Humankind’s Vitruvian update adds Leonardo da Vinci for a limited time

Humankind’s free Vitruvian update has arrived and it introduces one of history’s greatest inventors, artists and inspirations behind a Ninja Turtle: Renaissance legend Leonardo da Vinci. An avatar and persona of da Vinci are unlockable rewards for completing six new challenges in the game’s Da Vinci Event, running through May 16th. Sift through full patch notes for the Vitruvian update here for details of the bug fixes and some subtle changes to the UI, beliefs system and, of course, trebuchets.

The challenges in the Da Vinci Event are split into two chapters that can both be completed at the same time, which differs from how Humankind’s earlier events worked. There are some neat little Leonardo-related things to aim for, like owning a biplane in the Early Modern era and triggering the Science end condition as the Venetians. Completing each of the challenges in the chapters pops some player symbols and decorations, but you’ll need to finish all six to cause Leonardo da Vinci to burst forth from the annals of history.

Nate was, erm, kind to the game in his Humankind review, saying “if the worst things I can find to say about Humankind are that it sometimes makes me think too much, and that I need to play it more, it’s hardly a bloody disaster, is it?” The only thing he didn’t like was that he wasn’t sure exactly what Humankind is. “There’s just a lot going on, is the best way I can put it,” he explained. “At times, this makes for an extremely rich strategic play. At other times, it makes for an experience passed on information overload.”

The Vitruvian update for Humankind is live and you can already nab the da Vinci avatar and persona. Humankind is £40/$50/€50 on Steam and is included in Microsoft’s Game Pass for PC.