Too Human

Description

Too Human follows Baldur, a cybernetically enhanced warrior, as he navigates a war between gods and machines in a world where technology and mythology collide. The narrative explores loyalty, fate, and the tension between human will and artificial control, presented through cinematic sequences and branching dialogue. The gameplay mixes third-person shooting with close-quarters combat, allowing players to switch fluidly between firearms and melee weapons. Character growth is handled through skill trees and loot-based equipment upgrades, encouraging experimentation with builds. The game uses a semi-randomised loot system similar to dungeon crawlers, alongside cooperative multiplayer for up to four players.

Seemingly like every Silicon Knights titles, development was long and troubled, spanning nearly a decade. It was first announced in the late 1990s as a PlayStation title, then shifted to GameCube upon a partnership with Nintendo. It eventually came to Xbox 360 upon working with Microsoft. Silicon Knights aimed to create a trilogy, but the project faced repeated delays and major technical challenges. The studio licensed Unreal Engine 3 for the final version, which led to a high-profile legal dispute with Epic Games over engine performance and support. This conflict consumed resources and overshadowed production. The game’s scope was ambitious, combining action combat with loot-driven progression, but the extended timeline and engine issues resulted in compromises in polish and design. Despite its aspirations, the drawn-out development and legal battles became as notable as the game itself, shaping its reputation as one of the most difficult projects of its era.

At release, critics praised the ambition of blending genres and the thematic setting but criticised repetitive encounters, uneven controls, and technical issues. The camera system and animation quality were frequently noted as weak points. Retrospectively it was a bold but flawed experiment that aimed to merge action and role-playing depth within a mythic science fiction frame. Its legacy rests on its distinctive concept rather than its execution.