There is an issue in 4X games. In fact, it's so persistent, that Amplitude Studios' co-founder and CEO Romain de Waubert de Genlis describes it as an "inherent problem", one his team have been attempting to solve since the first Endless Legend released back in 2014.

"One of the X's, 'explore', disappears after a while," de Waubert de Genlis explains. You've discovered the map for one thing, so there is no more world to uncover. But 'explore' can also refer to something more abstract, your strategy becomes fixed. Because you can see the lands, and you can see the resources, and you can see the enemies you face, you must decide on a course of action and there will rarely be much reason to change it.

But spotting the problematic 'X' is far simpler than fixing it.

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The idea behind Humankind is a funny one, in that it pulls from real-world history to essentially let you craft historical fanfiction. I suppose that's true of many strategy games, but this one's all about mixing and matching different cultures throughout history. And now, it's asking you to do so all over again, as a sequel in the works. Zero points for guessing what it's called, because it's very plainly titled Humankind 2.

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