A Strange New Survival World
The survival genre has been a gigantic success. Games like Valheim, DayZ, and ARK: Survival Evolved have delivered a longevity where players have built huge structures and communities within these worlds. There have been blood feuds, fun quiz games, and even online marriages. A lot of these games have also been free to play, pulling in huge numbers of players. But for every game I have mentioned above, there are countless others that have come and gone, falling away from what the genre needs.
Once Human isn’t one of them, having already found success on PC and mobile, now it’s here on consoles, so let’s see what all the fuss is about.
A Sci-Fi Story
The game starts with a superb title screen that immediately gives off a cyberpunk feel, with someone standing at a rain-soaked, neon-lit bus stop. You don’t get to go straight into an online world, though. Instead, you start by choosing and designing your character and, of course, giving them a name. The game then throws you into a tutorial designed to teach you the various mechanics. But what about the setting and the story?
The story is a crazy one, but it’s also intriguing and very sci-fi. In 1967, a stone was found containing alien matter called Stardust. A secret group called the Rosetta Society was formed, and the organisation conducted reckless experiments with time and space, resulting in an apocalyptic event known as Starfall. The world was filled with corrupted beings, humans, and objects, while monsters known as Deviants appeared everywhere. Rosetta created a group of super-humans – Mayflies – to combat these threats and help rebuild the world.
You play as one of these Mayflies, who has lost their memory after Starfall. It’s now up to you to try to create a peaceful world while uncovering the truth about what happened.
The story is good, but it’s not the main focus of Once Human. That belongs to survival, taking down monsters, and opening up new areas to explore. The main quest line does have a story to tell, but after a while, it starts to feel like more of the same: go here, open up the area, and take down the main boss.
A Place To Call Home
After the main tutorial, where you learn the basics of survival, building, and combat, you are given a choice of open worlds with different parameters. For example, I started in a novice world where other online players weren’t going to attack me. For the more aggressive among you, though, you can choose a world where it’s much more dog-eat-dog.
One of the biggest things you need to do is survive the world by keeping your health, food, and water topped up while gathering resources. But more than anything, you need a base. When you enter the game, you are directed towards an area where you can build one. As you make your way there, you can see other players’ territories and the things they have built. You start with a simple concrete slab and can begin constructing a furnace, crafting tables, and beds. From there, you can start crafting weapons and armour. As you spend more time with the game, you can expand your base into much more luxurious areas, complete with all manner of rooms, fixtures, and fittings.
Exploring And Fighting
Exploration and combat are the other big parts you need to consider. Getting around the world is easy once you unlock the various hubs, allowing you to fast travel between locations. Alternatively, you can use a pushbike you get early on, or even cars later in the game.
Combat is mostly based around shooting and crossbows, and it’s a fun affair without quite having the weight and depth of a triple-A shooter. There is a good range of guns, while boss battles are much bigger affairs, often requiring plenty of health and the help of another player, as these enemies can be serious bullet sponges.
The Deviants Add Something Different
Throughout the world, you can capture your own Deviants, which you can then store in a sort of aquarium at your base. These creatures can be used to help you in combat, assist with gathering resources, or even provide transport. I liked the different variations of these creatures, and they add a clever mechanic to an already packed game.
Once Human comes complete with a beautiful design, with some great landscapes and lighting effects. I liked the character models and the overall world design. The creatures work best when they are a strange mix of objects, such as those which are humans with monitors as a head. The base-building also works well, and there were only a couple of occasions when the game suffered from lag. Even then, it was nothing to worry about and certainly not unexpected in a multiplayer world.
Sound design is good as well, with voice work present for some of the characters. There’s some decent original music, and even tunes flowing from the radio when you are travelling in or on a vehicle.
A Survival Game With Plenty To Offer
To get a proper feel for Once Human, you’ll need to sink tens, dozens, hundreds of hours into it. It delivers a good-looking world, provides plenty to do, and comes complete with an interesting quest line at times. The base building is excellent, and the combat does a fine job. But ultimately, how long Once Human can keep you engaged will be up to you.
Important Links
Once Human Is Out Now And Free On Xbox, Game Pass And PlayStation – https://www.thexboxhub.com/once-human-is-out-now-and-free-on-xbox-game-pass-and-playstation/
Download from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/once-human/9n0qwxc09mpt
