An honest review: is Once Human worth playing?

Once Human is a game with flaws, but what modern game is flawless? Such a thing does not exist. But in the case of Once Human, do the positives outweigh the flaws? Let’s take a deep dive and see whether you should even play Once Human at all.

What is Once Human?

Once Human is a game in which the world has fallen to an apocalypse. Commonly referred to as The Awakening, this event has given rise to mutated monsters and meta humans (that’s you!). These monsters are called deviations, some of which you can capture and control. Some gather resources while others help you out in fights.

Sound familiar? Yeah, I thought so too.

Once Human is a twisted blend of Palworld, Ark and DayZ. Sprinkle in MMO and a healthy dose of good (sometimes) terrifying horror, and you’re left with a wildly addictive game that will eat hours out of your life in no time.

Add a bike (for some Days Gone nostalgia), and you’ve got Once Human. If you enjoyed any of the games I’ve mentioned here, you’ll love Once Human. But… what about the server wipes?

Are server wipes an issue in Once Human?

Yes, you lose all your stuff. But you get to keep Blueprints and Starchrom, so all your progression isn’t wiped. There’s still a purpose to the grind.

We haven’t seen a server wipe, and there are plenty of rumors doing the rounds. Will we get an entirely new story every 6 weeks? I doubt that, but it’s one of the rumors going around. A whole new map, a whole new story, all new areas.

It took years for this game to launch, and it’s got plenty of fun little bugs (if you appreciate some sarcasm). Invisible enemies, hilarious animations, flying ragdoll effects — can you imagine the amount of bugs we’d see in a rushed 6-week cycle to push out all new content?

Unless the developers have created years worth of content, we’re likely to see the map simply be recycled, plus an extra area or two (maybe). But we’ll see when the first server wipe comes along.

Now, let’s talk about some positives.

What does the game do right?

I love sandbox games where you can just chug along at your own pace. Once Human is absolutely one of those games. Nothing forces you to rush through the game. There’s no real pressure, and you get to mosey through the world as slow as you want.

Unless the prospect of server wipes drives you onwards.

The building mechanics allow for some really nice builds, so if you enjoy the building aspects of games like Ark, you’ll love this about Once Human. There are also tons of crafting benches to unlock, and it certainly looks like there’s a whole lot to do in the game.

You chop down trees, cook food, and gather ores and craft things. It’s my type of game, if I’m being honest.

Another thing the game gets right is atmosphere. Exploring some places in the dead of night, and then hearing whispers coming from a random note on the ground… it’s enough to get you creeped out for sure.

That said, some of the goofier enemies in the game have umbrellas or balloons for heads, and don’t exactly inspire fear. But most do.

The server wipes give it a rogue-like feel, but rushing to the end game through the same map every six weeks might not be everyone’s idea of a good time.

If you like crafting survival games like DayZ, Palworld, or anything in that line, you’ll likely love Once Human. Starting on a new world also means you start at week 1 (if the world was recently opened), so you don’t have to worry about getting in mid-season.

There is one more thing to talk about… the long-term success of the game.

This will make or break Once Human

I’ve put over 70 hours of my time into Once Human over the past two weeks. This is way beyond the scope of anyone who works a normal job and only has a couple hours a day to play. I haven’t even reached the end-game content yet.

This means that getting to the end game could take anywhere from 40 hours to 80, and achieving those types of hours for players with normal jobs may not be possible. Thus, many have noted that longer seasons would benefit these types of players.

I agree. The idea of a roguelike MMO is pretty cool. It’s new, it’s exciting. But if this game is to be successful in the long-term, extended seasons may have to become a thing. This will attract more casual players to a game that has immense potential.

But that’s just my humble opinion. Some hardcore players will likely brag about how they reached the end game in 20 hours, but rushing to the end simply isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time.

Let’s wait and see whether the developers listen to the audience. In the mean time, I’ll definitely keep playing even after my professional coverage of the game ends. This is an absolute gem.

I’m not the only one who loves this game

As a parting thought, when this game launched, it’s review score on Steam was a pretty miserable 50% positive. As the developers have been quick to squash any bugs and people gained a better understanding of the privacy policy, that score has changed to 70% (mostly positive).

During your time with Once Human, you’ll get smacked by invisible enemies. You’ll get stuck in places you shouldn’t. And you’ll even get frustrated by the sheer complexity of this title. But in the end, if you enjoy the grind, this is the game for you.