Once Human has encountered what feels like a never-ending stream of issues in its initial launch phase — downed servers, disappearing player bases, server lag issues, and more. Despite all of this, the game has been well-received and has attracted over 200,000 players on Steam alone, consistently, and with a positive review score of 70% and climbing.
But the main question has always been… will the developers actually listen to players? This seems to be the make or break question for Once Human.
They will, as it turns out, judging from an interview with YouTuber Pirate Software. Initially, Pirate Software ended up uninstalling the game upon first playing it, with the main reason being the short and brutal seasonal wipes.
These wipes would see players lose all their progress, bases, items, and more — every six weeks. In a game that can take over 60 hours to reach the end game, this is a major concern for folks who only have a few hours a week to play.
However, the developers of Once Human have proven to be very receptive to feedback received from Pirate Software and the community alike. It’s not just talk, and here’s an example.
Players were unhappy that their cosmetic purchases were linked to their character, which meant that starting a new character on a different world would see them pay again for the cosmetics. The developers of Once Human have already committed to fixing this issue by August. Absolute proof that they are listening.
They’re going one step further, and have promised refunds to players who purchased more than one set of the same cosmetic items.
Keep in mind that this is a completely free game with absolutely no pay-to-win elements, which in modern times simply blows my mind. To say I have massive respects for Starry Studios would be an understatement.
Furthermore, Pirate Software mentioned in the interview that Western players don’t like to lose all their hard-earned stuff. This seemed to surprise the developers a little, as there is a cultural gap at play here.
They seemed receptive and are looking into how to help us Western players to enjoy the game more and establish that connection that we seem to crave with our characters.
Having developers listen and respond to players is rare in an age where corporate profits seem to be the master puppet in live service games, and having a free game with zero pay-to-win or even pay-to-progress elements is baffling.
They have salaries to pay, servers to run, and none of this stuff comes cheap.
Once Human is bags of fun, but even so, having a full reset every six weeks will probably see me leave the game after a season or two. But upon hearing that this is being reconsidered, I have renewed faith in Starry Studios and Once Human, and if the right changes are made, I may have found my new favorite game.
We can only wait patiently for the first season reset, and see what happens next from there.
Published: Jul 23, 2024 03:24 am