Did you ever think you’d hear of the forgotten PS4 animal evolution sim Ancestors: A Humankind Odyssey again? I most certainly didn’t, but here we are with the announcement of a PS5 version coming 8th December 2026.
Panache Digital Games revealed it’ll be debuting on Nintendo consoles with a Switch 2 edition, which I suspect is the main reason behind today’s reveal. However, in the process, the developer has also decided to put out native PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions.
Fair play, and anyone who already owns the game on PS4 is being treated to a free upgrade.
This updated PS5 version has been enhanced to run on Unreal Engine 5 (the original ran on Unreal Engine 4), and it also includes a Photo Mode and new “documentary-style narration”. It’s also sporting quality-of-life enhancements and some optimisations specific to PS5.
Originally released in 2019 and with over 2 million units sold to date, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is a third-person open-world survival game set during the dawn of humanity. Players explore a vast world, expand and evolve their clan, discover new abilities and pass knowledge from one generation to the next as they embark on an evolutionary journey spanning millions of years.
So, should you actually play it on PS5? The game wasn’t particularly well received at launch seven years ago, so I would probably say no. While some of the features listed above will only improve the experience, it earned a Metacritic rating of 64 (a 70 on PS4 but with far fewer reviews).
In our PS4 review, which ended with a 6/10 score, we said the game has a “huge gene pool of potential, but endless repetition and clunky controls need to be removed from its DNA. For die-hard survival and exploration fans there is a worthwhile experience here, but for everyone else this is a game that’s so repetitive it’ll drive you bananas.”
On PS5, you’re probably still safe skipping this one.
