Review of the game - long read

[Lord Zultron]

After investing nearly 250 hours into Once a Human, I feel that I’ve experienced enough of its mechanics, setting, and content to provide a thorough and honest review. Let me start by saying that while this game has some engaging aspects, especially in its atmosphere and setting, my time with it was far from the exhilarating adventure I had hoped for. Instead, much of it felt like being trapped in a cycle of waiting, rather than a thrilling survival experience.

The Setting and Atmosphere: A Double-Edged Sword

The world of Once a Human is undeniably intriguing. The dark, mysterious atmosphere initially draws you in, offering a sense of danger and the unknown that any survival game should. The art direction, at its core, is cohesive and helps build a world that feels eerie and immersive. However, this immersion is frequently shattered by the introduction of skins and cosmetic items that feel entirely out of place. It’s disheartening to see a carefully crafted world undermined by jarring, often garish skins that clash with the overall aesthetic. It’s as if the game can’t decide whether it wants to be taken seriously or cater to a more casual, less immersive audience.

Another major disruption to the setting and atmosphere comes from the introduction of events that make no sense within the game’s established lore. For example, the "Trial of the Ancients" event sounds epic and ominous, leading you to expect a battle against some unholy boss or a deep dive into the game’s darker themes. However, the reality is far from what you might hope for—rather than facing a terrifying foe, you find yourself shooting balloons while riding a plane. This absurdity completely breaks the immersion and leaves you wondering what the developers were thinking. Instead of enhancing the world and its lore, these out-of-place events detract from the experience, making it difficult to take the game seriously when its world is so easily undermined by such nonsensical content.

Survival Mechanics: A Misleading Label

Calling Once a Human a survival game is, frankly, a stretch. Yes, there are basic needs like food and water, but these elements are so rudimentary that they barely scratch the surface of what you’d expect from the genre. The survival aspect is more of an afterthought, overshadowed by the game’s true focus: crafting and looting. Instead of facing constant threats and needing to think critically about resource management, you’ll find yourself more concerned with gathering materials and crafting gear. This isn’t inherently bad, but it doesn’t deliver on the survival experience that the game’s marketing might lead you to expect.

The Grind: Phases and Content Lock

One of the most frustrating aspects of Once a Human is the way content is gated behind weekly phases. Each week introduces new content, but the majority of it can be completed within a day or two, leaving the remainder of the week feeling like a prison sentence with little to do but wait for the next phase to unlock. This structure could work if the phases were packed with meaningful content, but instead, you’re left wondering why the game insists on such a slow drip of new experiences.

Adding to this frustration is the limited availability of controllers, a currency essential for claiming rewards in dungeons. These controllers are in short supply, and once you run out, good luck trying to grind for calibrations or gear upgrades. Without controllers, your progress in the game comes to a screeching halt, forcing you into a cycle of waiting rather than playing. This limitation feels more like an artificial roadblock designed to prolong your playtime rather than a meaningful challenge.

Moreover, the scarcity of another crucial resource, Strachrom, exacerbates the issue. Strachrom is capped on a weekly basis, and without it, you can't purchase legendary core gear or weapons. This currency bottleneck means that even if you want to experiment with different builds or try new strategies, you’re often stuck waiting for the next week to accumulate enough Strachrom. This restriction stifles creativity and variety in gameplay, as you’re forced to stick with your current build rather than explore new ones simply because you don’t have the resources to do so.

The combination of limited controllers and the weekly cap on Strachrom creates a frustrating experience where you’re constantly waiting for the next reset rather than engaging with the game. It turns what should be a dynamic and exciting progression system into a grind that feels more like a chore. Instead of being able to enjoy the game at your own pace, you’re left sitting on the sidelines, waiting for the opportunity to actually play the game the way you want to.

Dungeons: Epic in Theory, Misguided in Practice

The dungeons in Once a Human are one of its stronger points—at least on the surface. They feel epic, with challenging encounters and atmospheric environments that can get your heart racing. However, the game’s mechanics discourage players from engaging with these dungeons, especially the boss dungeons. Instead, you’re incentivized to grind through silos, which, despite being less exciting, yield better gear. This design choice undermines what could be a highlight of the game, turning what should be a thrilling challenge into a tedious chore.

As you progress into the late game, these dungeons become even more of a slog. While the initial experience might be exciting, the novelty wears off quickly when you realize that many of the late-game dungeons become routine chores. The reason? Overpowered weapons. With the right gear, you can easily bypass most boss mechanics, reducing what should be epic encounters to straightforward, almost trivial tasks. This power imbalance strips the dungeons of their challenge and, consequently, their fun.

The satisfaction of overcoming tough battles is replaced by a monotonous grind, where you go through the motions simply to collect rewards rather than for the thrill of the fight. While the game’s design allows for these powerful builds, it ultimately detracts from the longevity and enjoyment of the dungeon content. What starts as a promising adventure turns into a repetitive chore, making it hard to stay engaged when the fun only lasts for so long.

Base Design

One of the undeniable strengths of Once a Human is its base design system. The game offers a deep and versatile building mechanic that allows players to create intricate and highly personalized bases. This aspect of the game is genuinely enjoyable and provides a creative outlet that can be deeply satisfying. The ability to design and fortify your own space in a world as dark and dangerous as this one is one of the most appealing aspects of the game.

However, this strength is also where the game seems to lose its balance. It often feels like Once a Human places an overwhelming emphasis on base building, almost to the detriment of the rest of the content. Instead of the base design being a complementary feature that supports the core gameplay, it often feels like it’s become the primary focus.

While building an impressive base is fun, it shouldn’t overshadow the rest of the game. The world and its challenges should be the primary focus, with base design serving as a means to enhance and support that experience. Unfortunately, in Once a Human, the balance feels off, making it seem as though the game is more about crafting your perfect fortress than surviving and thriving in its richly detailed world.

Moreover, while the base design is robust, it’s not without its frustrations. The snapping mechanics can be incredibly unintuitive at times, making it difficult to align pieces exactly as you’d like. This can lead to a lot of trial and error, which can be frustrating when you’re trying to bring a specific vision to life. Instead of feeling like a smooth and creative process, base building can sometimes become a tedious chore, as you wrestle with the mechanics to get things just right. This unintuitive snapping often detracts from the overall enjoyment and can make what should be one of the game’s strong points feel unnecessarily cumbersome.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, Once a Human has potential, and there are moments where that potential shines through. However, it’s marred by a lack of true survival elements, a frustrating content gating system, and design choices that often work against the game’s strengths. My 250 hours with Once a Human weren’t filled with unforgettable moments but rather a mix of fleeting enjoyment and long stretches of waiting. If you’re looking for a survival game, this might not be it. If you’re okay with a crafting and looting experience that occasionally offers glimpses of something more, then perhaps Once a Human is worth a try, just be prepared for the grind.

[Dim]

Great review, just straight to the point. I had as well great fun for 140h, but Phases (It's lame to have to wait (a week if i'm correct?) to access locked areas), Wipes, Broken building system (Atrocious snapping) and most important, Server system (Friends can't join you due to capacity), made me stopped. And still can't understand what OH has to do with Survival genre. There's literally zero survival elements. Looks like devs just slapped "Survival" text for marketing reasons, and that's all. If devs remove Phases/Wiping & fixing Building/S.Capacity issues, game could become a champion.

[Eminem]

The greatest bang for buck free game I have ever played

[Forte-.]

so how to fix rendering bug ingame?

[Eminem]

Originally posted by Forte-.:

so how to fix rendering bug ingame?

game has to be on ssd, no if and or buttocks

[Lord Zultron]

Originally posted by Eminem:

The greatest bang for buck free game I have ever played

If treated as free game and no dime spent you can probably enjoy it for what it is but for long term game I would not stick around.

[Lord Zultron]

Originally posted by Nux Vomic:

Great review, just straight to the point. I had as well great fun for 140h, but Phases (It's lame to have to wait (a week if i'm correct?) to access locked areas), Wipes, Broken building system (Atrocious snapping) and most important, Server system (Friends can't join you due to capacity), made me stopped. And still can't understand what OH has to do with Survival genre. There's literally zero survival elements. Looks like devs just slapped "Survival" text for marketing reasons, and that's all. If devs remove Phases/Wiping & fixing Building/S.Capacity issues, game could become a champion.

For those that can endure through first second wipe I just dont think people will stay around. As there wont be much variation in content apart of slight difficulty increase. Too much downtime in waiting for each phase. Games supposed to be fun and not feel like prison where you waiting your sentence out or feeling trapped.

[zerk]

pretty much, in addition to the waiting. there are quite a lot of stop gaps on gear that would presumably let anyone able to join a server late catch up quickly?

there simply isnt a weeks worth of things to do between phases, and when that is coming from first timer players, it isnt good.

ontop of this, there are other games being released while players are looking for other things to do until more content unlocks or they reroll a harder difficulty next season.

if no Silo, no Monolith and no rift anchor was solo player content and if there were more worth into setting up spply chains and playing sim city economy with usable pickup and truck siege activity on stronghold requiring a network of silent and entirely self sufficient players.

it sounds worse than it is, and the game is inherently an addictive masterpiece that get a flat tier weekly until new conent is released. and there could be better synergy around base building and production, i would trade pickup and truck for vending machine van.

did i mention you can quest and speed through the entire tier 4 content without upgrading gear until tier 5? and a balance around different building elements and their reistance to explosives, fire, bullets and how everyone end up going all out sniper in pvp in close combat as well.

[Eminem]

Originally posted by zerk:

there simply isnt a weeks worth of things to do between phases, and when that is coming from first timer players, it isnt good.

Since you sound like a pew pew kind of feller and your favorite game is Fortnite . . .

This game shines in crafting and base building. It's a crafter nerds wet dream. Peep's who are into that category "there will always be something to tweak and use up time" inbetween phases.

S-TIER crafting mechanics. My gawd #DROOL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg6OyRXPBzw&t=598s

[zerk]

Originally posted by Eminem:

Originally posted by zerk:

there simply isnt a weeks worth of things to do between phases, and when that is coming from first timer players, it isnt good.

Since you sound like a pew pew kind of feller and your favorite game is Fortnite . . .

This game shines in crafting and base building. It's a crafter nerds wet dream. Peep's who are into that category "there will always be something to tweak and use up time" inbetween phases.

S-TIER crafting mechanics. My gawd #DROOL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg6OyRXPBzw&t=598s

I played ATITD and played quake before you were born, thanks for playing. As for challenges, there is a ravine between those chairs.

So let me run of into red sands without a bike, walk into a NPC stronghold. To trick myself to think Im paying quake, to playing a tale in the desert, as the geriatric and demented gamer with poor reflexes and reactions times that I am.

You can still play,
"During the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated A Tale in the Desert for "Massively Mutliplayer/Persistent World Game of the Year"."

Best single player game of the year, in the time gated MMORPG genre.

Andrew Tepper could probably make Once Human into ATITD.
And its been going on since 2003 and involve a lot more building and farming etc than what you have in your cooking guide there.