It’s been quite some time since a game captured me the way Once Human did. Not much can pull me in for dozens of hours in such a short timeframe these days, especially during summertime, but here we are.

Initially, I was a little confused. There are quite a few aspects to the game to learn when you begin playing, but it all ends up tying into each other quite well, meaning that as time goes on, it all becomes second nature. Turns out the game is a mixture of what feels like Rust, The Division, Palworld, and more, and that may just have been what caught my eye.

The gameplay loop is satisfying enough and, for the most part, paced relatively well. It is not necessarily “too grindy”, though it can be if you want it to be that way; gradual improvements over time as your character levels up mean that the materials (for example, ore or wood) you gather increase in quantity while the gathering time stays the same, so long as you upgrade your tools in the skill tree and the new materials. In any case, you can make it as grindy as you want it to be, but for the most part, you do not have to grind too much.

Base building is fun, straightforward, and easy-going, but sometimes a little rough around the edges. Snapping is sometimes intuitive and sometimes makes you want to punch a wall, and moving your base may come out relatively odd at the end if your base is not built around the center of your claimed territory.

The monster design is fantastic. I can’t with any certainty say that there has been any (recent) game that comes to mind with the design of monsters that is akin to or comes close to Once Human. Spiders with lights as bodies that overheat and explode when they approach you? Yup. Zombies with spotlights or briefcases as heads? Absolutely. The game has both super creative creatures and animals grounded in our reality, such as simple deer or capybaras. I haven’t even begun to touch on the large-scale monsters roaming the world, or the bosses in the world or dungeons, who have even more creativity invested into them to make them stand out.

Monetization is done well, everything is either purely cosmetic, or a small bonus such as a can of soda, canned meat, or fuel in relatively limited quantities (1, 2, or 5). There’s no need at all to spend any money, and everything is relatively affordable if you do want to. That said, some items are priced ridiculously high; having to spend roughly $40-$50 to obtain a furniture pack that contains glass walls, whereas an average outfit would set you back upwards of $15, or $9.99 for the battle pass.

Just like anything, however, the game is not perfect by any means. The game doesn’t tell you everything you need to know as a new player, and while one could argue it is part of the learning experience, I think it’s pretty important to find a balance. Vehicle durability is a point of contention, even with upgrades to the vehicle chassis increasing its health. When building, something may not work, but the game won’t tell you why it doesn’t work.

All in all, it’s definitely a game, a game of all time, for sure. It’s fun, and it pulls you in if this is your kind of game, but it’s also rough around the edges with room for improvement. That said, it’s free, so I will always recommend giving it a go. It has certainly been fun for my friends and me.

It’s been quite some time since a game captured me the way Once Human did. Not much can pull me in for dozens of hours in such a short timeframe these days, especially during summertime, but here we are. Initially, I was a little confused. There are quite a few aspects to the game to learn when you begin playing, but it all ends up tying into each other quite well, meaning that as time goes on, it all becomes second nature. Turns out the game is a mixture of what feels like Rust, The Division, Palworld, and more, and that may just have been what caught my eye. The gameplay loop is satisfying enough and, for the most part, paced relatively well. It is not necessarily “too grindy”, though it can be if you want it to be that way; gradual improvements over time as your character levels up mean that the materials (for example, ore or wood) you gather increase in quantity while the gathering time stays the same, so long as you upgrade your tools in the skill tree and the new materials. In any case, you can make it as grindy as you want it to be, but for the most part, you do not have to grind too much. Base building is fun, straightforward, and easy-going, but sometimes a little rough around the edges. Snapping is sometimes intuitive and sometimes makes you want to punch a wall, and moving your base may come out relatively odd at the end if your base is not built around the center of your claimed territory. The monster design is fantastic. I can’t with any certainty say that there has been any (recent) game that comes to mind with the design of monsters that is akin to or comes close to Once Human. Spiders with lights as bodies that overheat and explode when they approach you? Yup. Zombies with spotlights or briefcases as heads? Absolutely. The game has both super creative creatures and animals grounded in our reality, such as simple deer or capybaras. I haven’t even begun to touch on the large-scale monsters roaming the world, or the bosses in the world or dungeons, who have even more creativity invested into them to make them stand out. Monetization is done well, everything is either purely cosmetic, or a small bonus such as a can of soda, canned meat, or fuel in relatively limited quantities (1, 2, or 5). There’s no need at all to spend any money, and everything is relatively affordable if you do want to. That said, some items are priced ridiculously high; having to spend roughly $40-$50 to obtain a furniture pack that contains glass walls, whereas an average outfit would set you back upwards of $15, or $9.99 for the battle pass. Just like anything, however, the game is not perfect by any means. The game doesn’t tell you everything you need to know as a new player, and while one could argue it is part of the learning experience, I think it’s pretty important to find a balance. Vehicle durability is a point of contention, even with upgrades to the vehicle chassis increasing its health. When building, something may not work, but the game won’t tell you why it doesn’t work. All in all, it’s definitely a game, a game of all time, for sure. It’s fun, and it pulls you in if this is your kind of game, but it’s also rough around the edges with room for improvement. That said, it’s free, so I will always recommend giving it a go. It has certainly been fun for my friends and me.