage, team-friendly fire, and the need for frequent reloading.
Difficulty Inconsistencies - The game assigns difficulty ratings to missions, but these don’t always reflect reality. Some "Normal" levels feel brutal, while some "Hard" levels are surprisingly easy.
Limited Tactical Options - Despite promises of ship raids, monster battles, and other mechanics, only standard combat missions are currently available.
Implement a Units’ Turn Order View – In order for the player to properly plan the actions, they need to know which unit is moving first. It might be understandable not to know the enemies’ turns from the beginning, but the player should know the play order of their own units.

Visuals & Audio

Visuals is one of the game's strongest aspects. The pixel art is beautifully crafted, and the animations are top-tier, giving every attack, movement, and explosion a satisfying feel. The environmental effects, such as fire spreading from grenade explosions, are a nice touch. However, the battlefield variety is severely lacking, all levels look the same, which quickly makes the game world feel repetitive.

The audio is serviceable, with decent sound effects and music that fit the sci-fi theme, but nothing particularly stands out.

Pros

Strong pixel art style with detailed combat effects.
Smooth movement and well-designed animations.
Developers are actively working on updates and improvements (as of February, 2025).

Cons

Many features are still missing or incomplete.
No in-game story to add context or immersion.
The training mode is broken, making it hard to understand advanced mechanics.
Procedural generation can create unwinnable situations.
Ranged combat feels underpowered compared to melee.
No option to retreat from difficult battles.
All battlefields look the same.

To Be Improved

Fix the training mode to properly explain game mechanics.
Improve procedural generation to prevent impossible rescues and missions.
Add more battlefield variety and environmental diversity.
Introduce a proper in-game story to enhance engagement.
Implement a retreat option with penalties instead of forcing a full restart.
Balance ranged combat to make it a viable playstyle.
Deliver promised ship raids, monster battles, and other mechanics.
Implement a units’ turn order view.

Conclusion

Beat the Humans has a solid foundation, but it falls short and feels unfinished. The movement, animations, and core combat mechanics are well executed, but the game lacks depth, polish, and variety. Many promised features are still missing, and procedural generation often creates unfair scenarios.

The biggest positive? The developers are actively working on patches and updates (as of February, 2025), which gives hope for the game’s future. If they continue improving the mechanics, adding more content, and fixing the balance issues, Beat the Humans could become a great tactical RPG. Right now, however, it feels more like a prototype than a full-fledged title.